For the first time in a long time I am really getting into the major league baseball playoffs. I’ve always watched the World Series like everyone else, but rarely did I pay attention to the divisionals and so on. But this year it’s different, and I think it’s because all the teams involved are ones I respect.
The teams in the playoffs right now are real teams. They’re not expansion teams from places that really don’t deserve a baseball team. They are all teams I know (or knew) and liked when I was little and playing baseball.
The one series I paid close attention to in this first round was the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees.
Much to the dismay of King Tom, I really don’t like the Yankees. I’m just tired of them. I’m tired of hearing about them, tired of seeing their players, and just tired of their hype and aura…or whatever you want to call it. And when I heard the Tigers were up against the Yankees I pretty much wrote off the Tigers, as probably most everyone else did. Afterall, the Tigers have pretty much sucked my entire life, so why should they get good all of a sudden. But they did.
And holy shit! They beat the Yankees! …and it’s great!
It’s easy for anyone to get behind the underdog and I can’t think of any team that is more of a underdog than the Tigers.
I can’t predict if they will make it past the next round, but just the fact that they made it to the second round and did so by defeating the Yankees is good enough in my book.
I won’t bet on the Tigers, but I’d love to see the Tigers win a World Series. Cubs, Red Sox…whatever, Tigers just suck(ed). Period. The Tigers even had movies made about how bad they suck (them and the Indians). The Tigers never even made a playoff since I’ve been alive. The Tigers managed to suck more than anyone else even with winning a World Series within the past 30 years. Now that’s talent.
And thanks to teams like the Mets, A’s, and Cardinals I can continue to follow the MLB playoffs all the way until the World Series and will actually care about who wins. Thank you baseball — finally you got it right.
(Now if only hockey could get their shit together…)