My Baseball Fantasy: December 2009

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Peter, Don't Go

I was bummed to learn that Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN for the MLB Network. I enjoy Gammons' work, and I don't have the MLB Network.

Over the past decade, ESPN's Baseball Tonight has been one of my favorite TV shows. I probably liked the show better back in the days when Harold Reynolds and Rob Dibble were still in the mix, but it's still a good show more often than not. Along with Gammons, John Kruk, Tim Kurkjian, Jayson Stark, and Buster Olney are among my favorites. With Gammons leaving, Baseball Tonight's roster loses some more of its depth

My Baseball History

The first year that I really started paying attention to Major League Baseball was 1990. I was 10 living in Ohio and my favorite team was the Cincinnati Reds. As it turned out, the Reds started that season 9-0 and the excitement pulled this 10-year-old boy along for the ride. I remember quite a bit from that season, including the Reds' eventual sweep of the Oakland A's in the World Series.

The lesson I took from that season was that dreams can come true. Of course, given what's happened to the Reds in the many years that followed, I've learned that nightmares can come true too. ;-)

I've since moved to Chicagoland and now follow the White Sox, Cubs, and Reds. In general, I'm just a baseball fan who enjoys the beauty of the game no matter which teams are playing.