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Dear Sharon & Susan,
When I was four or five, I was a Brooklyn Dodger
fan and Jackie Robinson was my favorite player. In fact, I had a
bronzed, pot-metal statue of him holding his bat high at the
plate.
Then, my father took to me Yankee Stadium to see
Jerry Coleman, Phil Rizzuto, Hank Bauer, Allie Reynolds, Vic Rashi and the
Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio. Of course, immediately afterwards,
I became a Yankee fan. You might say, that was my first instance of
selling out. Then, shortly afterwards, the Dodgers along with Giants (many
of whom, lived across the street from me in the early '50s), left Brooklyn and
New York City for greed, and yes, I still hate them, both. Someone told me
they went to California, but I'm not sure.
It was only as an eight or nine year old boy, that
I began watching Mickey Mantle's career from his early
days with Yankees that I felt like a real Yankee fan, in my own
right. Of course, we know what happened to
the poor Mick, not as the truly, great ball player, which he was, but
as the progressive alcoholic that killed him.
Then, everybody's favorite, Georgie Porgie
Steinbrenner, the archangel of check books and greed, bought
the Yankees. Hell, after watching Steinbrenner operate, I even rooted for
the Mets, and along with my daughter cheered them wildly, back in the
early '80's, when they came back in the last of the ninth with two
out.
That brings me to why I rooted for the Red Sox
(Socks) to win the Pennant and the World Serious, this
year:
1-They deserved it, after coming back from the
ashes of game 4, down three games to zero and sweeping the Cardinals in 4
straight.
2-They've been the underdog, far too
long.
3-They've paid for selling the Bambino, far too
much.
4-Maybe Steinbrenner, the greedy S.O.B. will
sell the Yankees in frustration, and I can watch a game without seeing Mayor
Giuliani sitting in Yankee Stadium shrouded in 9/11, Police and Firefighter
memorabilia.
5-Finally, anyone who pays a player 28 million
dollars and he can't bunt or get on base, deserves to lose.
Congratulations to you both, Ralph
P.S. I still miss Don Zimmer and his
scrappy Army helmet.
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