As baseball heads into the last weekend of the regular season, there is something very curious, even striking, about the standings.
No, it is not the fact that four teams have lower winning percentages than Alex Rodriguez’s on base percentage (.391). Nor is it the fact that both teams slated for contraction (the Twins and the Expos) have winning records.
Instead, it is the reality that all of the west coast teams, in both leagues, (with the exception of my San Diego Padres) are in the thick of the playoff chase.
Currently, the Oakland Athletics, Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks (okay Phoenix isn’t on the coast but it is in the same time zone for baseball season), Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants all still have hopes of playing in October. While only four of these west coast dwellers (and possibly fewer) will advance to the playoffs, the mere fact that there are so many good teams in the land of surfer dudes, non-stop caf‚ latt‚s, and lovable overgrown mice should serve as evidence that when it comes to sports, the West Coast is for real.
I understand that many from the eastern establishment, especially Yankee fans, may have a hard time giving these teams the credit they deserve. In fact, I appreciate that people east of the Mississippi have a bona fide resentment for everything that being from the west coast is all about (sun, sand, and waves). I wish for once people would recognize, without qualification, that these teams have game. While the time difference between the coasts precludes many from seeing action live, that is not enough of an excuse. In fact, this phenomenon of West Coast teams dominating the sports landscape is nothing new.
West Coast teams have been winning championships at the college level since Warren G. Harding was president. That’s right, California (i.e. UC-Berkeley) captured a share of the NCAA football championship four consecutive times from 1920-1923. Furthermore, Oregon captured the first NCAA basketball championship in 1939.
While pro sports did not migrate west until the mid-1950s (when the Dodgers abandoned Brooklyn for Los Angeles), many top flight baseball players started on the left coast. Look at Joe DiMaggio who grew up in San Francisco, or Ted Williams who played his high school ball in San Diego, or even Jackie Robinson who starred