Gimme some of that old-tyme East Coast bias

I became a baseball fan and a wife at the same time, by marrying someone who was passionate about baseball, and subsequently deciding that the only way I was going to get through the next 50 years without losing my mind was by making the effort to understand the game and why people love it. It's been nearly four years. I've gone from reading books in the bleachers to scoring the games.

I've also developed my own set of sports media biases. We usually watch ESPN's Sports Reporters on Sunday morning -- or rather, Phil tries to watch while I sit on the couch and do my Mike Lupica imitation, which mostly consists of me bouncing up and squawking, "Lupica! Lupica! Lupica! LupicaLupicaLupica!"

(I do love me some Jason Whitlock, though.)

And then we bitch about the East Coast bias of all the people on the panel that week. Or I make fun of Mitch Albom, and then we bitch about the East Coast biases. I understand there are logistic reasons why the West Coast doesn't represent on this show: sports writers are usually covering events, and it's hard to get from the Padres game in San Diego to the studio in New York; T.J. Simers has better things to do than sit in a chair and listen to "Lupica! Lupica! Lupica! LupicaLupicaLupica!"; the Sports Guy isn't an actual reporter.

However, the lack of West Coast representation on the show does leave one with the impression that the only sports teams that matter -- or actually play -- happen to be located up and down the I-95 corridor. This bias isn't just confined to Sports Reporters. It happens in print too, where George Vescey argues for the NYT that:

Baseball has evolved into two divisions — the American League East, and everybody else.

("In Baseball, 30 Franchises and Only One Rivalry," April 7, 04)

I realize he's writing for New York, but as someone who follows an American League West team, I can assure you that Oakland and Anaheim aren't holding hands and skipping through the outfield when they play each other. They're also not swaddling their players in coats made from hundred-dollar bills (at least, Oakland isn't), so I'm guessing that both distance and payroll make them less relevant than the big-spending Yankees and Red Sox. But I'm still a relatively new fan, who's under the impression that people turn out to see how teams play the game. I wasn't aware that the joy in baseball is watching competitive spending, and then declaring it the real rivalry in the sport.

On a less bitter note: for more sports fun, my favorite spot for sports commentary happens to be Idiots Write About Sports. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out why.

Comments

[Jana]

Yay Kansas City! (Sorry, as part of the neglected Midwest, I get a little too excited when someone points out something good in these parts.) Jason Whitlock fell out of my good graces recently when he stopped having anything good to say about Mizzou, but he is pretty funny when I agree with him.

[Shotrock]

Well, I don't know about sports reporters, but the reason East Coast fans are completely ignorant of the wonder that is the A's (much less Barry "Oh right, him" Bonds) is that we're too busy hating the Yankees. Although, being a Fluffya fan, I agree that the American League on a whole gets way too much freaking coverage, no matter what city.