The World Series

The World Series and the Road to its Path

One of the biggest championships in all of the major sports in America and around the world is discussed in some detail here. 

The World Series, the Fall Classic, etc. Major League Baseballs' championship is known by many names, but most sports fans refer to it as the World Series. It is to baseball as the Super Bowl is to football, the NBA Finals are to basketball, and the Stanley Cup is to hockey. It is the biggest set games in all of baseball and the winning team not only gets a trophy and bragging rights for the year, but also a lot of attention and money. 

The 27-Time World Series Champion New York Yankees with 

another World Series Trophy (2009)

Each Major League baseball season consists of a 162-game regular season that runs from the beginning of April till, depending on the year, either the end of September or the first couple of days of October and each team makes the trades, plays as hard as they can, and tries to avoid as many injuries and stratagise as well as possible for one goal: Make it to the playoffs and win the coveted World Series trophy and all the glory that comes with it. 

Here is a basic explanation of the MLB Playoff format as it currently stands. In each league (The National League and the American League), the winner of each division automatically makes the playoffs. To win the division, you have to have a better record than every other team in your division. However, if there is a tie and two teams have the same record, the team who has won more head to head match ups is the team that wins the division. If the two teams have the same record and have tied in head to head match ups, then the team that wins the division is the team with a better overall division record. There's even more tie breakers after this if the division winner still isn't determined but that will not be covered in this blog post. 

Anyways, so there are three division winners in each league and are seeded as the 1, 2, and 3 seeds based on their records. However, there are also two wild card teams in each league, the teams that haven't won their divisions but have the next best records. Unfortunately, this makes there be 5 playoff teams in each league and so to bring it down to 4 so that the ALDS and NLDS (Division Series) can be played, there is a one game wild-card playoff between the two wild card teams which is played at the stadium of the higher-ranked wild card team which is the team with the better record of the two wild card teams. Whoever wins this then plays the number 1 seed in one of  the 2 division series in each league. As you can see, the playoff system in Major League Baseball isn't as simple as it may seem at first. 

The rest of the playoffs runs as follows:

1) ALDS (American League Division Series- Best of 5 Games)  

• AL Number 1 Seed Vs. AL Number 4 Seed 
• AL Number 2 Seed Vs. AL Number 3 Seed

NLDS (National League Division Series- Best of 5 Games) 

• NL Number 1 Seed Vs. NL Number 4 Seed
• NL Number 2 Seed Vs. NL Number 3 Seed

2) ALCS (American League Championship Series- Best of 7 Games)

• AL Number 1/4 Seed Vs. AL Number 2/3 Seed 

WINNER: AL Champions

NLCS (National League Championship Series- Best of 7 Games)

• NL Number 1/4 Seed Vs. NL Number 2/3 Seed

WINNER: NL Champions

3) The World Series ( Best of 7 Games)

• AL Champions Vs. NL Champions 

Hopefully, this post has helped you understand some more of how the MLB playoffs work! 

The Different Divisions in Baseball

The Different Divisions in Baseball

A look into all the different teams that make up the  Major League Baseball League.


Below are each of the thirty Major League Baseball teams, in order vertically by division and alphabetically in each division. As you can see, there are six different division with five teams in each of them, making up the thirty teams of the league. Also, the first three columns make up the teams in the American League and the last three columns make up the teams in the National League, but we will go into more detail with this very soon.

All 30 MLB Teams and Their Divisions




There hasn't always been thirty teams in Major League baseball. In fact, back as early as 1901, there were still do leagues, but there was only one division in each league with only eight teams in each league, totaling a mere sixteen teams (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/#19011006).
However, slowly, more cities wanted to invest in professional teams, with the Tampa Bay Rays being the most recent team in 1998 unless you count the Montreal Expos move to Washington and becoming the Washington Nationals, as a whole new team in 2005 (Major League Baseball, Wikipedia Contributors).


Anyways, there are 6 divisions in the current MLB format, with each having 5 teams in them are two leagues, the National League and the American League, which each have 3 of these divisions within them. This is how the MLB Teams are set up based on each division which is based on the locations of each of the teams within the country, and Toronto in Canada.


A) The American League (AL):


1) AL East:                                       
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays


2) AL Central:
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins


3) AL West:
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers


B) National League (NL):


1) NL East:
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals


2) NL Central:
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates


3) NL West:
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants


Now you know all the teams in the MLB, the divisions they play in, the leagues they play in, and where they are located.

The Fundamentals of the Game

The Fundamentals of the Game 

The basics of how the wonderful game of baseball is played and some of the most important rules that apply to it. 

As with all sports and games alike, there are rules that need to be followed while playing the game of baseball, some of which will be discussed in this blog post. 

Again, most sports have people that aren't playing the game to make sure that the rules of the game are followed by those that are playing the game and this is no different with baseball. In major league baseball, these people are called umpires and there are four of them in each game during the regular season, six for the MLB All Star Game, and seven for the World Series.

MLB umpire Ray Renegade


Along with the umpires of the game of baseball, there are some actual rules that go along with it as well and the really simple basics will be discussed briefly in this post.


