Which MLB team should I follow ?

ukhotstove · 10-07-2009, 06:08 PM

I've watched and loved baseball for years but never followed one team, mostly it's been players I've followed. Players like Mike Matheny, Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk but never a team, well I've decided the time is right to follow one team and I've chosen to throw it out to the OOTP community to help me with my choice.

Years gone by I've thought of following the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and so on reason being years ago they were the only teams on TV over here plus it was easy to pick up merchandise, books etc but with the dawn of the computer it's easy to watch every game of every team plus with Amazon, eBay etc it's easy to pick up books and the like so my choice as become even harder.

Anyways what I'm looking for is a team with history so the likes of Florida and Arizona are at a disadvantage as are the West Coast teams with the time difference but I could always watch their games the day after specially the home games, the NL as an advantage over the AL simply because I'm not a fan of the DH. Winning doesn't bother me as I follow Wigan Athletic (soccer), Green Bay Packers, Toronto Maple Leafs (insert quip by CC) and the Boston Celtics so haven't really been overwelmed by glory over the past few years, over the last few days I have gotten it down to the Mets and Pirates but thought I would open my mind up to views of the OOTP board.

By the way if the Dodgers had stayed in Brooklyn it would be a lights out answer in the Brooklyn Dodgers but alas they moved.

bababui · 10-07-2009, 06:14 PM

I vote for the Cubs. They have a long and tragic history and at least have a chance of winning. If you like to suffer, this is the way to go.

Bluenoser · 10-07-2009, 06:14 PM

Well, if it's down to the Mets and Pirates, the Bucs definitely have a ton more history. However you'll need a lot of patience waiting for them to become competitive again.

Personaly between those two, I'd take the Bucs. They do have a good history. 79 was an awesome season, "We are Family"....

Kent Tekulve was one of my favourite closers back in the day.

phenom · 10-07-2009, 06:17 PM

The Tigers because they've done something that no other team has ever done before.

Johnny Canuck · 10-07-2009, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phenom

The Tigers because they've done something that no other team has ever done before.

Ouch

But yeah, I'd suggest Detroit - they have a long history, and Detroit is a great baseball town. Plus they're competitive right now, without being annoyingly overwhelming like the Yankees or Red Sox.

canadiancreed · 10-07-2009, 08:24 PM

I'd go with Toronto, that way you can be a fan of a Toronto team that has won something this generation.

But seriously, Toronto.

ukhotstove · 10-07-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

I'd go with Toronto, that way you can be a fan of a Toronto team that has won something this generation.

But seriously, Toronto.

I expected more, took you till post 6 to get your quip in (getting slow in your old age ? )

Even though I follow the Leafs I'd never follow the Jays, reason being they play on plastic and I hate plastic.

jbergey22 · 10-07-2009, 08:31 PM

Twins are always fun to cheer for. They play baseball the right way and tend to overplay their expectations most years. Much better than having high expectations only to be disappointed.

Slackker · 10-07-2009, 08:32 PM

I'm a Mets fan, so this isn't at all objective.. but between the Mets and Pirates I'd suggest you root for the Pirates.

Really, though. It's more fun to root for young players than overpaid veterans who don't even play half the time. Just don't get too attached to those young players.

ukhotstove · 10-07-2009, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Twins are always fun to cheer for. They play baseball the right way and tend to overplay their expectations most years. Much better than having high expectations only to be disappointed.

Now the Twins would have been a no no with them playing indoors and on plastic two of my most hated things in sports that can be played on grass and outside but that all changes next season.

bababui · 10-07-2009, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Now the Twins would have been a no no with them playing indoors and on plastic two of my most hated things in sports that can be played on grass and outside but that all changes next season.

If you were a real man the only choice you would really consider would be the Anaheim Angels.

ukhotstove · 10-07-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slackker

I'm a Mets fan, so this isn't at all objective.. but between the Mets and Pirates I'd suggest you root for the Pirates.

Really, though. It's more fun to root for young players than overpaid veterans who don't even play half the time. Just don't get too attached to those young players.

One of the reasons why the winning as never really bothered me in sports, don't get me wrong i like my team to win it's share of games but in a way always feel sorry for the fans of teams who win all the time, I mean what do they have to moan about after all thats what makes sports great to moan about it

ukhotstove · 10-07-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bababui

If you were a real man the only choice you would really consider would be the Anaheim Angels.

