Well, here we are. It's September. For baseball, that means the final stretch. Four weeks to glory. Four weeks to misery. Four weeks to turn the story around, if you have the power to.
There are two teams in baseball that are in the middle of it all. The Yankees, of course, have the more momentum because they seem to be annoying their fans, but they are still comfortably in position to make the playoffs. But the Mets have a chance too. They just need to roll with the punches.
We celebrate our perennial champions and those that came close, but in doing so we mostly enjoy what happens in October. What we sometimes forget is how thrilling the real September push can be. Whether you bet on the Yankees or the Mets, it's worth hoping they'll emulate the final kick of these teams that showed us the real way.
2016 Mets: The Mets were 69-66 after their loss on September 2 and were 3¹/₂ games out of the last wild card spot. They then went on an 18-9 run down the stretch to move into the top spot in the wild card standings, overtaking the Cardinals and Giants.
1995 Yankees: Their onslaught actually started a few days earlier: They were 54-59 on the morning of August 29, 4 ¹/₂ games out of the Wild Card spot (and, astonishingly, 12 ¹/₂ games behind the Angels, the team that would narrowly qualify for the Wild Card spot), then went 25-6 the rest of their way to end a 14-year drought without a playoff appearance.
1978 Yankees: The Yankees had cut a 14-game deficit in half by August 23, but were still seven games behind, and needed to go 30-10 over their final 40 games (23-9 after September 1) to advance to a one-game playoff series against the Red Sox.
1973 Mets: You've heard it all before, and it's amazing. On August 31, the Mets were 61-71 and 6 1/2 games out of the lead in the NL East. “We're not in our prime yet,” Yogi Berra said, but no sooner had those words left his mouth than the Mets went 21-8 over their remaining games and slid into the playoffs.
1969 Mets: Amid the wonder of that entire season, it's easy to forget just how strong the team's final stretch was, but the Mets entered September with a 76-54 record, five games behind the Cubs, and finished with a 24-8 record, part of a long stretch in which they won 38 of their final 49 games.
1964 Yankees: On August 29, Yogi's team woke up with a 72-54 record and 4¹/₂ points behind in third place. The team finished the season with a 27-9 record and an 11-game winning streak, edging out the Orioles and White Sox.
1960 YankeesOn September 14, the M&M Boys Yankees lost a 2-1 walk-off to the lowly Kansas City Athletics, dropping them into a tie for first place with Baltimore. However, the Yankees quickly won four straight games against the Orioles to finish the season with 15 straight wins and a 97-57 record to take a lead of eight games in first place.
1951 Giants: Despite already looking pretty powerful in their comeback, winning 16 straight games against the Dodgers in August, they were still seven games behind at 76-53 going into September, but they went 20-5 in September and entered a three-game playoff drought, and we all know what happened there.
1921 Yankees: The Bombers were struggling in September and trailed defending champion Cleveland by just one game, but went 21-7 in September and qualified for their first World Series.
Vax Wax
The Royals lost 106 games last year and were on pace to win 90 games as of Friday, five games out of a wild card spot. No Will you vote for Matt Quatraro as Manager of the Year?
On Sept. 9, David Wright will be at Engine 39/Ladder 16 in Manhattan to pay tribute to the 343 NYPD officers killed on 9/11. He'll also be hosting the third annual Battle of the Badge Game between the NYPD and NYPD at Citi Field on Sept. 12. “To me, all emergency responders are heroes,” Wright said. “They run towards danger, whereas most people run the other way.”
The great Jerry Eisenberg (the humble storyteller's longtime mentor and former longtime contributor to this column in The Washington Post) turns 94 on September 10. Celebrate by picking up a copy of Larry Doby in Black and White, or any of the 15 books he's ever written.
I heard it was just a vicious rumor that it was Tony Manero who broke into Rick Pitino’s office and tried to steal his white suit back.
Counterattack against Vac
Kenneth Meltsner: Like Sinatra's “The Way of Life” (“April is high, May is low”), I give you… Edwin Diaz. He went from best closer in MLB to worst, to best again, to one of the worst as of Sunday and Wednesday. Joe Garagiola writes that baseball is sometimes just not a fun game, sorry.
Vac: Also, like Sinatra, baseball often makes me want to plead, “Joe, give me a kick…”
Jonathan Segal: How blessed are we? First, we had the privilege of watching Gene Michael's Yankees win four championships in five years. Then we witnessed the longevity of the Core 4 and saw the trajectory of Derek Jeter's career. And now we're watching Aaron Judge put his name on Mount Rushmore. Let's enjoy it while we can.
Vac: As sports fans, we are too often asked to focus on our team's problems. It's important to stop every now and then and smell the cookies baking.
JoeFab: I agree with @MikeVacc and others – John Sterling is a legendary pitcher and it's fine if he wants to pitch a few innings in the playoffs for the Yankees, but taking a game away from Justin Shakir and Emmanuel Barbary, two guys who have been productive all season, is an unnecessary ego play.
Mike Vack: I forgot to include Emmanuel in last week's Whack, but of course I should include him.
Jay Cummings: The question is, who is putting more pressure on them: Aaron Rodgers leading the Jets to the playoffs or Aaron Judge being Mr. October and leading the Yankees to the World Series? I think Judge is putting a little more pressure on them.
Vac: I think most people would agree with you, and I'll say this: I wouldn't blame Judge if he hits an ill-timed slump in October. I wouldn't blame him as much if Rodgers is healthy and the Jets are 8-9.
