2019 NL Wild Card: Because the rules say somebody has to win

With six teams within shouting distance of the second Wild Card in the National League, it’s anybody’s game. Whose game should it be?

The Washington Nationals are going to make the playoffs. They’re going to maintain their lead. They’re going to host the Wild Card game.

How can I be so sure? Because Max Scherzer. Because 19-31. Because Bryce Harper. Because Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon.

Frankly, they’re going to make the postseason because after repeated playoff heartbreaks, after Bryce’s departure and their horrid start to the season, after eight straight seasons of being over .500 and never winning a postseasons series, after Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Scherzer made the Nats the second NL team ever to field three pitchers with more than 200 strikeouts, after dugout dance party, they deserve it.

The Cubs, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, and Diamondbacks may be nipping at their heels, but this race is a mess. It’s not unlike the Presidents’ Race at Nats Park. The contestants are slow and malformed, there’s a lot of tripping over each other, momentum means nothing, and only half the people in the ballpark care enough to watch.

The Mets would be the Teddy Roosevelt in this example – despite being the biggest personality, there’s a long tradition of not letting him win. As Neil King of the WSJ narrates in the video below, it’s not necessarily rigged – there’s a lot of ways to lose a race.

Unfortunately, Teddy did eventually win the President’s Race, and as much fun as it is to watch a team that can’t get out of its own way, the Mets can win this race as well.

But do they deserve to win?

Whomever survives this gauntlet of mediocrity that is the NL Wild Card race will do so because they win the most baseball games. Full stop.

But we all know **wink** who should win **wink**, right **wink**?

In 2015, it was the Royals turn to win the World Series. We knew it was their year because they’d come so close the year before, and they’re such a small market. Once they repeated as pennant champs…what, are we not gonna let them win? That would be cruel (**winks to Texas and LA**).

In 2016, it was the Cubs pretty much from the jump. They hadn’t won in 108 years! Kris Bryant won the MVP! It was their year.

In 2017, it was the Astros year because we’d never seen a 5’6″ person like Jose Altuve win a World Series. It was their year because they rejuvenated Justin Verlander, and we love Justin even though he’s not short (but, in fact, quite tall and handsome). It was their year because after Verlander joined the Astros he was inconceivably good, and before he joined the Astros he was bad and also old. Like, 30-something.

In 2018, it was the Red Sox year because the deal John Henry made with the devil guarantees at least one World Series per decade. So, 2018 was their year. Also, Chris Sale played many years for the White Sox, who are bad, and he is skinnier than your average athlete, and yet despite being skinny, he throws the baseball really hard, so it was his year too.

Whose year is it this year? It’s anyone’s guess. There are any number of reasons we as fans get to thinking one team deserves to play in the postseason over another. Because bias. Because momentum. Because recent history. We can’t-

I thought of another. Because distant history. Because market size.

**thinking**

Because age. We can’t help-

Because body type insecurity.

We can’t help it. It does feel like some teams deserve to make the playoffs more than others. But with less than two weeks left in the regular season, six teams remain reasonably in the hunt for the two Wild Card spots. Who deserves to get in? And who do we want to see trip and fall on their stupid face?

Let me tell you.