The thrills and failures of a season-long drama – tragedy for the Phillies, triumph for the Cardinals -- did build to a crescendo and concentrate at the end of September and into October. The Cardinals contributed to that 10-game Phillies dive into ignominy with a three-game sweep, culminating on September 29 in St. Louis. 

Now the advertising is national, pitched to the lowest denominator, and repeated repeated repeated.

“The main goal for any broadcaster is can we, with our words in the description and the way we set things up, can we make you feel like you’re at the ballpark? Can you see the game on the radio?”

“It gave the sense on a summer night of being in communion with others, sharing the game, pulling for the team with like-minded folks.”

“Ricky Henderson would get screwed by our robot overlords.”

“We shall see.”

“What does the season hold? Baseball is the OG reality show, all bases-loaded drama and triumph or else caught-looking third strike ennui and sadness, sometimes all in the same game. But it’s not scripted. There is no thumb on the scale in the editing room as there is on reality TV. “

I saw miracles and wonders, freakshows and heroes, and a veritable inland ocean of corn, corn, corn.

If I set out to ride my bicycle 85 miles from Ottumwa to Mt. Pleasant there is only one question to answer. Did I make it? If so, I succeeded. If I do not pedal all those miles and up all those hills, then I failed.

It’s binary.