Last Wednesday night I found myself in a bowling alley huddled around the television with roughly 20 other people watching the ending to the American League Championship Series. It was the top of the ninth inning, 2 outs, J.J. Hardy at the plate with Adam Jones on first after a rare walk, giving Orioles fans just the slightest bit of hope. Hope that even after losing the first three games of the series they would find a way to keep their season going, and maybe from there somehow find a way to turn the series around.
Sadly we all know how that story ends now, Hardy grounds out to third base for the final out in the Royals four game sweep setting of a raucous celebration in Kansas City with their return to the World Series for the first time since 1985. Champagne bottles were popped, beer was spilled, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Everyone except for the team in the visiting dugout that is.
Some Orioles players watched from the dugout while others retreated to the clubhouse, all of them wondering what went wrong during the series. Why couldn't they get that one clutch hit that they always seemed to find during the regular season? Or what about one play in the field they couldn't make? Or getting the one out their bullpen failed to get? In a season where they always came up with whatever they needed at the time, no matter how many players went down and no matter who took their place, why now could they no longer make that one play that led to their 96 regular season victories and a three game sweep of the Tigers in the Division Series?
Perhaps it was the pressure of playing from behind the entire series. Or perhaps it was that now they were suppose to win, going from the team that was suppose to finish last in their division to the favorite to win the World Series. Maybe it was just that their weaknesses finally reared their head, that the starting pitching wasn't as good as it seemed, or the team relied to much on the home run ball, and they had lost too many starters to stay consistent in the field. Or maybe they just simply ran into the hotter team in Kansas City, the team that always seemed to find the one play to put them on top and in the process set a record for most consecutive wins to begin a postseason.
In time they may come up with an answer, but for now all they could do is begin packing their belongings and get ready for an offseason where they'll be watching the World Series from home if they so choose. Most of them will be back with the team next year, while some are left to wonder what city they'll be heading to in spring training. For a team that really had no superstars and was filled with it's share of guys that had bounced from team to team or guys that no one wanted when the season began not knowing what's to come next season may be the hardest part.
Meanwhile back in the bowling alley the crowd of disgruntled Orioles fans that were surrounding the television began to disperse. Some of them upset at the sweep, some seemingly already had come to terms that this outcome was inevitable after dropping the first three games. A few just exclaimed they were glad the season was over so they could focus on football. Everone resumed what they had been doing previously.
Well almost everyone.
One man stood at the television watching as the Royals celebrated. One man, donning a blue baseball cap with a Kansas City logo on the front. Relishing in the moment of getting to see his team going to the World Series, undeterred by the fact that he was surrounded by fans of the team they had just thwarted. By this point I'd gone through a whole range of emotions watching the Orioles throughout the playoffs, name it and I'd probably felt it at some point. But at this moment one feeling was prevalent. It wasn't anger or disappointment or sorrow.
It was envy.
I was envious of this fan getting to watch his team celbrate getting to the World Series. As a fan I'd never seen one of my teams make it deep into a postseason and the Orioles were so dominant in some stretches of the latter stages of the season that I had begun to feel like there was no way they wouldn't make it all the way. They has swept the Tigers easily and become the favorties to win to many people, everything was set for them to keep going.
Then Kansas City showed up, pulled the magic carpet out from under our feet and left Baltimore lying on it's back and were gone almost as soon as they got here.
But then that's also the beauty of sports. From day to day, week to week, year to year, those fans that truly support their team get to experience this full range of emotion, positive and negative. And while the season definitely didn't end as most would hope around Baltimore, the Orioles gave their fans plently to feel good about this season. From winning 96 games and clinching the division in dominant fashion in the middle of September, to individual goals such as Nelson Cruz leading the league in home runs and Zach Britton stepping up and becoming one of the best closers in baseball, the Orioles gave us plenty of things to remember the 2014 season by other than how it ended.
So that brings me to next year and back to that word hope again. Hope that next season we get to experience the ups and downs all over again. Hope that the Orioles can build upon what they did this season and get even better. Hope that they can again win the American League East. Hope that the can get over the hump and make it to the World Series. Hope that they can just provide the good times they did this season even if they come with some of that bad.
If you still have some of the sour taste of that loss left in your mouth, go back and watch the celebration after the Orioles clinched the American League East and celebrated with their fans for what seemed like hours. Adam Jones pieing people in the stands, players doing laps around the field, and even Buck Showalter barely able to contain the excitement that ran through the city that night. Let that be your lasting image of 2014 and just think of what they could do to top that next season.
I know that on opening day next year I'll be at Camden Yards doing the Seven Nation Army chant, yelling J.J Hardy's name when he comes up to bat and waving my orange towel once again because I love this team and believe that no matter the outcome this year or next that they'll give everything they have to do it all over again and then some. No team wins or loses every game in a baseball season so we're sure to get our ups and downs, all we can hope is that our team is left standing at the end.
