Randall Moore
Sports Columnist
September 16, 2005
I’m not going to lie - baseball has become much more exciting since the 1995 season. That year Major League Baseball realigned each league and added a wild card team that would make the playoffs in addition to the three division champions in each league. The last three years, wild card teams have actually won the World Series: the Anaheim Angels in 2002, the Florida Marlins in 2003 and the Boston Red Sox last year. The Marlins have actually won the World Series twice in their 11 year history from the wild card spot, which is one more than the Atlanta Braves have won during their run of 14-straight National League East Division titles.
This year both the National League and American League wild card pictures are
jumbled messes with three weeks left in the regular season. In the American
League, the Cleveland Indians currently have the lead by one game of the New
York Yankees and one and a half games on the Oakland Athletics. In the National
League, the Marlins have the lead by half a game over the Houston Astros, but
the leader in the NL changes every day. The Marlins, Astros and Philadelphia
Phillies have each led the wild card standings over the last week.
If not for the wild card most of the divisional races would already be over, and
there would be no reason to watch baseball anymore this year. In the National
League East the Atlanta Braves are on their way to their amazing 15th straight
National League Division Title as they lead the Marlins by five games in the
division. The St. Louis Cardinals lead the Astros by an astounding 15.5 games in
the National League Central. The San Diego Padres lead the Los Angeles Dodgers
by five and a half games in the National League West.
The American League has more interesting divisional races as the reigning World
Series Champions Boston Red Sox lead the New York Yankees by two and a half
games in the American League East. The Chicago White Sox lead the surprising
Cleveland Indians by six games in the American League Central. And the Los
Angeles Angels of Anaheim lead the Oakland Athletics by one game in the American
League West.
My choices for the Major League Baseball playoffs are as follows: In the
American League, I see the Red Sox winning the American League East, the White
Sox winning the American League Central, the Athletics winning the American
League West and the Cleveland Indians winning the wild card. In the National
League I have the Braves, Cardinals and Padres winning their respective
divisions and the Marlins winning the wild card.
Baseball has become much more exciting with the expansion of teams as well as
the added playoff games that came with the expanding of the league back in 1993
and then again in 1999. This year’s wild card race promises to be as heated as
ever.