The MLB Playoffs Are Fun Again

Now that the 2015 regular season is over, all of us here in the Bird-o-Sphere who create content are in retrospective mode. Nobody wants to tackle the looming offseason yet, because frankly… it could be pretty dark.

One thing I would like to do is recognize that the return of winning baseball in Baltimore has done so much more than allow me to root for a not-pathetic team. It’s also allowed me to enjoy the MLB playoffs again.

Watching the playoffs during the Dark Period was infuriating. It was this mythical post season thing in which it seemed that only New York, Boston, and a couple of other teams got to participate. I resented the MLB playoffs, because I knew that the Orioles were so far from being relevant in them.

Which is a shame.

I say it every three blogs, or so: baseball is the best damn game on the face of the planet. And watching it when the stakes are at its highest, when the best players are on the field, and the environment is electric… there is nothing like it.

It isn’t fair to say that baseball’s post season was a NY/BOS love fest. Those were just the bitter complaints of a fan whose team had beaten him down, and robbed him – to a degree – of a love of the game at large. In fact, baseball’s playoffs enjoy much more fresh blood from year-to-year than, say, the NFL. 2015 is a prime example, with five teams appearing in the playoffs, who watched from their couches in 2014.

Last night, I sat down to watch the AL Wild Card game. Sure, there was a pang that my Orioles weren’t in the playoffs. But I watched a good baseball game, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

First, I love the play-in game. It’s the seventh game of the series right away. The two teams in the league who made the playoffs, but failed to win their division have to win-or-go-home their way into the ALDS. Baseball wanted to capture the drama, and they did so admirably. There are those who dislike the format, and I understand their reservations. I simply don’t agree. I’m happy to enjoy the show.

The extra treat was watching someone beat the Yankees, on their own turf, to end their season. Sure, it’s not as sweet as an Orioles victory, but a Yankees loss is always just what the doctor ordered. I chased my bitterness down with a healthy dose of schadenfreude. And it was delicious.

I’m fully behind the Astros at this point. They’re a young, fun team, who happens to wear the right color, and is not named the Royals or Blue Jays. I’m rooting for an Astros/Cubs World Series, and seem to be the only person in “unaffiliated baseball” who is not pulling for the Cubs.

Enjoy the playoffs, everyone. It’s a happy diversion from wondering whether or not the Orioles will take a step back this offseason. In the meantime, there is entertaining baseball to watch. And at least for me, it doesn’t hurt to watch it any more.