I'm a fallphile. And especially October. There are all the classic reasons...foliage, pumpkins, the first seasonal smells of cold weather, fireplaces, apples. All of it magnified here in New England.
But trumping them all is post season baseball. Baseball is my life. I can associate every major event in my life with baseball. (At least those that happened from April to October) I'm sure there are some unpleasant things that happened to me on the diamond. Maybe childhood incidents from my days in Little League or just playing with my friends. But I can't remember a single one. Only pleasant memories. My coach, Mr. Germain, gently prodding me to become a catcher rather than the motionless second baseman I was. Becoming an OK (not great) catcher, where I learned I still couldn't hit but I COULD play defense and call a game. Watching my brother launch some prodigious home runs. (A talent I never had) Hitting a bases clearing double when I was 14 off of Lenny Destro, a very tough, good, lefty pitcher. (The offensive highpoint of my life)
But the greatest memory was watching the Mets turn the country upside down in 1969 by winning the World Series. I was 13, and obsessed with normal adolescent thoughts, of which there are only 3. Sex, rock and roll, and sports. I had zero chance of taking the first two beyond the fantasy level. So I reveled in the 3rd obsession. And I was amply rewarded thrice, when the Jets shocked the football world in January of 1969 by winning Super Bowl III. As mentioned, the Mets did the same to the baseball world and beyond in October of 1969. (Each time, the city of Baltimore was on the losing end. Too bad...I always liked crabcakes) And finally, the Knicks would start the season in October and finish it in May of 1970 by winning the NBA championship. (The one title that wasn't a shock).
Since sex was out of the question, I considered these three combined events a "sportgasm", if you will.
My fondest baseball memories, not surprisingly, are of the "fall classic", i.e. the World Series; played in October. Over the years, I've conducted extensive research on what makes a great World Series. (In other words, I've thought about this a lot)
As I write this, the 4 contending teams for the 2012 World Series championship are the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals in the National League. And the reviled New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers (my pick from April to win it all). All teams are mid to major market teams. But whether the World Series will be a true classic or a snooze fest has nothing to do with market size or much of anything else. A great World Series has to have the following 8 elements:
1: It has to go the distance; 7 games, although there have been some 6 game affairs that have been superb. But that's rare.
2: A dominating MVP player. When it's a team effort, the series just isn't as memorable.
3: A Cinderella player, i.e. someone who had a so-so regular season but suddenly morphs in to Reggie Jackson. He can also be the MVP, but doesn't have to be.
4: Good umpiring. An umpire's blown call should never affect the outcome of the game.
5: Very few errors. As with umpiring, the game should be decided by the winning team, not someone else's mistake.
6: Low scores. I may be in a minority among baseball fans but I find slugfests boring, for the most part. (Game 6 of 2011 a definite exception)
7: Many close games. Again, one sided games are boring after the 5th inning.
8: Iconic moments, such as walk off home runs, amazing catches, etc.
Based on the above, my favorite 6 World Series of all time: (all 7 game affairs)
6: 1982: Cardinals (there they are again) beating the Brewers with classic fundamental baseball, led by the great "Wizard", shortstop Ozzie Smith.
5: 1980: The forlorn Phillies, owner of more losses than any franchise in the history of global sports, finally get it done by beating the Kansas City Royals.
4: 1979: The "We Are Family" Pirates coming back from a 3-1 deficit to
beat the Baltimore Orioles. What a way for the great Willie Stargell to end his career. (As much as I despised disco, I have to take
my hat off to the series)
3: 1975: The mighty Cincinnati Reds beat the upstart Boston Red Sox. Carlton Fisk's iconic "body language" home run.
2: 2011: If not for a rather one sided 7th game, this would be the best Series of all time. It truly had everything else, including perhaps the greatest single World Series game in history, the amazing game 6 when the Cardinals were down to their final strike 3(?) times and crawled off the ledge.
1: 1991: To have a World Series meeting all 8 points above is a rarity. This showdown, in which the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves in 7 meets all 8 points. In the series, 5 games were decided by one run; 4 games were won in the final at bat, and 3 games went into extra innings.
It just doesn't get any better than that.
By the way, the Braves have had more than their share of misfortune in post season over the years. I believe it's because they have an Indian name. Indian names are curses for the poor franchise cities. Proof? Only time the Braves have won in recent memory was 1995, when they beat (wait for it) the Cleveland Indians.
I have other theories on winning and losing...ugly uniforms and stupid nicknames. But I'll save that for later.
PLAY BALL, y'all!
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