We have finally made it, after a long 162 game march got us to the playoffs we have the final two teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers. Finally, we have no Dodgers and no Asstros (pun intended) in the World Series for the first time in 7 years and yet again, the MLB playoffs continue to bring new teams into the mix at the end of the year. Giving us two teams that haven’t been in the World Series in over a decade, and doing so in historic fashion. Both the Rangers and the Diamondbacks came back from being down 3-2, winning out on the road, to clinch their World Series births. The first time that has ever happened. Which seems like the only fitting way to end what was sort of a “year of firsts” for the MLB.

How Was the Year of the Rule Changes?

It’s not controversial to say that the pitch clock was very polarizing to fans, with some applauding the games for not dragging on and keeping their attention while the baseball romanticists said that gamesmanship is dead, and the beautiful game of baseball is becoming a slave to clocks that the other sports are shackled to, unlike the romantic Shakespearean tempo of a baseball game.

But, after a full season of games running about 30 minutes shorter than before, I think that the implementation was a success for the most part. The pitchers might like to see some more concessions given to their ability of stepping off and holding on runners, but it’s mostly worked out for the better and clock violations were basically gone immediately, so it wasn’t too awkward either.

As well, we have seen the larger bases turn into more stolen bases. Teams stole bases at an almost 80% success rate, that is insane. I thought that we would see multiple 50+ base stealers and that we would see at least one person go over 75. And while Acuña didn’t break 75 steals, he did end up being the leading base stealer this year, swiping 73 bases and mashing 41 taters to be MLB’s first ever player to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a single season. *

Batting averages didn’t bump up too much this year (.243 up to .248) and, neither did on-base percentage (.312 up to .320). But I did call some other things correctly…

How Did I Do?

Now that we have a season of baseball behind us and a juicy World Series ahead, I wanted to double check on some of those earlier predictions from my blog back in May.

• #1) “A metric shit load of stolen bases are going to happen this year“: Uhhhhh yeah, that one was easy money. The MLB has tallied up 3,500 stolen bases this year, which is 1,000 more than any year in the last 8 years, and the first 3,000+ SB season for the MLB since 2012 (Mike Trout led the league that year with 49, he would have tied for 4th this year).
• #2) “The Padres disappoint and limp into the playoffs only to get tossed out early”: I will take credit for calling the downfall of the Padres this year even if I said they would limp into the playoffs. But they couldn’t even do that… Finishing 82-80 for 3rd place in their Division, missing out on even a wild card spot and absolutely falling flat on the season. Like I’ve said previously, a lot of these Padres were on the Dominican Republic team that were one of the odds-on favorites at the last World Baseball Classic. They fell flat there, couldn’t make it out of pool play and the bats weren’t nearly as live as before. Clearly that bled over into this season as they couldn’t manufacture enough offense to justify $250,000,000 payroll.
• #3 “The AL West and Central have a resurgence year“: I knew that Verlander and Correa leaving the Stros would impact that team, and they didn’t make the World Series so, I was correct… Kinda… Right? But I also knew Correa would be an instant impact in Minneapolis who was trying to get back into the mix, and they won their first postseason series since 2002, beating the Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card. Part of this prediction was also that the Rangers would have the right pieces to make their final push back into postseason glory (now they’re World Series bound, nbd).
• #4) “I think this is going to be the year of the American League”: While the best team in baseball this year was arguably the Atlanta Braves, I still think that I got this one right. The Braves were the only bright spot in the NL this year as they won triple digits with everyone seemingly hitting over 20 home runs and replacing their future HOF first baseman, Freddie Freeman, with Matt Olsen. Who was arguably better than Freeman this year (although, Freddie did win a ring…). But the AL had the historically hot start from Rays, the young budding Orioles squad blistering their way to 100+ wins showing the old guard that the kids are here to stay, and a more competitive postseason so I’ll count this one as at least a half win.
• #5) The Rangers win the World Series in 6 Games over the Brewers: I will take a half win on this one too just because I called the Rangers in the World Series, and the Brewers at least made the playoffs. I still might be able to see if my 6-game prediction is correct, but I’ll take being 1 for 2 on World Series teams for now.

Score: 4/5, pretty damn good.

I Love this Beautiful Game, and the World Series is the Epitome of it all.

There is nothing better than the World Series when it comes to postseason sports. The tempo of every game, the necessity of conflict, the tension felt behind every pitch and every crack of the bat, much like the game of baseball itself, it’s all inevitable.

Despite what happens, no team is out of it until the ball crosses the plate or squeezes in a glove for the last out of the game. You can’t run out the clock. You can’t lazily inbound and meander down the court until you’re fouled or the buzzer sounds. You dig-in to the batter’s box, the pitcher winds and up and releases towards the plate, and in an instant it’s as if anything can happen. You can’t back down; you have to finish the job.

And in the World Series, its baseball at its purest. Every player out there has dreamed of this very moment. They’re at the peak of their sport, these men, and they will feel the weight of this months-long season with every pitch. For 162 games they have traveled all over, battled and grown together to take their spot in the playoffs, trying to etch their names into history. It seems like they get a second wind each game that they get closer to the World Series, just look at Corbin Carrol and Adolis Garcia this year, writing their own stories and powering their respective teams past the Goliath’s from last years’ World Series.

As we look forward to the World Series on Friday, I can’t help but reminisce on past editions of the Fall Classic and it just feels… right. Like a warm bowl of soup or an old rom com. But for me its memories of staying up too late with my dad to watch David Freese keep the Cardinals alive in 2011. Or the heartache of Blake Snell being pulled out of game 6 in 2020, a moment I will never get over. What could have been…

But I suppose that, in a way, the nature of baseball is exactly why the World Series is always such a beautifully nostalgic affair. We spend all season getting invested, 162 games over the course of months, year in and year out. Each time desperately searching for a path to that final 7-game series, a coronation of the World Series Champion that is bound to be taut with emotion.

And we are all so lucky to bear witness.

Now, let’s play ball!