Bronx Bomber Ball

Through all the troubles and frustrations in this Yankees season, the time is finally here. Playoffs. Thanks to the first ever walk off hit in the career of Aaron Judge, the Yankees beat the Rays in Game 162 to give the Bombers a playoff berth and send them to the Wild Card Game. 

  Just ten short days ago, this team looked on death’s door, dropping back-to-back games to the Cleveland Indians at home by a combined score of 22-4.   They had fallen out of a wild card spot by 1.5 games, and trailed Boston for the top spot by 2.5 games.   All of the good vibes and positivity accrued during their 13-game winning streak from August 14-27 was seemingly out the window.   They appeared headed for an early end to their season – one that began with lofty expectations of a World Series title.

Up through 1960, the MLB had what is referred to as “pure seasons” every year. There were eight teams in each league and each of those teams would play the other seven teams 22 times before culminating in the World Series which would also serve as the only interleague matchup each season. This created a balance in baseball because no team would have the advantage of playing an inferior team more or avoiding a juggernaut for most of the season, and at the end of the 154-game season, the top team from either league would be World Series bound.   Photo Credit: Elsa | Getty Images