Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
The LA Dodgers could win the World Series tonight.
The Tampa Bay Rays hope to extend the Major League Championship Series to a 7th and deciding game tomorrow night.
The Dodgers lead the best of 7; 3 games to 2 in this very other night set.
LA, who are the heavy favorite and in fairness probably have the better team, won Games 1, 3 & 5.
The Rays in the role of the underdog, financial and otherwise, just keep hanging around and making the MLB Final memorable.
At least memorable to those who can watch it.
Saturday night in Game 4, a truly compelling back-and-forth game, got stretched to the point of exhaustion for me….and I’m certain for a large number of baseball fans around North America.
With an after 8 pm start, endless trips to the mound, a carousel of pitching changes and a high scoring game, by the time the Dodgers went up 7-6 in the 8th inning, I was done.
As a result, I missed what might be the most famous finishes in the World Series this century.
An rbi single for the Rays to tie it, a Dodgers error in right field on the play, a Tampa Bay runner hung out to dry off third base and the ball skipping by the Dodger catcher as Tampa technically won in walk-off fashion, but it was an extremely rare walk off.
Ya, I saw the highlight the next morning & lamented I didn’t have more staying power.
But I don’t think Major League Baseball fully understands that their marquee event is not being seen by a large number of loyal followers, or by potential new or youthful fans based on how the game is played now and when those games start.
I’m Fred Wallace