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QOTD 130: They'll come, Ray.

Ray. People will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around", you'll say, "It's only $20 per person". They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it:for it is money they have and peace they lack. 

And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. 

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Oh...people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”

 Happy opening day! What are your favorite baseball memories? What's something casual fans don't pick up on that die hards wish they could impart upon them?



I'm a horrible baseball fan in that I appreciate it more in theory than in practice, but I do think this bit from Olbermann is pretty cool regarding MLB baseball in a post 9/11 world: 

"A policeman recognised Olbermann. ''How are you, Keith?'' the cop asked.
Olbermann replied he was all right and asked the same of the policeman.
The cop told him he was worried: ''I'm worried about the Mets.''
The newsman was astounded. How on earth could the fortunes of a baseball team possibly matter?
''Well, it doesn't matter,'' the cop replied. ''Of course it doesn't matter. I've got 300 friends dead."

''It doesn't matter. But tonight, at 7 o'clock, and all day the rest of today, I can look forward to 7 o'clock, where I can put my feet up and pretend it does matter.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/for-fans-sport-is-the-great-escape-20130322-2glcx.html#ixzz2xZE2xDEg"
"

Comments

  1. Huge O's fan. Best memories are seeing the last baseball game ever at Memorial Stadium and helping get a "Flanagan" chant started for Mike Flanagan. Also, seeing the first game ever at Camden Yards.

    Seeing the O's beat the Rangers in the Wild Card game, while in Miami two days before I got married.

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  2. 1995 World Series Game 6.

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  3. 1995 World Series win. Glavine throwing an 8-inning one-hitter then having the humility to tell Bobby he's done and to put in Wohlers to end it.


    1989 World Series. Living in the Bay Area at the time, I was six years old watching the game in a shaking house.

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  4. Jay Bruce hitting the walk off HR against the Astros in 2010 to give the Reds their first NL Central division title since 1995. As a long suffering fan, there was a great deal of relief to finally go back to the playoffs. Of course, once we got there we were no hit in our first game by Roy Halladay and we've yet to win a playoff series since 1995 (including that awful 2-0 collapse against the Giants the year they won the World Series). Seeing another HR to tie a minor league game with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth that I saw live was a pretty cool experience too.


    I wish more casual fans learned to keep score. I keep score for most of the games that I watch on television or live because it keeps me interested and engaged in the game. Since you can score in your own way, it's a lot of fun and can turn what people think is a slow sport into something more exciting.

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  5. time for some one eyed Yankees fandom...

    Great moments that stand out :

    Game 6, 1996 World Series. THAT triple.
    Pretty much anything from the 1998 season. That team was a fucking monster.
    2001 World Series, game 4, Tino's game tying home run and Jeter's walk off right after.
    Aaron Boone becomes a god among men, 2003 ALCS.
    Hideki Matsui destroys Pedro Dickweed Martinez, 2009 World Series.


    For a moment where the Yankees didn't win - Evan Longoria's walk off HR against the Yankees in game 162, 2011, in perhaps the most fucking amazing day of baseball I've ever seen in my life.


    Right now I have mlb tv taking over my smartphone, and playing game in the background on my laptop. Baseball is back and it feels good. It'll be better tomorrow evening.

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  6. "Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a bit outside. He tried the corner and missed."

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  7. Mister_E_Studd_Got100ProblemsMarch 31, 2014 at 1:06 PM

    On the whole, we're not that big on baseball in Canada, at least not around here, but Joe Carter's walk off home run to win the 93 World Series for Toronto was sort of a thing.

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  8. Casual fans need to understand that fantasy baseball is not a pastime, or a waste of time, or anything silly like that.


    It's fucking blood sport.

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  9. Tribe in the mid to late 90s were just a stacked team with no real ace.

    Alomar bros.
    Baerga
    Thome
    Ramirez
    Belle
    Visquel

    I was painting my grandmothers garage listening to the tribe beat the Orioles in post season.

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  10. I'd bet you anything Olberman completely made that up.

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  11. Ugh, Armando Benitez was dreadful that series.

