Baseball is the kind of sport you usually don't have to pay that much attention to throughout the season and when it comes time for October baseball you wait and see if the New York Yankees play the Boston Red Sox. However, this year the 2012 MLB season has been one to remember, and the best in any recent memory I have. You may be wondering why this season has been any different from past seasons, but I'm going to tell you why right here, right now. For the record I am not some closet Baltimore Orioles fan coming out now when the time is right.
You don't need much bait for this trout:
Mike Trout has been an astonishing edition to the Lose Angeles Angels and the future of the American League. He will probably end up finishing second in the AL MVP race and he is only a rookie, that's right a rookie. He's the first player in the history of the game to have 30 Home Runs and 40 Stolen Bases in his first season, he is also an excellent defender and is only 21 years old. Trout is an insane talent and will keep the Angels contenders for many years to come (I give no props to Albert Pujols).
AL/NL MVP Race:
You may be asking "why is the MVP race so important"? I will tell you why. Let's start with the National League where Melky Cabrera was the clear leader to take the MVP and lead the Giants into the postseason until he decided he needed a little juice. The steroids cost him a 50 game suspension, and furthermore we learned how stupid he was when he created his own website to try and make it all seem right. Glad they don't IQ test in the MLB. The best part of this story is that more than likely Cabrera's teammate Buster Posey will win the NL MVP, also help the Giants return to the postseason, while coming off a broken leg injury which caused him to miss pretty much the entire year last year. Oh, and about that 50 game suspension that is up for Cabrera, the Giants have decided to leave him off the postseason roster. That might be best, he can focus on working on his website development skills at home.
Now the AL, for the first time since 1967 we might see a triple crown winner in Miguel Cabrera. It will come right down to the wire as he currently leads in Batting Average and RBI's, and is tied for first in Home Runs with Josh Hamilton. But, nonetheless if he gets the triple crown or doesn't he might have single-handedly led his the Detroit Tigers back into the postseason. Wonder which Cabrera is happier?
Perfect Games/No Hitters: The only thing I have to say about this is there have been 7 Perfect games or No Hitters this year. Wow.
Playoff Races: This is the cream of the crop for sure on a variety of levels. First, let's start with simply the photo finishes. With about two weeks to go a little while ago we had as many as 5-6 teams vying for 2 wild card spots in both the AL & NL. Now with 3 games left, we still do not have a winner in the hardest division in baseball, the AL East. For you fans just tuning into baseball, it is not coming down to the Yankees & Red Sox. This leads me to what I want to talk about next. I'm sure Commissioner Bud Selig was crapping his pants all September long praying the Orioles and Athletics would stay in the hunt. I am glad to tell you Bud that they have, and for the first time in a long time two non traditional baseball market teams will be in the postseason (barring a miracle from Tampa or the Angels). Not only that, if the Orioles manage to win the AL East, Oakland has a chance to beat the Yankees in the 1 game playoff. Thank you Bud Selig for this new playoff format, which is going to be off the hook. A special thank you to both the Baltimore Orioles & Oakland Athletics for sticking it to the lopsided way of baseball and granting the opportunity for every non New York Yankee fan to cheer for a Baltimore or Oakland vs Washington Nationals World Series.
Speaking of the Washington Nationals, another non traditional baseball market. They have been the story of the NL, easily making the playoffs for the first time since well (deep sigh) they were the Montreal Expos (Sorry Expos fans). They have one of the best pitchers in the game and a 19 year old rookie in Bryce Harper who much like Mike Trout was off the charts this year and will make the Nationals a force to be reckoned with in the NL for many many years.
The new playoff format has brought the baseball world thoroughly exciting baseball leading up to October. As many as 3 non powerhouse baseball teams could make the playoffs. I now know why they advertise October baseball so hard because it will be one to remember for sure. This baseball that the MLB has brought us is here to stay folks, so get used to it.
Written By:
Garrett Daly
Follow me @DalyGarrett
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