Baseball in 2017

Where the game of baseball is right now from a journalistic stand point is at a level that I have never seen before. From what has happened this season post All-Star break with Aaron Judge, the emergence of Rhys Hoskins in Philadelphia, the near collapse of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and of course the 22-game winning streak (and counting) in Cleveland with the Indians.

The writing that has come with all of this is just so enjoyable as a baseball fan. Where it will go from here with the baseball playoffs racing toward us faster than Barry Allen. What will happen with the baseball writing as the best baseball is showcased in the playoffs? Also, will it just stop at the end of the World Series or will it continue into the 2018 season?

This whole “fascination with baseball” started last year when the Chicago Cubs starting to make a World Series run late last September. The game hit an apex that it didn’t hit at any point since the turn of the century. Eyes were put on the sport that weren’t there usually because of the history that was attached to the Cubs 108-year World Series drought.

Now we are witnessing history in front of our eyes in Cleveland with the 22-game winning streak. They beat the 21-game record that the 2002 Oakland A’s miraculously rambled off with near nobodies on roster.

This Cleveland Indians team has All-Star players, some of the best players at their respective positions, and are a heavy favorite to represent the American League in the World Series. What I don’t see a lot of, and maybe this is a cynic view, but can the Indians possibly be peaking too early? I’ve went on record on Twitter saying this Indians team may never lose again, but that just isn’t realistic. This team has just dominated everyone that they have played during this winning streak, and with this being the first walk-off and extra inning game of the streak says something about how this team is playing. With all these new eyeballs and old eyeballs brushing off the dust on the sport watching what is going on in Cleveland right now—people want to just witness history. What people aren’t taking into consideration is the team is playing SO well right now, they cannot possibly play this well in the playoffs. The offense is playing so well right now, it will just naturally take a step back because the pitching in the playoffs is just better than the hitting.

Now, I am not saying what the Indians are doing isn’t incredible and amazing, nor am I putting their World Series chances in jeopardy because of this win streak, I am just cautious about what this will mean for the city if they get the All-Time record for a win streak, and fall short in October. It is a very similar situation to the way people felt with the Cubs last year, and the Dodgers earlier this season.

Baseball is just a weird sport, unlike football or basketball because baseball sometimes doesn’t make sense. In football the better team will win because they will just outcoach the other team, in basketball the better team will outcoach and just make more plays then the lesser team, in baseball like the infamous John Sterling always says “You just can’t predict baseball.”

There is a baseball world where the Indians never lose again and bring home their first World Series since 1948. But, there is also a baseball world where they lose tonight with a Cy Young candidate in Corey Kluber on the mound and simultaneously implode and ruin this streak. With this winning streak just engulfing the city of Cleveland, the expectation of a World Series Championship is just being reiterated because that was the expectation from the city coming off the Game 7 lose to the Cubs last year, and the signing of Edwin Encarnacion. I want Cleveland to do well because that’s just good for the game of baseball, it is also great for the Yankees when they play them in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, I just can’t shake the possibility of a typical Cleveland sports type of collapse, plummeting this fan base into misery.