Now that October is finally here, it signifies the start of a few key things. The leaves will start to change colors, candy will go on sale for Halloween very soon and the MLB playoffs will captivate most of the sports-watching audience around the nation.
This MLB season has been filled with excitement throughout: A couple of Yankees set records, Manny Ramirez suddenly retired and two unforgettable September collapses cost teams their shot at October baseball. Needless to say, there was enough action this season to keep fans entertained and should have them anxious to see how it will all end.
After many successful years in the MLB, Manny Ramirez had seemed to hit a wall. He wasn’t performing up to his standards of the past and he had been at the center of some controversy after failing a drug test a couple of seasons ago. But, amid an issue between him and the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, he decided to retire.
The sudden retirement was both unexpected and also very telling. Manny surely wouldn’t have retired had he known that he did not take any illegal drugs. But, I suppose we’ll never know and Manny will be remembered as always being Manny.
Along the same lines, the much-delayed Barry Bonds trial finally came to somewhat of a conclusion. Four years ago, Bonds came into question after his grand jury testimony in 2003, in which he claimed he had never “knowingly” used any kind of performance-enhancing drugs.
Personally, I think it’s pretty obvious whether or not he lied. But finally, he was officially found guilty on a count of obstruction of justice. Even with this decision finally coming, Bonds could still appeal the decision and drag this out even longer.
The second half of the season had us watch two Yankee greats set landmarks in their careers. Derek Jeter, the face of the franchise, finally reached the milestone of 3,000 hits. After early season injuries and a few comments that weren’t appreciated by upper management, he became the 28th player to reach the landmark. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera was working on setting a record of his own. A couple months after Jeter’s big day, Rivera set the all-time saves record surpassing Trevor Hoffman with his 602nd save.
Although these were big stories, I think the September collapses by the Red Sox and Braves took the spotlight on the year. Comebacks by the underdogs and blown leads by the favorites made for one crazy final night of the regular season. After this kind of year, I can only expect even greater things out of the playoffs.
