Wow...The best night of baseball in our lifetimes

Last night was exactly why you watch sports of any kind.

If you are a baseball fan or a sports fan in general, for two hours last night, you should've been glued to your TV sets to watch history in the making. In our lifetimes, there may never be another night of baseball like September 28, 2011.

For some of you who will be leaving the page, thanks for participating. And for those of you staying, here's how it all went down:

So let's set it up for you, both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) Wildcards were undecided. The wild card team is the last team from each league to make the playoffs.

In the AL, it was the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. In the NL, the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. Two teams get in and two teams go home and we thank them for participating.


(Or it was possible we'd have one game playoffs but we won't get into that.)

We begin in Houston with the easiest game of the night. The Cardinals beat the Astros 8-0, which meant the Braves needed to beat the Phillies in order to force a tie. If the Braves lose, they are out.

So here's what all went down and partial credit goes to Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci for the times.

At 6:56 p.m. the Braves and Red Sox both led their games by a score of 3-2. The Braves were down to the final out, so close from forcing a one game playoff, but they blew it. The Phillies tie the game and they go to extra innings tied 3-3.

The Red Sox meanwhile are stuck in a rain delay in Baltimore. It was storming and there was lightning so they had to just sit there, wait and watch the Yankees play the Rays.

Down in Tampa, the Yankees held a 7-0 lead going into the 8th inning.

At 7:23 p.m., Evan Longoria hits a 3-run homer to bring the Rays within a run. It was all of a sudden 7-6 Yankees.

7:47 p.m. - Former Oakland A's player Dan Johnson, who is now on the Rays is down to his last strike. He makes an out and the season for the Rays is basically over. He ropes a pitch down the line for a home run, game tied 7-7.

7:58 p.m. - The Red Sox and Orioles in Baltimore resume play. Boston clings to a 3-2 lead against Baltimore, knowing that the Rays have tied it up against the Yankees.


8:28 p.m. - The Phillies score a run on the Braves to make it 4-3. If the Braves don't come back to win, it's all over for ATL.

8:40 p.m. - Freddie Freeman of the Braves grounds into a season-ending double play. The Braves lose which means the Cardinals are in the playoffs. Braves players sit their with blank expressions while the Cardinals clubhouse goes nuts.

8:59 p.m. - The Red Sox need only one more strike to clinch their game to set up at least a one game playoff (at worst). Jonathan Papelbon, one of the best closers in the game, gives up a game-tying double. Boston 3, Baltimore 3.

9:02 p.m. - The Orioles push in the final run to beat the Red Sox. Boston loses so now their only hope is to see Tampa Bay lose.

9:05 p.m. - They don't. Evan Longoria hits his second home run of the game down the left field line, just over the short fence. The Rays are going to the playoffs. The Red Sox are going home.

 

Bottom line is the two teams that deserved to make the playoffs made it, and the two teams that played awful in September are not.

Lesson learned here is that it is never over until it's over.


Sounds redundant and simple but it's not. Both Atlanta and Boston had huge leads in the wild card going into September.

The Braves had a 10.5 game lead over the Cardinals in late August and 8.5 in September and blew it. Even worse, the Red Sox had a 9 game lead over Tampa in September and they blew it too.

In the professional sporting world, the word "choke" will be associated with the 2011 versions of the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.

Brutal if you are a fan if either of those teams. Unbelievable if you are a fan of the Cardinals or Rays.

And just incredible and fascinating to see it unfold for everyone else.

The glory of victory, and the agony of defeat. It doesn't get any better, and it doesn't get any worse.