In probably no other sport could things pan out like they did on September 28, 2011. Last night, to be a little more dated and precise. Only in a sport where there are 162 games played in a season could drama as wild as what happened last night could come to pass.
There have been in the neighborhood of 200,000 games of professional baseball played in the regular season, and 9/28/11--yesterday--was the most meaningful and ramification laden single day of regular season baseball games in the 130+ year history of the game.
In the National League the Atlanta Braves started off September with an 8.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the final playoff spot, the NL Wild Card. Over the course of the month, Atlanta swooned and St. Louis surged, and beginning today the teams were tied. They weren't playing each other, so if they both won--or lost--their respective games, they'd still be tied and would have to play a single play-in game to determine the NL Wild Card team.
St. Louis jumped out early over the Houston Astros, and pummeled them behind Cardinal pitcher Chris Carpenter's two-hitter, winning 8-0. Atlanta lead 3-2 in the ninth, and blew the game, losing to the Phillies (who had the best record in baseball). They lost at home, blowing the lead in the last inning, and knowing that the season was over, since St. Louis had already finished up. Bummer for them.
Also in the National League the #2 seed was up for grabs, which determines which divisional winner would have home field advantage. Milwaukee won and Arizona lost, so, when playoffs start (tomorrow?) Arizona plays at Milwaukee, and St. Loo plays at Philly.
In the America league, the same thing happened, only with more dramatics and heartbreak. For Red Sox fans, anyway.
You know it can't be a good day in Beantown if they find themselves rooting for the Yankees. And they had to alright.
Atlanta's 8.5 game cough-up in the final month of the season eclipses the biggest in history, the Mets 7 game collapse in 2007 (we lived through that one in the city...I heard a ton of crap all summer about how awesome the Mets were, only to get the last laugh). But, the Braves don't get that record.
That record--Biggest Season Ending Collapse--will belong to the Red Sox. They started September with a 9 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. They proceeded to lose 20 games out of 27 in September, and the Rays put a run of victories together that's quite impressive in itself. But, like the Braves and Cardinals, they were tied with one game to go. Both win--or lose--and they'd be forced to play a single play-in game.
Boston, after pretending to be the Yankees and buying up the best two players on the market in the off-season--Carl Crawford (free-agent signing) and Adrian Gonzales (MVP candidate and trade acquisition)--was the trendy pick to win the World Series. When they started the season 0-6, it was stated that no team had ever made the playoffs after starting 0-6. The Red Sox went on a tear and held first place most of the summer.
Just reminding...
Funny, the first team to start a season 0-6 and make the playoff did happen this year: the Rays.
In any case, back to last night's games. The Bosox played the Orioles, the youngest and worst team in the AL East division. The lowly O's were supposed to be the reason the Sox would triumph over the Rays, since the Rays had to play the Yankees on these last few days.
Like the Braves, the Red Sox held a one run lead into the 9th, 3-2. Their closer, probably their best bull-pen pitcher all year and a rather good closer anyway, Johnathon Pappelbon, started out the bottom of the ninth by striking out the first two guys. Then he gave up a double. Then another, and the score was tied. The next batter hit a fly to a sprinting Crawford in left field. He dove, but trapped the ball instead of catching it. The runner from second scored, and the game was over.
All the Red Sox could do now was wait and root for the Yankees to beat the Rays and force that one game clincher.
The Yanks were doing their part, womping on the Rays. They were up to 7-0 after a few innings. Big hoss Texiera crushed a grand slam. Then the 8th inning rolls around, and the Rays, never feeling out of it, score six runs, pushing it to 7-6. In the 9th, some kid named Dan Johnson, a kid hitting just .119, stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter. Why you'd ever use a .119 hitter as a pinch hitter, I'll never know, and that's why I'm not a major league manager, since the kid hit a home run and tied the game.
They go to extra innings, the Boston/Baltimore game had been delayed because of rain and finished around a few minutes after midnight, and literally three minutes after the score came back that Boston had lost (the crowd in Florida cheered) did Evan Longoria, the Rays All-Star 3rd baseman and former LBSU player, hit a walk-off homer to send them to the playoffs.
So the Red Sox didn't really have to wait too long.
One funny thing is that all four of the games I've been describing here ended within 25 minutes of each other, making it the most exciting half-hour of regular season baseball ever.
In other baseball events from this same day: the Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was in a tie with the Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun for highest batting average on the season. Jose Reyes is an electrifying player who, when healthy, can take over games with his speed or his bat. He's been healthy this year. He's a leadoff hitter, and in his first at bat in the last game of the season, he laid down a bunt, reaching safely for a hit. He then took himself out of the game to ensure that he finished the game 1 for 1, in an attempt to lock up the batting title. He didn't play a few more innings, he didn't even run the bases. Once he got to first, he took himself out. Ryan Braun, playing the whole game, went 1 for 4, and the title went to Reyes.
Ironically, 9/28 this year is the 70th anniversary to the day of Ted Williams finishing the season at .406, the last player to finish above .400. The day started out with Ted hitting .3995. His manager told him that it would be rounded up to .400 for the official books, and if he wanted to sit out the last day--which was a double header--he could and be happy with his batting title.
Ted Williams said something to the effect of If I can't hit .400 over the whole season, then I don't deserve it. he played in both games, went 6 for 8, and finished at .406.
Tough end of the year for the Red Sox: forced to root for the Yankees and miss the playoffs.
So...Verlander/Sabbathia in game 1 in the Bronx?
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