October 25, 2020: Baseball is Boring

Some people will never love baseball… “The games take too long”… “There’s not enough action”… “Baseball is boring”… Well, I have to respect your opinion; to each your own for sure. But for me, baseball is great. I don’t care if it’s a 1-0 pitcher’s duel or an 8-7 extra inning game, I enjoy it. I can watch the Cubs every single game of a 162 season; one day I hope to go to every single game, at least every single home game. But even when it’s not my Cubs, as long as I’m not recovering from a painful loss or still dwelling on a horrible season, I will still tune in. Sure, will I sit on every pitch of a 9 inning non-Cubs game? No. Like last night for example…

I had been following along with the game on my phone, showing my son the score, watching gamecast in his bed before he fell asleep. We saw Kike Hernandez give the Dodgers the 2 run lead; I told him Randy Arozarena got a lead off hit in the bottom of the 6th before he fell asleep. The fun was just starting; I made my way in front of the TV for the rest of the inning. Not sure why Baez threw that fastball to Lowe, certainly would have expected a change up like Smoltz said, who by the way is an awesome announcer, but they tried to sneak another fastball past him and BAM… 3 run home run; Rays lead 5-4. It only took the next half inning for the Dodgers to reclaim that lead; 6-5 Dodgers. It only took the next half inning for the Rays to tie it up; 6-6 Rays. Yeah, you guessed it, in the next half inning, the Dodgers took the lead again; Corey Seager is absolutely on fire. I would have considered walking him even to face Turner… he’s been that hot. So 7-6 Dodgers… bottom of the 8th nothing, top of the 9th nothing. During that time, I had flipped to a movie that I can’t even remember right now… waiting to flip back. Unfortunately, I started dozing… thankfully, I came to in the nick of time. I flipped back to the game; it was the bottom of the 9th, two on, two strikes, two outs. Then it happened…

Down 1 run, facing Jansen, the Rays were one strike away from facing a 3-1 deficit, and although we know great things happen down 3-1, it’s certainly a situation you’d like to avoid. Some guy named Phillips singled to center field; the Rays had tied it up. Then Taylor bobbled it in center field… that guy again Arozarena had been on first base and was flying around the bases and was getting the green light to try to score after the bobble. It would have been a close play, had he not stumbled and fell to the ground. He would have been out by 15 feet… until the cutoff throw was missed by Smith… and the ball rolled away. Randy continued home and slid in safely to tie the World Series at two games a piece. UN-BE-LIE-VA-BLE!!!

It’s kind of crazy that the last time a team walked it off when trailing with 2 outs in the 9th inning in a World Series was the Dodgers, Gibson, 88, off Eckersley; I remember that one well. I remember my dad getting mad at me for throwing a TV guide across the room when it happened; obviously I was rooting for the As. I remember another World Series game that ended in an error… Red Sox, Mets, Buckner, 86, through the legs. This one will go down in history; I was glad to see it happen.

I got nothing emotional on the line here. Sure, I’m not a fan of the Dodgers and would prefer the Rays win, but I’m not going to be upset with either result. Imagine being a Dodger fan right now; this one hurts. The great thing about it, is that the big post game celebration only signified a tied series; the series, the season isn’t over. Plenty of time to redeem yourselves. Kershaw on the mound on Sunday night; the offense with a number of ABs left. Was this game the peak for the Rays and now the Dodgers will come back to win the series? Was this game the end of the road for the Dodgers and the Rays will win the next two? Either way, I think the same thing I thought after Game 2; this one is going 7. And if that’s the case, for fans of both teams, buckle up; it is NOT for the faint of heart… trust me. Although I’m sure both these teams and their fans know all about that; the Dodgers already coming back from 3-1, the Rays blowing a 3-0 lead only to win in Game 7. For fans of the game, this is great; being able to watch this develop without feeling like your life is on the line with every pitch, is a lot more easy on the heart… it’s a lot easier to sit back, relax, and enjoy. Boring? Never that. Baseball is fun! Enjoy.