Author: Gino Cerruti

In a previous “Between the Horns” article, I lamented the absence of baseball in Portland. Having a deep connection with the issue, I wanted to spread the article beyond Portland State’s campus, so I decided to link the online version of the article on Reddit. I didn’t get too many comments, but one Redditor did point me in the direction of Underdog Sports Leagues—an adult, co-ed sports league that caters to bowling, flag football and, most importantly, softball.

If I had to describe my friend Mat as I remember him from our jaunty high school days, I would bluntly say, “skinny.”

So it surprised me, when I ran into him during my trip back to the East Bay this year, that he looked like he’d been making a living as Jason Statham’s body double. In other words, he was ripped. In fact, the first word I blurted out when I saw my stalwart friend walking toward me was, “How?”

The disparity of baseball hats in Portland kind of blew my mind when I first arrived in the Rose City earlier this year. You see, as a native of Northern California, I grew up to understand that wearing an A’s cap in San Francisco is a clear indication that you want to be called “moneyfail” (a scathing witticism created in response to Oakland’s diminished power and the best-selling novel Moneyball), and wearing a Giants cap in Oakland is, well, not the smartest thing in the world if you value your well-being.