I'm not sure whether this makes me a bad person or not, but after a week of just enjoying the idea of the Giants actually winning the World Series, I've spent a good part of this week remembering, or perhaps just being aware of, the idea that the Giants were in the World Series in 1989 and 2002, and then winning it all in 2010...while the Dodgers haven't reached the World Series at all during that time.
Now, granted, the Los Angeles Dodgers still have a whole lot more trips to the Fall Classic and a lot more champaign than do the San Francisco Giants, but you know what? Twenty years isn't so bad. I mean, since the Dodgers were last in the World Series, the Giants, Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Cardinals, Astros, Reds, Mets, Braves, Phillies, and Fish have all been there. Just the Pirates, Cubs, Brewers, and Nats have gone longer without getting there. That's sort of nice.
Alas, the Bums have one more pennant, and one more championship. The Giants have overall a much, much better W-L record, although since 1958 the Dodgers have the advantage there.
On the other hand, the All Star teams aren't even close. I'm not going to go through them, but either the post 1958 teams or the all-time franchise teams give the Giants an enormous advantage. Indeed, only the Yankees can play with the Giants in that league -- and I think the Giants have a bit of an edge (better rotation makes up for the Yankees edge in the IF plus C), depending on what rules you set for these sorts of things.
Reveling in the Giants success over the past two decades compared to the Dodgers doesn't make you a bad person; it just makes you a realist. Goodness knows the Dodgers fans were doing the same to Giants fans with relish between 1958-88.
ReplyDeleteI can remember sitting in Candlestick in the early and mid-'80s during Giants-Dodgers games and having to not only endure the Dodgers' superiority on the field but the arrogance of LA fans who knew they had a far better team. I say laud it over them as long as you can.
It's all the more remarkable when you factor in that the Giants are a relatively small market team while the Dodgers get to draw on greater-LA. The Giants have had three pretty good teams in the last 20 years, each of which had a couple of genuinely memorable players. What's the Dodger's excuse for not having had even one comparable team since '88?
ReplyDeleteNow that San Francisco won the World Series their market is sure to grow with the new found front runners to the sport. Some of those Dodger fans will convert to Giants fans. They have a good team with a roster of genuine players. Next season Giants fans can hold their heads high while playing the ever superior Dodgers.
ReplyDelete