Although my attitude toward sports is “go team!” for 11 months of the year, October kicks my team spirit into high gear. Why? Two words: MLB post-season.
Major League Baseball’s 107th World Series starts Wednesday and so does the annual baseball obsession of UF’s male population. Among pitchers, pinch-hitters and pick-offs, how is a girl supposed to keep up?
If the only bases you remember are relationship-related or you don’t know the difference between the National and American leagues, we’re here to help. Her Campus has created this sweet little guide to the next week of baseball.
The basics: The MLB is divided into two divisions: the National and American leagues. Once the regular season (April – September) ends, the teams in each division play against each other for the division championships. As this post goes to press, the Detroit Tigers are playing the Texas Rangers for the American League title. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers are fighting for the National League title.
The winners of these matchups (you can think of them as the semi-finals) will then play each other for the title of World Series champions. The teams play seven games. Whoever wins the National League championship will have home-field advantage as they won the 2011 All-Star Game in July.
Numerical tricks: The competition is best of seven, but sometimes the teams don’t play all seven games. Think about it – if one team hits a majority of four victories before the other does, there’s no reason to keep playing.
Somewhat similarly, during game play, if the team that bats first doesn’t score enough to overtake the winning team, the winners will not play the bottom of the 9th inning. Don’t get too excited – World Series games typically run over three hours long.
For more technical explanations of the rules, click here (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2011/Official_Baseball_Rules.pdf) for the MLB official guide for 2011. If you’re looking for something simplified, read here (http://www.livestrong.com/article/81561-simplified-baseball-rules/).
Who’s the cutest: On the Cardinals, the one to watch is Jon Jay. He’s young, he’s from Miami and he plays left field – what more could you want? Also, even though he’s a little old for us, first baseman Albert Pujols is undeniably attractive.
As for the Tigers, left-fielder Don Kelly’s smile makes us melt. Rick Porcello, Alex Avila’s eyebrows are a little too bushy, but we like him because he’s from Florida. Our top pick is Danny Worth, though … he’s adorable, especially when smiling.
Taylor Green, who recently joined the major leagues, is a cute third baseman for the Brewers. Brewers pitcher Randy Wolf has a hair color we’d die for and a serious-yet-sexy expression on the mound at all times.
Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, besides having a totally cool first name, has awesome curly hair and a perfect grin. Plus, he can get some serious air. (http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv76/dakingjay2/elvis.jpg) We’re also suckers for cutie C.J. Wilson, who could probably model if this whole baseball thing doesn’t work out. (http://mlblogssfdiamondgirl.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/cj20hair1.jpg) (http://scoresoddspicks.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/wilson041309.jpg) (http://scoreboardmonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/CJ_Wilson.png)
What to wear: You can’t miss a viewing party just because you’re not crazy about baseball. Tell the guys you’ll come, but do some secret recon on which team your friends are rooting for. Base your outfits on that team’s color.
For the first game, go simple. Dark denim shorts, a white T-shirt and a ribbon that matches the team’s uniform color will do fine. This is also a good outfit to wear if you’re not totally sure whose side you want to be on. The World Series is serious business, and you don’t want to be the one to divide the household.
On the second night, wear the team colors more prominently. This means a solid-color sundress in its main hue; accessorize with the team’s accented colors. For the Tigers, this would mean a navy dress with red-orange jewelry. It sounds complicated, but it’s really not.
For the later games – where it really matters – wear a shirt with your team’s logo. Just search for MLB women’s shirts on Amazon and you can find some cheap. If you’re a Rangers fan, look at this cute tee (http://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Womens-Energy-V-Neck-T-Shirt/dp/B004CCT0IA/ref=sr_1_23?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1318454205&sr=1-23).
Whatever you do, don’t stress too much about what you wear – the boys are going to be watching the games, anyway.
What to bring: Men love sports. Men love food. Men love food while they’re watching sports. Now that you can impress them with your knowledge of baseball, score extra points (ha!) by bringing over something they can nervously munch on while their team is at bat.
Try this sweet recipe for chocolate chip cheesecake dip from food.com:
Melt ½ cup of butter with 1/3 cup brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves. Remove it from heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, beat 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese with a ½ cup of powdered sugar for a minute. Slowly beat in the cooled butter mixture and beat for another minute. Stir in ¾ cups of mini chocolate chips, refrigerate for a while and you’re ready to go! Serve with graham crackers or pretzels.
You go, girl. Go be a World Series woman … don’t forget your rally cap!