Wahey! The 2010 MLB season is upon us, and the O.C. Englishman is in hog-heaven again.
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Last night I had the dubious pleasure of seeing the glorious Anaheim Angels play the New York Yankees.

I always enjoy a trip to the ball park: the atmosphere, the awful overpriced food and the awesomeness of the best of all the major league venues in the country (as voted by fans, apparently). Usually there are some fans of whichever team is visiting the Angels. Unlike football in the UK, there is no segregation due to the fans’ desire to beat the living crap out of each other. No sir, this is a civilised country!

So, last night we found ourselves surrounded by quite a few vocal Yankees fans. Actually, there were more fans there than I have seen for any previous game. Where had they all come from? Not from New York, surely? If they lived locally, did they all have some kind of old family allegiance or history? Some, possibly.

As I mused on this with Rick and as he explained more, it soon became clear: The New York Yankees are the Manchester United FC of baseball. Yep, they have a large number of ‘fans’ who have chosen to follow the club because of its success and popularity rather than for any regional or familial connection.

Is this a bad thing? It happens everywhere; Manchester United in the UK being a prime example. Many people follow them because of their success, not because of where they live. While true fans may turn their noses up at this, it is at least more feasible to actively support Man U and attend games if one so desires, given the relatively small distances involved in travelling around England.

However, this doesn’t apply to someone in SoCal supporting the Yankees – their home stadium is 3,000 miles away! Fans on the west coast are only going to realistically see them when they are visiting the region. It’s also harder to watch them on TV too because networks show local games (Angels and Dodgers here).

So, what benefit of supporting a club like the Yankees when you live thousands of miles away from their home city; you can’t watch them regularly and you are looked down upon by ‘true’ fans?

Perhaps, like Manchester United and football, the Yankees are for people who don’t really like baseball.

Well, I surprise myself with my interest in America’s national sport: baseball. For years I joined the cheap gag that it was “just a game of rounders” with a bigger bat.
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