ShareThisAs a kid, I loved the Yankees.Mantle and Maris. Whitey and Yogi. Billy Martin.Those were my childhood heroes.And back then, a kid could not be a real Yankee fan unless he hated the Dodgers.So I had no use for the Bums from Brooklyn. Liked them even less when they moved to La La Land.From the time I was born until I was in the fifth grade, the Yankees and Dodgers played in six World Series. The Yanks, I'm proud to say, won five of them.Today, though, I am proud to say, I have changed teams.It took more than 60 years, but I am now officially a Dodgers fan.For one and only one reason - Joe Torre.In this juiced-up baseball world - where you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys without blood and urine samples - Torre is a rose between a whole bunch of thorns.That's the reason the crowd at Chavez Ravine greeted him with a loud standing ovation on opening day Monday.These fans wanted Walter Alston or Tommy Lasorda, but Alston has been dead for 23 years and Lasorda is just a few months away from his 81st birthday.So Joe Torre will have to do.And he will do just fine.The 5-0 win over the Giants was just one of many victories coming the Dodgers' way.After having just two managers - Alston and Lasorda - in 42 years, from 1954 through 1995, the Dodgers have now had six in the last 13 years.Since winning their last Series 20 years ago when Kirk Gibson hit that dramatic Game 1 home run and Orel Hershiser pitched two complete games, the Dodgers have made the playoffs only four times and gone 1-12 in postseason games.Heck, the Rangers have as many playoff wins as they do since that 1988 World Series.And with Torre calling the shots in New York, the Yankees made the playoffs 12 straight years and put four World Series rings on their fingers.He inherited a team in LA that is battling health problems and plays in one of baseball's toughest divisions.But just last year the Dodgers had the best record in the National League in mid-July but blew it and ended up in fourth place in the West.There was reported tension in the clubhouse between the young guys and the veterans.Had Torre been there to provide leadership and calmness, the Dodgers may have been in the hunt last year.A winner of 2,068 big league games, he has the confidence of his team and their fans.And because of him, the Dodgers have one brand new fan.One down, 161 more to go.(Nick Gholson writes for the Wichita Falls Times Record News in Texas)
Switching allegiances from Yankees to Dodgers
Submitted by SHNS on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 15:43
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