There is Always a Postseason

Hindsight is always 20/20, you've heard it before and you'll hear it again. The ability to look back and critique yourself by seeing things much more clearly than you previously could is a technique that many people employ. Baseball players are no different, we always find ourselves looking back on the completed season; acknowledging different pitches, plays, or decisions that had some sort of direct impact (or at least that's how we see it in our mind) on the outcome of the season. Some would say there are a select few that get to put off this time of reflection for later in the year, due to a little thing called the Postseason.

By definition, a Postseason is the "period after the end of a regular season in which additional games or playoffs are held, especially to determine a champion". This definition probably rings true for most people, and if asked to give a definition of this term, would give an eerily similar one. However, as I sit here, I've started to breakdown the word itself and not just what our good friend Webster says it means.

The prefix of post is defined as "an additional statement or action that provides or indicates further information or a sequel to something". Now when you put that in front of the word season, you form the term Postseason which I've determined can literally be defined as "additional events or actions that provide a sequel to a period of the year marked by special events or activities".

I promise you that there is method to my madness and a rationale behind my thoughts. What I am getting at here is that the Postseason is much more than just a playoff system in which a champion is crowned. And the Postseason is certainly not limited to the select few. After each regular season comes to a close, there is always something to look forward to, a "sequel" so to speak. Yes, for some that sequel might be a shot at hoisting the proverbial championship trophy. But for most, that sequel is a transition and it is a new time to refocus, reenergize, retrain, and regroup for the impending tasks ahead of you (whether those tasks are On the Diamond or Off the Diamond). These tasks differ on a person to person basis; for your typical college baseball player, these might include making The Walk (I am of course referring to the walk across that stage, the stage that holds that allusive college diploma) and then making the best attempt possible to try and enter "The Real World", or perhaps starting that summer job that  is being dreaded. But for most, their transition is gearing up for a long relaxing season of playing summer ball, cutting grass, seeing old but certainly not forgotten friends, and quenching their thirst for the long overdue summer weather. But unarguably, the biggest thing that our transition holds is an overwhelming desire and appetite to taste the ever so sweet nectar that is, college baseball.

So as the Storm wish nothing but the best for and congratulate the teams and programs that are making their transition into conference tournament and eventually regional play (A.K.A. a "Traditional Postseason") we look forward to and intend on celebrating our own upcoming endeavors. No matter when your season ends, or how far you make it, or how well you competed, there is always something to look forward to and there is always a Postseason.