Pujols, Goldy, and Nado: Is this real life, or some fantasy?

Appreciate the iconic circumstances of these 2022 MLB playoffs.

A quick word about playoff baseball in downtown St. Louis on the eve of Game 1. 

I can't speak for all the cities in the Major Leagues, but St. Louis is a special place on day one of the postseason. The sea of red in the crowd doubles. The Kiener Plaza fountain is red. The shirts, coats, and hoodies are red. For one month a year, the red hearts of baseball fans get revved up for the idea of something spectacular. 

It could last a few days, a couple of weeks, or past my wife's birthday. Since her date falls on Oct. 28, the Cardinals would have to get some serious work done, starting with the dismissal of the Philadelphia Phillies. 

There have been nearly 22 years in this century and if you divide it in half, you'll find the Cards and Phillies squaring off then too. It was Chris Carpenter instead of Jose Quintana, and it was a dramatic five game battle that went back and forth until it was just Carp, the late Roy Halladay, and a one run game separating one team from their 11th championship and another from a decade-long run without a postseason appearance. 

One of the wild things sports can do is draw an outline around your life, circling certain events and connecting dots between moments that stick out or define a sector of your journey. Eleven years ago, my son was about to enter the fight of his life, taking on a heart condition that nearly killed him, and an ensuing stomach condition that gave him his first surgery. 

That was October, 2011. Today, Vincent is a thriving 11-year-old maverick who runs healthy and is one of the smartest kids in his school. The Cardinals haven't tasted a World Series championship celebration since then, coming close in 2013 but getting run over by David Ortiz and company. 

Three guys from that 2011 ring triumph-Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright-hold roster spots on this 2022 squad, a crazy circumstance of baseball magic staring us down in the improbable waters of modern day sabermetrics.