From California to cornfields
Published 3:07 pm Thursday, September 24, 2026
Playoff baseball is right around the corner, and I couldn’t be more excited. As of now as I type this column, four teams have already clinched a playoff spot. They are the Tampa Bay Rays, the Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a kid growing up, and even to this day I’m a San Francisco Giants fan. Anybody who watches Major League Baseball knows the Giants are not making the playoffs this season, so I’m sure some people are wondering who am I rooting for. I haven’t officially picked a team yet to pull for.
As long as I can remember, I’ve always watched playoff baseball and the World Series. My earliest memory of it goes back to 1996 when the Atlanta Braves played the Yankees. I remember my dad, Jeff, and I sitting on the couch together watching the game and him explaining the rules of the game to me, and the concept of a team having to win four games in a best of seven series. At the time, the Braves were the defending champions, and during the 1996 World Series, they went up 2-0, but then the Yankees came back to win four straight to earn the championship.
Another moment that stands out is during the 2000 World Series where it was an all New York showdown. Mets facing off against the Yankees. Derek Jeter was the Most Valuable Player of that World Series. Yankees won the series that season for the third consecutive year. I remember Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck as soon as the final out was made saying, “Piazza gets into one to center. Back is Bernie Williams. A 3-peat! The New York Yankees! For the third time in a row, fourth time in five years, and 26th time in franchise history, they are the World Champions!”
The 2004 World Series, an 86-year drought, had been snapped by the Boston Red Sox. What made this run to the World Series even more amazing was the previous round against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series when Boston trailed 3-0, were down to their last three outs in game four, and found a way to do the unthinkable, and win four straight to eliminate the Yankees, where they went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Buck’s call with the Cardinals Edgar Renteria up to bat was, “Back to Foulke! Red Sox fans have longed to hear it. The Boston Red Sox are world champions!”
It may sound biased, but the 2014 World Series will forever stand out in my mind because the San Francisco Giants won in seven games over the Kansas City Royals, and not only that, but the Giants had won their third title in five seasons. Game seven was in Kansas City, and in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Giants leading 3-2, left-handed pitcher Madison Bumgarner came out of the bullpen and shutdown the Royals offense on three days rest throwing over 60 pitches in five innings, not allowing a run, leading the Giants to the championship earning MVP honors. The Giants haven’t won since then, but I will never forget such amazing baseball during that decade. Buck’s call stands out saying, “Salvador Perez. The 2-2. Popped up! Sandoval in foul territory. Giants win! A world series win for the San Francisco Giants for the third time in the last five years, and their hero Madison Bumgarner!”
Of course, who can forget the 2016 World Series when the Chicago Cubs played the Cleveland Indians and won in seven games after being down 3-1 in the series. The Cubs had not won a title in 108 years prior since 1908. Hard to believe, right? I still get chills when the final out was made with Michael Martinez up to bat with Mike Montgomery on the mound as Buck said, “This is going to be a tough play! Bryant! The Cubs win the world series! Bryant makes the play, and the Cubs have finally won it all! 8-7 in 10!”
These are just some moments that stand out to me. I could talk baseball all day. I bring some of these moments up because in my mind baseball is one of the most unpredictable sports and October baseball is even more unpredictable. You never know who may make the playoffs and who will be holding the World Series trophy when it’s all said and done. Who will it be in 2026? No idea, but I can’t wait to watch it, and experience more epic baseball.
