This afternoon at lunchtime, I sat on my couch to take in some afternoon baseball. Three time zones away, two teams--the Braves and the Nationals--battled one another in what promised to be a crucial game in relation to the NL East playoff picture.
I was in the middle of reading a Bloomberg article that offered a flurry of startling statistics on fan safety at Major League Baseball games. Over 1,700 fans, it said, are hurt by batted balls each season. Thankfully, most injuries sustained are minor (i.e. a jammed finger), but over the past five years alone, a number of fans (most of them children) have suffered brain or skull damage as a result of rogue line-drives.
I should clarify that during the points at which I jerked my head back up at the TV, it seemed almost too-perfect timing when B.J. Upton, Bryce Harper or any other player would smoke a foul ball down the line. Look out, front ten rows!
The article in question mentions a young boy who, struck in the head by a foul ball at a Braves-Brewers game in Atlanta earlier in the season, received special attention in the hospital from Gerald Laird as well as Carlos Gomez, both of whom have two children of their own. A kind and heartfelt gesture for sure, but does the source of this problem need more attention?
We live in a world whose sports media exploits the failures of many who straddle the thin line on contentious issues, and for good reason: it generates viewership. Fan safety, however, seems to have taken a back seat. The only problem is, are current efforts to curtail fan injuries truly insufficient?
Let's look at the facts. Gone are many of the multipurpose, cookie-cutter stadiums which granted fans a view that was distant, at best. Now, amidst cries for "intimacy" and better sightlines, ballparks constructed since circa 1992 (think Camden Yards, Globe Life Park in Arlington, Progressive Field, etc.), have dramatically cut down the distance between the fans and the action. And don't forget all those fancy smartphone apps that require your frequent attention, even while in harm's way!
There appear to be two prevailing opinions on this issue. The first is primarily the cry of America's concerned adults, many with children: "There's no time to react when you sit close. Teams need to extend the protective screen."
The other asks those concerned to simply practice caution: "With great privilege comes great responsibility. If you choose to sit close, pay close attention. Don't like it? Choose different seats."
So go on, pick a side!
No sooner had I finished the article, than I saw the Nats' Adam LaRoche strike out swinging to end the third inning. As he hacked through that Aaron Harang curveball, his apparently pine tar-less bat slipped from his hands, spinning into the backstop netting and falling harmlessly to the ground.
A fan or two in the first row had narrowly avoided becoming statistics.
What do you think? Are fans' and others' fears of the lack of reaction time justified? Or does Major League Baseball make a good enough case for itself with ever-prominent signage, PA announcements and other reminders of the potential dangers of getting hurt at the ballpark?
***
"The crowd makes the ballgame."
-Ty Cobb
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
A Farewell to Fandom?
Long time no see, everyone!
Rigorous school and work schedules the past several months have caused quite the blogging drought (as you can plainly see), but for my first post in awhile, I'd like to explore something a little different.
As I've now entered a (hopefully brief) period of unemployment, I find myself thinking as I conduct my day-to-day job search: how much longer can I be a "fan" in the traditional sense?
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I grew up on the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks. I don't think I need to go into detail on what the Seahawks did this past season, and since this is a baseball blog, let's look at the Mariners: ever since dropping two of three in Baltimore to begin the month of August, these guys have gone on a 14-4 tear, including a two-game sweep of the Braves, a three-game blowout of the Blue Jays, and a remarkable bash of the BoSox at Fenway, the M's first three-game sweep at the historic venue in club history.
Where has that gotten them? Well, look at the number in the win column--71. That is already the same amount of games the Mariners won all of last season. To have equaled that mark so comparatively early in the season speaks to the upgrades that Jack Zduriencik made in the offseason (don't even get me started on what Robbie Cano has done!). More importantly, however, it gives the M's a hold on that second AL wild card spot, with the Tigers, Yankees and Jays still looming beneath.
As a brief illustration to how much fun this season has been, let's look at one particular man who has turned a corner for Seattle: North Carolina native Dustin Ackley. Remember the past couple of years, when all he seemed to do was this?
He is one of many who have stepped things up this season, and now we're thankfully seeing a lot more of this:
But I digress. Among all this stretch-run celebration, I'm fully aware that my days of rooting for my beloved Mariners could very well be numbered. They say that in order to feel like your job is not even a job, find something that you enjoy. For me, that "something" is the prospect of working in sports, namely baseball. So what this means is that, for all I know, I could be working for a team in the Angels, Marlins, Indians, Royals or Astros organization next season, and at that point, that team in question will have its place right at the forefront of my mind. This would mean an end to my rooting (at least openly) for the good ol' boys from the Emerald City.