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  12. As an A's fan my favorite moments are few and far between but the Bonds heyday was my favorite era, and seeing McGwire break maris record (even as a cardinal) was pretty cool. Also I was in petco when bonds hit a post 752 home run so that was cool too.

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  13. Stranger in the AlpsMarch 31, 2014 at 1:14 PM

    Pedro Martinez and Troy O'Leary called from 1999 to say hello.

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  14. Baseball is arguably the sport best suited for fantasy sports period. Football would be a solid #2.

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  15. Stranger in the AlpsMarch 31, 2014 at 1:17 PM

    For me, it was David Ortiz saving the seasons of 2004 and 2013. I would like to advise those who think that baseball is boring that every single pitch requires a strategy behind it, every at-bat requires a certain defensive placement, and that statistics rule the game. I'm not a stathead, but I realize that the game today is played heavily using stats.

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  16. My good friend Edgar Renteria says HELLOOOOOO.

    How 'bout it?

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  17. Baseball is a fun chess match. People with ADHD don't understand that. I rather watch Football and Hockey, to be honest. But it's still an enjoyable sport.

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  18. John Cena used to be a baseball player.

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  19. I still remember sitting in my chair and freaking out when Robbie Alomar got caught looking for strike three. It was awesome when his brother blew right past him to hug Mesa. That's my favorite moment.

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  20. Being from Denver, no contest: the very first Rockies home game on April 1, 1993, with over 80,000 people packed into Mile High Stadium. And Rockies' 2B Eric Young hits a home run on the first at bat.

    That's a fonder memory than the Rockies getting sodomized in the 2007 World Series, anyway.

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  21. As a lifelong Tigers fan, I think Magglio Ordonez walking off the A's in the 2006 ALCS is probably my favorite moment.

    That, and pissing off sabremetric fanatics by bringing up Cabrera's two MVP's to Trout's zero (so far).

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  22. 1992 NLCS. Sid Bream/Francisco Cabrera.

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  23. This is my other pick behind the 1992 NLCS Game 7 finish

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  24. Stranger in the AlpsMarch 31, 2014 at 1:35 PM

    Hey, Rocky Mountain High. Thanks for extending the shitty career of Dante Bichette.

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  25. Stranger in the AlpsMarch 31, 2014 at 1:36 PM

    How Sid Bream ever beat that throw from Bonds?

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  26. just remind them what WAR is good for - absolutely nothing.


    I find sabermetrics useful at times, though more specific things (e.g. FIP, BABIP) that can give indications of a rough year versus a genuinely bad trend. But sabermetrics fanatics are nerds who just suck the fun out of baseball.

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  27. Angels in the outfield.

    I worked a campaign in Pittsburgh a few years ago... I did my damndest to find a Sid Bream retro jersey to wear the day after the election if we lost... but I never could track one down.

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  28. The top memory that stands out for me is making the trip down to New York to see Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. That was the first Bloody Sock game and the "A-Rod Plays the Bitch and Slaps the Ball Out of Arroyo's Glove Game". Probably the only time I can say I'll ever be at a game in which they had to place police in riot gear onto the field. Stood in the bleachers with my Red Sox jersey on. I got called SOOO many names in Times Square, Yankee Stadium, and the subway to and from the game. Such an amazing time.

    Other memories?

    -Watching the Red Sox break the curse with my girlfriend at the time.

    -Watching them win it all again in 2007 and 2013.

    -ROAD GAMES! The aforementioned Yankee Stadium trek, along with the Skydome (I refuse to call it that other bastardized name), Camden Yards, Comerica Park, and Target Field



    -First walk-off win I was in attendance for? 1995 vs. the Mariners. Troy O'Leary hits one in the bottom of the 10th after Seattle plated one in the top half. 2-1 final. Also notable for a 10 inning complete game by Tim Wakefield.


    -First brawl I was in attendance for? Also 1995. Vs. the California Angels this time. Mike McFarlane wasn't taking shit from anyone that night.


