Orioles Card "O" the Day

An intersection of two of my passions: baseball cards and the Baltimore Orioles. Updated daily?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Aubrey Huff, 2007 Fleer Ultra #19

Tomorrow night. World Series Game One. Rangers-Giants. Who ya got? I think I'll be pulling for the Giants (with all apologies to vociferous Giant hater Night Owl), and not just because I'm still bearing scars from 26-7 and 30-3. I'd be happy for Aubrey Huff, who had a bounce-back year in San Francisco after hitting the skids in Baltimore and Detroit in 2009. The guy has paid his dues after a decade of cellar dwelling as a Devil Ray and Oriole. Ex-O's Chris Ray and Eli Whiteside are also with the Giants, so bully for them. I've also taken a liking to obese third baseman Pablo Sandoval (a.k.a. "Kung Fu Panda"), goofy closer Brian Wilson and his thick black beard, and undersized, emo-looking ace Tim Lincecum, who might be my favorite non-Oriole. I also dig the look of AT&T Park, with its big brick wall looming in right field and inviting lefty hitters to take aim at the San Francisco Bay.

I'm also rooting for the Giants because it's been a long time coming. While the Rangers have never won a World Series, the Giants have actually had the longer drought: Texas (nee the Washington Senators) has been around since 1961, but the last championship for the guys in orange and black came in 1954, when they were known as the New York Giants. Since then, they've had their share of heartbreak. In 1962, they took Mantle's Yankees to Game Seven and lost 1-0 when Willie McCovey's line drive was snared with two out and two on in the bottom of the ninth. They waited 27 years to get back, and were swept by their Bay Area counterparts in Oakland in a Series that was interrupted and muted by a devastating earthquake that hit right before Game Three. In 2002, the Giants seemed poised to clinch in Game Six, but blew a 5-0 lead in the seventh and eighth innings. The Angels scored four early runs in Game Seven and made it hold up. As someone who's been a fan for 18 of the Orioles' 27 straight years without a World Series, I can't imagine the frustration of longtime Giants fans.

Above all, I just hope it's an exciting, competitive series. These are the last four-to-seven baseball games that count for a while. They've got to carry us through the next five months.

5 comments:

night owl said...

Yuck!

I'm no fan of Huff or Wilson. And it's been too short of a time since the last Giants WS title if you ask me.

Any smart longtime Giants fans would've become Mets fans by now ... oh, wait ...

Commishbob said...

I'm rooting for the Orange and Black. I root for nothing associated with Dallas. But I don't really care enough to actually watch. Maybe if it gets to a seventh game.

FreeTheBirds said...

I'm happy to see both teams in the series, so I'm fine with either team winning it. I'm pulling for Texas though. I hated (and continue to hate) Barry Bonds for such a long time, he has left a stain on that Giants uniform that I still see.

Rounding Thirty 3rd said...

I am happy that the Yankees are out, and it is always nice to see a new team win a title (so in that sense I am not disappointed that Philly lost). However, I know this is also exactly how Bud Selig wanted it to play out. Now he can sit back and ignore the severe ecomonic imbalance in MLB by stating that they have a new WS winner.

Kevin said...

Greg - Smart people would torment themselves by following the Mets? That doesn't add up. ;)

Bob - In that case, you must be thrilled about the Cowboys' current state of affairs. I know I am.

Jeff - I'm no Barry Bonds fan either, but I won't hold that against Lincecum and co.

Tim - Plus, the Yankees seem to spend more when they miss the World Series. Oh well.