MLB teams boast some interesting names. But who would emerge victorious if all those namesakes actually duked it out?
Who would win in a fight between a tiger and a bear? This is the eternal, age-old question that has caused rifts in friendships for all of time.
These types of arguments are present in all aspects of life, none more apparent than in sports. Sports are the ultimate opportunity for debate and conjecture as to who would win in a fight, or in this case, an MLB game. Who would win in a seven-game series between the 1927 Yankees and 2001 Mariners? We will never know, but that is what makes sports so fun and entertaining: the infinite possibilities of outcomes.
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Fortunately, I’m not going to get into a discussion of that sort because I value both my sanity and yours. Rather, I’m going to get back to my original thought of a fight between a tiger and a bear.
Baseball features 19 teams that possess names which have human or animal counterparts. These entities represent the team and their communities. In the 162-game MLB season, the teams play each other to determine who is the best on the field. This is how it’s been since the founding of the National League in 1876. Each team has embraced their namesake and proudly bears the moniker across their chests on a daily basis at ballparks across the country.
Each fan believes their team is the best on the field but not many ever pause to think about what would happen if their team’s namesake engaged in a physical fight with another team’s namesake. And even if they have, they’ve had no vehicle to express their thoughts or act on them.
Luckily for me, I do.
In a twice weekly series, I will pit the namesakes of 19 MLB teams together in a fight to the death.
The teams included in this “Namesake Cage Match” as I will be calling it will be as follows:
Detroit Tigers
Chicago Cubs
Baltimore Orioles
St. Louis Cardinals
Toronto Blue Jays
Arizona Diamondbacks
Miami Marlins
Tampa Bay Rays
Seattle Mariners
San Francisco Giants
Texas Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Cleveland Indians
Los Angeles Angels
New York Yankees
San Diego Padres
Atlanta Braves
These teams will be split up into two brackets. One of all human namesakes and one of animal namesakes. The winner of each bracket will face off against each other in an ultimate fight to the death.
This tournament will be single elimination, winner take all. Seeds will be determined by their records at the end of the 2015 season.
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At the end of it, we will emerge with a winner that can claim the top prize of “Most Dangerous Namesake of an MLB Team.”
Stay tuned to Call to the Pen to see who emerges victorious. If you have any favorites or predictions, feel free to leave them in the comments!