Reliving The Playoffs
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The Houston Astros. Congrats! No trash cans or buzzers needed this time around for them to bring another World Series home to Houston. All joking aside, we may have just witnessed the birth of a dynasty in baseball. The Astros earned a trip to the World Series for the fourth time in six years and won their second championship. Of course, we all know the asterisk that is next to their 2017 run, but they did win, nonetheless. Still, four World Series appearances in six years is one hell of an accomplishment. The scary part for the rest of the league is that I’m not sure it’s going to come to an end any time soon. With young stars like Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez, I think this Astros train keeps on rolling.
Side note, congrats to the Phillies as well! No one, outside of the city of Philly, expected them to make this run, but they gave the Astros all they could handle. They gave us some incredible playoff moments as well, and that’s what this article is about. Moments.
The World Series is great, of course. But baseball does such an incredible job of providing us with pictures, videos, and moments we’ll remember forever. So, what I’m going to do is give you my five favorite moments from the 2022 MLB Playoffs. Now, this isn’t going to be influenced or in line with a lot of the national media’s thoughts, because I believe I have a unique view on baseball. But I’ll give my reasoning behind each moment, so that you can get a feel for where I’m coming from. Without further ado, here they are. My top 5 moments from the 2022 MLB Playoffs!
5. The Astros (combined) No-No
A hot take right from the jump? Yup. You got that right. I’ll be honest. This moment BARELY cracked my top 5, but to leave it out would have been a bit outrageous. Most people would probably have this towards the top of their list, but I don’t have the love for a combined no-hitter that most people do.
Some contexts for what happened in case you missed it. Astros starting pitcher Christian Javier got things started with a wonderful six hitless innings in game four of the World Series. Then, after 97 pitches, he was relieved in the 7th inning by Bryan Abreau. Abreau was then relieved in the 8th by Rafael Montero. Ryan Pressly then came in to close things out in the 9th. Combined, the four pitchers didn’t allow a hit to the Phillies who had five home runs just one game earlier. This was only the second time in history that a no-hitter was thrown in the World Series. The reason it barely comes in at number 5 for me is the fact that it was a combined no-hitter. Complete games by pitchers are becoming a thing of the past in baseball unless that pitcher is Sandy Alcantara. Combined no-hitters are the new thing in baseball that people celebrate, and while they are still wildly impressive, they don’t hold a candle to complete game no hitters. To sum up my thoughts on why I believe that is, I’ll say this: it is harder for a lineup to get hits when they are facing different pitchers with fresh arms versus facing the same worn-down pitcher over nine innings.
However, with that being said, this was still an unforgettable moment, and that’s why it’s leading off my top five moments!
4. Cardinals Collapse
While this moment was truly unbelievable in so many ways, it brought me personal pain. I may or may not have been pulling for a Cardinals win to add a little bit of weight to my wallet. But I digress. Looking past my misfortunes, I can concede that this moment was one for the history books and one that I’ll always remember where I was. Although, that could be because I was watching the game while driving (allegedly). Anyways.
What the Hell happened here? The answer? I have no idea. In the National League Wild Card series, the St. Louis Cardinals had a 2-run lead going into the 9th inning. The Cardinals, when leading 2-0 in the 9th inning in the postseason, were 93-0 in the team’s history, so a game one victory and series lead was all but certain. Until it wasn’t.
Cardinals All-Star closer Ryan Helsley absolutely collapsed in the 9th inning. That’s putting it nicely. He gave up a single to start the inning. Then continued to walk the bases loaded. The Cardinals proceeded to inexplicably leave him in the game. Then Helsley hit the 4th batter in the lineup to walk in a run and make it a one run game. Then he gets pulled from the game just for his relief to give up a single that drove in the go ahead run for the Phillies. It was all downhill from there. The Phillies forced the Cardinals fans to start to beat traffic as they poured on 6 total runs in the 9th. While that was only game one, the series felt like a wrap from that moment on, and it was the beginning of the run for the Phillies.
