Three of the four wildcard series are going to an elimination game. 

Detroit and Cleveland. Boston and New York. San Diego and Chicago. In the fourth wildcard series, Los Angeles knocked out Cincinnati in two games and will move on to face Philadelphia.

It will be a great day of baseball. Every pitch, every at-bat will matter. This is going to be one of those special days of baseball watching. Today, three teams will feel the heartache of their season ending. This playoff format was controversial when it was first announced, but it has created such incredible drama that it’s hard to imagine a better idea for playoffs.

Every game during the regular season matters. Tie breakers matter. Games lost in April matter when in September you are tied, and that tie either knocks you out of the playoffs like it did with the Mets, or it means you have to fight for a best two-out-of-three series win like it did with the Yankees, who tied Toronto for the best record but was the wildcard by virtue of the tiebreaker.

Eventually teams are going to realize, they need to build the best teams possible in the offseason to squeeze every last win out during the season, rather than cut corners here and there. Because every last win matters.

So, here’s to a glorious day of couch potatoing, watching playoff baseball. Without the Rangers in the playoffs, once again like a bad habit, you’re left to just soak it in and live and die with each team’s fans. 

*****