Thus, I have come to the conclusion that if this is indeed the last season I will be able to root for the M's, it will be anything but a sad ending. If anything, it will be a bright new beginning. Regardless of where I end up, there will still be memories aplenty of guys like Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, Felix Hernandez, Raul Ibanez and Kyle Seager dancing through my mind. Whether it's in the Big Apple, small-town Midwest USA or somewhere in the deserts of inland California, a future that includes working in the great game of baseball, or in any given sport, will simply take my fandom to a completely new and exciting level.
Perhaps some of you readers have had a similar experience? If so, I'd love to read about it in the comments.
Until then, I'm hunkering back down into that job search!
***
"I don't just think regular season. I think playoffs. World Series. That's how I think."
-Mariano Rivera
Rigorous school and work schedules the past several months have caused quite the blogging drought (as you can plainly see), but for my first post in awhile, I'd like to explore something a little different.
As I've now entered a (hopefully brief) period of unemployment, I find myself thinking as I conduct my day-to-day job search: how much longer can I be a "fan" in the traditional sense?
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I grew up on the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks. I don't think I need to go into detail on what the Seahawks did this past season, and since this is a baseball blog, let's look at the Mariners: ever since dropping two of three in Baltimore to begin the month of August, these guys have gone on a 14-4 tear, including a two-game sweep of the Braves, a three-game blowout of the Blue Jays, and a remarkable bash of the BoSox at Fenway, the M's first three-game sweep at the historic venue in club history.
Where has that gotten them? Well, look at the number in the win column--71. That is already the same amount of games the Mariners won all of last season. To have equaled that mark so comparatively early in the season speaks to the upgrades that Jack Zduriencik made in the offseason (don't even get me started on what Robbie Cano has done!). More importantly, however, it gives the M's a hold on that second AL wild card spot, with the Tigers, Yankees and Jays still looming beneath.
As a brief illustration to how much fun this season has been, let's look at one particular man who has turned a corner for Seattle: North Carolina native Dustin Ackley. Remember the past couple of years, when all he seemed to do was this?
He is one of many who have stepped things up this season, and now we're thankfully seeing a lot more of this:
But I digress. Among all this stretch-run celebration, I'm fully aware that my days of rooting for my beloved Mariners could very well be numbered. They say that in order to feel like your job is not even a job, find something that you enjoy. For me, that "something" is the prospect of working in sports, namely baseball. So what this means is that, for all I know, I could be working for a team in the Angels, Marlins, Indians, Royals or Astros organization next season, and at that point, that team in question will have its place right at the forefront of my mind. This would mean an end to my rooting (at least openly) for the good ol' boys from the Emerald City.
Thus, I have come to the conclusion that if this is indeed the last season I will be able to root for the M's, it will be anything but a sad ending. If anything, it will be a bright new beginning. Regardless of where I end up, there will still be memories aplenty of guys like Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, Felix Hernandez, Raul Ibanez and Kyle Seager dancing through my mind. Whether it's in the Big Apple, small-town Midwest USA or somewhere in the deserts of inland California, a future that includes working in the great game of baseball, or in any given sport, will simply take my fandom to a completely new and exciting level.
Perhaps some of you readers have had a similar experience? If so, I'd love to read about it in the comments.
Until then, I'm hunkering back down into that job search!
***
"I don't just think regular season. I think playoffs. World Series. That's how I think."
-Mariano Rivera
Sunday, February 23, 2014
The Balk
Last night, for the first time, a good friend of mine perused my blog. True to his inquisitive nature, he couldn't even read the title without first posing a question. "What's a balk?" he asked.
Rare is the moment when a baseball purist blinks upon being asked a baseball-related question, but the balk rule is a strange exception. I took the simplest approach possible, as I'm still in the process of teaching him the ins and outs of our national pastime.
"Well," I began hesitantly, "it can actually be a number of different things. If a pitcher acts as if he's about to pitch to the batter, but then attempts to pick off a baserunner instead, the umpire will call it a balk if he feels that it was unfairly deceptive toward the runner."