3. Seattle Mariners: Comeback Kids
Holy S***! I’ve seen a lot of comebacks in baseball. But I’m not certain I’ve ever seen one like this. The Mariners were starting to feel like a team of destiny towards the end of the season propelled by young superstar Julio Rodriguez. They even stole game one of the American League Wild Card Series furthering the feeling that destiny may become reality. However, those feelings were tamed with the Mariners down 8-1 to the Blue Jays after five innings in game 2. Maybe the magic had finally run out. Then the 6th inning happened.
The seal started to leak, and the magic started to trickle back in. The Mariners loaded the bases in the 6th inning and scored a run off of a wild pitch and three more off a homer from Carlos Santana! HOPE. The Blue Jays gave the team of destiny hope. You never want to give the team of destiny hope.
On to the 7th inning. The Blue Jays add on another run making it a 9-5 ball game. SURELY, the extra insurance run would be enough for them to hold on and make it to game three. Then the seal busted, and playoff magic filled the Toronto air, but not for the home team.
In the 8th inning the Blue Jays came unglued. The Mariners tied the game on a popup to center that caused a nasty collision between George Springer and Bo Bichette. Destiny works in some crazy ways. A double for the Mariners in the top of the 9th would seal the 2nd largest comeback in playoff history for the Mariners and advance them on to the ALDS. Their magical run would come to an end as they ran into the eventual World Series Champions, but it was still a run for the ages. The Mariners and the J-Rod Show will be back in the postseason.
2. JT Realmuto’s Inside the Park Homer
Ever seen a catcher hit an inside the park home run before? Yeah, me neither. But that’s exactly what happened in game four of the NLDS between the Braves and Phillies. Inside the park home runs aren’t exactly commonplace in baseball, and inside the park home runs by catchers simply do not happen. However, JT Realmuto, arguably the best catcher in Major League Baseball, changed that when he hit a long bomb to center field in game four.
The ball went just over the Braves center fielder as he crashed into the wall. The ball then took a wonderful bounce off the wall in Realmuto’s favor, and he was off to the races. Just like that, we have the first ever inside the park home run by a catcher in postseason history. The Phillies would go on to win that game and advance to the NLCS.
1. Bryce Harper has His Moment
Sometimes a moment is so special that it gives you goosebumps. Sometimes a moment is so special that silence is the perfect response.
Let’s paint the scene. It’s a cold October night in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies are one win away from a trip to the World Series. It’s the bottom of the 8th inning, and they are down 3-2 to the Padres. Bryce Harper steps up to the plate only two innings away from having to fly back across the country to California for game six. A few pitches go by, and Harper has worked into a 2-2 count.
A quick back story of how we got here with Harper. Bryce Harper was on the cover of Sports Illustrate at age 15 and was expected to be the next phenom in baseball. He was with the Nationals, and while he had an incredible career with them, he never had that MOMENT we expected him to have since he was on that cover. He left the Nationals for Philly. The Nationals won a World Series the next year without him. People started to question Bryce’s legacy. Is he really what we thought he was? Was the hype real?
Back to the 2-2 count. Now 30 years old on his second team, this was the chance for Bryce to become a legend. Legends are made in moments like this, and superstars are built for these moments. On the next pitch, Harper launched a hanging sinker over the left field wall to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead and ultimately send them to the World Series.
The Phillies may not have won the World Series, but Bryce Harper made himself a legend in the city of Philadelphia. Not only did he send them to the World Series with that home run, but he was also remarkable throughout the playoffs and showed up every time he was needed. Bryce Harper was built for October.
Well folks, that’ll do it. Those were my favorite moments from the 2022 playoffs. There were so many more that I couldn’t list, and if you missed out on any of the games, I suggest you go back and look them up. The World Series was a great series between two great teams, but the best moments of the playoffs came in the games prior. I love baseball for many reasons but none more than for the moments it provides! I hope you enjoyed reliving these moments with me. Until next year!
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