The Team That George Bought

"Hey Mr. Pinstripe Suit. Hey Mr. Hi De Hi De Ho. Well I know you got the answers that we all wanna know. Hey Mr. Wingtip Shoes. Hey Mr. Always On The Go. Well I know you got the answers that we all wanna know." Big Bad Voodoo Daddy from "Mr. Pinstripe Suit"

The nurse thinks that sports are about as useful as filling a hand gun with blanks. Kind of fun, but not exactly helpful in a life threatening situation. She doesn't understand the way that cheering for a sports franchise can fill a spot in a man's soul that no amount of love, or sex, well okay, maybe some scandalous sex with paternal twins, not fraternal ones cause, sorority girls are tight assed. I mean the twins that don't look alike. If you're gonna forgo the big game for a threesome the girls shouldn't look the same.

Alright, I'm gonna admit something here, I'm not afraid, I'm strong, and yes, I'm a Twins fan. Also a Vikings fan, but that's the agony of another blog. For this one, what's important is that I bounced at a bar that was adjacent to Anaheim Stadium. The groovy thing was I ended up meeting a lot of the players from the Angels and the other teams throughout the American league. But once a year, the vibe in the bar would change, the accents would start to thicken up, we'd start selling a lot more pizza, only one thing could explain this phenomenon. The Yankees were in town.

The first time I met anyone from the Bronx Bombers it was future hall of famer, Bernie Williams. Let me say that if nice was a batting average Bernie would be batting around .700 in life. He was unpretentious, unassuming, funny, and a good sport. See, the bar was divided into two sections. On the restaurant side I was the sworn protector of the ballers that didn't want to be pestered by mere fans. The were untouchable in the restaurant which is where people like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, and A-Rod always sat. On the other side was the bar and pool tables.. There the protection was limited to physical altercations. Bernie played pool and always seemed to enjoy the bar side. Any fan that approached him with a baseball would leave with it signed, he would chat, I mean, seriously, he is a nice guy.

As I worked at the bar for six years, I got to know some of the players on a different level. Angels relievers Mike James and Troy Percival I could call friends. Jamie Moyer from the Mariners, Matt Stairs from the A's were frequent guests. But it was the Yankee players that I grew to like and party with.

David Cone and I used to smoke in front of the bar together. Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez, and I played pool. After a couple of years I even got to be pretty tight with Derek Jeter. One night before the Angels home opener against the Yanks, I was sitting next to Derek as we watched Tino and Alfonso Soriano playing a game of nine ball when a female regular of the bar rushes up to me and asks me if Derek Jeter is in the bar. Mind you the guy is sitting right next to me. I look at him and ask if Jeter is indeed in the bar. Without missing a beat he looks around casually and tells the girl "I think he just left" She got totally pissed off and storms away. The four of us laughed for an hour, none stop. It was a riot.

Who is your favorite ball player or team?

Dixie Cup of Love: The Bronx Bombers