After hours (okay, a few intense Google searches) of research, I come bearing a treasure known to few but to be shared with many on this glorious day. Today, we recognize some of the greatest moments in baseball. Why? Well, because we just hit the restart button on the season yesterday and this has nothing to do with it being April 1st, absolutely nothing.
Without further ado, I present to you, the greatest treasures this sport has to offer: Serious Moments of Baseball History.
And, just for good measure, to make sure you are in the right mood for this day: The Insanely Best Play of Any Sporting Event Held in October.
So who's in the mood for some baseball, now!?
We have been fortunate enough to have Opening Day for all but the Yankees and Astros. But hey, who cares about them anyway? We got to see at least one (not sure if there were more) manager's challenge. And, as is the way of the Cubs, the call was upheld and the Cubs lost their first challenge and subsequently their first game of the season.
The Rangers hosted a round of hitting practice with the Phillies that saw 10 runs scored in the second inning, 31 hits and a total of 24 runs scored. The Phillies won that one. Oh, and the Nationals and Mets can hit too. 16 hits and 16 runs in the first game of the season at Citi Field. The Nationals beat out the Mets 9-7. The Marlins and Mariners each scored 10 runs while beating the Rockies and Angels respectively. The Diamondbacks (in their third game of the season) hosted the Giants in South West's Opening Day edition of hit-fest. The D-backs fell, for the third time in as many games, 8-9 while piling on 16 hits compared to 12 hits for the Giants.
Of course, we were owed all of that offensive production after two impressive pitching duels to open up the National League Central race. The first, Cubs at Pirates, went to the home half of the 10th inning when Neil Walker lifted a walk off homer out of PNC Park. Francisco Liriano completely dominated the Cubs lineup en route to tying the Pirates' franchise record of 10 K's on Opening Day.
The second, which was blacked out on ESPN in Saint Louis for unknown reasons, featured the two teams that have been at the top of the NL Central four of the past five years. Although Cincinnati's tradition of always opening at home (thankfully Bud Selig hasn't taken that away) has led to more heartbreak than season jump starts (the Reds are 7-11-1 on Opening Day since 1995), the home crowd once again showed up in force for a "Titanic Struggle," as Marty Brennaman would say, between two aces: Johnny Cueto of the Reds and Adam Wainwright of the Cards. Poor baserunning (I'm looking at you Pena in the fifth and DatDudeBP in the eighth) and four K's by rookie-speedster Billy Hamilton spelled defeat for the Reds in a game that featured quality pitching on both sides. Yadier Molina's homer in the seventh was the only run of the day.
So, after one day (or three for the D-backs and Dodgers) it's about time to be predicting end of the season rankings, right? Plus, today is the day for complete shenanigans across the country, so what the hell? Well then, here are the Absurdly Early Picks for the 2014 MLB Playoffs:
AL East
1. Tampa Bay Rays- Winner
2. Boston Red Sox- Wildcard
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. New York Yankees
AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers- Winner
2. Cleveland Indians- Wildcard
3. Kansas City
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Chicago White Sox
AL West
1. Seattle Mariners- Winner
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland A's
4. Houston Astros
5. Los Angeles Angels
NL East
1. Washington Nationals- Winner
2. Atlanta Braves- Wildcard
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Mets
5. Miami Marlins
NL Central
1. Saint Louis Cardinals- Winner (yes it did hurt to actually type that)
2. Cincinnati Reds- Wildcard
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Chicago Cubs
NL West
1. Los Angeles Dodgers- Winner
2. San Francisco Giants
3. Colorado Rockies
4. San Diego Padres
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
AL Wildcard
Cleveland at Boston
NL Wildcard
Cincinnati at Atlanta
ALDS
Boston at Detroit in 5
Seattle at Tampa Bay in 4
NLDS
Cincinnati at LA Dodgers in 5
Saint Louis at Washington in 3
ALCS
Tampa Bay at Detroit in 6
NLCS
Washington at LA Dodgers in 5
World Series
LA Dodgers at Detroit
LA Dodgers at Detroit
Detroit at LA Dodgers
Detroit at LA Dodgers
Detroit at LA Dodgers
LA Dodgers at Detroit
World Champs- Los Angeles Dodgers
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