Too Many Tournament Teams

Last night, the L.A. Dodgers honored the excellent pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela, retiring his number 34.

Master of “Moanies” (yes, ceremonies, today a Kiddish for Norman Sheff, who is still quite a wit and 93) as Steiner, does not “Charlie” good L.A. fortune, though “Superstar” usurping the microphone after #7/2003 ALCS was wrong.

The once my love, Dodgers, as surely Doug Sheff recalls, will likely be the N.L. “2” seed in what amounts to the 29th baseball tournament, a 12 team “joke” for a second straight year.

Last season Atlanta (Braves), the likely 2023 “1” and the “2” last season and the Dodgers (reverse that) were each 4’d out on the same day, in the “quarters.”

While that is unlikely to transpire again this season, the tournament remains a great and in my strong opinion, bad/fertile “ground” for possible upsets, that continue to diminish the “true test” 162 game regular season.

Fernando Valenzuela, pictured above.

Usually, I neither cite the year nor Wikipedia, however, in this case, both, as the year in the above photo via Wikipedia, is from 1981, the year in an extra tier of ‘offs, somewhat justified by a long period of no baseball, Fernando, more than anyone, led the Dodgers to their first crown in 16 years.

Surely tainted by the shorter season, as is their most recent 2020 title, it still involved me as a fan and I have a warm spot in my memories for Fernando Valenzuela.