    -Watching TV for any Pedro Martinez start. Those were all special events you set aside time for. Especially the 1-hit 17-strikeout masterpiece in Yankee Stadium,


    -Another great game on TV. Yankees and Sox. Sunday night baseball duel between Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez. Matching zeros all the way until Trot Nixon hit a two-run homer. Those were all the runs in the game. Probably the best regular season game I have ever seen.

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  29. Lots of Boston fans here. Cool! I can't say I'm a die hard since I'm new to the game, but the positive energy is appreciated

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  30. Sell-out night game at Jingu Baseball Stadium (http://www.jingu-stadium.com/english/) in Tokyo.

    The game itself is a slightly time-warped version of the US game, but everything in the stands is different from the food to the fans.

    The best bit is the oendan - a combination of cheerleaders and ultras (hard core fans). They occupy the bleachers and come equipped with trumpets, bugles, whistles, taiko drums, Western base-drums,
    flags, and banners. They make a wall of sound while the home team is batting - this will give you an idea.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBmDSxH8kmc

    If you are hardcore baseball fan, just once in your life take trip to Japan.

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  31. Favorite memory: The Phillies winning the World Series on my birthday. It was the last three or so innings that got pushed back due to the rain. I was inside Citizens Bank Park's McFadden's Bar watching the game on their screen there.


    Great night.

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  32. I'm looking forward to this season, as a Yankees fan, even though I know it won't be a dominant 1998-style team. There's a lot of potential for new stars to come out of this season if the team lets some of their younger players get some playing time.


    Can't wait to grab some tickets with the rest of the Bleacher Creatures and watch some games at the stadium this year.

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  33. Japanese baseball uses a different sized ball, right?

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  34. Yeah Pedro pitching was always a must see event even for us non red Sox fans. Talk about having that it factor!

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  35. I'm pretty sure its shaped sideways?

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  36. So my awesome wrestling QOTD continues to go ignored. Between this and not being in the BOD Rumble I'm starting to feel unappreciated. That money is just piling up on the table!

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  37. As a life long A's fan, I think the tigers can suck my dick!!!!

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  38. Okay... and didnt they still have the curse on them?
    No biggie.

    It was nice being a fan of a winning team for a while.

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  39. "Lots of Boston fans here. Cool! I can say they can all die in a horrible fire to increase the positive energy."

    FTFY

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  40. How bout it can be the new its true if given to the right person

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  41. Slightly smaller ball, only one of the two leagues has a designated hitter, the outfield is bit smaller and a few other differences - e.g the Tokyo game I was at everyone blew up and let off balloons for the seven innings stretch. But the freaking noise when the home team is batting is the thing that really hits you.

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  42. Born and raised in St. Louis, which made me both a life-long wrestling fan and a life-long baseball fan.

    Sutter's strikeout in the WS.
    Ozzie's Home Run in NLCS.
    Pujols' Home Run against the 'Stros in the NLCS.
    David-MOTHERFUCKIN-Freese!

    Non-Cardinal highlights:

    Twins-Braves. Best World Series ever, best Game 7 ever.
    Joe Carter's walkoff.
    Clemens and Piazza, then Kruk at the All-Star Game

    Lowlights:

    Fuck you, Denkinger.

    This is my favorite day of the year. Good luck to everybody's teams; GO CARDS!

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  43. Watching the 1996 World Series with my step dad when I was 13 was awesome. I usually go to a couple of spring training Yankees games, this year will be no different.

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  44. The shit he was dealing at the 1999 All-Star Game was some of the filthiest pitching I have ever seen. All of his pitches had ridiculous movement and he made a lot of very good hitters look very silly.

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  45. The 1994 World Series

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  46. It's funny. My girlfriend is a Cards fan and it made for some...errr...awkward moments last October.

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  47. 1904 World Series was way better.

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  48. I caught a regular season game at Citizens Bank which was interupted for rain and threatened lightening. They got everyone into the concourses and there was nothing to do but drink for a couple of hours! You can guess what the fans were like when play restated.

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  49. So does The 1919 World Series=Montreal Screwjob?

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  50. I'm not hugely into the sabremetrics...but Trout did get jobbed the past two seasons as far as the MVP vote goes.

