ESPN.com article about '93 NL West pennant race

34TheTruth34 · #1 09-26-2007, 12:27 PM

Thought this was a fascinating article about perhaps the greatest pennant race ever (or, at least the last one ever). Hope you guys like it:

The Last Real Race

korleone_x · #2 09-26-2007, 12:55 PM

Great piece. That was the last year I really followed baseball on a day-to-day basis. I had been a Braves fan since I was about six (1986) and I remember staying up late that whole summer to watch the Giants games on ESPN after the Braves games. Thanks, this was a great read and brought back a lot of memories.

tuq · #3 09-26-2007, 01:38 PM

Yeah, good stuff. I was a Braves fan growing up as a byproduct of not having a team here and them being on WTBS all the time. This was back in the Dale Murphy days. I can still name the starting lineup circa 1983. So I got some sweet payoff when they unexpectedly got good in 1991. That race was spectacular, and if anyone was to make an argument for why the wild card shouldn't exist, that article should be Exhibit A.

Jack of Arcades · #4 09-26-2007, 01:46 PM

Imagine how much more intense the Sox/Yanks race would be if one of them wasn't assured a spot in the playoffs.

(I think this will be the first year in its existence that the AL Wild Card team won't have a top 3 record).

Dynasty · #5 09-26-2007, 02:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Imagine how much more intense the Sox/Yanks race would be if one of them wasn't assured a spot in the playoffs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Neither would be assured a spot. The Indians used to be in the East.

For me the existence of the wild card was worth it just for the potential of a Red Sox-Yankees ALCS. Since '94, we've had three of those matchups and the last two have been incredible.

mason55 · #6 09-26-2007, 02:08 PM

right.

you can have 4 teams in the playoffs and have an awesome pennant race once every 4(?) years

or

you can have an extra round of playoffs guaranteed AND still have exciting playoff races. if the mariners or tigers hadnt collapsed we would be looking at a sweet race in the AL just leading up to 2 great opening series. as it is the AL playoffs are going to be awesome this year.

i love the wild card. teh playoffs are still exclusive but you get those extra four do-or-die series guaranteed every year and they're head-to-head instead of your favorite 104 win team having to root for some 70 win team so they can make the playoffs.

ZServe · #7 09-26-2007, 02:53 PM

I think that there should be two wild cards in each league, and those two teams should have a one game playoff as a "play-in game" with the winner entering the playoffs. This way there is still the excitement of teams battling to get the wild card, but the division races still mean a ton because the division winners avoid the play-in game.

Thoughts?

tuq · #8 09-26-2007, 02:56 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I think that there should be two wild cards in each league, and those two teams should have a one game playoff as a "play-in game" with the winner entering the playoffs. This way there is still the excitement of teams battling to get the wild card, but the division races still mean a ton because the division winners avoid the play-in game.

Thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]
This has been proposed before, I think by Bill Simmons. Not a bad idea, but it does allow yet another team with a less than stellar record make it to the playoffs. That in turn gives the regular season even less merit, which is not good in a sport where a team is having a great season when they win 60% of the time, and near-.500 clubs win it all from time to time.