A White Sox vs Astros World Series…stranger things have happened I suppose. And while I’m happy for all my friends who are Astros fans I want them all, once the euphoria settles to a managable level, to take a look at the calendar. That’s right…the World Series won’t start until October 22nd.
That’s most decidedly not Scottish.
That fact that this is crap is not a reflection on the teams that are playing this year: it’s a problem with baseball itself. The World Series should over by now. In his hey-day with the Yankees Reggie Jackson’s nickname was Mr. October, not Mr. Early-November. I blame this all on Ronald Reagan (“why?” you may ask. “Why not?”, I reply.)
The Baseball Almanac lists the outcome of every World Series match up thus far in a handy chart. You have to dig deep but what you find is that, on average, pre-1981 the World Series started around October 10th and was over around October 21st. We keep going the way we’ve been going we’ll start a new American tradition: fighting over what the men in the family watch on Thanksgiving instead of helping out with dinner: the Dallas Cowboys beat up the Redskins or the last game of the World Series.
I propose a reform:
- Division Series: Best of 3
- League Championship: Best of 5
- World Series: Best of 7
Oh, and could we quit the bullshit, back to back weekend scheduling of teams while we’re at it? And lets at least think about going back to two divisions, eh?
I’m gonna go watch Bull Durham and wait for the Nationals schedule for next year to come out.
I am in COMPLETE and TOTAL agreement with you.
I’d add one thing. Get rid of the DESIGNATED HITTER rule.
Baseball is a team sport.
Pitchers are part of the team. They need to bat just like any other player.
STB
Go Astros!
I’m glad you wrote about this because it seemed too late in the year to be still thinking about baseball. (Actually, truth be told, I have been blissfully ignorant of most professional sports this year: the Mariners sucked; it was obvious by stage 5 that Lance was going to be a seven-peat; the Seahawks will find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; and I hate basketball.)