I went on to add the various other provisions of the balk rule: the shoulder twitch, the complete stop, the foot on the rubber, the step and throw, the separation of hands...the list went on and on. Naturally, this produced a dazed and confused expression on my friend's face, so I reassured him "don't worry. It can get really subjective sometimes, so it's just as confusing for everyone else."
Confusing, indeed.
Aside from this recent conversation, balks have figured prominently into my baseball life as of late. A fast-working righty reliever on my team got called for a balk twice in our home opener Friday for not coming to a complete stop in his set position. Prior to that, opposing pitchers had already committed at least three balks against us on our nine-game road trip.
And that inevitably took my mind to the most notorious balk call(s) in recent MLB history:
You be the judge. Good move, or balk?
Ignoring for the moment Joe West's incompetence and lack of professionalism as an umpire, you get a clear glimpse of just how subjectively umpires can interpret the balk rule. It's a pitcher's right (and duty) to be deceptive, but how far is too far?
Today I'll close with a fun fact: this spring is the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 MLB players' strike. That's one type of balk I think no baseball fan on earth would ever like to see called again.
***
"The job of arguing with the umpire belongs to the manager, because it won't hurt the team if he gets thrown out of the game."
-Earl Weaver
Rare is the moment when a baseball purist blinks upon being asked a baseball-related question, but the balk rule is a strange exception. I took the simplest approach possible, as I'm still in the process of teaching him the ins and outs of our national pastime.
"Well," I began hesitantly, "it can actually be a number of different things. If a pitcher acts as if he's about to pitch to the batter, but then attempts to pick off a baserunner instead, the umpire will call it a balk if he feels that it was unfairly deceptive toward the runner."
I went on to add the various other provisions of the balk rule: the shoulder twitch, the complete stop, the foot on the rubber, the step and throw, the separation of hands...the list went on and on. Naturally, this produced a dazed and confused expression on my friend's face, so I reassured him "don't worry. It can get really subjective sometimes, so it's just as confusing for everyone else."
Confusing, indeed.
Aside from this recent conversation, balks have figured prominently into my baseball life as of late. A fast-working righty reliever on my team got called for a balk twice in our home opener Friday for not coming to a complete stop in his set position. Prior to that, opposing pitchers had already committed at least three balks against us on our nine-game road trip.
And that inevitably took my mind to the most notorious balk call(s) in recent MLB history:
You be the judge. Good move, or balk?
Ignoring for the moment Joe West's incompetence and lack of professionalism as an umpire, you get a clear glimpse of just how subjectively umpires can interpret the balk rule. It's a pitcher's right (and duty) to be deceptive, but how far is too far?
Today I'll close with a fun fact: this spring is the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 MLB players' strike. That's one type of balk I think no baseball fan on earth would ever like to see called again.
***
"The job of arguing with the umpire belongs to the manager, because it won't hurt the team if he gets thrown out of the game."
-Earl Weaver
Thursday, February 20, 2014
And So It Begins...
Well, that was a quick offseason.
Let me begin by offering my sincerest apologies for the long posting drought. Academics and other endeavors required my attention for the past few months, but in the meantime, rosters across MLB sure got a good shakeup! Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees. Robinson Cano to the Mariners. Curtis Granderson to the Mets. And finally, Masahiro Tanaka to the Yankees in a huge deal that removed the plug from the proverbial drain of the backed-up free agent market.
As for me, I recently returned from a road trip to Honolulu and Los Angeles with my university's baseball team. Lucky you!, one may say. Sadly, that wasn't the case, at least not this time around. Having never ventured too far from my native Pacific northwest (in my lifetime I've traveled as far east as Denver), I encountered a bit of a culture shock upon arriving in the Aloha state. A meal that may have cost ten dollars on the mainland cost at least twenty dollars in Hawaii, traffic congestion while driving from the team hotel to the ballpark was ghastly, and upon stepping out of the airport on arrival, I was covered in sweat within five minutes due to the humidity.
But worst of all were the results on the baseball field: we dropped all five games of the series, after holding the lead at some point in all but one game. Pitching couldn't seem to find a way around the sweet spot of opposing hitters' bats, and hitting suffered with runners in scoring position.
Not all was lost on the trip however, as we enjoyed a day at the beach on our off-day between games and were able to catch a glimpse of the more picturesque parts of the island of Oahu.
The Los Angeles leg of the trip proved slightly better overall, as we recorded our first "W" of the season, behind the strong pitching effort of our senior ace, after dropping the first two of four games. The flight back home was replete with a desire for better results, and this ballclub is eager to turn things around.
