How we are enamored by numbers… the latest events in baseball have shown just how true it is, that sports have been overtaken by numbers and stats. At the beginning of September I had the privilege of going to Las Vegas to cover the FIBA Americas basketball tournament. Being a fan of most major US pro leagues, whenever I was in my hotel room I had some sports channel going on the TV at all times.

I am mostly a fan of teams from New York, having spent quite some time in the city, so I was really trying to suck in all information about the NY teams. On September 1, both the Yankees and the Mets were looking like they would miss the playoffs. I remember catching a show where experts were going on about how bad this season’s Mets have been, and although they were starting to gain some momentum as they won two straight games, their hope for a wild-card berth was close to zero.

In 12 days the Mets suddenly changed all of that. They started to win games and were really gaining momentum. First they took the lead in the wild-card race, then they started pulling away. At the same time their biggest rivals were all stumbling to the finish line.

‘... every expert was probably saying how the Mets cannot miss the playoffs this season. Alas, they began to lose games, and now they virtually have no shot of getting to the post season.’

The Mets' playoff probability peaked at 99.80 per cent after the action of September 12, when they held a seven-game lead over the Phillies with 16 games to play, and some favourable wild-card permutations as a back-up. At that point in time I guess every expert was probably saying how the Mets cannot miss the playoffs this season. Alas, they began to lose games, and now they virtually have no shot of getting to the post season.

Just to make it all simple:

1. A team everyone was viewing as a long shot for the playoffs started up a win streak. Early on it was viewed as a passing phase and soon the order of the world was to be restored.

2. Said team does not stop winning and builds a sizeable lead in the race for a playoff spot. Suddenly everybody sees them as a sure thing

3. Said team returns to reality, performs as badly as initially expected, and they are ridiculed as the biggest choking team in baseball history.

Please stop the madness! The Mets really were far from being a playoff team, no matter how well they were doing in early September. Originally they were not expected to make the cut, so what is the reason for acting so surprised? Biggest chokers in sports? You must be kidding – more like the Cinderella team that never got to the ball.