Who Would It Be?

What if you had a 4.0 GPA in high school? Would that have changed your life? What if you didn’t meet that special someone in your life? Where would you be right now? What if you were six foot four? Would you be able to reach the Cheerios on the top shelf without using a chair?

What if there were no Chicago Cubs? Blasphemy, I know. But what if? Let’s assume I’m still a baseball fan without having grown up with Jack, Vince and Lou. Let’s also assume that I want to be a fan of baseball and not a beer league so I’m still a National League fan. What team would be my favorite?

Being in Chicago I have options. If I want to be a fan of geography I still have three choices. St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers. While I like the rivalry and some of the history of the Brewers, I have to throw them out for being an original American League team. During my formative years, the Brewers were fighting the losers from the South Side, not the Cubs.

St. Louis has strong consideration. Plenty of history, second most success in baseball after the Yankees, new ballpark to enjoy, rabid fans that know the game.

Cincinnati isn’t bad either. Tons of success while I was growing up, Big Red Machine with Bench, Morgan, Foster and Sparky. More success in 1990 with the Bad Boys and Uncle Lou. New ballpark with a view of the river. I probably would have been turned off of the Reds with Schott owning them, however.

Atlanta Braves would be the easy choice since growing up I saw a ton of Braves games on WTBS. But I don’t know that I would have been captured by the Ken Oberkfells, Glen Hubbards and Rick Camps. Although it’s hard not to like a team with Dale Murphy or a guy named Roland Office.

Growing up in the ‘70s the Dodgers and Phillies were consistently winning and had great players to follow (Schmidt, Carlton, Garvey, Lopes) but they just didn’t capture me.

In thinking back to growing up and considering the teams now, I would have to be a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a kid I loved the uniforms from the ‘70s with the multiple combinations. Loved Willie Stargell and The Hammer (player’s name anyone?). Wasn’t crazy about the Bonds era, but every team has that (the Cubs had Sosa and I was still a fan of the team, Cardinals had McGwire, Reds had Rose). As futile as the Pirates are right now (tapping into my inner Cubby) they have enjoyed more success since 1970 than the Cubs have (nine playoff appearances vs. six appearances and two World Series Championships vs. of course, zero).

An original team with a history going back to 1882 that included Honus Wagner, The Waners, Bill Mazeroski’s shot, Clemente, Parker and a personal favorite, Omar Moreno.

While I’ve never been to a game in Pittsburgh, their ballpark looks phenomenal. The view over the outfield wall of Clemente Bridge crossing the Allegheny is awesome. Back in the ‘70s I would have loved the tie-in of the Pirate colors with my favorite football team, the Steelers.

Plus even though there has been limited success, especially recently, they have had only seven managers since 1977. The Cubs have had 22 managers since 1977.

And tying in the CFCL, having Andrew McCutchen on the club sure makes it an easier choice as well to enjoy them now.

Who would you cheer for if you didn’t have the Cubs (or Reds or White Sox)?


P.S. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s in our lives. Mr. Mahlan if you would do your thing please.