Liberated Baseball Fandom

My thinking was that liberated fandom meant looking beyond wins and losses and appreciating how players play as well as how good they play. But I had an e-mail exchange with Drew - LtB at Ghostrunner on First and he had another take. This sort of fandom means looking beyond the jersey. In this off and on look at Maranvillains (check the tag), I don't think I've mentioned any Yankees. I could mention the Soupy Sales of baseball, AJ Burnett. Or Nick Swisher, who seems like a character. But a better choice is probably Derek Jeter. He might not be the best defensive shortstop, but he's made plays like this and this over the years.

But Mariano Rivera is a better choice. As Derek wrote to me, "One pitch in his arsenal yet he's nearly unhittable. That he's a Yankee doesn't get in the way of my appreciation. "