By Nunnie Robinson, Westside Gazette Sports Editor
The division winners and playoff finalists in Major League Baseball have been decided – six in each league. The Toronto Blue Jays clinched the AL East for the first time since 2015, earning a first-round bye and have home-field advantage through the ALCS. The West Division winning Seattle Mariners will enjoy home field advantage throughout the ALDS while the Cleveland Guardians seized the Central Division title from the faltering, slumping Detroit Tigers, who did clinch a Wildcard spot and will face the Guardians in the first round. The storied but bitter rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox continues as these worthy adversaries captured the final two Wildcard spots and meet in the first round at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
In the National League the Milwaukee Brewers clinched their third straight Central Division title, earning a first round bye as the number one seed and home field throughout the playoffs.
The Philadelphia Phillies won their second consecutive East Division title, clinched the number two overall seed and secured home field advantage throughout the NLDS. The New York Mets, playoff contenders for a majority of the season, lost a heartbreaker to our Marlins, eliminating them from the playoffs.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the West Division for the 12th time in the last thirteen years, clinching the third seed and will face the Cincinnati Reds in an opening Playoff series. The Chicago Cubs will be making their first playoff appearance since 2020 and the first in a full-length season since 2018. They will have home-field advantage in their wild-card series with the San Diego Padres who secured the final Playoff berth in the NL. The LA Dodgers, last year’s World Series winners, appear to have a more difficult challenge as they attempt to defend their title. Our Marlins never made a serious playoff run, their fortunes depending on a pitching staff that was inconsistent at best, which led to too many blowouts early in games. However, when sound, the pitching made them competitive as indicated in their final game defeat of the Mets. Next season promises much improvement and great success.
The WNBA has proven to be as competitive, exciting and as fun to watch as any other professional sport. We saw the number one seeded Minnesota Lynx superstar Nepheesa Collier suffer a serious ankle injury on a non call, sending her coach, Cheryl Reeve, into a tirade and vilification of the game’s officials, which led to her suspension in the fifth and final game of the series against the Phoenix Mercury, which the Mercury won. Before that happenstance, the defending champion New York Liberty lost a first round playoff series to the surprising Mercury, a devastating defeat that led to the firing of head coach Sandy Brondello. In addition to Phoenix, the Indiana Fever , even without injured superstar Caitlin Clark, are competing for a spot in the league finals against the favorite Las Vegas Aces, led by regular season MVP A’ja Wilson. According to the Aces brass, the officiating has been lopsided with fouls called heavily favoring the Fever. The final will be contested Tuesday, September 30, in Las Vegas.
The winner faces the Phoenix Mercury for the WNBA title.