A Heretical Yankee In King Manny's Court

I had two hours to kill before the start of the second leg of my journey back to the Motherland. Tired of reading yet unable to sleep, I decided instead to flip through the channels on one of the many HD TVs outside Gate 33 at Incheon airport. Once you realize I was in Korea, you can better fathom my surprise when I stumbled upon a broadcast of game 4 of the 2007 ALCS. An avid Yankees fan, I wanted to see how the Red Sox were faring against the team that vanquished my favourite Yankees. By the time I left to board the plane, the Tribe had all but sealed the game at 7-2, which made me happy. I didn't expect to get happier as another run was tacked on for the Red Sox as I stood in the check-in line, but the homerun by Manny Ramirez was one for the ages...

"the wildly eccentric Ramirez watched adoringly as his homerun traveled majestically through the night sky over Jacobs Field. Never mind that this only reduced the deficit to 7-3 in the Indians favor. Never mind that this capped back-to back- to back homeruns that included blasts from Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. Never mind that it was done in the national spotlight of post-season baseball. Never mind that it was one of the most impressive homeruns that anyone could ever hope to see."

The ball covered upwards of 420 feet, and was hit in almost dead center field, which is an accomplishment even a die-hard Yankees fan can fully appreciate. The Red Sox lost, but even if they hadn't, I can put my personal prejudices aside, and sincerely congratulate Manny on both the towering hit and his post season records. And hells yeah, I'd like to see him in a pinstripe uniform...