Fan ignites bidding war in MLB for son’s favorite team

One MLB fan is looking for help in deciding what team his newborn son should root for. Thus far he’s received some interesting responses.

The current MLB landscape offers 30 different teams for fans to cheer for and against. Finding that one team to always cheer for can be a tough task considering the parody involved in a sport where failing seven out of 10 times is considered elite. However, one newborn may have his future favorite team picked out before he can even toss a baseball.

Twitter user Pete Van Vleet wrote to each MLB team, asking why his newborn son Jack should root for them. Considering the season is in full swing with Opening Day still fresh in everyone’s minds, it’s surprising that teams would be able to respond to Vleet’s unorthodox approach.

First up are the Pittsburgh Pirates.

A letter signed by the Pirates President, Frank Connelly? Not too bad. Connelly makes a good case for becoming a Pirates fan. They have a crop of young talent such as Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco, Gerrit Cole along with superstar Andrew McCutchen. They also have a handful of young pitchers that could become future aces in Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl.

While the Pirates make a good case, the New York Mets upped the ante with their response.

Now we’re talking with some free samples! The Mets sent little Jack some official baseballs along with some stickers that will undoubtedly be placed all over the house once Vleet’s son gets older.

The team boasts a trio of star pitchers in Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey. Behind the big three, the Mets rotation also could regularly feature Seth Lugo and Steven Matz if the two young hurlers can stay healthy. The team also has some heavy hitters in Yoenis Cespedes, Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto to cheer for.

The most recent update we have on responses is from Vleet’s team, the Houston Astros.

Astros President Reid Ryan provided a handwritten note to Vleet playing up the family vibe MLB has been known for. He also provided a signed photo which seems to indicate Vleet and his son can head to an Astros game whenever they’re in town.

After years of floating in obscurity, the Astors have quickly risen to become one of the top teams in the American League. Featuring a mix of established and young pitchers such as Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Joe Musgrove and Mike Fiers, the team has the pitching talent to keep games close. Of course the strength of the Astros is their lineup which features a number of MLB’s top hitters.

Players such as Carlos Correa, Jose Alutve and George Springer provide the team with an excellent foundation to build upon for years to come. The team also has perhaps the best overall prospect in MLB in Alex Bregman.

Next: One prospect each MLB team should call up

Hopefully more teams respond and Mr. Vleet can keep us updated on the bidding wars within MLB. So far we’ve seen some great responses but with each team looking to out-do the other, odds are we could see some pretty nifty responses in the coming days.