League play is still a week away, but our home opener looms just twelve hours ahead at the time of this writing. And with that, I close my first post of the new season.
More on baseball--college, MLB and otherwise--coming soon!
***
"You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen."
-Joe DiMaggio
Let me begin by offering my sincerest apologies for the long posting drought. Academics and other endeavors required my attention for the past few months, but in the meantime, rosters across MLB sure got a good shakeup! Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees. Robinson Cano to the Mariners. Curtis Granderson to the Mets. And finally, Masahiro Tanaka to the Yankees in a huge deal that removed the plug from the proverbial drain of the backed-up free agent market.
As for me, I recently returned from a road trip to Honolulu and Los Angeles with my university's baseball team. Lucky you!, one may say. Sadly, that wasn't the case, at least not this time around. Having never ventured too far from my native Pacific northwest (in my lifetime I've traveled as far east as Denver), I encountered a bit of a culture shock upon arriving in the Aloha state. A meal that may have cost ten dollars on the mainland cost at least twenty dollars in Hawaii, traffic congestion while driving from the team hotel to the ballpark was ghastly, and upon stepping out of the airport on arrival, I was covered in sweat within five minutes due to the humidity.
But worst of all were the results on the baseball field: we dropped all five games of the series, after holding the lead at some point in all but one game. Pitching couldn't seem to find a way around the sweet spot of opposing hitters' bats, and hitting suffered with runners in scoring position.
Not all was lost on the trip however, as we enjoyed a day at the beach on our off-day between games and were able to catch a glimpse of the more picturesque parts of the island of Oahu.
The Los Angeles leg of the trip proved slightly better overall, as we recorded our first "W" of the season, behind the strong pitching effort of our senior ace, after dropping the first two of four games. The flight back home was replete with a desire for better results, and this ballclub is eager to turn things around.
League play is still a week away, but our home opener looms just twelve hours ahead at the time of this writing. And with that, I close my first post of the new season.
More on baseball--college, MLB and otherwise--coming soon!
***
"You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you're a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen."
-Joe DiMaggio
Friday, November 29, 2013
Shopping, Shopping, Shopping
Happy Black Friday, all! I trust that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that the coming Christmas season will be one to remember.
As we storm department stores across the nation on this popular shopping day, teams across Major League Baseball are doing some shopping of their own. Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Matt Garza and a plethora of other notable names still remain on the market, and most are likely to find homes before the new year. A few big fish have already been reeled in: the St. Louis Cardinals have inked Jhonny Peralta to a hefty four-year contract, Brian McCann will don the famous Yankee pinstripes, and Ricky Nolasco has found a new home in the Twin Cities.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are said to be the frontrunners in vying for Beltran's services, the Rangers have the supposed edge on ace lefty David Price, and Mike Napoli of the World Series champion Red Sox could be headed back to his native Florida to play for the Marlins.
But let's not forget the less-heralded, but still very much important, names like Grant Balfour, Hiroki Kuroda and Ervin Santana. The Indians, Tigers and Mariners are all in need of bullpen help, and the Mariners also join the Mets and Braves as clubs searching for a dependable veteran arm for the starting rotation. So who fits best where?
That question, as well as many others, will be answered in front of the Hot Stove as the weather turns colder. Keep your eyes and ears open for more big moves in the coming weeks. You never know what sort of gift your team's GM might reel in this holiday season.
More to come from Walks and Balks in 2014. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
As we storm department stores across the nation on this popular shopping day, teams across Major League Baseball are doing some shopping of their own. Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Matt Garza and a plethora of other notable names still remain on the market, and most are likely to find homes before the new year. A few big fish have already been reeled in: the St. Louis Cardinals have inked Jhonny Peralta to a hefty four-year contract, Brian McCann will don the famous Yankee pinstripes, and Ricky Nolasco has found a new home in the Twin Cities.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are said to be the frontrunners in vying for Beltran's services, the Rangers have the supposed edge on ace lefty David Price, and Mike Napoli of the World Series champion Red Sox could be headed back to his native Florida to play for the Marlins.
But let's not forget the less-heralded, but still very much important, names like Grant Balfour, Hiroki Kuroda and Ervin Santana. The Indians, Tigers and Mariners are all in need of bullpen help, and the Mariners also join the Mets and Braves as clubs searching for a dependable veteran arm for the starting rotation. So who fits best where?
