Wildest Night Ever!

Mind you, I’ve been a big baseball all my life so I’ve witnessed a lot of baseball. But last Wednesday night was the most exciting night I’ve ever seen in baseball. I heard one sportscaster compare it to March Madness and I thought that was a fair comparison. Now, I know I usually write about football so a baseball story might be a bit unusual, but the name of my blog is Footballfathershusbandsandlife, which under the life part means I get to write about anything. Anyway, what a great night of baseball.

I’m sitting there Wednesday night to see if my beloved Cardinals could win the NL wildcard outright or at least force a one game playoff with the Braves. That was excitement enough right there for me, especially since they had stormed back from 10 ½ games out on August 25. They blasted the Astros and retreated to watch the Braves on the clubhouse TV who were hanging on to a one run lead over the Phillies going to the 9th. But the other games for the AL wild card were crazy. Tampa Bay had come from 9 ½ back to catch Boston. They were playing the Bronx Bombers and were down 7-0 going to the bottom of the 8th-game over, right? Then on the other channel I saw the Red Sox clinging to a 1 run lead over the Orioles in late innings (with a rain delay) hoping to hold off the Rays. Three games were still being played to determine playoff spots. I watched in disbelief as the Rays got 6 in the bottom of the 8th. I thought, “They darned near pulled it off”. The Braves then blew their 1 run lead in the 9th and went to extra innings. The Red Sox/Oriole game restarted and the Sox stopped them in the 8th. Meanwhile, it was the bottom of the 9th in Tampa with 2 out and two strikes in the bottom of the 9th. What happened next caused me to almost fall out of my chair. A player from the Rays, I can’t even remember his name, hits a shot down the right field line that just gets over the wall and the Rays are goin’ nuts! That game goes to extra innings. The Braves then gave up a run to the Phillies in the 9th and lost in the 12th losing a heartbreaker 4-3. Season over. As happy as I was for my Cards, I felt bad for the Braves. Blowing a big lead is tough. So, the Cardinals were in. Several minutes later I watched Longoria hit a walkoff homer against the Yanks and the Rays had won! Unbelievable. Three minutes later I watched the Orioles rally for two in the bottom of the 9th to sink the Sox. Another blown lead. If I hadn’t seen all this happen with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. Other than watching my favorite team win world series titles, it was the most exciting time in baseball I ever witnessed.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the playoffs but one thing is sure. The regular season ended with a bang. The Phillies are the clear favorite, their starting pitching is ridiculously good and their offense is solid. The Yankees will be hard to beat in the AL and are probably the favorites there. But I’ve played, coached, and watched sports my whole life and one thing I’ve learned-ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING, can happen. So, let’s enjoy the playoffs, and in the meantime, football is heating up as well. Keep checking out the documentaries on Chiefpigskin.com to see what’s happening in high school football in North America. Good luck down the stretch of another exciting high school football season.