I'm still reeling from the Brewers coming up 1 game short of a potential playoff run. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year we'd be finish at 86-76 I would take that any day of the week and be damn proud of it for the team with the lowest payroll in baseball. But after going through a good chunk of the season leading or 2nd place in the division race I reluctantly started to get my hopes up. Losing a 6-run lead on Saturday for the first time all season was the only thing standing between the Brewers and a Game 163 with the Rockies today. Looking back on the season I think we can all say that the Brewers overachieved being this soon into a rebuild process, but it still hurts. The good news is that there are not very many guaranteed contracts for next year and a lot of young players still under control for cheap, so this could lead to a big spending spree and an even better year in 2018.
If you weren't a Brewers or Cubs fan, the other division races were probably a little anticlimactic for you. 5 of the 6 teams that won their division last year won again this year, and 3 of the races have been pretty much decided two months ago. No team other than the Twins was really a shocker. The more exciting races this year are for the individual awards. There are a legit 5 or 6 candidates for the MVP in each league for a change. We saw a 60-homerun season from Giancarlo Stanton, the first 200-20-30 season in the history of baseball, from Jose Altuve, and a guy who has the potential to be only the 4th MVP-ROY in the same season of all time in Aaron Judge. The era of the pitcher definitely took a backseat this year, even despite Chris Sale's ridiculous season. On a personal level I made it to 36 ballgames this year in 13 different ballparks, 7 of which were new to my list. Seeing as how I bought a house and knocked up my wife during this season, I'd say that's still pretty good. I can't wait to take my daughter to her first ballgame next summer.
I managed to successfully predict 7 of the 10 playoff teams this year. My outliers this year were the Marlins and the perennially disappointing Mariners.
PLAYOFFS START 10/3/17
NL Wild Card - #4 Diamondbacks v. #5 Rockies
NLDS - #1 Dodgers v. WC winner
#2 Nationals v. #3 Cubs
AL Wild Card - #4 Yankees v. #5 Twins
ALDS - #1 Indians v. WC winner
#2 Astros v. #3 Red Sox
World Series Prediction: Nationals defeat Indians in 7
Rooting for: Nationals v. Twins
Preseason Predictions
#1 Nationals
#2 Cubs
#3 Dodgers
#4 Mets
#5 Marlins
#1 Red Sox
#2 Indians
#3 Mariners
#4 Yankees
#5 Astros
World Series - Nationals defeat Indians in 7
FINAL STANDINGS:
NLDS - #1 Dodgers v. WC winner
#2 Nationals v. #3 Cubs
AL Wild Card - #4 Yankees v. #5 Twins
ALDS - #1 Indians v. WC winner
#2 Astros v. #3 Red Sox
World Series Prediction: Nationals defeat Indians in 7
Rooting for: Nationals v. Twins
Preseason Predictions
#1 Nationals
#2 Cubs
#3 Dodgers
#4 Mets
#5 Marlins
#1 Red Sox
#2 Indians
#3 Mariners
#4 Yankees
#5 Astros
World Series - Nationals defeat Indians in 7
FINAL STANDINGS:
Brewers 86-76, -6.0, 2nd NL Central, -1.0 WC
Reds 68-94, -24.0, last NL Central
Twins 85-77, -17.0, 2nd NL Central, #2 Wild Card
FINAL 2017 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 14 (+33 worked)
Peter - 36
Reds 68-94, -24.0, last NL Central
Twins 85-77, -17.0, 2nd NL Central, #2 Wild Card
FINAL 2017 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 14 (+33 worked)
Peter - 36
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.