You only follow the Angels because they change their name just as many times as Leigh do

bababui · 10-07-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

You only follow the Angels because they change their name just as many times as Leigh do

I never saw this right cross that floored me.

canadiancreed · 10-07-2009, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

I expected more, took you till post 6 to get your quip in (getting slow in your old age ? )

More work decided to keep me much longer then usual. And the other options stunk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Even though I follow the Leafs I'd never follow the Jays, reason being they play on plastic and I hate plastic.

Well there goes half the league. And it's not like they really have a choice. Have you seen what your typical lawn looks like in Southern Ontario in late March? Now picture it being chewed all the **** six weeks straightish before it even sprouts. That's why they play on "plastic". Not my first choice either but it's either that or mud till mid May.....or spend a fortune on sod.

swampdragon · 10-07-2009, 10:08 PM

Rich history, winning tradition, NL, not on the west coast, fun to watch.

St. Louis Cardinals.

stevebydac · 10-07-2009, 10:35 PM

My biased opinion: Boston Red Sox

Smart, successful ownership, one of the best GMs in baseball and a great manager (both good guys too), tremendous fan support, oldest baseball stadium in MLB, lots of money, two World Series wins in the last 5 years -- combine all this and you have a team to root for that is pretty much guaranteed to be very good nearly every year. Plus -- think about this -- being in the UK, it would be hard for you to read a lot about most other teams on the internet, but that's not the case with Boston. You probably can go to 5-6 local papers online everyday, and a bunch of blogs and forums devoted solely to the Sox. Hours and hours of new material every day to read if you want to. And you will automatically become engrossed in the biggest baseball rivalry on the planet, versus the New York Yankees. That rivalry exists 365 days of the year as they try to steal the biggest free agents and amateurs from each other, and try to out-perform each other with trades. (and 80% of all other fans are annoyed by your team

)

My unbiased opinion: (Red Sox excluded) Minnesota Twins -pretty good record most years, excellent management, getting a new park next year, one of the best mid-size teams.

Cooleyvol · 10-07-2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swampdragon

Rich history, winning tradition, NL, not on the west coast, fun to watch.

St. Louis Cardinals.

Easy solution IMO as well.

Walkoff · 10-08-2009, 12:08 AM

The biggest market teams are the Yankees and Red Sox, so they may be the easiest to follow. If you are looking to stray from the norm, the Cardinals, Cubs, and defending champion Phillies are all good choices. I would go with the Red Sox, because it has all the perks of being a Yankees fan without the cliche feeling you get whenever you see someone wearing a Yankees' hat for no reason other than they are the Yankees. I do realize this happens with the Red Sox now, but everybody seems to have a fixation on the pink hats of Red Sox Nation rather than the fashion hats.

molarmite · 10-08-2009, 12:33 AM

I would obviously say the Twins, not sure how anyone couldn't like them but if I were to choose another team, I would say the Cubs of the 90's with Sandberg, Grace, Sosa, Dawson but you're looking for right now and right now the Cubs are not a good choice.

The Rockies would be a good team but you said no west coast teams so I'm going to settle on the Braves but who knows how they'll be after Chipper and Cox are gone after next year.

10-07-2009, 06:08 PM	#1
ukhotstove Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: North of England Gods Country Posts: 7,175	Which MLB team should I follow ? I've watched and loved baseball for years but never followed one team, mostly it's been players I've followed. Players like Mike Matheny, Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk but never a team, well I've decided the time is right to follow one team and I've chosen to throw it out to the OOTP community to help me with my choice. Years gone by I've thought of following the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and so on reason being years ago they were the only teams on TV over here plus it was easy to pick up merchandise, books etc but with the dawn of the computer it's easy to watch every game of every team plus with Amazon, eBay etc it's easy to pick up books and the like so my choice as become even harder. Anyways what I'm looking for is a team with history so the likes of Florida and Arizona are at a disadvantage as are the West Coast teams with the time difference but I could always watch their games the day after specially the home games, the NL as an advantage over the AL simply because I'm not a fan of the DH. Winning doesn't bother me as I follow Wigan Athletic (soccer), Green Bay Packers, Toronto Maple Leafs (insert quip by CC) and the Boston Celtics so haven't really been overwelmed by glory over the past few years, over the last few days I have gotten it down to the Mets and Pirates but thought I would open my mind up to views of the OOTP board. By the way if the Dodgers had stayed in Brooklyn it would be a lights out answer in the Brooklyn Dodgers but alas they moved. __________________ Detroit Diesel Dynasty San Antonio Calzones of Laredo Dynasty