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  51. Justin Verlander recently moved, btw. He now permanently resides inside the A's heads.

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  52. "He'll need a rocket up his ass to catch that one; that baby's out of here."

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  53. John McGraw telling the AL (probably not literally, but this IS John McGraw,,,) to go fuck itself was pretty damn awesome.

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  54. Not really a baseball fan, but as a Boston resident I do appreciate that whenever Boston wins a home game my local watering hole does $1 shots for 15-20 minutes. People either leave right after the game or they go from buzzed to shitfaced at warp speed and the bartenders are fighting to get them out the door after last call.

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  55. Bonds arm was not that good, IIRC.

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  56. The most fun I've ever had in any baseball video games... the late 90's/early 00's All-Star Baseball games on the N64. LOVED using the Rockies to bash the hell out of those poor AI pitchers.

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  57. Go scrub the toilet in the Top 5 Bathroom

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  58. He owns the A's. I don't know if any pitcher has crushed a team two years in a row like that. I could make some snide remark about verlander making more than the entire Oakland team more or less but that's not the tigers fault. Honestly the last two years aren't even the worst alds losses since 2000, more towards the bottom. Although knowing for sure the A's would lose in 5 before the series even started was a lot more bitter than sweet.

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  59. The late 80's A's. Jose motherfuckin' Canseco.

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  60. My dad is a real asshole. He raised me to be a A's and Warriors fan. I'm only a casual baseball fan so Oakland losing every good player they develop and either sucking or losing a heart breaker in round 1 every year only hurts so much. But being a diehard NBA fan and cheering for a perennial loser more than makes up for it. If the warriors miss the playoffs this year I will cry. I guess what my dad was trying to teach me was that joy and happiness are for other people, and not me. And also that my suffering and misery as a sports fan is necessary so a red Sox or Lakers fan can enjoy themselves that much more.

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  61. The first two movies just get inducted as a whole. Fuck the third one.

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  62. You've been gone a long time Lax, maybe they didn't tell you up there but no more scrubs.

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  63. I like the A's. Best fans in baseball, hard-nosed dudes. They are very easy to root for. I'm not a huge fan of how the Tigers have become another Yankees, but it's mostly about the old-as-hell owner doing anything he can to win a WS.

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  64. That sucks. I'm a diehard eagles fan. Just as bad

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  65. Major Leagues giving the Indians some well deserved fantasy booking.

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  66. I'm from Boston as well. What bar does that?!?

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  67. Nothing wrong with paying the big pitchers you guys basically developed. I'd say detriot as the most star studded team in the mlb. I remember back in the days the A's had that feel. Now I don't think anyone whose not an A's fan could name more than a few guys. Either way, I was saying a few days ago in a live thread, when baseball tonight was doing its top 100 countdown, to me, verlander is the best player in baseball. If he's locked in, its already over.

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  68. Dude don't even worry, they got the sanchize lol

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  69. Send it to Farva or Alps to see what happens.

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  70. "I left tickets for Tony Fernandez, but he couldn't bend over to pick 'em up! How 'bout it?"

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  71. the upside this team has is ridiculous. Every single one of the starters has the potential (in terms of raw stuff) to be an 18 win guy. Beltran, McCann and Ellsbury are all proven stars. The guys trying to rebound from injuries/bad seasons have insane ceilings.


    It is definitely better than watching fucking Ben Francisco DH on opening day, and Lyle Overbay man 1B.

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  72. Dude so my other team is the 9ers. There was a point a few years ago where the warriors, 49wrs and A's were simultaneously last place teams for like 6 years (usually at least one has something going on) and it was so bad. Thank god I got into to Kobe Bryant from day one, and Barry bonds. People give me shit for cheering on other teams but really when your guys are complete shit why not find someone else to root for?

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  73. I haven't been a baseball fan for ridiculously long, as I got addicted through various means that didn't involve actually watching the game itself. I do remember seeing Erstad make the catch to give the Angels the World Series in 02 or whatever, and I'm pretty sure I saw Bonds' 73rd homer live.

