The underdog

 

I tell ya, clearing snow on a daily basis is not only a lot of work but it's very time-consuming. Where's night owl been? Outside trying to put snow on top of snowbanks taller than me, that's where.

 

So, I don't have a lot here, just some self-examination.

 

I was thinking a few weeks ago about my favorite players when I was a kid. You know some of them. For instance, Ron Cey. He was probably a lot of fans' favorites, but he didn't have nearly as many fans as his teammate, Steve Garvey. Cey was the underdog. I gravitated toward him, probably partly because he wasn't Steve Garvey.

 

My interest in the underdog was even more pronounced when it came to the Dodgers' pitching staff from that time. My favorite was not Don Sutton. Nor was it Tommy John. It wasn't even No. 3 starter, Burt Hooton. No, it was Doug Rau.

 

I can't really tell you why. I just liked him. I think I liked to attach myself to the lesser-known guy and then urge him on to success -- scolding management in my head, "if you only knew what you had here!" and then "See, I told you!"

 

But I liked the underdog on other teams, too. My favorite Phillies player was not Mike Schmidt or Steve Carlton or Greg Luzinski. It was Garry Maddox. My favorite Red Sox player was not Carl Yastrzemski or even youngsters Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. It was Bernie Carbo and Rick Burleson. My favorite Yankee -- although this is an exceptional case because I couldn't stand most of them -- was Roy White.

 

I thought of myself as an underdog, too. Often overlooked in gym class, I relished surprising the jocks with a well-placed base hit or scoring a goal in floor hockey. Even in college journalism class, it once got back to me that the journalism professor said that the "biggest surprise" in class was me. Don't forget the underdog!

 

My rooting for underdogs continued for a few years, latching on to players like Derrel Thomas and R.J. Reynolds. But around the mid-1980s there was a turning point.

 

I started rooting for an underdog named Orel Hershiser. I didn't know where this guy with the funny came from (turns out he was born in Buffalo and once lived in a home my grandmother lived next to!). But I wanted him to be a star.

  

 

It may surprise some, but Hershiser didn't have a smooth entry into the majors early on, it wasn't even a guarantee that he would be in the rotation. I rooted him on anyway. But then it all clicked. He went 19-3 in 1985 and then he really blew up in 1988. He set a major league record that still stands and became a World Series champion and MVP. He was the most famous player in the majors for a moment. My underdog.

 

All my wishing had worked. Hershiser was now a star. But he wasn't an underdog anymore. And from that point, most of my selections for favorite player on the Dodgers were not underdogs, but stars.

 

Today the team I root for is the exact opposite of being an underdog. The Dodgers are two-time defending World Series champions. The Dodgers have never really been underdogs, except for 1988. You'd have to go back to the 1950s for that (and just because they kept facing the Yankees in the WS). And my current favorite player is the most famous and talented player in the world.

 

I also get a little annoyed when fans instinctively root for the underdog, no matter who it is. I mean I can see rooting for the Pirates, no matter how hapless. But the Rockies? What's that going to do for you? I now tend to admire teams who can perform the best and players who can perform the best. And they sure ain't underdogs.

 

Still ... still, there is something about me that likes the underdog -- on an individual level. As a collector, I like those base cards. Love them. I always want to see them. And I like sets like Topps Total that focused on every player from every team. I also dislike the sound of sets called "Rookies & Stars".

 

That's because I know the value of the underdogs in sport. The No. 8 hitters. The offensive linemen, the backup goalie. Teams cannot function without them. The 1978 Dodgers needed Doug Rau's 15 wins.

 

And even though the Dodgers are a juggernaut, they didn't win without Miguel Rojas or Will Klein.

 

You know what the band says: "You got no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive."