Oh What A Night!
I was really looking forward to a couple of one-game playoffs Thursday night to decide the American League and National League wild cards.
Or at least one.
That was my aim Wednesday night - to have two games on TV to watch as soon as I got home on Thursday and just veg out.
That's not the way it worked out.
Instead, Wednesday night provided the exciting night of baseball - possibly the most exciting night of baseball of all time.
And Thursday is providing a much-needed respite.
Let's re-live Wednesday a bit, shall we?
When you think about previous exciting days in baseball, maybe you think about days like October 25, 1986 - Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, for example. They're World Series games, maybe perfect games, maybe games that featured standout offensive performances. But they're usually isolated games - they never happen at the same time.
Wednesday night featured four high-stakes games, three of which came down to the final at-bat. It was Major League Baseball's version of March Madness...and it never, ever happens. The people saying it may be something we never see again aren't exaggerating...it might have been once-in-a-lifetime.
Quick recap: The Cardinals locked up their fate early - they blew out the Astros (8-0...relatively speaking to the rest of the games that was a blowout) and clinched at least a wild card tie, then waited for the end of the Braves-Phillies game. It wouldn't end for a while because it went 13 innings - ending with a double play ground ball which gave the Phillies their 102nd win and ended the Braves season. (I wrote on twitter that I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed seeing the Braves lose...they've caused me a lot of pain over the years, and I suppose I still harbor resentment towards them.)
Then the American League. I can't even believe the American League. First, the Rays overcoming a 7-0 deficit to tie the Yankees. Then the fact that the Red Sox had to wait out a rain delay in their game against the Orioles, while they nursed a close lead. Then the fact that the Orioles rallied down to their last strike to tie the game and then win it on a ball that could have been caught by Carl Crawford....right before Crawford's former team won their game and punched their wild card ticket on an Evan Longoria walk-off homer in the 12th inning. (I was less emotionally invested in either of these teams - I have too many friends who root for the Red Sox to actively root against them. I tell those friends: Eventually, after about four years, the pain from the collapses goes away.)
It was exciting. It was exhilarating. It was late at night - but I didn't care. I couldn't get enough. (This night also supported my theory that next year I can get away with not buying the Extra Innings Package. I'll miss some Mets games, sure, but Wednesday night I had the Red Sox on NESN, Rays on ESPN, and Braves on ESPN2. I didn't miss anything important.)
There will certainly be some exciting baseball played over the next couple of weeks as the playoffs unfold.
And when those playoffs end, in future seasons there is sure to be other exciting baseball.
But there will never be another night in baseball as exciting as September 28, 2011.
I'm glad I was able to see it.
