Surely, I have stated before that I do not qualify as a big baseball fan. Never have, and likely never will, admittedly.
That said, there have been times when I could get into baseball more than other times. The New York Mets winning the World Series in 1986 was the first such time. The miniature dynasty of the Toronto Blue Jays in the early nineties was pretty sweet, too. A decade and change later, the Boston Red Sox overcoming an 0-3 hole in the playoff series against the New York Yankees, and then going on to beat them and sweep their way to the World Series, for their first title in 86 years, was another such time. Maybe, I could even argue the Yankees winning the 1996 Series, before they and especially their fans grew really tiresome, and their winning became all too repetitive.
It was really nice to see Boston win their first World Series in 86 years in 2004, and then follow it up with another in 2007, and still another in 2013. It was also cool to see Chicago as a city win their first World Series title since World War I, when the White Sox finally broke through and took the World Series in 2005.
This year has seemed particularly interesting in baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays finally look very solid again, taking the A.L. East division title, and I am glad for the entire country of Canada as far as that is concerned. And in the National League, I am very pleased with the success of the Chicago Cubs, who have kind of become my de facto favorite to take a title once and for all, and leave all of those dreadful streaks, those enormous title droughts, behind! It had been 86 years between titles when Boston won the World Series in 2004, and 88 years for the White Sox when they finally broke through the next year. But for the Chicago Cubs, it has already been over a century since they last enjoyed the thrill of a World Series title!
It's time!
The Chicago Cubs enjoyed a very decent season, qualifying for the playoffs, winning the one-game showdown, and then beating the always tough St. Louis Cardinals to move onto the National league Finals. Now, they will hopefully face the New York Mets (if the Mets can finally knock off the Dodgers), and that is exciting! Whoever wins, it will be a relatively new face in the World Series, and how cool is that? Also, I am strongly pulling for the Blue Jays to represent the American League, but they have to beat the Texas Rangers first.
One way or the other, I am finding these playoffs for baseball more exciting and entertaining than usual, and would personally love to see a World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Toronto Blue Jays! It would be tough to pick my favorite, although admittedly, I would have to favor the Cubs breaking a drought of over one century, since I have already seen the Toronto Blue Jays win not one, but two World Series in my lifetime. It does not even feel like all that long ago, frankly.
Anyway, apparently, I am not the only one excited by the success of the Cubs. One of my favorite rockers, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, is pretty entertained by it all, as well.
Here is a link to that story:
Eddie Vedder celebrates NLCS berth with Cubs (Video) by Josh Hill, October 13, 2015:
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