There has already been plenty of unforgettable footage from previous baseball playoffs. But this gave me a different impression.
This was Thursday night, maybe 15 minutes after the Yankees defeated the Royals in Game 5 of the AL District Series. The Yankees were celebrating on the field at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. And the last lone figure sitting alone in the home dugout was Kansas City's best player, the second-best player in the American League, and one of the five or six best players in the sport. It was Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt had a miserable series with just 2 hits for 17 at bats. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference if he went 10-for-17, but he definitely would have liked the chance to find out. Witt watched quietly from the dugout. Several teammates patted him on the back as he watched the Yankees celebrate. But soon he was alone.
“That's where I want to be,” Witt later explained of the victorious Inuyama. “I try to take everything in as much as I can.”
It was something to see.
But this was even better. Moments later, Giancarlo Stanton (the Yankees' clearing MVP in this series) turned around and found Witt. He left the raucous celebration on the pitcher's mound and walked to the Kansas City dugout. He offered his condolences and extended his hand.
Those few seconds captured the essence of the sport. respect. competition. And yes, sportsmanship.
Stanton, in his own way, greeted that moment of victory with the utmost respect and sports as Francisco Lindor did a little over 24 hours earlier when he ran around with his head bowed after scoring the series-clinching grand slam. Showed manship. A base without any acting ability and no desire to play for the Phillies.
What we sometimes forget is that people can be enthusiastic and polite at the same time. Honestly, we can celebrate the wins.
And it seems like a good time to remember this. Because, slowly and quietly, each week the Army and Navy football teams are writing what could be an amazing story by the time the weather turns cold. Both teams are undefeated. Both teams appear likely to clash heading into a matchup in the American Conference title game on Friday, Dec. 6. And maybe that's where the fun begins.
The Army/Navy has always been, at its core, a model of pure sportsmanship. In both posts, the general sentiment throughout the year is simple.
At West Point, it's “Beat Navy!”
In Annapolis, it's the “Beat Army”!
And they work so fiercely and passionately about the job that every year, no matter who wins, there are more hugs and tears at the end of the game than at any other sporting event of the year. Rivals who are also brothers. No matter how jaded or cynical you are, you'll feel a lump in your throat when you step on the field after an Army-Navy game.
But this year there's an added twist. If both teams continue this way, there's at least a chance that the winner of that game will represent the top of the Group of Five and earn a final bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff. (will be played) if both service academies win their games against Notre Dame later this season). And that would be something.
But eight days later, Army and Navy will face off again in an actual Army vs. Navy game, this year to be held in Washington, D.C. And since Navy already defeated Air Force last week, The winner of the match will claim the position of commander – the Chieftain's Trophy. So in any given week, one team could qualify for the national title and the other team could win the CIC, which symbolizes service academy supremacy.
I already knew the answer to this question when I went to ask many people on both sides of the conflict (I had the great fortune of covering it for five years early in my career). would be better. And the answer was unanimous, best summed up by Jim Cantelupe, a former Army guard back in the '90s.
“It would be great to earn a bid to the FBS playoffs at the expense of the CIC! This is always the number one goal for Army teams entering the season. So let's get them both! Let's go Army! Navy! Defeat!
Is there anything you would like to support? Root this.
Vac's Blow
It's really impossible to make something like this up, but as loyal reader Sal L. Lamander points out, Robert Saleh was fired on October 8th. This day also happened to be Robert R. “Ray” Hundley’s 80th birthday.
Liberty lost the first game just like they did the other day, forcing them to play a little tougher, but they are building a team that basically wins 4 out of 5 games like they have been up until now. If so, they appear to be competent. Of doing it.
For all the people who scream at the top of their lungs for baseball players to do whatever nonsense they want after hitting a home run, can we at least agree that the Dodgers' celebratory stupidity is a bridge too far? Can you cross the aisle with that?
I'm still hoping CBS changes its mind about “Blue Bloods,” which airs for the last time next Friday.
hit back vac
alex burton: As of this morning, Aaron Judge's October swing means one less thing than Al Weiss. That's surprising.
back: I'd wager that what we saw from him in Game 5 against the Royals was the equivalent of Clapton or Townsend tuning their guitars before the lights went up.
Dan Sontag:I think it's time to start thinking of the Lindor trade the same way we treated the Hernandez trade a generation ago. I would also suggest that Mr. Cohen leave some space in front of the Citi Field roof. Because I don't think we'll ever see the Met wear No. 12 again.
back: So between Amed Rosario and Andres Jimenez, who is Neil Allen and who is Rick Ownbey?
Momoclo: The only people who dream of a Subway Series are the media, bandwagon fans on both sides, or people who somehow “root for both teams.” The last thing any fan base wants to do is make it to the World Series and lose to the other team.
@MikeVacc: You may not want to believe it…but you can also see that there is a lot of truth in it all.
Ron Noblitt: You were right about Woody Johnson. He is also a team owner who at first glance has no knowledge of running a sports team. In the interest of the franchise, he should sell it and the new owner move it somewhere where it can have a completely fresh start.
back: As always, the problem with coveting an owner who wants to sell is that you can never say the new owner is any worse than the old one. As Leon Hess and Woody Johnson so well highlight.
