Almanac Baseball: Post Season With Most Post
As a coda to a great season of baseball a little slice of history has played out on the first day of October.
With well over 2,400 games played throughout the season we had ties at the top of two of the National League divisions – the first time TWO tie-breaking games have been needed in any MLB season.
In NL Central the Brewers and Cubs were locked at 95 games apiece while over at the NL West it was the Rockies and the Dodgers on 91 each. On what is often a wildcard playoff day the Brewers and Dodgers secured the wins. They will go through to the Championship Series stage. The Rockies will head to Wrigley Field for the wildcard game. Should the Cubs prevail at home they will prepare for another showdown with the Brewers.
So already we have had a “post with the most”. Not only have the two tie-breakers been added to this year’s post season schedule but it should also be remembered that the wild card game is a relatively recent addition to the list as well (prior to that it was just the team with the best record that grabbed that spot).
The other NLDS clash will be the Braves and Dodgers while in the American League we (potentially) have the same four teams as last year. The match-ups are different, though, with the Indians and the Astros going toe-to-toe and the Red Sox awaiting the outcome of the Yankees- Athletics wild card game. The Yankees were the fourth team from last year and if they get through it will be another chapter in what is often just called “the rivalry”. Those damn Yankees took two games of the three game series just the other day at Fenway but the Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, was trying a lot of new things with the lineup. With the greatest ace in the majors, Chris Sale, ready to take the mound in Game 1 of the ALDS the Sox will be ready for anything if their mortal enemy does get there.
Who takes it from here? Naturally, I believe the Sox can get rings to go along with the post-Bambino ones from 2004, 2007 and 2013. They have had their greatest ever season with 108 wins (4 more than the previous record). Mookie Betts and JD Martinez are as good as any hitters going while Jackie Bradley Jnr has proven to be one of the greatest outfielders of all time. There are pitching concerns, however, with both the rotation and the bullpen. In the other ALDS of Indians v Astros you have two seasoned outfits managed by two of the cagiest tacticians in the game. The AL pennant winner, I believe, will go onto World Series glory. While the Braves have had a solid season and the Dodgers are always dangerous I just can’t see either of them going the distance against one of the hardened AL units.
Regardless of what transpires, I just freaking love the post season. Timed to perfection to compensate for the lull after footy season, the drama and theatrics of this great American spectacle seduces fans all over the world. I shall allow it to perform its magic again this year and be swept up in anticipation. Go Sox.
Appreciate this summary BtR. I get daily results emails sent for a couple of teams throughout the season, but I don’t really follow any one team closely. Unsurprisingly, I took a shine to Moneyball’s Nick Swisher and followed him from team to team until his body and his batting average gave out.
So once again it is time for me to draw up that little post season diagram in the back of my work notebook and, like many, follow the MLB action closely for the next month.