5 Reasons You Should Still Care About Baseball (Now that Football Has Started and Your Team is Out of Playoff Contention)

by Mike Izzo

So it’s starting to look like your team has no chance of reaching the playoffs this year, and you’re wondering if it’s time to begin tuning into football games as opposed to baseball ones.

Well, hold on a second.

Football will still be there come October, but here are five reasons not to give up on the baseball season just yet.

1. The NL Triple Crown Race

Can anyone else remember a batting Triple Crown race going this deep into September with three players having a legitimate shot at completing the feat? All it takes is Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez or the proven Albert Pujols to have an above average final few weeks, and the baseball world could see something that hasn’t been done since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. With a good lead in home runs, Pujols has the best shot if he can hit for average in the final few weeks.

(Pujols: .306/39/105 at the end of September 17's games.)

2. Fresh Faces in the Playoffs

If your team isn’t going to make the playoffs, then now is the time to jump on another one’s bandwagon before the playoffs start. And with so many fresh faces in the playoffs, you won’t feel too bad picking one of them to root for. Why not try the Reds on for size? MVP candidate Joey Votto heads a team that could go far in the playoffs, especially if pitching sensation Aroldis Chapman can keep his fastball over 100 MPH in the late innings of October. Or what about the Rangers? The Rangers have one of the most dangerous lineups in the game, and if they can get Josh Hamilton back and if Cliff Lee can bounce back from a rough month, they could be poised to make a run as well.

(Votto and the Reds lead the NL Central by 7 games.)

3. The NL West

Speaking of young teams in the playoffs, the NL West has three youthful teams with a shot at the division title. There is little playoff experience between the Padres and the Giants, but with two of the best pitching staffs in the majors, neither can be overlooked. The real question is if either will be able to hold off the Rockies, who once again find themselves getting hot at the right time. With an MVP candidate in Carlos Gonzalez batting 3rd and a CY Young–caliber pitcher in Ubaldo Jimenez heading their rotation, it is just as likely that they will be at the top come October.

(Jimenez is tied with Adam Wainwright for the third most wins - 18 - in the ML this season

behind CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay - 19 each, respectively.)

4. Manny in Chicago

Sure there is a good chance that the White Sox picked up Manny Ramirez too late to make a difference in a divisional race that the Twins appear to have run away with. But if anyone could make a difference, it would be Ramirez. Remember, just as he was exiled from L.A., he was booted out of Boston only to put up huge numbers in the final months of a contract year. Sound familiar? At the very least, it should be fun to watch.

(The White Sox have lost 7 of its last 10 games and trail the Twins by 9 games.)

5. It's America's Pastime!

Apple pie and baseball. That’s what America does. Sure, football is America’s most popular sport, but let’s not forget the sport that has been around with us decades longer. In the “year of the pitcher” when aces have been especially dominating, one can’t help but remember a time that once was, before the last decade’s steroid talks began to put a black mark on the storied sport. It’s the middle of September and only one player has over 40 home runs. The sport is going back to its roots and fans should take notice while they can, because the long ball wont be gone forever.

(Yum.)