By Josh:
The baseball season is officially over. It is weird to say that. After a great World Series and really 9 months of baseball infused into my life, I now sit and take a breath. This year has been a great year for baseball.
The Youth Movement
The biggest thing that sticks out to me about this season is just how great the young core of stars in the game is. I mentioned in a blog post a couple months ago about the top Shortstops under 25, but as you look around all the positions of the game there are amazing players everywhere under 25, and if you look at all players under 30 the massive amount of stars in the game is unbelievable.
Just look at the two World Series teams and their youth. Clayton Kershaw (29), Cody Bellinger (22), Corey Seager (23), Yasiel Puig (26), Jose Altuve (27) George Springer (28), Carlos Correa (23), and Alex Bregman (23). That is a list of very talented, young stars in the game of baseball and that is just two teams.
This doesn’t include the best player in the game Mike Trout (26), Aaron Judge (25), Bryce Harper (25), Xander Bogaerts (25), Giancarlo Stanton (27), and dozens of other stars who are still under 30.
Surprise Teams
Raise your hand if before the season started you thought the Twins and Brewers would be playoff contenders after the All-Star break? I don’t see any hands shooting up. These two teams last season were horrible and yet this year they completely turned things around and were legitimate teams, and the Twins winning a Wild Card spot.
This is one thing I love about baseball. A team can look horrible one year, but with a new player here or a different coaching philosophy, everything can pivot and that team can become a threat to make a run. Unless that team is the Seattle Mariners who haven’t made the playoffs in pretty much my entire adult life.
Excitement Is Building
Could you feel that this season, and especially this year’s playoffs had a different feeling to them. Fans seem to not only be returning in greater numbers to baseball, but also with a passion and excitement that I haven’t felt for a while. Maybe it is because fans are tired of the NBA ‘super teams’, or everything the NFL has done the last few years. Regardless baseball is getting a nice boost and I love it.
Looking To The Future
I am already looking forward to next season. I’ll have to feed my baseball needs with all of the Hot Stove action this year and then patiently wait at my window waiting for spring to come.