Growing up in the Bay Area in the later half of the 1980s was an exciting thing. Both the A’s and Giants were star laden champions who caused the earth to shake before Battle of the Bay’s World Series Game 3. Living in the East Bay, my family naturally preferred the A’s, but we were never Giants haters, until of course they played each other. In fact, I considered the Giants my favorite NL team. I collected memorabilia from both teams– from baseball cards to Starting Lineup action figures (McGwire’s is still on display in my classroom, but Jeffrey Leonard has mysteriously disappeared). I still have a Giants porcelain bobble-head on my desk at home, its head super-glued back together from dropping it years ago. I’ve always had both A’s and Giants hats, but never the silly split Bay Bridge Series one.
But when Barry Bonds joined the Giants, I stopped following that team. That was right after the Strike and around the time I left for college, so I wasn’t too interesting in baseball anyway. After I graduated, the A’s started winning, and I eventually made my way back to the East Bay. They made the playoffs five times in the 2000s and I was living in Oakland for one of them. They were a new and exciting team of prospects, really fun to watch.
On the other side of the bay, the Giants started winning too. However, I could never truly like them with Barry Bonds on the team. Jeff Kent didn’t help either. When Barry Zito started losing games for the A’s (especially the 2003 ALDS game 5 that I attended) and when he was later picked up by the Giants for a ridiculous 144 million dollars, I went through a “wishing death upon the Giants” phase. Even though the new stadium was spectacular, the SF Barrys were just an unlikeable team. So at that point, I was strictly an A’s fan.
Then the 2009 season happened. Bonds wasn’t invited back and pitching became the Giants’ focus. The A’s also tried something new – spending money and trading for some big names. Matt Holliday and the other new additions brought excitement and a hopeful feeling back to Oakland. But as the season went on, the A’s weren’t winning and the excitement quickly died…especially when they traded what seemed like half of their players midseason, Holliday included. And they kept on losing. I felt that the A’s had betrayed their fans and their city, completely giving up on the season, as if they wanted to move out of Oakland.
Meanwhile, a new and improved Giants team was winning, so I started watching – and they were fun to watch. They had likeable players in Timmy and Pablo, and it was great to have the “UUUU- RIBE” chant back. However, I could never get over my disdain for Zito. I would root for him to lose, while hoping the team made the playoffs. I was a conflicted fan when he took the mound. Needless to say, the Giants didn’t make it, but Zito actually finished very strongly.
The 2010 season rolled around and the A’s had a new roster of young talented pitchers, but absolutely no offense. It was obviously a rebuilding year while they awaited their future location – wherever that may be. In late May, I went to AT&T Park with some tight bros to watch the Giants destroy the Arizona D-Bags. A kid named Buster Posey was pulled up from the minors to play first base that day. He went 3 for 4, drove in a few runs, helping them to win by like 12 runs. That day, I witnessed a turning point for the Giants and I was hooked.
In August I bought my first flat screen HD TV (which couldn’t have been better timing) and I’ve been watching more baseball than I have in years; it just looks so gosh dang perty. Anyway, the A’s were struggling and it seemed impossible to win the AL west at that point. And there was something about this Giants team with their individual comeback stories and their eccentric personalities that has created a Bad News Bears, incredibly likeable team chemistry. Despite all this, I still had it in for Zito, especially when he choked at the end of the season.
I will say that I am proud of the A’s for finishing .500 and 2nd in the AL west during a rebuilding year. However, I was especially elated when the Giants won their division on the very last day of the season… and even more stoked to find out that Zito wasn’t added to the playoff roster. I love it when Bay Area teams make the postseason. I love the feeling in the air. Seeing the home colors everywhere, discussing baseball with strangers, watching the day games with my students in between classes. I feel bad for anyone who isn’t a fan. I’m not a bandwagon hater, I’m a bandwagon welcomer, and I don’t understand the A’s fans who won’t support the Giants right now. The bottom line is that I love baseball, I love the Bay Area, and I love this postseason Sans Zito team. So GO GIANTS! BEAT THE RANGERS! Texas sucks anyway.
And of course, go 2011 Oakland A’s.
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