    Memories about non-real baseball involve having a two-week long anime binge on a show called Major, which was awesome, playing a fuckton of MLB The Show (usually RTTS as a closer for the Nationals, breaking Eric Gagne's save streak with astonishing regularity.), and running a few story-driven dynasties in games like OOTP. I also read Moneyball cover-to-cover like 4-5 times and now I wuv sabermetrics even if I don't understand anything except "OBP is awesome, rely on that stat."

    And Major League is awesome. I quote Pepper Leach's deadpan "Look at this fuckin guy." with regularity. Its one of those rare movies where the one-liners hold up decades later.

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  74. One of the best teams ever. And I didn't even know that Robbie and sandy were brothers lol.

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  75. - The Indians' 14-2 comeback on the Mariners in 2001. Against the best bullpen in baseball, with mostly bench players.


    - The "Canadian soldiers" thwarting Joba Chamberlain and the Yankees in the 2007 ALDS.


    - 1995 in general. The Tribe were something like 14-0 in extra innings in the regular season, comebacks and crazy wins galore, the best offense in baseball--it all came together at once. Pity about the ending, but there's still Tony Pena's walkoff HR at around 2 in the morning to win the first postseason Indians game in 41 years.


    - Marquis Grissom strolling home on a busted suicide squeeze to win Game 3 of the 1997 ALCS. Because O's catcher Lenny Webster thought it was a foul ball. Until last year's WS this was the goofiest ending in postseason history.


    - Two of the craziest "neutral" games I've ever watched: Game 6 of the 2011 World Series and the Tigers-Twins one-game playoff of I think 2009.

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  76. I'm not much of a baseball fan nowadays, but I used be really into it. My team is the Atlanta Braves of the 90s.


    Winning one in 95 was great, but it was so heartbreaking losing to the Yankees in 96 after going up 2-0, and watching Wohlers give up to Leyritz the game tying homer in game 4, off of his shitty slider, instead of his awesome fastball. Andruw Jones made his rookie debut in the WS, and it was awesome.


    Losing 91 to Jack Morris and Kirby Puckett was insane. It was like 20 years of losing baseball, and the city was ready to explode. But we couldn't quite overcome.


    Watching the Diamondbacks come back against Rivera in 01 was awesome. And I was on the Red Sox bandwagon when they came back in 04.

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  77. I'm in Cambridge. Dingy little place called the Lounge.

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  78. Just curious, did the pitcher drink the mandatory 10 after the Ozzie HR?

    (10 million nerd points to whoever gets this reference)

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  79. Nice. I live in Somerville. I'll have to check it out after a game.

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  80. Nah, I'm not going to go over Paul's helmet.

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  81. Amen to this. People saying the purity has gone out of the game need to head to Koshien stadium. Supposedly, its like Texas top level high school football times 10.

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  82. "Umm this guy here is dead"
    "OK cross him off"

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  83. As a Giants fan easily my favorite moments wasn't a moment so much as an entire season and that's 2010. To pretty much tread water the entire season, then make a comback and win the division the final day was awesome. Then going on to the playoffs and beating the Braves and upsetting the Phillies was even better. Then the cherry on the sundae was the eventual World Series win. Out of all the teams that I like, that 2010 Giants team was the most likable and talented teams I've ever rooted for(moreso than the '02 Kings for me).


    As a baseball fan, the end of the 2011 season. That final day just sums up why I love baseball.

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  84. Hmm..now that I think about it...I think the 93 NL West division champion race was awesome. SF Giants were good that year, first of Barry Bond's SF year. Braves were favored, but it ended up being a really really tight race. As I recall, they were tied for the lead with 3 games left to go. The Braves won all 3. But the Giants could only win 2. Their final game they lost against the Dodges in a rout. It was like 8-0 after the 2nd.

    So sweet.

    And then the Phillies just crushed the Braves in the NLCS (no wildcards yet boys and girls!)

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  85. davidbonzaisaldanamontgomeryMarch 31, 2014 at 3:15 PM

    My favorite baseball memory was when the Dodgers won the 2014 World Series!....ok, lot of season to go, but I'm really excited that for the first time in my sentient life (I was 2 in 1988), the Dodgers are among the favorites to win it all and have the pieces to do so.


