Twenty years ago, I enjoyed watching as much baseball as humanly possible, drag racing with the guys, being told to call (by mom) if I will be late coming home and writing songs with your garage band with ambitions of touring with Bon Jovi. Today I do not watch baseball anymore, I get yelled at by the wife if I drive too fast, I tell mom to call me if she is late and those songs written, have collected dust for a number of years. It seems like yesterday, a semester would begin, and everywhere you looked were textbooks to be read (it had to be a law no textbook could not be less than 400 pages), secondary books to be read and papers to be written (I would honestly get nauseated when I heard those words).

Today I enjoy the time I spend reading and have completed several texts. The question I would ask is 'did I understand or accept'? Was it because it was unconsciously forced upon me or was it a defiant attitude? Reading textbooks and other outside reading is not mandatory in any college class, but it does tend to help when grade updates are issued. If I knew walking into the classroom I would not read the texts, the choice was still mine to choose. It was my choice to turn away from the game I cherished, yet its past I chose to remember.

Everyone who cheered for the Atlanta Braves, after relocating from Milwaukee, recall a handful of good years but mostly, desolate teams which were out of the pennant race by August. The tide shifted twenty years ago. Washington, D.C. has always had issues in the field of governing (multi-party) and maintaining a baseball team. Twice the D.C area lost a team to other areas of the country; most recently, Arlington and about fifty years ago, Minneapolis. The team in Minnesota also saw more bleak years than prominent, highlighted with a World Series appearance in 1965.

The Minnesota Twins won a weak AL West in 1987 and upset the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals to capture a Series title. On paper, they should have lost to each teams but prevailed. Two years later, they returned to where they were expected to be, a sub-.500 team. Atlanta amassed a very attractive group of young talent in the early 1980's but after only one division win to show for it, unloaded the group and retooled. After 1990 both teams finished where they were used to, last and 25-plus games behind the division winners.

Minnesota's line-up saw several changed leading up to the '91 season. 1B Kent Hrbek and SS Greg Gagne were holdovers from their '87 Series win, and C Brian Harper was a career minor leaguer until breaking through with the Twins in 1989. Chuck Knoblauch was a full blown rookie at 2B and veteran Mike Pagliarulo was signed to replace local hero 3B Gary Gaetti and to 'keep it warm' for up-and-coming prospect Scott Leius.

Positioned in the outfield were the same trio as '90, Shane Mack, snatched from San Diego via the Rule 5 draft after '89, and two '87 Series carryovers, team leader Kirby Puckett and Dan Gladden. Mack, an apparent bust with the Padres, flourished in Minnesota as soon as arrived. Veteran Chili Davis was acquired to fill-in in the outfield, but mainly to serve as the DH.

Offensively, the Twins never had a great deal of difficulty putting up runs; their problem was on the mound. Former staff ace and '87 Series hero Frank Viola was jettisoned to the New York Mets at the '89 trading deadline but received starters Kevin Tapani, Rick Aguilera and (the main player who never panned out) David West. Scott Erickson showed promise in late '90 (as did Tapani) after making his debut from AA-ball. Aging superstar Jack Morris returned home thinking it might be his last chance in the majors. Allan Anderson, once a promising young star and thought to replace Viola as the staff ace, fell upon hard times after '89. The Morris-Erickson-Tapani trio was not imposing; neither was Aguilera as a converted closer, especially since they were in the same division as the three-time defending champion Oakland A's.

Atlanta had recently spent a large amount of money the previous year on infield cornerstones, Nick Esasky and Jim Presley which produced poor results. The Braves were not known as large free-agent spenders after the Bruce Sutter debacle of the mid-80's. Atlanta rolled the dice again by signing their replacements, 1B Sid Bream and 3B Terry Pendleton. 2B and SS remained a platoon position with Jeff Treadway and Mark Lemke at 2B and Rafael Belliard (as was Bream, a Pittsburgh Pirate in '90) and Jeff Blauser at SS. Career minor leaguer Greg Olsen (ironically a former Twin) handled the catching duties.

Much like Minnesota's outfield, Atlanta's was set as well, former 1B and '90 NL Rookie of the Year David Justice, paired with resurgent Ron Gant and Lonnie Smith. Otis Nixon was an enormous contributor; although faced late-season and post-season suspension due to illegal-substance abuse (was NOT steroid related). The main questions, as with Minnesota, came from the pitching mound. Tom Glavine and John Smoltz were still 'wet behind the ears' but had garnished several years of experience through morbid Atlanta seasons. Charlie Leibrandt was a veteran from Kansas City with Series experience (1985) and '90 rookie Steve Avery was inserted as the #4 starter even though he posted a 3-11 mark the previous year. Juan Berenguer, a Series vet from Detroit ('84) and Minnesota ('87) began the year as the reliever but was supplanted by Alejandro Pena following a late-August '91 trade.

Each team received supporting cast assistance from non-starting veterans and 'fresh from the farm' rookies. Both teams were my favorites and if I had suggested in March '91, they would face-off in the Series, I would have been sequestered for a mental evaluation. But twenty years ago, Series victories were not 'bought.' Believe it or not, team salaries were not a major obstacle. Achieving nice seats were affordable. Which returns me to the continuing question, was it the understanding or the acceptance of the way baseball is today, the main reason I chose to turn away?

With the advent of cable television, I was a Brave fan immediately, but I had to remain true to my original team, the Twins; at Fullbright Park, across from Cleveland High School. Anyone over the age of 30 will always remember their 'coming of age' moments and are aware there is not only one. I have spoken earlier on my first coming of age in earlier issues. This coming of age, if I am not mistaken, was touched upon lastly, in 2001. The setting is always the same but you see things in differentiated context, pretty much like life. Each of my 'coming of age' moments will be published in the near future and with exerts given to The People News.

As a side note, as I was typing this article, I was informed one of my father's boyhood heroes had just died, Duke Snider. Snider played the majority of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers in Ebbets Field and was a bitter rival of the New York Yankees. Next month will be 15 years since he died and oblivious to what he swore, I did listen (lol). In some ways, he taught me to understand, but never to accept. Maybe that is why I am where I stand today, writing about a game I have no desire to watch today. Maybe I already know the answer, but it is the question that baffles me.

"Currents in the water are a constant; as constant as a human's imagination." - Lynda Cavott


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