July 9, 2014: The Hate Files V

The Cubs lost their 5th in a row last night; they blew a 5 run lead.  Here’s the 5th installation of the Hate Files.

As a Cubs fan, with all the losing that’s endured, and without ever seeing a World Series victory, I can make a case to hate most of the teams in the National League;  I can make a case for most American League teams too.  Never winning can make you hate teams that do win.  There is no other baseball team that gets more hate than the St. Louis Cardinals.

How can you hate the Cardinals?  They are the great Midwest team.  They have such great fans.  They know so much about baseball.  They’ve won 11 World Series titles.  They are so wholesome.  Can I select “All of the Above”?

I’m going to tag this Hate File with a start date of 1984; the same year that Steve Garvey broke my heart.  To get even more specific, we’ll go with June 10, 1984.  This was my 1st game I attended in St. Louis.  The Cubs actually won that day.  The reason I was able to pinpoint the day was because my dad remembered that Leon Durham stole home in the top of the 9th inning to seal the Cubs win.  I do remember that game.  My family sat in left field that day.  I remember Gary Matthews, or the Sarge as we call him, was very nice to us, as he talked to us multiple times throughout the game.  With my Cubs hat on, my dad tells me how I cheered for them, and how I booed loudly for the Cardinals.  How did I know at 7 years old that this team would be among the most hated?  I didn’t, but they are.  I was proud to hear that I booed them that day over 30 years ago.  That was supposed to be the Cubs year, and as another great Cubs victory against the Cardinals came later that month at home on June 23, the Ryne Sandberg game, the mojo was at full force.  We all know how that ended, with the introduction of hate into my life.  With that dramatic loss starting the flood gates of losing for the Cubs in my lifetime, there seems to be one team always ahead of us…

St. Louis has had 7 World Series appearances in my lifetime; quick math tells us that’s 7 more than the Cubs have had.  Even though they have a losing record in those 7 series at 3-4, it’s the consistency of greatness that I guess really makes me hate this team.  With a total of 11 World Series titles, they are second only to the Yankees.  11 World Series titles!!??  And I can’t even see one in my lifetime… hate these birds.

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We even have one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history that happened between these 2 teams, with the Cubs getting the worst of it, of course.  We go back to June 15, 1964, when the Cubs traded a young kid named Lou Brock.  No need to mention the other names in this deal, because the only way you may have heard of them is because of this trade.  Meanwhile, how did this young kid turn out?  Well, he was OK.  2,713 hits, 888 stolen bases, 6 time all star, 2 time World Series champ, and Hall of Famer, Lou Brock turned out to be one of the all time greats… for the Cardinals.  We had him, and we traded him.  That seems like it could be a whole separate topic:  guys that went on to be great after the Cubs traded them.  Did we just trade another one?

Back to the Red Birds… If I had to pick one of them to hate more than any other, it would have to be Albert Pujols.  I was glad he stuck it to St. Louis and left them.  He really screwed them.  They were nothing without him.  Oh yeah, the Cardinals already made it back to the World Series without him.  They lose one of their franchise great players, and get right back to the World Series.  Unbelievable.  Albert Pujols absolutely murdered the Cubs every time he played us.  I can only think of one other player, Mike Schmidt, that did more damage, although I’m sure the stats are close.  Although there doesn’t have to be an individual to keep my hate for the Cardinals alive, he brought it out the most.

What about the wholesome fans, in a wholesome town, with great baseball knowledge???  I call BS.  Have you ever been to St. Louis?  Yeah, exactly.  It’s NOTHING compared to Chicago, and I’m sure, just like any other baseball team, they have fans that are jerky, especially with their winning pedigree.  Winning makes some fans cocky and arrogant, and St. Louis is not immune to that.  The greatest fans in my book are Cubs fans.  We have to endure the losing.  We stand by our team.  We don’t have winning to keep us aboard this train.  We are the best fans… way better than any St. Louis fan.

So, I think I’ve vented enough.  As the Cubs continue to lose, my frustration and anger grows… I have to direct it somewhere.  There is no better place than through the Hate Files.  There is no better baseball team to direct it at than the St. Louis Cardinals.  I hate you very much.  Thank you.