The 2024 MLB season can be summed up as extraordinary

As of this writing there are three days left in the 2024 edition of major league baseball – four if you are the Mets and Braves (more on that later) – and the playoff pairings are not yet set. It has been a year of individual records, surprising team successes and if you are a baseball fan, a complete joy ride.As a Cleveland Guardians fan, I have been tracking their fortunes online most of the summer. They have clinched the Central Division title, a first round bye and still have a slim chance for home field advantage throughout the A.L. playoffs.Another team that has made a more recent splash is the Detroit Tigers. By the time August rolled around, most Tiger fans felt like it was another lost season. Then they got hot (the best record in baseball since Aug. 11) and coupled with a cooling down of Minnesota and Kansas City, the Motown boys are in a good spot to go to the postseason for the first time in a decade.My buddy told me this week that he is following their fortunes on his phone and computer while doing some serious scoreboard watching. He was very excited and I thought, welcome to my world. We are lifelong fans of our respective teams and lean years have been commonplace for both of us. This year has been special.The Tigers magic number is down to one. I am rooting for his Tigers and hope they make it. By the time you read this, they may have already clinched a postseason position. If and when Cleveland plays Detroit though, our friendship will be tested… Here's a look at what's happened in baseball this season.San Diego was playing the Dodgers in L.A. and leading 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth when the Dodgers put runners on first and second with no outs. A win and the Padres will go to the playoffs. They made it, but how they did so has to be a first.The Dodgers third hitter of the inning hits a ground ball to Manny Machado at third who is playing in front of the bag. He retreats, touches the bag and throws to second where he nips the runner coming from first. The relay also gets the hitter. A triple play to end the game and make the playoffs! That likely has never happened before, but that is par for the course in 2024.Not all the stories are good this season. The Chicago White Sox have tied the 1962 Mets for the worst record in modern baseball history with 120 losses. Will they set the record this weekend in Detroit? I'd say yes.Another negative story came out of Pittsburgh this week. Rowdy Tellez was cut by the Pirates with six games to go. He was dismissed while needing four more plate appearances to get a $200,000 bonus. Coincidence?General Manager Ben Cherington said the bonus was a "zero factor" in the decision. Really? That doesn't exactly pass the smell test… It's hard to sympathize with players making million dollar salaries missing out on $200 K, but if I was Tellez I would be getting a little rowdy!Speaking of doing something with a flair. Baseball fans have been watching the Dodger's Shohei Ohtani for the last couple of weeks to see if he can become the first player in the history of major league baseball to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.That blend of power and speed is not common and it used to be that the magic numbers were 40-40. Several players have accomplished that feat, but Ohtani was poised to take that record to a new level. And oh my, did he!On a Thursday evening in Miami a kid in the stands held up a sign that read "I skipped math to watch history." Ohtani had a night that is hard to fathom. He needed one stolen base and two home runs to achieve 50-50. Here is part of his stat line: 6 for 6, three home runs, two doubles, two stolen bases and another record 10 RBI's. No lead-off hitter had ever had that many ribbies before.Crazy? You bet. But maybe we should have been prepared for an effort like this. In August Shohei Ohtani got his 40th homer and 40th steal in the SAME game. A flair for the dramatic indeed.Finally let's take a look at the Braves-Mets. They were to play a three game series earlier this week In Atlanta and they are nip and tuck for the third wild card spot. Mother Nature intervened instead. Atlanta won the opener, but the next two games were postponed due to rain from Hurricane Helene.So here is the potential end of the season scenario. Atlanta hosts Kansas City and the Mets travel to Milwaukee for the weekend. If the games postponed need to be made up (which seems likely) it will be in a doubleheader on Monday.For the Mets this could be a crazy schedule. Sunday in Milwaukee, Monday for two in Atlanta and if they qualify Tuesday in San Diego for the wild card playoff opener. Think about it. Four games in three days in three different time zones! Well, why not. This has been a season that has been – shall we say – extraordinary.