"So I grew up in a house where baseball was basically seen as a third-world sport, but tonight everything changed.

I put some bets on baseball because, what the heck, why not? But as the night went on, I was like, “I’m gonna actually watch this.” Then I was met with a dilemma: I didn’t have a baseball team.

So I started watching the Yankees. They tanked, and I wasn’t hooked yet, but I felt like I needed more. I had an itch I couldn’t scratch.

So I tuned into the Rangers game, and my God, I thought it was over for them down 6-0. Then I watched as the batters started coming to life and the Angels bullpen started to fall apart. It was like some kind of miracle, like magic had fallen upon the Rangers’ shoulders.

I started to believe.

It wasn’t about the money I had bet anymore. It was about watching something I had never paid any mind to before unfold before my eyes. It was one of the best things I had ever seen in sports.

I watched as a Rangers team that looked dead slowly started chipping away at the lead. I watched a pitcher completely fall apart, and the hope only grew as the innings went on. Little did I know, I was hooked.

I couldn’t stop.

The Angels ended up winning, as I’m sure you all know, but I felt sympathetic toward the Rangers because they never stopped fighting. I was left needing more.

So I turned over to the Giants vs. White Sox game. Earlier, when I had seen the score, it was 9-0. But as the game went on, the same thing that happened in the Rangers game started happening there too. The momentum flipped. The crowd was going crazy, and hope wasn’t lost.

Baseball has to be the best sport in this country, and tonight I figured it out.

I became a baseball fan tonight.

I finally understood.

I became an American."

-u/Visible_Tangelo_4205

Yup. Different teams is back in action.

Every playoff series has its standout players, and usually there's one that just absolutely steals the show. And if it's a League Championship Series or the World Series, they're usually named the MVP of that series (albeit with a few exceptions). And sometimes, we even see performances like this in the League Division Series, where there isn't MVP honors, but their performance still earns them praise and respect, nonetheless. So, with this said, what is your all-time favorite single playoff series from a player on a different team, and why?

A disclaimer, as well. The LDS does count toward this, but as the Wild Card round was always a single game until 2020 (as well as the last 4 years), the Wild Card round is disqualified.

For example, I've got an example from both sides of the game. For hitters, as much as I should hate this, I think I might go with Big Papi himself, David Ortiz in the 2004 ALCS. In the ultimate grudge matchup, Ortiz absolutely lit up Yankee pitching all series long. He hit .387 (12-for-31), hit 3 HR's, drove in 11 RBI, and racked up an 1.199 OPS, earning himself the ALCS MVP as Boston came back from down 3-0. A close second is probably Adolis Garcia in the 2023 ALCS, in fact, it's practically neck-and-neck between them. And for pitchers, it's painfully difficult to choose, but I might go with Bob Gibson in the 1967 World Series. He threw 3 starts, all CG's, racking up a 3-0 record, 27.0 IP, 1.00 ERA (3 ER), 26 strikeouts, and a 0.704 WHIP, earning himself the World Series MVP, as his Cards won in 7 games against Boston. It's also pretty ironic, considering that the former had the Red Sox beat the Cardinals in that year's World Series, and the latter had the Cardinals beat the Red Sox.

This might seem like a weird-ass question, but I'll explain.

I've become enamored lately with former closer Brian Wilson, most notably his 2010 season for the Giants. The guy was a character, but he could pitch his ass off, too. As a result, I've kinda started doing his signature save gesture (chin, hat, chest, crossed arms, the whole bit) everyday as kind of a good-luck charm. It's become kind of a habit for me, and Idk why.

So I wanted to ask, does anyone else have kind of a "player ritual" they've picked up on irl?

The Taxi/Five-O/Interest and FBI from the first 2 games have actual model names. Both are made by the same in-game brand, Rogue. The car the Taxi, Five-O, and Interest are based off is the Rogue Alex-S, and the SUV that the FBI is based off is the Rogue Bureaucrat 2500XL.

Well, since I did "great players on bad teams", let's do the opposite. I kinda need something to lift my spirits after what happened to me earlier.

Who do you think is the perfect opposite to my last Q&A, and why? A strong analogy would be a Pontiac Aztek parked outside a castle.

For me, I hate to do this to my guy Timmy, but Lincecum on the 2012 Giants definitely stands out. 10-15 in 33 starts, 5.18 ERA (107 ER in 186.0 IP), 190 K's to 90 walks (the most he ever allowed in a season), 1.468 WHIP, and a -1.7 WAR. He also stacked up just 4 hits in 45 at-bats at the plate (.089 BA), but given that he's a pitcher, that's not that surprising. He did redeem himself out of the pen, especially in the World Series, but my god, was he carried that whole year.

I'm still pissed about losing my account, so I think I'll take some of the edge off with a start-over Q&A.

Well, since I did this before for The Wire, let's do one for another HBO powerhouse. The Sopranos is a phenomenal show with incredible scenes, but just like all shows, sometimes, they miss. So what's your most hated scene from The Sopranos, and why?

For me, a strong example is probably Dr. Melfi's rape. It was acted out tremendously, but is always insanely hard to watch.