Baseball’s Great Migration; The Beef Between Tupac and Biggie Relived, Sort of

By signing with the Angels, Josh Hamilton must believe that the West Side is, indeed, the best side. By Keith Allison (Flickr: Josh Hamilton) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I was sixteen. And since then, the musical machine has introduced collaborations between the likes of Tim McGraw and the dirty South’s representitive Nelly. Life is one big puffy cloud of peace now. It’s all so peachy and sweet.

Just fifteen years since what was a radical split between music’s most popular form, baseball has survived steroid scandals, broken records, and now, a major shift in league power.

After last season’s signing of Albert Pujols and C.J Wilson, the Los Angeles Angels officially put their face on the map as a legitimate threat. Tack on this year’s surprise signing of 2010 MVP Josh Hamilton to fill in rightfield, and the Angels not only boast arguably the greatest player ever in Pujols, but the best outfield in baseball — Hamilton, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo.

Not so angelic. As aren’t the Dodgers.

From the Halos, the Blue Crew courted 2009 AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke, with the largest contract ever to a right handed pitcher. This capped a midseason spending spree that brought third baseman Hanley Ramirez, returning outfielder Carl Crawford, first baseman Adrian Hernandez and the hard-throwing Josh Beckett to Hollywood.

Name 50 major stars in Baseball and these from the Angels and Dodgers would be listed. Albert Pujols,  Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Mike Trout, Adrian Hernandez, Zack Greinke, Jered Weaver, Mark Trumbo, Josh Hamilton, Tommy Hansen and Andre Ethier. Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Becket, C.J Wilson and Kendrys Morales would be easily listed in the next 50. They will all be well-owned in the upcoming fantasy season.

It goes without saying that there is a major power shift occuring between America’s two coasts. Where once the Yankees and Red Sox competed yearly in bidding wars, now the Dodgers and Halos will.

The Angels allowed Greinke, Torii Hunter and Dan Haren to walk, only to upgrade with Tommy Hansen and Josh Hamilton. The Dodgers reconfigured their management, and since erecting men like Magic Johnson as the face of the franchise, have returned to form, adding five all-stars to their roster since June.

More perfect than the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry is the mere fact that both freeway rivals exist in entirely different league hemispheres. Despite their close proximity, the two can adequately meet each other in the World Series — and event I’m sure woould erupt Southern California into a horn-hollering traffic jam of ravenous fandom.

How perfect is that? Like a high-priced pickup game between neighbors: “Meet in my backyard at sunrise. Winner takes all in your backyard after school.” Weeeesssstttt Siiiiiddde, now has a whole new meaning.