The Yankees are in Toronto this week, and any Blue Jays fan with a social media account will know what that means …
… cue the avalanche of fat jokes from the deep thinkers down in New York.
Need a sample of their work?
In case you’re wondering, no, these tweets were not written by teenage boys, but apparently, by full-grown adult men.
It’s a strange way to be, particularly considering that the greatest Yankee of all time, indeed the greatest baseball player of all time, was, well, a big fat guy.
Did you know that Babe Ruth was once reportedly hospitalized for eating too many hot dogs in one sitting? Yeah, and he did alright for himself on the diamond.
But that’s just the point. The thing which Yankees fans miss in their immaturity is exactly the thing which makes baseball beautiful and unique when compared to other sports, namely, that anyone can play.
You don’t have to be a super-athlete or a physical specimen to play Major League Baseball; you can be tall or short, chubby or thin, athletic or plodding – whether you’re a pinstriped poster boy for steroid use or the presumptive spokesperson for the cooking of Dominican grandmothers, there’s a place for you.
It is precisely this fact which builds such a deep connection to the game in so many baseball fans, that they can see themselves and the people they know in the players on the field – baseball as the domain of the everyman, the place where essential human qualities supersede untouchable athleticism.
Of course, Yankees fans are not thinking this deeply about things; they’re just trying to be funny in the best way they’re able – with fat jokes.
Frankly, Blue Jays fans shouldn’t be too hard on them. After all, think about the roar of the crowd when Alejandro Kirk steps to the plate, or when Vladdy goes full Pete Rose on the basepaths, and recognize the pain this must cause Yankees fans as they look at their old, boring team of muscleheads with the same haircut and the same personality.
They know as well as anyone how stale and outdated the New York Yankees brand has become; that they would direct their insecurity towards a team which is younger, more popular, and outright better than them is totally understandable.
If Yankees fans want to advertise their own obsolescence from the rooftops, then by all means, let them. Meanwhile, Blue Jays fans can enjoy one of the most exiting teams, pound-for-pound or otherwise, in Major League Baseball.