Red Sox or Astros: An impossible choice

I’m a New York Yankees fan.

I grew up in the Boston area, deep in the heart of Red Sox country, but I hated my stepfather and enjoyed annoying my brother whenever possible, so early on, I decided to become a Yankees fan. I would tune the television to New York’s channel 11, which carried Yankees games at the time. and would just leave the game on to irritate the members of my household.

My mother referred to me as The Instigator for good reason.

But it was the 1980’s, and Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Ricky Henderson, and Willie Randolph were easy to love despite the team’s inability to win.

Along the way, there were some memorable moments, too.

I watched Dave “Rags” Righetti’s Fourth of July no-hitter on July 4, 1983 while sitting alone on my living room couch.

A decade later, I watched Jim Abbott – the one handed pitcher – throw his no-hitter while sitting on a couch in a townhouse in Washington, DC.

In May of 1998, I was sitting on the third base side in Yankee Stadium, about 20 rows up, when David Wells pitched his perfect game. It was Beanie Baby Day at the Stadium. Today, those Beanie Babies are worth upwards of $200 on eBay.

One year later, in July of 1999, I was in the stadium again, this time sitting behind the plate in the second deck when David Cone pitched his perfect game.

Just 23 perfect games in Major League Baseball history. I was fortunate enough to witness two of them in person.

Two of the most exciting moments of my life.

Seven years later, in October of 1996, I wept as the Yankees won the World Series for the first time that I could remember. They had won in 1977 and 1978, but I was just 6 and 7 years old at the time and have no memory of those championships. It was the win against Atlanta – the first of 5 championships that I would celebrate – that I remember best.

Rooting for the Yankees and despising the Red Sox has been the story of my life.

But now the Red Sox face the Houston Astros for the American League Pennant. The Astros won the World Series in 2017 (beating the Yankees along the way) but were later discovered to have cheated during the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons (and possibly the 2019 season).

Many of those cheaters are still playing for the Astors today.

So I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place:

Root for the team that I’ve hated all my life, or root for a bunch of cheaters who stole a World Series championship – possibly from the Yankees themselves.

What is a baseball fan to do?