NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE DARK KNIGHT YET, YOU MAY WANT TO AVOID READING THIS DUE TO SPOILERS. With that being said, I’ve waited a few days to write this article to give as many of you as possible a chance to see the movie. After seeing this movie a weird thought popped in to my head at how this movie reminds me so much of the American League East. You’ve got a hero and a villain who are so evenly matched and understand each other so well. You’ve got a simple man who comes out of no where to become a very influential person in the city. And a slew of other characters that make the movie go. In all honesty, I could have made this article with all American League contenders there is just that many good compelling characters. But I decided to keep it simple so without further ado here is the cast for the The Dark Knight – American League East:

Toronto Blue Jays as Lt. James Gordon - The Blue Jays have been a team on a roller coaster ride much like Lt. Gordon. They’ve gone from trying to find an identity, to being an outstanding team, to disappearing once again, and look here the team is fighting its way back into contention. How does this compare to Gordon? Well beginning of the movie he’s got his hands full, fighting the mob, a new threat in the Joker and trying to work with new District Attorney Harvey Dent. Not everything is going right but he’s fighting, and doing his best enough to keep a float (month of April). Then after that with the help of Batman, Lau is taken down and the mob crumbles things are going great (the outstanding May). After that, people start dying around him and he’s forced to fake his own death, hurt the ones he loves as not a soul knows (the team disappearing in June). But at the end, he’s back he saves Batman and catches the Joker, things couldn’t be better and a promotion is in the works, he’s loved by many (fighting back into contention in July). While there is more after this, you can see how this in a way mirrors the Blue Jays season. The question is thou, can the Blue Jays disappear then elevate to the top post in the division? The answer is a NO, the odds are just to hard. BUT there will be some kind of position change, much like there was for now Commissioner Gordon. This will come in the firing of J.P. Ricciardi in the off-season and a new General Manager brought in.

Baltimore Orioles as The Scarecrow - The Orioles much like the Scarecrow only had a brief appearance in the movie. The team shot out of the gates but then began to play well like the Orioles. As I write this I’m laughing with the picture in my head. In the scene, the one mobster is complaining to the Scarecrow after how his clients are so crazy after buying his drug, and can’t become repeat customers because they’re too crazy. Well you know what, isn’t this just like the Orioles??? Their product in this case is so bad that it scares the fans away and kills any chance at repeat business.

Tampa Bay Rays as Harvey Dent / Two-Face - Harvey Dent represented the good in Gotham, he represented hope according to Batman he was the true hero, the hero Gotham needed. Well look at the Rays, they’ve been the doormat of the AL East for years, they’re winning, bringing the city of Tampa hope and even all of baseball hope. The hope that the Yankees and Red Sox can both, be overtaken at the top of that division. If they do that, they are without a doubt a hero. The question is when tragedy strikes which Rays team are we going to get? Will they continue to be heroes or the team that only has a 50/50 chance of winning on any given night. We will find out as tragedy almost struck right before the All-Star break, in the tune of a 7 game losing streak that let the Red Sox and Yankees both storm back into the race. At the end of the movie, Harvey Dent was remembered as a hero for all he did, not what he became. Like he said, “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”. Well he became the villain but his friends chose to remember him otherwise. At the end of this season, even if they miss the playoffs, the Rays will be remembered as a hero by many because of all the hope they gave this year and for the future.

Boston Red Sox as the Joker – This makes perfect sense as the Joker is brilliantly psychotic. The Red Sox can you get any more psychotic then that clubhouse? I know the Yankees have A-Rod / Madonna, and Jason Giambi wearing thongs, but look at the Sox? They’ve got players fighting in the dugout, a player pushing team personnel to the ground, players almost getting arrested while leaving the game for ignoring police officers. They’ve got a closer who dances crazy, and their bullpen duo has their own Milli Vanilli impersonation video. The team is simply psychotic but when it comes time for business it all meshes together and is a complete terror on anyone they play. The joker is driven by revenge, mainly due to the cruel life he endured. The Red Sox maybe not be driven by revenge but their fans definitely are. They want to win every year. They want to exorcise all the demons from that 86 year stretch of misery. No matter how many championships they win, they will always be out for revenge when it comes to the Yankees for all those years of cruelty. In the movie, the Joker gets caught, gets out to fight again and then he’s caught again. Well we all know the Red Sox are fighters they fall behind, they fight back, they may slump again but then they fight back even harder. The Red Sox even with all their craziness do love to have fun. I think their question to the Yankees should be like the Jokers to Batman, “Why So Serious?”

New York Yankees as Batman – No surprise here, I’m a Yankees fan so they get the role as the hero. Looking at this movie thou, Batman is no hero at least in public opinion. By the end of the story, everyone wants Batman dead and you know what EVERY YEAR that’s what people want of the Yankees. Every year they think that time is now but the team comes fighting back and the status quo is maintained. In the movie, Batman is run off as people look to catch him for the murders of Gotham’s finest, but is their any doubt that he continues to return and fight against the underbelly of Gotham. The one line in the movie thou will make any person agree that the Yankees take the role of Batman. Christian Bale says “Batman has no limits”. Well everyone knows the Yankees have “no limits”. This decade the Yankees have spent whatever money it’s taken to get the players they felt the needed. Much like Batman, their reach isn’t just local either. To take care of business they’ll go anywhere. Batman had to take a trip to Hong Kong to bring down the mob. Well the Yankees have gone to Japan and Taiwan for some of their key players. Again, at the end of the movie, Batman was run off but you know he will be back to fight again. If somehow the Yankees do indeed miss the playoffs you know they will be back.

If you’re a Sox or Yanks fan it’s pretty obvious which team you’d choose as the Joker. I’m a Yankees fan so obviously the Red Sox are the villain. No one else can be considered for these two roles, as they are the perfect compliment to each other. At every turn the Joker is there trying to expose the Batman for what he is, a fraud. Well Red Sox fans are always trying to expose the Yankees as frauds, attempting to say all titles are bought. But in reality both teams, and Batman/Joker are more alike then anyone wants to believe. They both spend insane amounts of money. They both have their own psychotic tendencies in the clubhouse. They both have insanely passionate fans. The Joker and Batman both have had trouble pasts and because of that understand each other more then any other person. The Sox and Yankees mirror each other so much (minus championship totals) that they know each other better then anyone. And in both cases, movie and baseball that is what’s created such a terrific rivalries, the best in sports and arguably the best in comics.

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