The month of October brings foliage and pumpkin spice lattes, but to sports fans, this month is all about baseball playoffs. While professional and collegiate football will be the kings of the season, the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs will always be special and focused on during this month.
For most Keene State students, the Boston Red Sox are the desired MLB team to root for because of proximity. Last season, the Sox played fairly average and lost to the Yankees in game three of the wild-card round. This season, the team surged back from a historically awful start and made the playoffs again. This year, they were swept by the Yankees and were outscored 18-2 over both games. It is not exactly an improvement or a deterioration either, just another tough finish for New England’s baseball team.
Those Yankees have moved on to the American League Division Series (ALDS) and are down two games to none to the Tampa Bay Rays. They are going through these playoffs without the star, Aaron Judge, although that seemingly didn’t stop them against the Sox.
One of the most fun stories out of this year’s playoffs is the run by the Chicago White Sox. The team beat the Houston Astros in the wild-card round, a team they beat in 2005, their last playoff series victory. The postgame celebrations from the White Sox have also gotten a lot of media attention, both after they secured a playoff spot and after they won the wild-card series. The team’s rookie, Munetaka Murakami, was spoken to both times and gave a memorable performance in both interviews. According to MLB.com, when asked to rate the clubhouse celebration on a scale of 1 to 10, the rookie bypassed his translator and said, “100 No[t] 10 — 100!”. The White Sox are now up two games to none against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS.
The only other large story to come from this year’s MLB playoffs is the fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers are currently at risk of losing in the NLDS. Tied 1-1 with the Atlanta Braves, the most expensive team in the world doesn’t have a yellow brick road to the World Series. MLB fans have also drawn concern after the first game of the series, at Dodger Stadium, did not seem to garner a whole lot of Dodger fans to the ballpark. The historic team is packed with stars and has the best chance to win the World Series, which would be their third in a row.
The Dodgers are the same team that has threatened the possibility of a lockout next season. Due to the nature of Los Angeles and the money that the Dodgers bring in, some MLB teams have said they won’t play because of how stacked the Dodgers are year after year without any progress from other teams in the league. Now, that discussion of whether that is right or wrong can be held another time, but the fact that the Dodgers could be knocked out in the divisional stage is wild.
With the Red Sox out, people around campus won’t have nearly as much attention on the MLB playoffs. It is safe to say that most Owls, if they’re watching any sport in the next few weeks, will be watching the NFL and NCAA football. Baseball is America’s game and these playoffs will only continue to heat up as teams are knocked out.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
jenscoe@kscequinox.com
