Postseason baseball epitomizes euphoria. Nothing can feel better than going through a painful 162 game season, and beat the best teams in the world to be named World Series Champions. Baseball has been called America’s pastime. If you appreciate baseball, you will cherish the postseason.
It is such a rush being in the atmosphere of 40,000 other people with the same passion and love for a group of 25 men playing a game. Calling baseball a job is an insult, calling it a game seems silly, but when you look at all the evidence, it’s both. Getting paid to play baseball makes it a job, but it is something you do for fun and that makes it a game.
“When a game can make a man cry and drop to his knees, it’s more than a game” –Pete Rose. The men who have experienced the playoffs in their life, will tell you that win or lose the feelings are multiplied by 100. “Getting a “W” in the playoffs is like an epiphany. You don’t know what you did at the time but you know it was special” –Johnny Podres.
The New York Yankees obliterated the record books in baseball’s history. If I asked someone to name 5 Hall of Fame baseball players, odds are they would say; Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle. All could make a case of the greatest player of all time. The Yankees have had the most postseason wins and World Series titles since the World Series inauguration in 1903. The Yankees have 27 World Series titles in 40 appearances.
“Champagne in the eyes never hurt so good” –Kevin Millar. Glorifying the postseason isn’t possible in the eyes of a baseball enthusiast. The feeling under the lights is indescribable. A fan base is most definitely part of the game. It’s easier to throw a strike in a 3-2 count if it’s silent. But if 40,000 plus fans are screaming from the pit of their stomachs, it becomes difficult.
Since the 1903 World Series, their have been many memorable moments. Bill Mazeroski’s walk off home run was the dream that every boy dreams. 3-2 count 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and a tie game. Mazeroski capitalized and hit the first and only game 7 walk off home run to win the World Series for the Pittsburg Pirates. But not all great moments are defined by great actions. In the 1986 world series, Bill Buckner who was an excellent hitter in the regular season, was playing first base when Mookie Wilson came up to hit. At this point the Mets were down in the series 3-2 and were a loss away from elimination. Mookie Wilson came to the plate during a two out rally, with a runner at 2nd and 3rd and down by one run, he is responsible for the outcome of the game. He hits a slow dribbler to Bill Buckner and it looked to be the end of the road for the Mets. But Buckner misplayed the ball and it went right in between his legs, and the winning run came around to score. Bill Buckner was a great baseball player who played 22 years in the major leagues, but he is remembered as the man who made the error.
There’s no crying in baseball is a saying that is inappropriate around October. Emotion is showed when necessary, and the postseason is a more than necessary of a reason.
Baseball has showed America that miracles can happen and have happened. It reminds us just how precious life can be if we let ourselves embrace every moment. Weightlessness doesn’t come often, but when you’re in the postseason, it’s continuous.