 Rocco Baldelli is a front-runner for my favorite this season. Photo taken by Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.net. Used with permission. |
After I posted the photo of Kyle Snyder last night, it occurred to me that I don’t have a “favorite” player, yet, on this year’s Red Sox team.
I don’t know how it works for everyone else. Do you watch a game, see a player make a fabulous play or pitch a great game and decide “That’s the guy. He’s my favorite!”? It doesn’t work that way for me. I know a lot of people actually shy away from even having a favorite. Support the whole team and that’s the end of it. That doesn’t work for me either. I do support the entire team. When push comes to shove I almost always go along with what’s best for the team not with what’s best for the individuals. But I’m only human and I’m driven by my emotions. I don’t really choose a favorite player as much as they choose me.
Listen, I’ve never been shy about saying that certain players are attractive. And I’ll never deny that, when I started watching the Red Sox, the cuteness of Fred Lynn is what kept me coming back game after game. But that only takes you so far. Hell, I can’t deny that Jacoby Ellsbury is a good-looking guy. I’m pretty sure that people who can’t see even know he’s a looker. But it doesn’t change how I feel about him. I don’t consider him a ‘favorite’. I like him. I want him to do well. None of that means he automatically falls into favored status because he’s pretty. Pretty doesn’t hurt, mind you, but it isn’t the end all for me. This is where I state, again, that I enjoy being a straight woman who is also a baseball fan. I love baseball. I don’t care who is playing, I love watching the game of baseball. But I also get the added benefit of watching good-looking guys play a game I love. It’s a win-win. You guys who feel the need to ogle the Heidi Watneys of the world can’t give me grief for finding more than one way to enjoy a baseball game.
One of the ways I enjoy the game is by having some favorites. I still watch Bronson Arroyo in Cincinnati and I’ll be watching Kyle whether he’s playing with the Mets or the Buffalo Bisons, but that doesn’t help with Boston. Mike Lowell, David Ortiz and Hideki Okajima (also known as the three guys in my banner) are some of my long-term favorites. Guys you have to love for the way they play the game. I feel that way about most of the team. But I still am looking for that one guy who I see and think “Man, I hope it’s his year!”. Part of me thinks Rocco Baldelli will be that guy but it hasn’t clicked yet. Maybe I’m looking too hard before a game has even been played. I’ll have to revisit this next Wednesday night after NESN has aired their first Spring Training game.