WON'T TURN BACK, miyuki kazuya

chapter 17

In the end, the managers do not need to answer for the exorbitant amount of money they spent — will spend — on Miyuki and Eijun.

Towards the end of September, the MLB make their announcement for who made it to the postseason.

Twelve teams total make it to the postseason.

Six from the American League and six from the National League — the two leagues that make up the MLB.

Within each league are divisions for East, Central, and West.

The Mariners are part of the American League West, alongside the Houston Astros, the Texas Rangers, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Oakland Athletics.

Among the six chosen teams from the AL for the playoffs, three of them are the division winners of the AL East, the AL Central, and the AL West; the other three are teams from each division with the best regular season records that did not win their division — the Wild Card picks.

In a victory that was very much a long time coming, the Seattle Mariners are the second of division winners, right after the Yankees.

It's the first time they've done so in over two decades.

More than that, it means, because of the way the teams are seeded, they get a bye in the first round of the playoffs, which is the Wild Card series. The top two division winners — the Yankees and the Mariners here — do not have to play in the Wild Card series. The third division winner, the Chicago White Sox, unfortunately, do.

The Wild Card picks are ranked from best to worst just as the division winners are. The Houston Astros are at the top, then it's the Toronto Blue Jays, then the Minnesota Twins. All three teams are from each region of their respective leagues — AL West (Astros), AL East (Blue Jays), then AL Central (Twins).

The Wild Card Series is a best-of-three game with the higher seed hosting every game. So, the third division winner, the White Sox, hosts the lowest Wild Card team, the Twins. Then the top two Wild Card teams face each other, so the Astros against the Blue Jays.

The two teams that win here will then advance to the Division Series — the American League Division Series — where the Mariners and Yankees will face those teams. Whichever two of the four teams wins that will go to the American League Champion Series, which decides the AL Champion that will advance to the World Series, where they will play against the National League Champion.

You aren't too sure of the pickings for them, either, but you do know the New York Mets, armed with Furuya and Shirasu, were made the the top division winner of the NL East, which means they also won't be playing until the NLDS.

As soon as the regular season ends on September twenty-ninth (the Mariners play a three-game series against the Rangers; they win all three), the Mariners have roughly a week of break as the Wild Card Series immediately commences. Game 1 of the ALDS for the Mariners is slated for October fifth, against whoever wins in the Wild Card Series. Game 1 and 2 are home games (back-to-back), so they'll be here in Seattle, but Game 3 (and Game 4 if necessary) will be held at wherever their opponents are.

Most of the break is spent watching each and every match the four teams play. The Wild Card series is best-of-three, so whoever wins two games will advance. But they can't just focus their attention on the American League Wild Card Series; they have to keep an eye on who makes it in the National League, too. It's true that the biggest obstacles in the AL are each other — the Division Series, the Champion Series — but the World Series is the endgame. They can't neglect it, especially since they're familiar with Furuya and Shirasu.

You are a bundle of nerves throughout it all.

Haruichi starts texting you more after it's announced that the Mariners made the playoffs. The past few months have been busy for him with his own season with the Lions, which you completely understand; mostly, he sends articles he finds interesting or asks about book recs and you send him the occasional update on Eijun and Miyuki, often with a picture accompanying it.