It was the most exciting night in baseball regular-season history. In a span of 89 minutes, the AL and NL wild card were decided in dramatic fashion. The Red Sox, Braves and Yankees were all within one out of winning games and lost. It was MLB’s version of March Madness, three games simultaneously coming to an end in unthinkable ways. In a sport that has been slowed by spitting and readjustments, Thursday was a night when every moment was compelling. The stunning sequence of events even created a social media buzz usually not reserved for America’s pastime.
But a couple teams and their fans don’t share the same enthusiasm about the dramatic finish to the regular season. For the Red Sox and Braves, it was a culmination of the two biggest collapses in baseball history.
Thursday night was not a showcase but rather a car crash too horrific for us to turn away.
We’re not witnesses of greatness; we’re all guilty of rubbernecking.
For one team to squander a September lead of at least 8? games is historic, but watching such a meltdown from two teams in one season is unfathomable.
And a lot of really bad baseball goes into completing a collapse of these epic portions.
The Braves ended the season on a five-game skid, and the Red Sox didn’t win back-to-back games in September.
The sad truth about sports is failure is more memorable than success.
Red Sox’s World Series banners can’t erase the memory of that grounder going through Bill Buckner’s legs in 1986. Visions of Steve Bartman reaching for a foul ball still haunt Cubs fans. And the Black Sox scandal remains the most noteworthy event in the history of the White Sox despite being nearly a century old.
Fans root for success but never forget failures.
And what occurred on the final day of the 2011 regular season was unforgettable.
– Jeffrey Tomik
