I would have the same reaction to any Laker “fan” who dared to wear the jersey of any Celtic player.

We’ll have to go to a game sometime unless you strenuously disagree. I’ll try and not intrude upon your Zen experience and I promise to not squeeze into my offending tight polyester (jersey that is).

But Reggie is # 1 on your most hated players? Who else is on that list? I would have guessed that guys who did more damage to the Blue on a regular basis would rank higher, say Giants, division rivals, or at least National Leaguers.

Glad you were familiar with the Wallace tennis essay-I’ll definitely give those two guys you mentioned a shot. The only baseball book I’ve read is the Kearns Goodwin memoir on growing up a Brooklyn Dodger fan.

And to my editor, thanks for clearing up my spammed comments.

I certainly appreciate a fast-paced game of basketball, but its frenetic nature seems to me to be an overkill of spectacle. Without the contemplative pauses of baseball — between pitches , at-bats, and innings — there’s no space for real thought.

Sure, I’m embarrassed that conservative know-it-alls like George Will are equally fascinated by baseball, but have you ever read Roger Angell or Tom Boswell? I highly recommend the latter’s How Life Imitates the World Series. You’ll never look at the sport in the same way.

That David Foster Wallace essay about tennis *is* one of the best essays on any sport I’ve ever read. Part of the reason I like it so much is that he not only addresses the sheer strength and raw power (um, another reference I’m sure you’ll get) of pro tennis players, but he also delves into the intellectual aspects of the sport — the head games, its similarities to chess, etc.

P.S. Can you really say you’re a Dodger fan and at the same time proudly claim ownership of a Reggie Jackson jersey (from any team)? His 3 home runs in game 6 of the 1977 WS and his dirty, sneaky, illegal break-up of the double play in game 4 of 1978 (both, of course, against the Dodgers) give him seat #1 in my pantheon of most-hated players.

Now that I’m not in Washington anymore, I don’t think she’s watched a single inning of baseball. But it was an exciting flirtation for both of us that fall, nonetheless.

Look at the all the ways we try and talk around it. Pastoral setting, cholestrol laden food, hanging out with friends, and no cheerleaders. But the game itself? I like the occasional dramatic confrontations between pitcher and hitter (don’t have the picture of me in my Reggie jersey but I was there when the Angels clinched in 1982) but the rest of the game just doesn’t work for me unless you’re at the park and having the aforementioned extracurricular fun.

Not sure exactly what the problem is but here are some ideas: most of the guys who played baseball at my high school were jerks, George Will, the game’s obsession with statistics and history, Barry Bonds, the way Dodger Stadium was built on top of seized land, Randy Johnson’s mullet, and that George W. Bush was once the majority “owner” of the Texas Rangers.

Basketball = the best team sport. Tennis = the best sport.

Check out David Foster Wallace’s essay on pro tennis sometime, great stuff.

And yet, even after all of this complaining…if only the Dodgers could use some of that talent they’re hoarding down in AAA and get one big bat to put in the middle of their lineup to go along with that incredible starting pitching they might finally win their first playoff series since that glorious run in 1988.

Tim, here’s a shout out for that use of Eliot in the title. Ask Jeremy, I can be touchy when not given due credit for such references.

Have you and Jen subjected yourselves to the all you can eat experience in the right field pavillions yet?