Sox and Stripes: Baseball's Ironic American Dreams

Abstract

Sports media depictions of the Yankees and Red Sox have produced ironic team personae that can best be understood through the lens of Fisher's (1973) materialistic and moralistic American dreams. In this article, the author traces the interaction of Burke's first three tropes—metaphor, metonymy, and synecdoche—in sports news coverage of the Yankees and Red Sox from 2000–2010 to explain the discursive construction of the teams' ironic personae. Collectively, media emphasis on money metaphors, the Yankees' lucrative 21st century stadium, and a militaristic owner align the team persona with a materialistic, aggressive economic competition model, whereas the Red Sox are represented by metaphors of frugality, a classic stadium, and familial “Idiots” to create a moralistic, cooperative image of the organization. The teams' personae are ultimately created and sustained through the tropological cycle and the dialectical interaction of the rivals.

Keywords:

• American Dreams
• Baseball
• Mass Communication
• Media Communication
• Popular Culture
• Rhetorical Criticism

Notes

The term persona refers to a cohesive set of images “constructed and performed” both with and without the participation of those represented (Cloud, 1996, p. 116).

For another example of American dream rhetoric in sports culture see Trujillo (1991). Although he does not utilize Fisher as a lens for analyzing press coverage of pitching great Nolan Ryan, Trujillo (1991) essentially observes tensions between the two dreams as reporters touted Ryan's ability to pursue the materialistic version of the dream while commending his moralistic impulses to focus on his pitching and avoid haggling over his salary (p. 297).

In my interpretation of Fisher (1973), the materialistic myth's emphasis on the “freedom to do as one pleases” (p. 162) relates to economics, and cannot be applied directly to the Yankees players. If one powerful figure is free to do as he pleases (Steinbrenner), this necessitates that others will have to fall in line. In other words, Steinbrenner's freedom negated that of the players and other organizational employees.

Other scholars argue that although the American dream need not ignore its moralistic side, it is commonly reduced to mere materialism (see Hochschild, 1995, p. 36).

Notable farm-raised Yankees from the 2000s include Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has also claimed a philosophy of “building the Yankees through the farm system, low-risk trades and occasional free-agent spending” (Kepner & Curry, 2008, para. 1).

The Red Sox's ability to draw star athletes with lower salaries further reinforced their bargain bin, budget discipline image.

The Red Sox narrowly lost to the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS and won the World Series in 2004. Sportswriter Bill Simmons (2005) captures the team's trajectory, labeling the Red Sox's turn-of-the-century years “Rejuvenation” (1998–2000), “The Abyss” (2001–2003), and “Hope is a Good Thing” (2004).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa Glebatis Perks

Lisa Glebatis Perks (Ph.D., University of Texas, 2008) is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Nazareth College.