The Race

McCain took in a Diamondbacks game yesterday. Seeing as though all three remaining candidates hail from someplace whose teams have at least a shot at making noise come October,* it's probably inevitable that baseball will be co-opted for political purposes this fall.

I went over the candidate's baseball bonafides last summer, so we won't rehash that again. What I would like to note is that there have been twenty-five World Series played in presidential election years, and on only four occasions have the champion and the president hailed from the same state:

• In 1920 both the Cleveland Indians and Warren Harding took home the hardware. Unfortunately, it's illegal for presidents to literally take home the hardware, so Harding was subsequently disgraced by the Teapot Dome Scandal;
  
  


• The Yankees and FDR were both in the early stages of New York-based dynasties in 1932 and 1936; and
  
  


• In 1972, California-based victory was shrouded in historic levels of ugliness. And Nixon's win over McGovern was almost as ghastly as the A's uniforms.

So, be wary Diamondbacks, Cubs, and Yankees/Mets fans. Having a presidential candidate use you in October isn't conducive to your championship chances, statistically speaking.

*Despite Clinton's historic rooting bigamy, we'll give her the Yankees. Something tells me, though, that we won't have to worry about her or them being relevant come October. And yes, I realize that Obama is a White Sox fan. He's probably my guy right now, but if he and the Cubs are both still standing in October and he panders to the North Siders, it's over. Really, I had better hear Guillenesque invective from him or else I'm voting for the Natural Law Party guy.