    But in all seriousness, Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, Game 6 of the 2011 WS, and Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS are among the best games I've ever seen.


    I wish casual fans were into the pitcher/batter duel. That's the secret to loving baseball and I think that most people who don't love the game or think it's boring overlook it. They think the "action" is when the ball is in play, but the "action" is really the chess match between the battery and the batter. As someone who played catcher for about 10 years, I'm always thinking of what the pitcher/batter are trying to set up and wondering what the batter's approach is. Like soccer, it's one of those games where you have to see the unseen in order to best approach it (non-soccer fans just think it's people just kicking a ball around aimlessly, but fans can appreciate the offensive building that goes into each attack).

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  86. Dude! That was awesome!

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  87. Guys. The build ain't over yet...

    I mean, maybe it is...but who knows.

    Anyway, if it is anywhere near as awesome as the HIAC they had...

    And really, IMO, this is the selling match for me. But can see if others disagree.

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  88. Yes!!!! Most boring character ever or is it just me?

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  89. I've enjoyed most of this season. There been a couple episodes where they forgot they were a comedy but over all I've enjoyed a lot of it. This last episode should be....interesting.

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  90. Cena-Rock: if you like movie stars with no wind doing rest holds and the WWE trying to make a mixed reaction happen while one of the participants does the bare minimum, this is the feud for you!

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  91. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryMarch 31, 2014 at 3:42 PM

    My equivalent to that would be if say Bryan wins a handful of titles in the next few years and then faces HBK at WM33 or something like that. I totally understand Hogan/Rock, but it's just not for me.

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  92. I'd argue that Austin at WM 13 was bigger than his WM 14. Sorry, but to me, Savage and Liz is my favorite wrestling memory. Especially with how they ended up. The WWF story arc of Randy Savage will never be topped.

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  93. Amsterdam_Adam_CurryMarch 31, 2014 at 3:46 PM

    I rather liked the first one, and I give them a pass on the second one. It sucked, but Rock injured himself right off and supposedly Cena had food poisoning. Then again, if Rock hadn't been jacked the fuck up he probably would haven't got hurt.

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  94. Terry Funk wrestled at WM 2 and at WM 14(as Chainsaw Charlie).

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  95. What about John Cena overcoming the odds?

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  96. Yeah, the creators were aware of that.
    http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RxR5dShz_gA

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  97. Also, I have been a fan of the show, but after how they've treated the final season, I can see why Jason Segel wanted to quit after the last one.

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  98. Cena/Rock II was the laziest booking I have ever seen for a main event at Mania.

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  99. Demolition drawing their number didn't air on the live PPV. On the Coliseum Video release, the Demolition footage is shown instead of showing the Rockers drawing their numbers.
    For some reason, if you watch the Rumble Anthology DVD, it shows both teams' picking their numbers, but the Rockers footage was clearly tacked on the end because the video quality suddenly looks terrible and completely different from the rest of the number drawing segment.

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  100. Oh awesome. I didn't know any of that! I couldn't find that info anywhere! I'll have to compare with the Anthology AND Coliseum Video versions now! Thanks, Chris!

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  101. Aha!!! Good catch!! Forgot about the name change.

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  102. How will they book the random title defense at June's PPV if they've already used that from the booking bag of tricks this year?

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  103. Yeah but they were really stacked against him that one time.

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  104. If you change the dynamic (either turn Hogan heel or Warrior heel) maybe it could have been different.

    But I don't see either of those things happening in 90-91 WWF.

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  105. Sheamus / Brock would be a great brawl since neither would be afraid to beat the hell out of each other.

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  106. The match isn't great. The CROWD REACTION is great, the HEAT is amazing but the match is not Flair/Steamboat and it shouldn't be rated that way.

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  107. That was the Worst. Build. Ever. It was so fucking weird. I can't wait to find out all the shit going on backstage during that. It makes taker Brock look like savage vs hogan

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  108. Rey mysterio's awful cover of orton being better than the spear through the fucking flaming table = epic fail.