10-07-2009, 10:08 PM	#16
swampdragon Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Lonely Mountain Posts: 2,509	Rich history, winning tradition, NL, not on the west coast, fun to watch. St. Louis Cardinals. __________________ “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies." -- C.S. Lewis

10-07-2009, 10:35 PM	#17
stevebydac All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: In a fictional baseball world Posts: 843	My biased opinion: Boston Red Sox Smart, successful ownership, one of the best GMs in baseball and a great manager (both good guys too), tremendous fan support, oldest baseball stadium in MLB, lots of money, two World Series wins in the last 5 years -- combine all this and you have a team to root for that is pretty much guaranteed to be very good nearly every year. Plus -- think about this -- being in the UK, it would be hard for you to read a lot about most other teams on the internet, but that's not the case with Boston. You probably can go to 5-6 local papers online everyday, and a bunch of blogs and forums devoted solely to the Sox. Hours and hours of new material every day to read if you want to. And you will automatically become engrossed in the biggest baseball rivalry on the planet, versus the New York Yankees. That rivalry exists 365 days of the year as they try to steal the biggest free agents and amateurs from each other, and try to out-perform each other with trades. (and 80% of all other fans are annoyed by your team ) My unbiased opinion: (Red Sox excluded) Minnesota Twins -pretty good record most years, excellent management, getting a new park next year, one of the best mid-size teams. __________________

10-08-2009, 12:33 AM	#20
molarmite Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 4,924	I would obviously say the Twins, not sure how anyone couldn't like them but if I were to choose another team, I would say the Cubs of the 90's with Sandberg, Grace, Sosa, Dawson but you're looking for right now and right now the Cubs are not a good choice. The Rockies would be a good team but you said no west coast teams so I'm going to settle on the Braves but who knows how they'll be after Chipper and Cox are gone after next year. __________________ From the wise mind of Davey Eckstein "Now all you need is a signature. A quote or initial, perhaps." [

10-07-2009, 06:14 PM	#2
bababui Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 14,147 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	I vote for the Cubs. They have a long and tragic history and at least have a chance of winning. If you like to suffer, this is the way to go.

10-07-2009, 06:14 PM	#3
Bluenoser Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In The Moment Posts: 14,224	Well, if it's down to the Mets and Pirates, the Bucs definitely have a ton more history. However you'll need a lot of patience waiting for them to become competitive again. Personaly between those two, I'd take the Bucs. They do have a good history. 79 was an awesome season, "We are Family".... Kent Tekulve was one of my favourite closers back in the day.

10-07-2009, 06:17 PM	#4
phenom Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Near the Great Wall. On the GOOD side. Posts: 3,768	The Tigers because they've done something that no other team has ever done before.

10-07-2009, 08:24 PM	#6
canadiancreed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11,660	I'd go with Toronto, that way you can be a fan of a Toronto team that has won something this generation. But seriously, Toronto.

10-07-2009, 08:31 PM	#8
jbergey22 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,481	Twins are always fun to cheer for. They play baseball the right way and tend to overplay their expectations most years. Much better than having high expectations only to be disappointed.

10-07-2009, 08:32 PM	#9
Slackker All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 777	I'm a Mets fan, so this isn't at all objective.. but between the Mets and Pirates I'd suggest you root for the Pirates. Really, though. It's more fun to root for young players than overpaid veterans who don't even play half the time. Just don't get too attached to those young players.

10-08-2009, 12:08 AM	#19
Walkoff Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 67	The biggest market teams are the Yankees and Red Sox, so they may be the easiest to follow. If you are looking to stray from the norm, the Cardinals, Cubs, and defending champion Phillies are all good choices. I would go with the Red Sox, because it has all the perks of being a Yankees fan without the cliche feeling you get whenever you see someone wearing a Yankees' hat for no reason other than they are the Yankees. I do realize this happens with the Red Sox now, but everybody seems to have a fixation on the pink hats of Red Sox Nation rather than the fashion hats.