Wednesday, September 29, 2004

 

Rays of Hope

Today Major League Baseball made the announcement: the Expos will play in Washington D.C. in 2005. Tonight will be the final home game in the city of Montreal.

I can't help but remember a day in 1992, about this time of year. The Giants were playing in Candlestick Park. Bob Lurie, their owner, had given up trying to get the city to build him a new ballpark. Several ballot measures had failed, both in San Francisco and San Jose. Lurie had put the team up for sale, and had reached an agreement with a group in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was, as best as anyone could tell, a done deal. In 1993 they would be the Tampa Bay Giants.

I don't remember who won that game, but I do recall after the game that the Giants players went around the edge of the field, shaking hands with the fans. There weren't a ton of fans there, as I recall, but they were loud and gave the team a standing ovation. They understood that the team was gone, that San Francisco had apparently done everything possible to push them out of town. They didn't blame Bob Lurie, or the Giants. And certainly not the players.

I remember just being sad and resigned. This was towards the end of my brief flirtation with being an Oakland A's fan, from about 1988 to 1990. When I was really young, I loved the Giants best of all. I remembered that as I watched the players bid the city farewell, and I regretted that I had missed the last few years of the Giants' existence.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to Florida. The deal wasn't really done. The National League owners, in a rare show of sense, rejected the move, thus killing the deal. A local group of investors appeared, led by Peter McGowan. They bought the Giants, they signed Barry Bonds, and they stayed. In April 1993, the Giants played in Candlestick Park again. It was a miracle. Not often enough do I look out at the Giants playing at SBC Park and pinch myself. I am incredibly lucky to still have my team, and to get a second chance to love them again.

To the fans in Montreal, Quebec, I can only say this: miracles can happen. This deal with D.C. is contingent on a few things that just might fall apart. Show up tonight to the Big O, rock that stadium to its foundation, and show Selig how terribly wrong he's been about you all this time. Sure, you've been staying away, steeling yourself against the loss. But keep in the back of your mind--maybe this isn't the end after all.

But if it is--farewell to my second favorite team, the uncrowned champions of baseball in 1994.

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In Giants news, the Cubs lost again today. The Giants once again control their own destiny in the NL Wild Card race. Now they just need to win. I've written this team off a million times, but it is not over yet. There is still hope, even if I can't quite embrace it completely.

Go Noah Lowry, go Barry Bonds, and go Giants!

Jefferson 3:55 PM

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