Well, here we are! October is creeping up on the horizon, which means it is almost time for the playoffs. Except it is not quite time yet. The final few days of regular-season baseball (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) still must be played. For many teams, these are irrelevant games. They can pick their noses in left field and nothing will change for them. But big baseball things can still happen this weekend. And for me, a lover of big baseball things, this is good and fun. Here are a few I'm keeping my eye on this weekend!
Is Loser Brain Curable?
The Blue Jays have confirmed Loser Brain, but so do the Detroit Tigers. Both of these teams have been good all season, and should continue to be good, but have instead recently been infected with Loser Brain. If the Blue Jays (who are confirmed for the playoffs) cannot cure themselves this weekend, they will lose their first-round bye. If the Tigers cannot cure themselves, they won't be going to the playoffs at all.
National League Wild Card Race To Cancun
Heading into this weekend, three teams are in a tense battle to determine which of them will get to go to the beach instead of the playoffs. In the National League, the race for the final wild card spot has been less of a fight than a polite conversation filled with "No, you go ahead"s and "after you"s. The Mets, Reds, and Diamondbacks are all in strict debates over whether they want to go to the playoffs or tank their seasons and head to the beach. Right now, the Mets hold the wild card spot, but that could change quickly. Going into the weekend, Cincinnati is one game back and Arizona is two.
The Fish Could Become Evil
The Reds, Mets and Diamondbacks have all played so poorly for the last two weeks that the MIAMI MARLINS were for a moment in striking distance. After Thursday night's loss to the Phillies, they can no longer go to the playoffs, but they could become spiteful and evil, because this weekend they play a three-game series against the Mets. Maybe ruining their party is a consolation prize.
I Do Not Know The Guardians
The Guardians do not exist to me. I've seen them live twice this year, and I just cannot remember them. Who is on that team? What do they do? Are any of them hot? All of these are mysteries to me, which is why it is especially scary that they are suddenly very close to securing a playoff berth. This weekend, I hope to learn who they are, since apparently that's something I need to know now.
The Big Dumper Vs. Aaron Judge
Sure, Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge are the two frontrunners for the American League MVP title this year, but there's more at stake in their rivalry! Raleigh heads into this final weekend with 60 home runs. That's striking distance of the American League record set by Judge in 2022 (62). Can Raleigh steal the title?
Niche Home Run History
Despite more than a hundred years of play, no MLB player has ever managed to end their regular season with 55 home runs exactly. This year's leaders (Cal Raleigh and Kyle Schwarber) are already past that mark. But several players could still become the first. Shohei Ohtani has 54 homers going into this weekend, and Aaron Judge has 51. Maybe one of them will do it!
Drunken Dugout Celebrations
Four of the twelve playoff berths still haven't been clinched. What that means is that at some point this weekend, four teams are going to have their locker rooms draped in plastic while workers build a mountain of beer and tequila. This is beautiful to me, because I love watching people try to communicate with a newscaster while four beers deep. Congratulations to all the winners—unless they are the Guardians, whom I do not know!
