WHO SAID MODERN BASEBALL SUCKS?

OK, I did... but after an utterly epic 2025 World Series, I take it back.

Game 7, bottom of the 9th; bases loaded, no outs. An ace pitcher on the mound with ZERO days of rest. The potential Series-winning run is sliding into home plate. It does NOT get any better than this!

One of our most popular essays EVER has been WHY MODERN BASEBALL SUCKS, with over 1500 views and counting. And while your Grumpy Old Mansplainer is correct about damn near everything, he is big enough to admit when he is wrong. And boy, was I wrong! Thanks to science, technology, and a few of the rule changes we nostalgically lamented, the 2025 World Series-- a.k.a., the "Autumn Classic"-- was among the most exciting of all time.

This World Series had just about everything, including--

Seemingly counter-intuitive and gut-instinct managerial moves that paid off handsomely, thereby forestalling-- at least for a while-- the complete and soul-less computerization of the National Pastime;

An 18-inning Game 3 that tested the inner fortitude of both teams as well as the endurance of all but the most faithful fans;

A once-in-a-CENTURY diamond talent-- The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani-- who can throw 100 mph pitches for strikes AND regularly hit home runs; (See Babe Ruth for the only close comparison.)

Ohtani's countryman, fellow Dodger pitcher, and 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who not only won three games in this Series but also closed out Game 7 on ZERO day's rest in breathtakingly Zen-Kamikaze fashion;

Gut-wrenching defensive plays (and one cosmic quirk) in Game 6 to force a Game 7;

And most importantly (at least for me) numerous well-placed and well-focused high-speed cameras that decisively vindicated the umpires' difficult calls on all of the close and Series-deciding plays. This was a superbly-umpired series in which the lesser team not only won, but did so without any lingering controversy.

And so, Dear Reader, I hereby acknowledge that modern baseball DOESN'T suck; indeed, the 2025 World Series suggests that Major League Baseball is actually better than ever.

HERE is a highlight reel of the Top 10 plays from the 2025 World Series.

Just ONE note...

On the decisive play at the plate in the 9th inning of Game 7, Toronto Blue Jay's base-runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been harshly second-guessed for taking such a small lead off third. However, he was almost certainly following orders from his 3rd base coach in order to prevent being doubled off 3rd in the event of a sharp liner being snagged by a Dodger infielder and catching him flat-footed and off-base. But what remains inexplicable to many of us is why he chose to slide into home plate on a force play instead of simply sprinting through-- if sliding actually increased one's forward speed, then every sprinter in the Olympic 100-meter dash would slide at the finish line, right? My guess is that there are so few closely-contested force plays at home plate that Kiner-Falefa slid purely out of experience and muscle memory.

Too bad it quite possibly cost his team the 2025 World Series.