There are nine innings in a regulation professional baseball game. There are three outs for each team when they are batting, known simply as, half innings. To record an out, the team on the field, which is known as the fielding team or defensive team during each at bat, has to either strikeout the batter by making them swing and miss, ground out where the batter hits the ball on the ground in the infield and then they throw the ball to first base before the batter, who is now a runner, gets there, the ball is caught by a fielder (known as a popup, line drive, or fly ball), or on the nine fielders on the field tags the runner with their glove when they have the ball in their glove.


The goal of the game of baseball in these nine innings is to score more runs than the other team. This happens in a matter of many different ways, but the basic concept is simple. Hit the ball where the fielders aren't, but still in fair territory (marked by white chalk down the lines), and run around all three bases and get to home plate (which is also where you bat) without getting tagged and that is called a run.


There's also different ways to score these runs by achieving different hits. A single is where you hit the ball and make it to first base without getting tagged, usually on a group ball to the outfield or a bunt infield base hit. A double is where you hit the ball and make it to second base, a triple is where you make it to third base, and a homerun is where the batter hits the ball over the fence and is awarded a run for themselves and however many players are on base at that time. So, a homerun without anyone on base is a solo home run, then with one on a two run homer, with two on a three run homer, and three on a grand slam, which scores four runs. The most you can score at any one time in a baseball game.


There is more to the game of baseball that is also important and will be looked at in future posts. Have fun, and enjoy applying what you've learned so far, to the game of baseball!

Spring Training: Why is it Important?

Spring Training: Why is it Important? 

Pitchers and Catchers started reporting for some MLB clubs yesterday for spring training, and more continue to today. 

The leaves are starting to come back and the trees are starting to lose their cold snow feeling. The temperature is rising above thirty-five degrees in the northern parts of the United States and above sixty-five in the south. The leather gloves are returning from their prime winter space in the closets of kids rooms and the basements of teams locker rooms and the yarn from the inside of the baseballs are ready to expand and be thrown into mitt after mitt after mitt and hit by bat after bat after bat. What time of year is this? This is, spring training...

Spring Training: batting practice: Boston Red Sox: from 2015

Spring Training for Major League Baseball occurs every year where there is an MLB season, which, unless there is a lockout for some reason or another, is every year. It occurs from around mid-February to the end of March (sometimes the first couple days of April) and happens all over Florida and Arizona, because it is too cold during this time of year to play baseball where most of the teams are located during the regular season. 

Just like in sports such as football, basketball, and hockey, baseball has a preseason that well, precedes the start of the regular season, the time of year when the games that actually matter are played to figure out who will be in the playoffs. 

Spring training is basically a sort of "tryout" portion, of the baseball season. It is where players from high school and from college ball go and try to make the professional Major League team and is also where the coaches figure out where to place players in the different departments of the minor league who aren't ready for the big show yet. These different minor league sections are divided mostly by experience and skill set. 

Minor League baseball sections (MiLB): 

Rookie- usually players signed right out of high school (75 game seasons)

Class A short season- just above rookie league; most college and some high school players (75 game seasons) 

Class A or Class A Advanced-  Really good college players start out here (140 game seasons) 

Double A- For player with at least four years of professional experience depending on skill level and timing, among other variables. Also, rehabbing, or, injured major league players rehab here (140 game seasons)

Triple A- One step down from Major league baseball, the best of the minor league players and another spot for rehabbing MLB players as well (140 game seasons)  

Overall, Spring Training is a fun yet serious time for players to get out of the rust of not playing since October or November and to hone their skills for the upcoming season; whether that be in the Major Leagues, or else where in the Minors. 

Baseball is More than Just a Sport!

Baseball: More than Just a Sport 

I am writing this blog for class yes, but I am writing this blog on the particular subject of baseball because baseball is an important aspect of my life and shapes who I am. Since this is the only post that I can express from my direct point of view, my connection to the sport. To me, baseball is more than just a sport, its a lifestyle in a way. 

A blackout at the PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

PNC Park in Pittsburgh: Blackout 2015


The Pittsburgh Pirates are my favorite baseball team of all time. As a citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I love my home team. I used to go to baseball games all the time with my dad and watch games on television with him. This is how we used to bond and continued to up until his death last February. 

Baseball, like all other major sports is a year round sport. Players are always training even during the off season, and there are always trades being made between teams and free agents being picked up by teams as well.

I love the smell of hot dogs and nachos in the afternoon at a great ball game win or lose at the park, but like many Pittsburghers', I also enjoy Primanti Bros. Sandwiches. This is a food stature unique to Pittsburgh, another great thing about baseball venues: the food. All Major League Baseball stadiums have the traditional baseball foods such as nachos, pizza, burgers, and hot dogs, but each stadium also has a unique home town twist on these foods and add their own flare to their lineup that makes each ballpark unique.

From the intense atmosphere of the game to the awesome food and of course, winning, there are several different aspects of baseball that I will cover in this blog series: From the very basics of baseball and general rules and other broad subjects such as where teams play and such, to the extremely in depth structure of the sport such as specific trades and statistics, I am sure you will get to know and understand the love and passion that the sport of baseball, offers a lot of people, and I can't wait to share it with you!