Welcoming to the Round of Wild Cards. All these teams would prefer to start the postseason next Tuesday. All of them want to start as soon as possible. It’s complicated.
The Wild Card round has seen eight teams win exactly zero championships over the last 10 seasons. One of these teams hasn’t won a World Series since the Marshall Plan was enacted. Only two of them have won a championship in the last 25 years, and three of them haven’t won a World Series at all. One of these teams hasn’t even been to a World Series.
For half of the teams who made it to the Wild Card round, no matter their identity, it was going be a difficult ending. This round feels particularly difficult. It is possible to feel empathy for any of these teams.*
* Except for the Cardinals. Don’t even bother getting mad about this, Cardinals fans. Embrace it.
Here’s what happened on the first day of Major League Baseball postseason action in 2022. Some of these teams are a single loss away from going home, even if that’s not especially fair.
Tampa Bay vs. Cleveland. The Guardians use dominant pitching to win Game 1.
The Guardians won the series 2-1 and held a 1-0 advantage., but it wasn’t the kind of loss that Rays fans could even grumble about. Shane McClanahan pitched flawlessly, with the exception of one changeup. There were Solid fundamentals and strong defensive plays. It was the game that true baseball fans would enjoy.
Oh, you’re a real baseball fan? Name the first three albums.
If you can’t, maybe this series isn’t for you.
