Content provided in partnership with

Not all teams need to be created equal for many to have a shot

Sporting News, The, April 29, 2005 by Josh Lewin

Commissioner Bud Selig recently paused between bites of his beloved ketchup-slathered hot dogs long enough to praise the onset of "parity" in baseball. To me, that's a dubious word--an anagram of I party, which I'm sure Bud would do if every team went 81-81 this year. Or would he?

Just an opinion, but I think Bud digs a big, bad behemoth like the '98 Yankees--as do I. That squad, which went 114-48 in the regular season, gave New Yorkers a source of pride and the rest of the country a reason to hate the Yankees' guts.

Most Popular Articles in Sports: The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...; The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...; Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...; Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association; The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking; More »

Heroes aren't heroes unless they're vanquishing villains. Underdogs aren't fun to root for unless they've been down low and kicked in the teeth for a while. So, I rather enjoy the presence of villains (e.g., teams with $199.7 million payrolls and franchise values near $1 billion, such as the 2005 Yankees). I enjoy the presence of underdogs, such as the hapless Devil Rays, who actually are showing signs this year of being hap.

Eventually, 2005 will produce its lovable overachievers, its annoying underachievers and, yes, its run-away trains. But early on, parity slithered into our consciousness and onto the lips of the commish. On the morning of April 9, 12 of the 14 A.L. teams were 2-2, including the entire East. Shades of the old Arizona-Mexico minor league, where, in 1958, each of the league's six teams simultaneously were 9-9. (NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was only 17 then, but I'm sure he let out a big cheer.) Only one team started 3-0 this year, and that was the Brewers.

Point of fact: The '87 Brewers began the season 17-1 and still missed the playoffs, caught and passed by the Tigers and Blue Jays in the A.L. East. The 2002 Indians started 11-1, and the '88 Indians were 14-3, and both clubs watched the playoffs on TV. The '88 group saw the Dodgers win a World Series despite getting just 15 home runs from their first basemen, despite having a shortstop who hit .199 and despite not having a single player with more than 82 RBIs.

That really is what Mr. Selig means when he talks about parity--not that the $199.7 million Yankees will finish with the same record as the $29.7 million Devil Rays. Rather, that any solidly built team has a shot to upend a supposed titan come October. The Diamondbacks did it to the Yankees in 2001; the Angels did it to the Giants in 2002; the Marlins did it to the Yankees in 2003; and the Red Sox did it to the Cardinals after doing it to the Yankees in 2004.

Bud may again get his wish in 2005--after a three-way tie for the A.L. wild card is resolved and a quadruple coin flip decides the N.L. East. Now, that's parity.

Josh Lewin is the television voice of the Rangers and a play-by-play announcer for FOX's Saturday Game of the Week.

Not all teams need to be created equal for many to have a shot

Sporting News, The, April 29, 2005 by Josh Lewin

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Autos

Most Popular Articles in Sports

Most Popular Publications in Sports