That question, as well as many others, will be answered in front of the Hot Stove as the weather turns colder. Keep your eyes and ears open for more big moves in the coming weeks. You never know what sort of gift your team's GM might reel in this holiday season.
More to come from Walks and Balks in 2014. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The Dog Days (of the Offseason)
This is a brief post because I'm sure that many minds out there, my own included, are elsewhere at this time of year. The dog days of the baseball offseason have arrived. Trees are bare, the air is frigid, and a thin layer of frost covers baseball fields everywhere. Thanksgiving is a week away, and Christmas looms on the horizon.
Let's be honest: it's not always easy to keep up with Hot Stove reports and MLB Network while visions of sugar plums are dancing in our heads.
But nonetheless, a couple of intriguing moves have stirred the baseball world this week, including the blockbuster trade of Detroit Tigers' first baseman Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Four new managers have been hired: Rick Renteria is the new man in charge on the North Side of Chicago, ex-Pirate skipper Lloyd McClendon takes the helm for the Mariners, longtime pitching coach Bryan Price takes the manager's seat for the Reds, and former All-Star catcher Brad Ausmus will assume responsibilities in the Motor City.
What do these moves mean for the teams involved? Time will tell.
But for now, put on your warm stockings, prop your feet up by the fire and pour yourself some pumpkin-spice eggnog. Keep your TV and your smartphone apps ready though--with big-name free agents such as Jacoby Ellsbury, Robinson Cano and Carlos Beltran on the market, the coming weeks may bring big news.
***
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."
-Rogers Hornsby
Let's be honest: it's not always easy to keep up with Hot Stove reports and MLB Network while visions of sugar plums are dancing in our heads.
But nonetheless, a couple of intriguing moves have stirred the baseball world this week, including the blockbuster trade of Detroit Tigers' first baseman Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Four new managers have been hired: Rick Renteria is the new man in charge on the North Side of Chicago, ex-Pirate skipper Lloyd McClendon takes the helm for the Mariners, longtime pitching coach Bryan Price takes the manager's seat for the Reds, and former All-Star catcher Brad Ausmus will assume responsibilities in the Motor City.
What do these moves mean for the teams involved? Time will tell.
But for now, put on your warm stockings, prop your feet up by the fire and pour yourself some pumpkin-spice eggnog. Keep your TV and your smartphone apps ready though--with big-name free agents such as Jacoby Ellsbury, Robinson Cano and Carlos Beltran on the market, the coming weeks may bring big news.
***
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."
-Rogers Hornsby
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rogershorn104218.html#sOmikOvdEwcLKoDp.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rogershorn104218.html#sOmikOvdEwcLKoDp.99
People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rogershorn104218.html#sOmikOvdEwcLKoDp.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rogershorn104218.html#sOmikOvdEwcLKoDp.99
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
The World Series
Two world wars. A Great Depression and a Great Recession. A decade that roared. A decade that depressed. Several more decades that stood somewhere in between. Nearly twenty different men passing through the Oval Office.
Since 1903, America has changed in countless ways. But one thing has remained a fixture during these past 110 years: the World Series.
With the exception of two years--the National League boycotted the Series in 1904 and a strike shortened the 1994 season--the World Series has been held every October, pitting the best of each league against one another. Two franchises, the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals, have yet to make their series debuts, but nonetheless we have seen matchups ranging from downright odd (2003's Marlins-Yankees Series comes to mind) to undeniably classic (such as this year's Cardinals-Red Sox showdown). That being said, the Wild Card era has helped give rise to the "underdog" teams, teams that for the longest time stood no chance against the traditional big-market powers.
This year, however, looks to be somewhat of a throwback, as two storied franchises will go head to head in the first World Series since 1999 to feature the teams with the best regular-season records in their respective leagues.
Let's look at the Cardinals. Even-keeled, disciplined and highly respectable, this ballclub has proven hard to beat over the past five-plus years. Postseason veterans such as Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina have combined forces with some of the game's top pitchers, including rookies Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha and veteran Adam Wainwright, to make the Cards a force to be reckoned with. And all this just two years after former franchise icon and possible future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols left for the City of Angels.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, possess a fiery passion unlike any other seen in recent years. The Boston Marathon bombing tragedy on April 15 gave rise to the mantra "Boston Strong," creating a must-win atmosphere akin to that in New York after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Since the bombing, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli have taken up the tasks of flashing thick, Duck Dynasty-style beards, reminiscent of the frat party atmosphere of the 2004 world champs. Only one player, slugger David Ortiz, remains from that curse-breaking ballclub, but Beantown stalwarts Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz are ready to help out.
