In a comment to my previous post about about Atlanta having lost 1-0 to San Francisco in Game 1 of the National League Division Series (NLDS), Lord Yorkshire Pudding of Pudding Towers, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, said, “Sorry Atlanta lost. Better luck next year.”
Not so fast.
Clearly, Lord Pudding doesn’t understand how Major League Baseball works in America. For everyone’s enlightenment, I will now kindly explain the baseball season to a waiting world. There are currently 30 major league teams (29 in the United States and one in Canada). Each team plays a 162-game season that began back in April. This “regular season” is now finished, but there’s still a lot of baseball left to be played. The top eight teams are now in a round of postseason playoffs, and Atlanta has at least two more chances to continue.
It goes like this (and I may have Easts and Wests mixed up. If I do, Reamus will set me straight):
The National League Division (East) series is a “best 3 out of 5” series between Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Philadelphia currently leads this series, one game to none.
The National League Division (West) Series is a “best 3 out of 5” series between Atlanta and San Francisco. San Francisco currently leads this series, one game to none. [Update, Oct. 9th, 2010: Atlanta beat San Francisco 5-4 last night in 11 innings after being behind 4-0 at one point, and this series is now tied at one game each. Do not look for another update after tonight’s game as there will be no game tonight. The teams have to travel the 2,134 miles between San Francisco and Atlanta so that the next two games in the series can be played in Atlanta. This distance is just about the same as the distance between London, England, and Cairo, Egypt. If you think you’re going to get this much detail about any of the other postseason series from me, you have another think coming. --RWP]
The winners of these two “best 3 out of 5” series will then meet in a “best 4 out of 7” series called the National League Championship series.
The American League Division (East) series is a “best 3 out of 5" series between New York and Minnesota. New York currently leads this series, two games to none.
The American League Division (West) series is a “best 3 out of 5” series between Texas and Tampa Bay. Texas currently leads this series, two games to none.
The winners of these two “best 3 out of 5” series will then meet in a “best 4 out of 7” series called the American League Championship series.
Then, and only then, will the winner of the National League Championship Series and the winner of the American League Championship Series play one another in a final “best 4 out of 7” series of games called the World Series. (Everything you could ever possibly want to know about the World Series is at that link.)
Note that it is called the World Series even though 29 of the 30 teams are in the United States and the other one is in Canada. As they say in Quebec, c’est la vie.
If the World Series lasts the full seven games, baseball will finally come to an end for this year on November 4th, and the “boys of summer” could have icicles attached to their noses.
If you want to follow the progress of the postseason playoffs, click here.
If you don’t want to follow the progress of the postseason playoffs, Yogi Berra has some advice, and here it is: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Otherwise, it’s déjà vu all over again.
Good heavens! It's so complicated. No wonder baseball didn't catch on over here in the Second World. We'll stick to football - and I don't mean the American razzmatazz version of rugby either! That's also far too complicated.
ReplyDeleteHi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI got your comment about linking to my daughter's death defying leap. I look forward to reading it.
Did you happen to catch any of the recent shows about the history of baseball on PBS? I enjoyed them, and I don't even follow baseball.
ReplyDeleteRWP:
ReplyDeletePretty much the way it works, except east and west are mixed in the Division Playoffs. They have all ( save one) already won a "Division" and they add one team (the Yankees this year and Atlanta respectively)) with the best record in their respective league that did NOT win a division from each league to make eight teams in. Thus, Philly, the Eastern winners are playiong the Reds, wehile the Giants, the Western winner is playing the Atlanta team which had only the best record in the National leaghue of all those who did NOT win their division for the right to play in the League Chamkpionship.
I am sure YP has now found this enought to have glazed his eyes and fall asleep should he read it.
Regards,
Reamaus
BTW the "key word is not appearing on your blog, thus I remain anonymously yours.
it really is over isn't it??????after 500 <><><>><><><>blogging ends>>>that is true isn't it??????
ReplyDelete>>>when blogging is almost to a stop< the end has come right?????wisdom stops advice stops, the stories stop<>><><>< comments slow almost to a stop>>>THE END>>>>RIGHT????also i said so in my defunct blog>>>i have stopped right???
162 games a season?! Am I right in thinking that baseball can't be too tiring? Or do the teams have a really large pool of players? And how do they fill the stadiums three or four times a week?
ReplyDelete