WWe're halfway through deciding who will be the baseball World Series champions, which means there are only four teams left. The seven-game American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees begins Monday in the Bronx, while the New York Mets face the Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday in Los Angeles.
How did we get here? Simply put, some of the most captivating early-round playoff baseball we've seen in quite some time. The play is more than welcome, coming off no less than six straight sweeps in last year's opening rounds and a 20-game losing streak to two.
A year later the situation has changed significantly: With strong story lines, competitive games and the hype of dramatic results, baseball has mojo and momentum as it goes deep into October. Television ratings are up 41% year-over-year, and viewership for college and NFL football is also on the rise. So what caused the October rise?
Exceeds expectations
It's one of baseball's great storylines: a team with low (or no) expectations sneaks into the postseason and makes its presence felt. This year's playoffs are full of such breakout clubs.
The Padres lost star closer Josh Hader and Cy Young winner Blake Snell to free agency, and dealt soon-to-be-free-agent mega-slugger Juan Soto to the Yankees. Expectation? Third or fourth place. Instead, the Friars won 93 games and the Soto deal, bringing their best starter, Michael King, to San Diego in exchange for a player who was never going to re-sign.
The Guardian writers gave the Minnesota Twins another division title in March, but Cleveland, who had the best record in baseball at multiple points on the year, saw none coming off a 51-26 start. Not expected to compete, the Guardians were led by Jose Ramirez, the greatest player no one was talking about yet, and Emanuel Klaas, the best closer in baseball.
The Tigers were sellers at the deadline, sending several players to the Dodgers, including pitcher Jack Flaherty. Then they started winning, moving from nine games under .500 into the playoffs on July 4, finishing 47-28 with the support of southpaw Cy Young candidate Tarik Skupal.
The Royals had the greatest turnaround in baseball from a 106-loss season to 86 wins and a wild-card berth. That's largely thanks to Bobby Witt Jr. having an MVP-caliber season led by Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans as the best of any rotation in the AL.
The Mets, 11 games under .500 at the end of May and facing a long summer of empty seats and roster restructuring, are in a self-proclaimed “season of transition.” Thanks to the emergence of Francisco Lindor in McDonald's, a surprising pitching rotation and a resurgent lineup, the team posted the best record in baseball since June, clinching a playoff spot during a make-up doubleheader a day after the regular season ended.
Throw in the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, Brewers and Astros, and we enter these playoffs with a mixed bag of haves and have-nots.
Star Wattage
They finally left. Aaron Judge, who missed the 2023 postseason, returned to the playoffs after another Mickey Mantle-esque season in center field for the Yankees. Every at-bat was a sight to behold, even if he was barely visible, as he was in the Yankees' ALDS win over Kansas City. Will he finally break out of his .620 OPS slump against Cleveland in the ALCS?
Across town, Lindor emerged as a team leader and promising megastar following an MVP-like season. He then capped off the historic blast that sent New York into the playoffs with a grand slam that sank Philly in Game 4, sending New York into the NLCS. Mets fans long ago thought Cleveland might have won the trade that brought Linder to New York. Now he's one of MLB's most valuable assets.
Soon-to-be AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubel has the Tigers heavily favored past the Astros and bowed out against the Guardians on the brink of an ALCS appearance. Young Skupal is just getting started, and if he can stay healthy, he could truly emerge as an MLB superstar.
And of course there's Shohei Ohtani, baseball's most recognizable face for years on the low-ceilinged stage in Anaheim. Now he's finally in the playoffs and should be with the deep-pocketed Dodgers for some time. Could he become the first MLB player since Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter to break the game in America? A big-market matchup with the Mets in the NLCS should help.
Unforgettable moments
It's hard to find magical moments in any non-contest series, but each of this year's four division series have started with 1-1 deadlocks, two of them going the five-game distance. That wild card round provided the most dramatic moment of the season.
Agent slugger Pete Alonso, who most Mets fans were happy to see leave after a subpar season, hit the most dramatic home run in franchise history in a decisive Game 3 in Milwaukee. His first in the ninth, a three-run dong, instantly cemented his place in Mets lore, one of the most immediate 180-degree swings even the most fickle fans can experience.
The Guardians were trying to take a 2-0 ALDS lead over the Tigers in a tense, drama-filled scoreless contest. Then in the ninth, Kerry Carpenter pinch hit for the Tigers. Against Cleveland closer Glass, who had a regular-season ERA of 0.61, he hit a three-run homer that silenced Progressive Field in Cleveland.
It couldn't get much bigger for the Mets after Alonso's shot, until the aforementioned Lindor grand slam blast ended the Phillies' hopes of sending a decisive Game 5 to Philadelphia and a date with ace Zack Wheeler.
The greatest human resource of Linder's career and no bat flip, no walking in line, no dancing, don't look at me wrong. He kept his head down and circled the bases.
Pure class. pic.twitter.com/N4rjRej51s
— Phil Sanchez (@PhilSanchezTV) October 9, 2024
Finally, in a decisive Game 5 of the ALDS, Lane Thomas knocked Detroit's Scuball off his prime, at least for now, with a fifth-inning grand slam that would propel the $109m-paid minnow to a big-money matchup. Yankees for the right to represent the American League in the World Series.
Fun!
While the opening stages of the 2024 playoffs were entertaining for their competitive match-ups and big moments, there was also a good amount of gamesmanship in between. Mets' Jesse Winger turned heel against Milwaukee, prompting Willie Adams to call Winger into the parking lot after the game for the score. Only Adams showed up.
In Game 2 of the NLDS, the Padres' Manny Machado, leading a team full of Dennis Rodman-type provocateurs, and challenged Dodgers hurler Jack Flaherty to a postgame brawl in a parking lot that looks like a current MLB venue. A selection for fights that never happen.
In Game 2, Machado may or may not have intentionally thrown a ball at Dodgers manager David Roberts between innings, leading to even more beef between teams with a long tradition of Southern California rivalry.
And surprisingly, in Game 2, Bates left fielder Jurickson Profar started a fight with Dodgers fans, taunting LA supporters after denying Mookie Betts a home run, which had an ugly ending.
The bench clearing in Game 4 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Royals always gets our attention, rightly or wrongly.
Finally, Max Muncie followed up Kike Hernandez's filthy buzzer beater with another in a tight Game 5 after the Dodgers eliminated their hated division rivals.
“What is it, 80% of the experts said we were going to lose?” Muncy said. “Look at that name. We know who we are. We are the best team in baseball and we are ready to prove it.