Nine years ago, these two teams met on the same stage, with the Red Sox sweeping the Cardinals in four games. But this year, there is no curse at stake. Times and faces have changed. This will be a Series of good, old-fashioned baseball. This is the year that baseball legends will be overshadowed. Just days ago, 21-year-old shortstop Xander Bogaerts became the youngest Red Sox player to start a postseason game. The now second-youngest? George Herman Ruth. On the St. Louis side, the aforementioned five-time All-Star catcher Molina has reached the Fall Classic for the fourth time in his career. One other Cardinal to do so? Stan Musial.
Any way you slice it, this is a timeless matchup. The Red Sox are 112 years old. The Cardinals are 131. Each team's uniforms have remained largely unchanged. The centenary Fenway Park is the quintessential hitter's bandbox. Busch Stadium, though only seven years old, pays great homage to its classic ballpark predecessors and feels like a throwback to simpler times.
Starting tomorrow night in Boston, these two clubs will make baseball history. Two postseason veterans--Adam Wainwright for the Cardinals and Jon Lester for the Red Sox--will take the mound in a game for the ages. And from coast to coast, millions will be watching and listening as these heroes take baseball's biggest stage.
***
"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series."
-Tommy Lasorda
Since 1903, America has changed in countless ways. But one thing has remained a fixture during these past 110 years: the World Series.
With the exception of two years--the National League boycotted the Series in 1904 and a strike shortened the 1994 season--the World Series has been held every October, pitting the best of each league against one another. Two franchises, the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals, have yet to make their series debuts, but nonetheless we have seen matchups ranging from downright odd (2003's Marlins-Yankees Series comes to mind) to undeniably classic (such as this year's Cardinals-Red Sox showdown). That being said, the Wild Card era has helped give rise to the "underdog" teams, teams that for the longest time stood no chance against the traditional big-market powers.
This year, however, looks to be somewhat of a throwback, as two storied franchises will go head to head in the first World Series since 1999 to feature the teams with the best regular-season records in their respective leagues.
Let's look at the Cardinals. Even-keeled, disciplined and highly respectable, this ballclub has proven hard to beat over the past five-plus years. Postseason veterans such as Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina have combined forces with some of the game's top pitchers, including rookies Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha and veteran Adam Wainwright, to make the Cards a force to be reckoned with. And all this just two years after former franchise icon and possible future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols left for the City of Angels.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, possess a fiery passion unlike any other seen in recent years. The Boston Marathon bombing tragedy on April 15 gave rise to the mantra "Boston Strong," creating a must-win atmosphere akin to that in New York after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Since the bombing, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli have taken up the tasks of flashing thick, Duck Dynasty-style beards, reminiscent of the frat party atmosphere of the 2004 world champs. Only one player, slugger David Ortiz, remains from that curse-breaking ballclub, but Beantown stalwarts Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz are ready to help out.
Nine years ago, these two teams met on the same stage, with the Red Sox sweeping the Cardinals in four games. But this year, there is no curse at stake. Times and faces have changed. This will be a Series of good, old-fashioned baseball. This is the year that baseball legends will be overshadowed. Just days ago, 21-year-old shortstop Xander Bogaerts became the youngest Red Sox player to start a postseason game. The now second-youngest? George Herman Ruth. On the St. Louis side, the aforementioned five-time All-Star catcher Molina has reached the Fall Classic for the fourth time in his career. One other Cardinal to do so? Stan Musial.
Any way you slice it, this is a timeless matchup. The Red Sox are 112 years old. The Cardinals are 131. Each team's uniforms have remained largely unchanged. The centenary Fenway Park is the quintessential hitter's bandbox. Busch Stadium, though only seven years old, pays great homage to its classic ballpark predecessors and feels like a throwback to simpler times.
Starting tomorrow night in Boston, these two clubs will make baseball history. Two postseason veterans--Adam Wainwright for the Cardinals and Jon Lester for the Red Sox--will take the mound in a game for the ages. And from coast to coast, millions will be watching and listening as these heroes take baseball's biggest stage.
***
"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series."
-Tommy Lasorda
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