Talk:Baltimore Orioles (American Association/National League)

I had to skim through THTGB to write that section (who'd've thought two lines would require actual research) and I was struck by a few things:


 * Mencken had the same first and middle names as Lou Gehrig. I guess Ruth was destined to hang out with Henry Louis in any timeline.  (Actually I wonder if perhaps HT got some of his inspiration from noticing that fact?  A Ruth-Mencken connection doesn't leap to the mind right away for any other reason, besides this story of course.) Turtle Fan 05:33, July 15, 2010 (UTC)


 * In the year since I read this story I had always remembered Mencken complaining that the 1896 pennant looked ratty and faded by 1898. That captures the impatience of a young fan who's used to his team being on top, and disgusted that they haven't been there in what anyone who was used to the idea that championships came but rarely would consider a pathetically short while.  I can certainly relate to that, I first developed an interest in baseball through the buzz that surrounded the beginning of the Yankees' four-out-of-five run.  Then all through the 00s the words "26 Time World Series Champions" grew everless impressive and evermore exasperating at an astonishing rate.

But bitching about 1894 in 1896? The Orioles WON in 1896, and in 1895 too. (No one gave a shit about the Temple Cup.) What did Mencken want them to do, win two pennants a year? Win the championships from other leagues, and from other sports? (Oh wait, they did that too!) Yeesh!

Unless he was speaking literally, and lambasting the ownership for failing to maintain the physical piece of cloth. But no serious poet in the world would take such a glorious metaphor and put it to such banal use. Turtle Fan 05:33, July 15, 2010 (UTC)