Editor’s Note: This piece is supposed to be comical and poke fun at MLB. It is in no way intended to take away from the accomplishments of those who participate in the greatest American pastime.

     I sighed a large relief this past week when both the Red Sox and Cubs lost. Even though I am a Cardinals fan at heart, the Cubs postseason failure had nothing to do with my relief. For me, these teams’ losses signified something more important than a rivalry—it meant baseball is not rigged.
 
      Perhaps it is the conspiracy theorist in me, but over the past few seasons I have grown suspicious of baseball. It seemed to me too many “good things” were happening in baseball, and these “good things” were bringing back fan support that had dwindled since the strike in the early ’90s.
 
     These are the reasons behind my logic (if you can call it that):
 
     1. The Home Run Chase of ’98—Even though I believe this to be a great accomplishment, I still am leery of its timing. Coming at probably one of the lowest points of major league baseball, it did wonders for bringing back fan support. I know it seems improbable to rig the home run record for an entire season, but it seemed as if everyone knew it was going to happen before the season even started. As I recall, the media were tracking the progress of the sluggers from Day 1. Perhaps I am wrong in this, but what else could cause a record that had stood for 37 years to be completely shattered?
 
     2. The World Series of 2000—The New York Subway Series is another suspect in the baseball conspiracy. While the Yankees have shown their dominance in the game over the last decade, the Mets were mediocre at best. They barely managed to get into postseason play. However, they were able to make it to the World Series. Once again the media were clamoring for a subway series, and it seemed as if this were a foregone conclusion before the beginning of the playoffs. I guess it does not hurt MLB to have a showdown between two teams in the largest market in the U.S.
 
     3. Barry Bonds—Where the hell did he come from? At least Mark hit 58 homeruns before he shattered the home run record, but Bonds had not put up numbers even close to that. If this was an attempt to draw more attention to MLB, it did not work well. Most fans were in awe when McGwire broke the record because of how long it had stood. When Bonds broke it, it seemed the only people who cared where Giants fans and the media. I guess Barry’s charming personality couldn’t win over the rest of the country.
 
     As you can see, these three incidences occurred at key points to bring back greater fan support to baseball. So when the Cubs and Red Sox both lost, my certainty over baseball’s corruptness was quelled. If either one of these teams were to have made it to the World Series, fans would have watched the games in large numbers. If both had made it, MLB probably would have had record numbers in attendance and TV ratings. All baseball fans would have zealously enjoyed every minute of it, and even some who are not fans. Since they both lost, I once again can be relieved in the purity of America’s favorite sport.