Amid terrorist threats, anthrax scares and growing internal dissent for the war in Afghanistan, America is stressed.
Going into last weekend, the country needed a “uniter.” It needed something to rally behind, something to feel good about. It needed a victory for the right causes, for something encompassing truly American principles.
Sunday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks answered the call.
In the ninth inning of the seventh game of the most exciting World Series in recent memory, the newest team in the Major League dethroned the perennial champions with a come-from-behind victory. I realize baseball seems trivial in light of the tragedy of two months ago, and the idea that a baseball team can solve the nation’s problems is ridiculous, if not disrespectful. But the Diamondbacks’ victory is symbolic, and it represents more than just nine guys crossing home plate once more than their opponents. It embodies the feel-good ideals that define America, and it is only fitting that these principles came out in the championship series of America’s pastime.
Principle No. 1: The triumph of virtuous upstarts over the Evil Empire
A concept as old as the Revolutionary War, the Arizona Diamondbacks brought it to life in their win over the Yankees. (It is unfortunate that the team closely resembling the powerful British Empire had to be from terrorism-scarred New York.) King George Steinbrenner did not build a winner; he bought it, much like the British used German mercenaries against the colonists. He picked away at the talent of less financially-capable teams, signing and trading for free agents these teams knew they could not sign. In doing so, he built a baseball empire that was virtually unbeatable, a team that won four of the last five Major League titles prior to 2001
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, joined the league only four years ago with castoffs from the other 28 teams, much like the immigrants that formed America. Many of these castoffs have been replaced by solid free agents, but that does not diminish the fact that baseball’s youngest team toppled the most successful in baseball history.
Principle No. 2: Opportunity for all
A corollary to the first principle, the Diamondbacks proved what had been considered a joke since the Yankees’ rise to the top in 1996: that all franchises have a chance. This principle might have been better served if Oakland (with the second-lowest payroll in the majors this season) had beaten the Yankees (with the highest) in the divisional playoffs, but the triumph of the Diamondbacks remains a triumph for equal opportunity. They started from scratch four years ago at a serious disadvantage, but they used some strong roster moves and player development to topple the greatest roster of hired guns in the last decade on Sunday. The American Dream lives on.
Principle No. 3: National interest over particularized local ones
The Diamondbacks themselves had little to do with this role; they did not choose it, but had it chosen for them. Almost everyone outside New York stands united in hatred of the Yankees — if not of the players, then of the team’s owner and many of its fans. Three consecutive World Series titles have brought three consecutive years of watching Yankee players and fans talk about the greatness of their team, while the majority of Americans sat in disgust at their misfortune of not living near a city with the financial power to buy the best players. Yankee victories might have brought pride to their fans, but they brought disillusion about the state of Major League Baseball to fans everywhere else.
Given the tragedy of Sept. 11, the Yankees’ climb to their fourth consecutive World Series was beneficial — it gave the grieving city of New York something to rally around. But the Diamondbacks gave the country as a whole a reason to cheer, and from the Civil War to civil rights, this nation has always valued the national good over local interest.
Principle No. 4: A refusal to surrender
America has always shown strength in times of trial, and the Diamondbacks, with their backs against the wall on Sunday, responded in an American way.
After losing two one-run games on ninth-inning Yankee comebacks in games four and five, no one could blame them for surrendering to what seemed to be providential. But they stormed back in game six before finding themselves down by one run in the bottom of the ninth of game seven. Three clutch hits later, all against one of the top closers in baseball, they were storming the field in celebration of the incredible. Like the overmatched colonists winning the battle of will against the British Empire, the Diamondbacks had to overcome the temptation to succumb after two heartbreaking losses and now found themselves the victorious David to the Yankees’ Goliath.
Baseball isn’t life, of course, and the adversity overcome by the Arizona Diamondbacks cannot compare to the adversity facing the nation as a whole today. Randy Johnson’s mullet and Curt Schilling’s beer gut will not replace Washington’s wooden teeth or Lincoln’s top hat in the national imagination.
But in this time of great trial, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ performance in this year’s World Series offered a small-scale affirmation of true American ideals: strength and hard work can conquer even the most potent, seemingly invincible adversary. America’s Pastime, after years of bringing only disillusionment, finally showed American values when they were needed the most.
