2008 MLB Season in Review

The 2008 baseball season has come to an end.  As I look back on all the great (and not-so-great) stories from the last seven months, these are the ones that stand out:

Cancer survivor Jon Lester throws a no-hitter against the Royals.

Although finishing in second place, the Home Run derby belongs to Josh Hamilton, who hits an unprecedented 28 long balls in the first round alone.

Thanks to Nate McLouth’s throw from center field, Aaron Cook’s pitching, and Dan Uggla’s accidental impersonation of the last kid picked in stickball, baseball fans enjoy the best All-Star Game in over a decade (and the last one ever at Yankee Stadium).

Manny Ramirez orchestrates his own trade out of Boston.

Neither Roger Clemens nor Barry Bonds plays in a single game, but neither one officially retires.  Curt Schilling does not play either, though he remains a member of the Red Sox.

CC Sabathia is traded from the Indians to the Brewers and pitches Milwaukee into the postseason, going 11-2 with a ridiculous 1.65 E.R.A. and seven complete games—including three shutouts and a near no-hitter—in 17 starts.

Future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the sixth member of the 600 Home Run Club, then is traded—again, as is Greg Maddux, one of Jr.’s potential HOF classmates.  Another future Hall member (and possible classmate)—Frank Thomas—is released.

Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs no-hits the Astros in Milwaukee a.k.a. “Chicago North.”

Francisco Rodriguez shatters Bobby Thigpen’s single-season saves record, 62 to 57.

On the last day of the regular season (and perhaps his final big league appearance), Mike Mussina finally becomes a 20 game-winner.

Brad Lidge has a “perfect season”—that is, he does not blow a save opportunity, going 41 for 41 in the regular season and seven for seven in the playoffs.

The Rays shock the baseball world, going from worst to first while winning 97 games in the regular season after losing 96 the previous year.

The Yankees fail to make the playoffs for the first time since there was no postseason at all in 1994 (players’ strike).

The Cubs give their fans hope but in the end let them down again, getting swept by the Dodgers in the Division Series.

No team from New York, Chicago, Boston, or the entire west coast advances to the Fall Classic, as the World Series features two teams that don’t usually play in late October: the Phillies (previous WS appearance 1993) and the Rays (first ever WS appearance).

The Phillies have another September to remember and edge out the Mets as N.L. East champs before going on to defeat, in order, the Brewers, the Dodgers, and the Rays in just 14 games.

Baseball is going south for the winter, but the countdown begins: Opening Day is just 156 days away.