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  109. The last 7 or 8 minutes of that match was really good I remember too.

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  110. That would seem to be the best plan especially if we get Sting / Taker next year as the other final dream match on his road to retirement.

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  111. The winner of Brock / Taker should also get to enter the WWE title match.

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  112. I think I topped my own personal up vote record.

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  113. Yeah saying HHH gets credit for 2000 is like giving Randy Orton credit for cenas big years

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  114. 17 was probably his best Wrestlemania moment, as it was the last appearance of great worker HHH, before The Game-Uh took over.

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  115. That's wierd, today on the Xbox I can't watch any past Manias.

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  116. That wasn't the point. Flair wanted to prove he could still go. That's why AA and the Horsemen didn't run-in

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  117. Oh man, the only match with less suspense than Taker-Brock. I agree that Taker's last match would make sense in Texas though

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  118. It worked for the Angle-Benoit stuff for sure

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  119. Has there been a less anticipated Undertaker Streak match since Mark Henry? And this is Taker/Brock. This should at least feel like a big deal.

    I'm a huge fan of both guys too. I've spent my entire life as an Undertaker fan. Even in the dark years where even I can admit he was pretty bad I stayed a fan. I've bought countless WrestleMania events just to see his matches. But somehow, some way, I am completely uninterested in their match. Gonna watch Raw tonight. Hopefully they'll pull out something special.

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  120. Yeah, that would have at least made sense. Brock losing at Wrestlemania and taking out his frustration by breaking Taker apart and putting him on the shelf for a year.

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  121. So Syndrome was an Eliminators/ECW fan then?

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  122. There is no intrigue to the matchup and with Taker's age, I dont know how hard he can go in the ring. If Brock isnt tossing him around and destroying him when he is on offense, then I envision a really, really dull match

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  123. ^This. Completely this. I'm the same as you.

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  124. They are 12 years older with no suspense built into the outcome. I highly doubt this match lives up to the already-inflated status of that HIAC match. I hope I'm wrong though

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  125. No there hasn't. Totally agree. This match had no intrigue or suspense back when it was first rumored and it has actually gotten even LESS intriguing with this uninspired booking.

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  126. An underappreciated moment in that match is when Hogan stupidly goes for a piledriver on the floor after Andre headbutted the ring post.

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  127. If Taker bleeds into Brock's mouth again, this Mania match may be salvageable.

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  128. I wish Paul Bearer was still alive, so we could have Paul vs. Paul at ringside.

    In fact, at this point I'd rather see Percy Pringle and Paul E. go at it, instead of Brock/Taker.

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  129. This is just my completely uninformed guess and my opinion means next to nothing because I've never met the guy--but I honestly think Taker is willing to take a huge asS beating to ensure he delivers a quality match. I get the sense that he takes pride in delivering a show stealer everytime out and he really wants to do his best to give a great match. I think he's more willing to take a Brock-sized beating than the Triple H matches Brock had.

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  130. Finally, someone else who thinks Piper is a bit of an obsessive whiner.

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  131. Piper has shown time and again that he is unable to move past the 1980's. For all we know he probably thinks he is wrestling Hogan & Mr. T this Sunday.

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  132. Yeah, it was startling to me to see this picture: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BiKOaC0IMAA-ckp.jpg. Spoiler alert, I don't think that happened naturally.

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  133. Top 10

    10: HHH beating Warrior at WM 12
    9: HHH beating Bret at Mania 13
    8: HHH beating Austin to kickstart the Attitude Era even though he was injured
    7. HHH beating Rock at WM 15
    6: HHH beating the entire fucking roster at WM 16
    5. HHH beating Taker to defeat the streak at WM 17 and then main eventing against Rock and Austin beating them both.
    4.HHH beating Shawn and Stevie Richards at WM 20
    3. HHH beating Undertaker at WM 27 to beat the streak
    2. HHH beating Undertaker at WM 28 to beat the streak
    1. SPOILERS: HHH beating Bryan, Batista, Orton and a returning CM Punk to win the WWE Title at WM 30

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  134. No, the syndicated shows got him too. Just watched an episode of Superstars from late 91 and he was in the crowd.

