What a whirlwind of delight these last 13 days have been. The drama and entertainment and ecstasy and agony provided by the 2024 Major League Baseball season, so far, is difficult to put into words. I didn't say the playoffs, specifically, because it started with a game that wasn't even officially the playoffs.
Not only that, but we still have the league championship series and World Series to go. It's possible that we have 21 games of action remaining, culminating with Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2. The playoffs to this point have been 27 games in 12 days, so while we're past halfway in terms of games played, we likely aren't halfway through the postseason calendar.
The playoffs this season have included some of the biggest and most recognizable superstars in baseball, such as Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Jose Altuve. We've seen stellar arms like Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, Gerrit Cole and a litany of beastly closers, led by Emmanuel Clase. There are up-and-coming superstars like Bobby Witt, Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill. It has been quite the star-studded event.
Many of the biggest names came through in the clutch on the big stage. Some did so multiple times. One of the great parts of the playoffs is seeing the unheralded players come through for possibly the biggest moment of their careers, though, sometimes at the expense of a superstar. That has been happening as well.
Baseball couldn't have asked for much more out of its players in the last two weeks. It's been breathtaking.
Before we look ahead with the giddiness of a 10 year old on Christmas Eve, let us look back and appreciate what we've seen in just under two weeks.
Remember the play-in doubleheader on Sept. 30 when both the Mets and Braves played the first game like it was do or die? It was 3-0 Braves heading to the top of the eighth inning. The Mets scored six runs to take a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, the Braves scored four runs of their own to make it 7-6. A good portion of the damage in the eighth came against star closers Raisel Iglesias and Edwin Díaz. And in the ninth, Francisco Lindor homered to give the Mets the 8-7 lead and that would be the final score.
It was just a primer.
Remember the Astros' furious rally in Game 1 against the Tigers falling short when Jason Heyward's bases-loaded liner went right to Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson? A few feet either way and that's an Astros' walkoff win. In Game 2, the Astros took a lead with a seventh-inning rally only to see the Tigers take the lead back with an Andy Ibañez bases-loaded double off another star closer in Josh Hader.
The Royals-Orioles series might not have been heavy on highlights, but both games were decided by one run. The Padres swept the Braves, but Fernando Tatis Jr. sent Petco Park into a frenzy in the first inning of Game 1 ...
... and the Braves cut a 5-1 lead down to 5-4 before the Padres finally closed them out in Game 2.
The main event in the Wild Card Series ended up happening in Milwaukee.
In Game 1, the Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Mets. The Mets scored three runs in the second, but then the Brewers scored two runs in the fourth. The Mets scored five runs in the fifth. It was the least dramatic game in the series. In Game 2, the Mets led the Brewers 3-1 through two innings. It was 3-2 going to the eighth. The Brewers got a game-tying Jackson Chourio homer and then a pinch-hit, go-ahead homer from Garrett Mitchell to force a Game 3. In that one, the score was 0-0 at the seventh-inning stretch. Then the Brewers got an unlikely back-to-back with pinch hitter Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick -- who only had two homers in the regular season -- both going deep to start the bottom of the seventh. It seemed over for the Mets, but then Francisco Lindor walked to lead off the ninth. Brandon Nimmo came through with a one-out single. And Pete Alonso happened.
This happened against a star closer in Devin Williams.
The Mets moved on and it was time for the divisional round. They starred again.
They were shut down for seven innings by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler in Game 1, but then scored five runs in the top of the eighth to steal it. Game 2 was an instant classic. A 3-0 Mets lead in the middle of six. Back-to-back Phillies homers to tie it, a quick Mets answer, three Phillies runs in the bottom of the eighth to grab the lead. A Mets answer in the ninth to tie it and then a walkoff win for the Phillies to even the series.
Game 3 wasn't overly dramatic, but Game 4 provided the Lindor grand slam.
That is just a thing of beauty for baseball fans.
While the Mets were a big part of why the first two rounds of the playoffs (and the extra day preceding them), they were far from the only reason. We saw plenty of fun in the divisional round.
It started with a dud, as the Guardians blew the Tigers away from the start in Game 1. It was not a harbinger, though, fortunately.
The Yankees' win over the Royals wasn't the most dramatic, but it was a quality series with all four games being close. Two of the games were decided by one run and the other two by two. Giancarlo Stanton's big blast in the eighth inning of Game 3 ultimately turned the series.
In Game 4, the Royals nearly got a game-tying home run from Kyle Isbel to right field, but the wind knocked it down and Juan Soto made the catch against the wall.
As noted, The Tigers-Guardians series started off with a snooze, but Game 2 was must-watch baseball. Skubal dealt like the Cy Young winner he'll soon be for seven innings, but the Tigers didn't give him any run support and it was 0-0 heading to the ninth. The Guardians put in Clase, the best closer in baseball this season. And the Tigers managed two baserunners before Kerry Carpenter came through with the hit of his life.
Game 3 wasn't a classic, but it was perfectly adequate. Game 4 delivered a go-ahead home run and game-tying home run in the fifth, a go-ahead Tigers single in the sixth and a pinch-hit, two-run, go-ahead homer by David Fry in the seventh. Fry would later lay down a squeeze for insurance and the Guardians would end up needing it.
Game 5 saw the Guardians put up a five spot against Skubal, the exclamation point being a Lane Thomas grand slam.
Skubal hadn't even given up five runs in a game since his first start in August. He gave up five in the fifth inning of Game 5 alone. It snapped a streak of over 28 scoreless innings.
And, of course, there is the budding rivalry that is the Dodgers and Padres. The Padres took a 3-0 lead in the first inning in Game 1, but Ohtani hit a three-run blast to tie it in the second inning.
The Padres took a 5-3 lead shortly thereafter, but the Dodgers were relentless and won, 7-5. Game 2 was a Padres blowout that started with Jurickson Profar's robbery/troll job. A few Dodgers fans put forth a pathetic effort in throwing things at the Padres' outfielders. There was beef between Manny Machado and the Dodgers, specifically manager Dave Roberts. In Game 3, Mookie Betts homered just over the glove of Profar this time to start, but the Padres scored six times in the bottom of the second to take control. The big blow was Tatis' moonshot.
Next inning, though, Teoscar Hernández hit a grand slam to cut the Padres' lead to 6-5.
Somehow, that would be the final score after a lot of nail-biting innings to follow.
The San Diego Padres were shut out the first game after the All-Star break. From that point forward, they had the best record in baseball and were never shut out again ... until Games 4 and 5 of the NLDS to lose the series. They had gone 62 regular-season games and five playoff games without getting shut out and then failed to score for their final 24 innings of the season.
Many people buried the Dodgers after Game 3. Instead, the best team in baseball moves on after domination in the last two games of that series.
In short, the playoffs have already provided fireworks all over the place.
And we've only just begun. Four teams remain: The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians.
One will be crowned the 2024 World Series champion. For now, bring on the LCS.
