Monday, January 24, 2005
A new record everyday!
There was a comment in a recent MLB.com Q&A that bothered me. I'll let you read.
Any chance that records held by the Senators will be added to the Nationals' record book? -- Ron C., Largo, Md.
Here's what Tavares said about the records last November: "... In our media guide, we're talking about having a page of records from the old Senators, a page of records from the Expos and a blank page writing our own records in Washington. This is a new team. The record is going forward here. We'll start with that."
The "Expos page" idea is unfortunate but I don't think this is out of line with what other franchises do. You appeal to your fan base as much as possible. Most don't give a damn where the team came from or what they did last year. That was something else that doesn't involve "their team". They want new unis, new logos, and new records. I can't blame the fans. Rooting for a team is a very personal thing. You protect it when people make fun of it. You don't want to share it with bandwagon fans. And you don't want to believe it once belonged to someone else. I imagine it would be like your new spouse keeping pictures of her ex around.
What bothers me is the inclusion of the Senators page. The Senators v.1 are the Twins, the Senators v.2 are the Rangers. Either of those teams should note the records of their franchise in the minimal way expected. This Nationals team has no ties to the Senators other than location. To honor them with a page in the stat-book as well as the Expos, would be giving them equal importance in this franchise's history, which is short-changing the 'Spos to a degree I can't go along with. The existence of the Expos allowed for the existence of the current DC team. The existence of the previous Senator franchises, at best stoked baseball memories in the over 50 set. At worst it showed DC was not a good baseball market. At least give the Expos a greater sense of importance in their own franchise.
Any chance that records held by the Senators will be added to the Nationals' record book? -- Ron C., Largo, Md.
Here's what Tavares said about the records last November: "... In our media guide, we're talking about having a page of records from the old Senators, a page of records from the Expos and a blank page writing our own records in Washington. This is a new team. The record is going forward here. We'll start with that."
The "Expos page" idea is unfortunate but I don't think this is out of line with what other franchises do. You appeal to your fan base as much as possible. Most don't give a damn where the team came from or what they did last year. That was something else that doesn't involve "their team". They want new unis, new logos, and new records. I can't blame the fans. Rooting for a team is a very personal thing. You protect it when people make fun of it. You don't want to share it with bandwagon fans. And you don't want to believe it once belonged to someone else. I imagine it would be like your new spouse keeping pictures of her ex around.
What bothers me is the inclusion of the Senators page. The Senators v.1 are the Twins, the Senators v.2 are the Rangers. Either of those teams should note the records of their franchise in the minimal way expected. This Nationals team has no ties to the Senators other than location. To honor them with a page in the stat-book as well as the Expos, would be giving them equal importance in this franchise's history, which is short-changing the 'Spos to a degree I can't go along with. The existence of the Expos allowed for the existence of the current DC team. The existence of the previous Senator franchises, at best stoked baseball memories in the over 50 set. At worst it showed DC was not a good baseball market. At least give the Expos a greater sense of importance in their own franchise.
