MLB Wild Wild Card

Wednesday, September 28th, a day that I will remember as a rejuvenation for baseball.

1 night, 6 teams, 2 wild card spots...

By the time August rolls around and September is on its way, most sports fans have turned their attention to NCAAF or the NFL.  The small minority of fans who keep an eye on the MLB are the fans that have a rooting interest in a potential playoff candidate.  Being a Cub fan, I knew our season was over the minute we let Ryne Sandberg get away... last November.  So my interest in the playoff picture was, at best, remote.  I was aware of the contenders and as far as I could see, the playoff picture was pretty clear to me at the end of August.

NL: Phillies, Braves, Brewers, D-Backs
AL: Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rangers (The Angels were still relevant)

Then September hit.



While the only divisional leader who dropped was Boston to the Yankees, all the other division leaders held strong through the month.  The wild card was a whole different story.  Three teams in both leagues vying for one final spot.  At the start of September the Red Sox held a nine game lead while the Braves were up eight and a half games.  Most people signed off from the MLB waiting for the playoffs to start.  Besides, who doesn't love watching the Colts go 0-3 to start the season...

However, as the MLB season was wrapping up it was as if the "baseball gods" wanted our attention to be refocused to the national pastime.  Suddenly Boston and Atlanta were taking hits like Jay Cutler, and St. Louis and the Rays were coming up hot.

It came down to game 162 in both leagues.  One game to decide the fate of the playoffs.  Would we be granted not one, but two 163rd games??  As I sat and watched the Cardinals whomp the Triple-A Astros I wondered who they would throw against the Braves in game 163.  What I failed to realize was the significance of this night regardless of the result.  This night would save the game of baseball.

The Patriots, Falcons, Rams and Buccaneers all took a backseat on Wednesday night.  Nobody cared how or why the Patriots got beat by the Bills.  People weren't focused on how bad the Buccaneers are gonna beat the Colts on Monday Night Football (or why those teams are playing MNF).  The sporting world was focused on baseball.

Rain delays, close calls, plays at the plate, and walk-off homers made this night the best night.  In a matter of 4 minutes the entire playoff picture was decided.  Atlanta failed to close the door and fell to the Phillies leaving Brave Nation in peril and empty handed.  The "never say die" Baltimore Orioles came back and stunned the Red Sox capping off Boston's horrid fall from grace.  Dan Johnson and Evan Longoria followed the Orioles lead and provided the dramatics to a partially empty, yet still buzzing Tropicana Field.

Critics may say the MLB season is too long, but I say if you have 162 games you might as well try to win them all...