November 12, 2004
The Great Debate, Day 5
Denny McLain
Thank you, Mr. Fred, for those remarks.
We now turn to the second of three statements from BallWonk, representing the Grays.
Let me take a moment to remind everyone to vote early and often (but not more than once a day) in the name poll on the sidebar both here and at BallWonk's blog. Voting will continue for another 10 days before a winner is certified.
Mr. BallWonk, you have the floor.
BallWonk, Speaking for the Grays
I would like to apologize to my esteemed - or, to judge by the way he's looking at me, thoroughly steamed - colleague, Mr. Fred, for implying that his Senatorial delusions stem from any temporary source, such as a superabundance of Natty Boh. Clearly, his disconnection with reality is of a more permanent nature, more senility than stupor.
What has the failure of the Kansas City Royals' 1955 marketing campaign got to do with anything? Nothing. Nothing at all. Yes, honoring the Negro Leagues is a part of the drive to name our new team the Grays. But it is not the only part, and to BallWonk not even the most important part.
The most important thing about the Grays name is that it's a winner. The Grays were the single most talented and successful professional team to play in Washington. In any sport. Ever.
That's what the Grays name is all about.
The fact that Grays would also give Major League Baseball a Negro League homage in both the American and National Leagues, well, that's gravy; delicious gravy, but even without that gravy we've got thick, juicy slices of pennant-winning pot roast, consecutive-championship potatoes, and steamed Hall of Fame carrots on our plate. At least if we go for the Grays.
Senators, on the other hand, is serving up a thin broth of last-place soup with a side order of stale talent.
Compared to the Senators, a can of Natty Boh starts to sound positively appetizing.
This debate isn't only about the Homestead Grays.
Why, the Brooklyn Dodgers - the team that shattered the color barrier with Jackie Roosevelt Robinson in 1947 - were known as the Grays from 1885-87, before Washington even had a team called the Senators. Our home opener will take place on the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's big-league debut, and Robinson played for Brooklyn's farm club in Montreal before joining the majors. If the Robinson-Montreal-Grays-Washington connection is not a sign from the baseball gods, I don't know what is.
The early National League also featured the Louisville Grays, from 1876 to 1877, the Milwaukee Grays in 1878, and the Providence Grays, from 1878 to 1885.
Let me tell you a little about the Providence Grays. In their eight seasons, the Grays featured three future Hall of Famers: John Montgomery Ward, Charley Radbourn, and Jim O'Rourke. In 1882, Grays righty Ward set a record that still stands by throwing an 18-inning complete-game shutout. The Grays won two pennants and the first World Series. In that inaugural interleague championship, the Grays swept the New York Mets behind Radbourn, who pitched three consecutive complete-game wins.
Gosh, should we pick Grays, a team name associated with sweeping the Mets in the playoffs, or Senators, a team name associated with finishing in last place and relocating to other cities? Yeah, that's a tough one. Not.
And in his pictoral exhibit of less-than-thrilling grayness, my opponent hides behind distortions and ignores the more glamorous and exciting connotations of Grays. With Senators, you get Strom Thurmond and Ted Kennedy. But Grays looks more like this:
Linda Gray, aka Sue Ellen Ewing on Dallas
David Gray, lighting up the charts in Britain and America
Macy Gray, thrilling chanteuse
Zane Grey practically invented the Western
Confederate gray, for our fans in Virginia
Say, speaking of the Civil War, the Grays colors would be blue and gray, healing at long last the historical scars of the War of the Rebellion. Our team could bring together rebel Virginians and loyal Marylanders, the Sons of the Confederacy, the great-grandchildren of slaves, and the descendants of Union soldiers, to root for one team. America's team. Isn't it time to finish Lincoln's work and bind up at long last the nation's wounds?
Ferocious, all-American gray wolves
Battleships, so exciting they named a shade of gray after them
Say, speaking of battleships, you know what else is gray? Fighter jets. You know, the sleek, lethal aircraft with which America rules the world's skies and wages the war against terror. Mr. Fred seems to believe that the heroes who defend the high frontier and their jets are too boring. BallWonk begs to differ.
F-15 Eagle, the powerful S. Brad Wilkerson of the sky
F-16 Falcon, swift and nimble, the Jose Vidro of the air
F-18 Hornet, fierce and adaptable like Livan Hernandez
F-22 Raptor, like Mike Hinckley a future star
Now that's what I'm talking about. Gray boring? Tell that to the millions of fans of Linda Gray on Dallas, or Macy Gray on the radio, or to anyone who has thrilled to the sight of a gray wolf on the prowl, or a warship cruising in to port, or the thundering roar of a fighter jet on patrol.
Boring? Nay. Gray is a color of victory. Victory on the field, at sea, and in the sky. Gray is the winning hue, whether it's beating the Mets for the pennant, Kansas City for the championship, or the terrorists and tyrants of Asia.
If we want our team to stand on a tradition of winning, to start with a legacy of success, to play with the values that make America great, then we have only one choice in this debate: the Washington Grays.
Posted by Fred at November 12, 2004 12:41 AM