Students across BHS follow the MLB and just a few weeks ago was a big weekend for the league: The Wildcard Series. The WildCard marks the beginning of the postseason and the beginning of an exciting couple of weeks for the MLB. With 8 teams facing off, it can become difficult to monitor the thrills of the series. So The Eagle’s Cry will sit down with BHS students and staff to provide a recap of the 2022 Wildcard Series. 

In 1994 the MLB decided to introduce a new addition to the postseason. The Wildcard was established to give 2 teams from each league a chance to get into the postseason. The Wildcard became a 1 game series where the winner would advance to the Divisional Series. The new series was accepted with open arms. It remained the same until prior to the 2022 season. The MLB made the decision in cooperation with the MLB Players Association to change the Wildcard. The Wildcard would now be extended to a 3 game series similar to the regular season. There would also be 2 more teams per league in the series meaning 8 teams total would face off in the 2022 Wildcard Series. 

4 teams: Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, and the Braves won their division and booked their ticket to the divisional series. Starting off the postseason 8 teams hoped to fight their way into the next round to face the 4 top teams. The series were as such, the Mets faced the Padres, the Phillies battled the Cardinals, the Guardians faced the Rays, and the Mariners played the Blue Jays. The Padres, Phillies, Guardians, and Mariners came up on top and secured an appearance in the next round. Let’s break it down with the opinions of students and staff from BHS.

Spanish teacher Mr. Barden grew up as a Yankee fan, but that all changed when he saw his favorite Cardinal player, Jim Edmonds, play and he now is a St. Louis Cardinals fan. In a season with so many memorable moments such as Albert Pujols hitting 700 home runs or losing Wainwright and Molina to retirement, Barden is inspired by the rookies on his team. He said, “You look at guys like Montgomery and although it’s sad to see your veterans go, we have a bright future led by this young talent.” 

The Cardinals fell early to the Phillies after getting swept in the Wildcard series. Mr. Barden talked about his playoff expectations, saying “I definitely wanted better than what I saw. You know I was hopeful that they would make it past the wildcard.” Mr. Barden talks about the feeling of knowing that the Phils are headed to the NLCS. 

He said,  “Knowing that the Phillies made it to the NLCS makes me feel better because it is good to see a fanbase so excited about a series.” 

Going back to his childhood ways Mr. Barden stated, “I would like to see the Yankees do it for my dad.” 

Veteran English teacher Mr. Malossi, a Mets fan for years, talked about how he had little faith in his team going into this series because of the Mets dreadful September. He said, “I knew they would have trouble because they were a mess in September.” With low expectations Mr. Malossi still found the “world series caliber team” disappointing. 

“Yes, it’s a failure. If the Mets could have won a game in September they may have avoided this series. I am not happy that we made the playoffs because we did not get the job done” With his team gone, Mr. Malossi has his sights set on the Guardians to beat his crosstown rival, “Go Guardians!” As a pastime Mr. Malossi is now a 2 time loser as the Guardians were trumped by the Yanks just days after his interview. 

Yankee fan and 14 year old sophomore Gabby Hernandez talked about the Yankees horrible August slump. Gabby stated, “I never doubted them. They will have problems, they will bounce back. Our great lineup and our great pitchers will take us where we need to go.” The Yankees were set to play the winner of the Rays – Guardians Wildcard series. Gabby talked about who she wanted to win.

Gabby said, “The guardians… I wouldn’t root for the Rays.” Gabby has problems with the Yankees future.

“I have doubts about how well we will do against Houston considering our past with them. They are cheaters, no better way to put it, but Houston has a solid lineup that is hard to beat.”

With the Wild Card done 8 teams will advance to the Divisional Series. After the Divisional series just 4 will be left in the Championship series. Then to 2 in the World Series. The 2 teams in the World Series came all the way in the hopes of accomplishing one goal: winning a World Series. There is no telling how exciting and unpredictable these next couple of weeks will be for the MLB. But we all can agree that the postseason is a great time for the game of baseball, and what better way to start it than with Wildcard Weekend.