Forgive and Forget? Not Very Likely

So, let’s recap that happy 1995 season, shall we?

Baseball fans were told: The strike is over. Forgive and forget.

Then, Jack McDowell of the Yankees gave the fans the finger.

Forgive and forget.

Then, Chili Davis of the Angels poked a fan in the face.

Forgive and forget.

Then, the Dodgers pointed to a teammate and said: Except him.

And finally, what did the Atlanta Braves say when they came home Saturday to win the World Series? Did they say: “Thanks, fans, for forgetting and forgiving that we walked out on you?” Did they say: “Thanks, fans, for paying our salaries?” Did they say: “Thanks, fans, for standing by us when we never won the World Series?”

No. They did not.

Dwight Smith said if the Braves won, “I think you’ll see a lot of guys saying, ‘You can kiss our . . . .’ These fans are spoiled.”

David Justice took it further. He said he couldn’t understand these ungrateful fans. That they will “run us out of Atlanta” if we lose this Series. Or maybe even “blow our house down.” That being a Brave was like “me against the world.” That he wished Atlanta had supportive fans, like Cleveland’s.

Cleveland!

You mean the city where the Indians played year after year before the worst attendance in the league? You mean the city where they played baseball in a football stadium, night after night, before 50,000, 60,000, sometimes close to 70,000 empty seats?

Why can’t Atlanta’s fans be more like Cleveland’s, he actually asked.

Atlanta fans backed a loser. They stood by. They were loyal. They came out year after year, watching a team made up of Dale Murphy and eight misfits. They paid good money. They bought souvenirs. They watched Ted Turner’s TV station, the one with Brave baseball and 18 hours a day of “Matlock” reruns.

Ungrateful?

These were some of the greatest fans in the world. When a wise guy from Los Angeles wrote jokes in his newspaper that Atlanta would never win a World Series, they sent him more mail than Santa gets at the North Pole. They told him how great the Braves were, even though the L.A. guy was right, year after year. . . . Atlanta never did win a World Series.

But now it has. The Braves got the job done, finally, defeating Cleveland, 1-0, with some of the best pitching we’ve ever seen. They lost once to Colorado, swept Cincinnati and took four of six from the “best team in baseball” in the playoffs.

Thanks to the fans?

No. In spite of them.

That’s what Justice said. That’s what Smith said. They thought of Atlanta’s fans as a handicap, as a hindrance. These same fans, including a former President of the United States, who have been clapping and chanting for years, waiting for this very day.

Justice said if the Braves failed, “We’ll get treated like dirt on the bottom of shoes. The fans will never come back.”

Oh, you mean like when the fans were the ones who got treated like dirt on the bottom of shoes, Dave? You mean like when the fans were deprived of the 1994 World Series by men such as yourself, who took your little bats and balls and turned your back on them?

“The fans will never come back.”

Beautiful. What a line. Baseball players practically begged those fans to come back. Their strike was over and they said: Please, pretty please, pretty please with sugar on it, we were wrong. The owners were wrong. The players were wrong. We all behaved badly. Pleeeeeeeze, forgive and forget.

Yeah, right.

Then 40,000-plus show up for Cincinnati’s playoff games, and owner Marge Schott refers to the turnout as “disgusting.” Much obliged, Marge. Here’s our ticket money. Go on, keep the change.

Fans had warned baseball people that they were mad as hell and weren’t going to take it any more. When the Dodgers drew their worst crowds ever for postseason games played in L.A., fans wrote letters claiming the attendance was low because of a conflict with the Jewish holidays. Oh, come on. There are 15 million people in Southern California. Not all of them were observing the holidays.

Fans were fed up. They wanted some sweet talk. They wanted baseball players and owners to let them know how appreciated they were.

Well, fans, the Atlanta Braves just let you know how appreciated you are.

You aren’t. No matter what you do, it’s never enough.