How many teams have been to the World Series in the last 10 years?
In the last 10 years, 15 teams have been to the World Series, which is exactly half of all Major League Baseball teams. Those teams are as follows:
- Anaheim Angels (2002)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (2001)
- Atlanta Braves (1999)
- Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007)
- Chicago White Sox (2005)
- Colorado Rockies (2007)
- Detroit Tigers (2006)
- Florida Marlins (2003)
- Houston Astros (2005)
- New York Mets (2000)
- New York Yankees (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003)
- Philadelphia Phillies (2008)
- San Francisco Giants (2002)
- St. Louis Cardinals (2004, 2006)
- Tampa Bay Rays (2008)
It bears repeating: half of all Major League Baseball teams have played in the World Series in the past 10 years. No other major sport can boast this many teams in its championship in the past ten years.
TV review: Babylon 5 Season 4
Season 4 of Babylon 5 starts out by leaving some questions unanswered from the end of Season 3, but by no means does that affect the enjoyment of this season. Season 4 seems to move along at a rapid pace, with major developments in the overall story arc that were set up in season 1 being resolved only 6 episodes into this season in the episode “Into the Fire.”
Even as conflict with alien races gets resolved, tensions among individual worlds comes to the forefront for the remainder of this season. Plot lines dealing with the rule of the Centauri and Minbari homeworlds play a role in this season, as well as human conflicts on earth and mars.
Season 4 features several unique episodes. “The Illusion of Truth” features impressions of Babylon 5 as portrayed in the media. “Intersections in Real Time” is a gripping episode which is nothing but an interrogation. The season finale “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars” looks ahead to the future in what seems to be a fitting end to the entire series. I’m not certain of this, but I believe that when season 4 ended, no one knew if there would be another season of the show, so the storylines all wrap up nicely at the end of season 4. The season ends so well that it feels like the end of the series, despite another season subsequently being made.
I honestly do not know where the direction of the series will go in season 5, but I do know that I enjoyed season 4 immensely.
Rating: 9 out of 10.
Pine tar
Major League Baseball batters use pine tar to get a better grip on the bat. But they always put the pine tar half way up the length of the bat, and then touch the pine tar to apply it to their hands. Why don’t they just put the pine tar right on the handle where they grip the bat?
Book review: Star Wars: Clone Wars: Wild Space
I never know what to expect from new Star Wars novels anymore. After the highs and lows of the Legacy of the Force series, I was unsure how many more Star Wars novels I cared to read. Having said that, I gave Wild Space, a Star Wars Clone Wars novel by Karen Miller, a chance. Overall, I am glad I did.
The book is stated as being “inspired by the TV series” but other than knowing who the character Ahsoka Tano is, no knowledge of the TV series is required. The best parts of Wild Space are the ones that tie in nicely to the movies, specifically parts of the end of Episode II: Attack of the Clones. These parts only tie into approximately the first half of the book. Almost all of the second half of the book deals with a mission/adventure of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Senator Bail Organa, which while compelling at times, is not the best part of the book. The second half drags a bit towards the inevitable and somewhat predictable end.
Wild Space is an enjoyable book despite some ups and downs, though it is by no means an essential part of the Star Wars universe.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
