Tourtellotte: Looking back at the 2016 postseason
From SABR member Shane Tourtellotte at The Hardball Times on November 10, 2016:
The 2016 season is over, and the postseason is in the books. There were story lines a-plenty in these playoffs: from Toronto and Texas meeting again in a grudge match, to Trevor Bauer’s bleeding finger, to Kyle Schwarber’s arrival on the World Series roster after a season lost to an ACL injury. Truth to tell, though, there is just one thing that we will remember from this year, one story that overwhelms the rest.
The number “1908” cannot wound Chicago Cubs fans any longer. Foul balls to left, grounders through the legs, black cats, billy goats, called shots, sunbeams in Hack Wilson’s eyes, and even the haunting shade of Fred Merkle have all been banished. I could say so much more, and still not reach to the core of it. I have lived to see the day the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, and it remains somehow unreal to me.
Still, the rest of the postseason deserves to be thought of. Today I will be looking at the games, not for the excitement of the overarching narratives, but for the excitement of the games themselves. For that purpose, I am bringing out what is by now a somewhat long-standing creation of mine: the WPS Index.
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/looking-back-at-the-2016-postseason/
Originally published: November 10, 2016. Last Updated: November 10, 2016.