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  135. "WHATCHU GONNA DO WHEN THE NEW WORLD ORGANIZATION RUNS WILD ON YOU?"

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  136. For someone who claimed to have come up with the name he sure fucked it up a bunch.

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  137. Austin's entrance at WM X7 would be high on the list. What a moment.

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  138. You know what might have worked, if last week with the casket and illusion and shit. If Brock didn't act scared at all and just met Taker in the ring with a beatdown. It would show Taker couldn't rely on his old tricks to scare his opponent. Brock not being intimidated by the smoke and mirrors. I mean we all would know Brock doesn't stand a chance but it would have added intrigue to the story.

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  139. Whenever Taker decides to retire they need to do his last match video game style. He needs to beat all his past opponents consecutively then beat the final boss of Cena.

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  140. The Liz/Savage reunion is my favorite Wrestlemania AND wrestling moment of all time.

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  141. Do you guys think you would be willing to pay an extra $1 or $2 a month if they added NJPW shows with English commentary? For commentary Joey Styles and Josh Matthews wouldn't be bad.

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  142. I guess someone told Alex Riley that his hairstyle was effing ridiculous last week.

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  143. Which furthers mine.

    The whole angle was booked wrong. I was just off the top of the head booking

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  144. Rock Cena 2 was awful. Both in person and watching on DVD. Slow. Predictable. And it seemed like after a few brief minutes of basic moves it went straight to unlimited finishers, signature moves and false finishes. Really anticlimactic.

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  145. I thought it was a great angle. It made every Flair match a big deal

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  146. I think the difference between the two matches is that you didn't know who was going to win the 1st one, and you absolutely knew who was going to win the 2nd one.

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  147. I can't believe that the WrestleMania Rewind show on the Network tomorrow night is going to profile THAT match/feud.

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  148. It really ought to get lumped in with the second and third HHH/Taker WM matches more than it does. They all were going for the big epic MOTY feel but in the most superficial ways possible. The HHH/Taker matches were better, but they all had the same sort of vibe working against them.

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  149. Hold that 10 for Johnny B. BadMarch 31, 2014 at 7:43 PM

    I really like the second one on rewatches. (Not so much the first time.) I totally dug the feud too. Predictability works for me just fine if it's good storytelling that makes sense. Rock-Cena II = Rocky II. The top hero faced a very public failure, but eventually realized he had to let go of the past & reinvent himself to find a place in the future. (Even the theme song to Rocky II was called "Redemption," the same as the theme of the match for Rock-Cena II. Plus, personally, I'd give the way they built the match through the show an A. By the time it came around, it felt like the WM main event.
    The said, when people say they hate it - I totally get it. Lol. Medium-paced power matches are not for everyone.

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  150. Is the end of a great match necessarily a great moment?

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  151. It's hard to sink lower than Cena-Miz. That one belonged halfway through a bad episode of Raw.

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  152. I would've enjoyed seeing Heel Warrior against anyone EXCEPT Hogan in that period. because then it would've been just another formula Hogan match.

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  153. ...unless the crowd turned on Hogan...

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  154. Hogan-Rock wouldn't have been anything special without the nostalgia factor, but the match was designed with that in mind.

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  155. Nor should there be.

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  156. That's how unmemorable Cena/Miz was, I forgot to list it.

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  157. I watched the Raw where Rock had the face to face with Hogan in 2002, and my first thought was "who's this skinny guy coming out to talk to Hogan?"


    Okay, not really, but seeing look look so thin was REALLY jarring since I haven't gone back to revisit those episodes in a while. And I think 2001-2003 Rock was more slimmed down compared to how he was in 1998-2000.

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  158. The last two years John Cena has won what seems like %90 of his matches, then Mania comes around and they start hyping how he needs to redeem himself. For a company that tells "stories" they sure suck at it.

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  159. When Bryan ends the streak (and he may be one of the only guys fans wouldn't shit all over if he did end it) that will rank pretty high on mania moments

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