Well, that’s a wrap for the 2015 MLB season. So I guess it’s time to say goodbye.
Yes, it’s time to say goodbye to the Royals, that team that never seemed to die, no matter how badly they seemed to be beaten at any given time.
And, yes, it’s also time to say goodbye to the Mets, with their pitching staff, and superhero nicknames, and Bartolo Colon at-bats, and Wilmer Flores crying.
It’s also time to say goodbye to the Washington Nationals and their tire-fire of a season, where their closer choked out the best player in baseball, the manager utterly lost the clubhouse, and the season generally was an absolute flop, aside from those no-hitters by Max Scherzer. Oh, and also goodbye to the managerial tenure of Bud Black, which was so short it didn’t even start.
I guess we should also say goodbye to the Toronto Blue Jays, who were one of the most fun teams to watch in a long time and who brought our neighbors to the north to their feet.
And goodbye to the 2015 incarnations of Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, Miguel Sano, Francisco Lindor, Byron Buxton, Matt Duffy, Roberto Osuna, Lance McCullers, Corey Seager, Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola, Byron Buxton, and all the rest of the newcomers, whether they had cups of coffee or were mainstays. See you next season!
And goodbye to those who are retiring: Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins, Aramis Ramirez, Bruce Chen, Jeremy Affeldt, Rafael Furcal, and the others who will no longer be seen on MLB fields.
Goodbye (for now?) to Ichiro’s pitching career.
Goodbye to Will Ferrell’s spring training stint.
Goodbye to Jose Bautista’s bat-flip of the gods.
Goodbye to Baltimore’s “empty stadium” game, which hopefully never has to happen again.
Goodbye to Chris Heston’s no-hitter.
Goodbye to Pat Venditte becoming the first ambidextrous pitcher in many years.
Goodbye to Alex Rodriguez getting his 3000th hit.
Goodbye to that stretch where Chris Sale was getting ten or more strikeouts basically every game.
Goodbye to that game where Corey Kluber struck out 18.
Goodbye to that awesome Home Run Derby that Todd Frazier won.
Goodbye to Cole Hamels having a no-hitter in his last start as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Goodbye to Hisashi Iwakuma and his no-hitter. Man, so many no-nos.
Goodbye to Matt Kemp becoming the first Padre to ever hit for the cycle.
Goodbye to Mike Fiers’ no-hitter, too, because of course I almost forgot a no-hitter.
Oh, and goodbye to Jake Arrieta’s no-hitter too. Somehow I forgot that one.
Goodbye to endless Back to the Future jokes.
And, well, goodbye to anything I forgot. See you in 2016, Major League Baseball!
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LINKS!
Tim Hagerty on a player who played for fifty different MiLB teams but never made the show.
Megan Hagerty on how the increased preference for people who fit the stathead mold has led to a decrease in minority hiring– and possible solutions
Thomas Neumann catches up with HOVG inductee Ted Giannoulas, AKA the San Diego Chicken
Dayn Perry on baseball references in declassified CIA documents, because, sure, why not?
SELF-PROMOTION OF THE WEEK: Bartolo Colon led the 2002 Cleveland Indians rotation into battle against the evil “Scatman” and his army of MUSICAL MONKEYs in a comic book that actually was printed!
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Come back next week, as I write about the sadness of the offseason and the ways to beat the offseason blues.
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