Cubs and Rays Clinch 2008 Playoff Berth
September 20, 2008 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Feats and Accomplishments, Playoffs
The picture for the 2008 Major League Baseball playoffs is starting to clear up. Two more teams — the Chicago Cubs and the Tampa Bay Rays — clinched their playoff berth on Saturday.
For both teams, the playoffs weren’t a foregone conclusion coming into the 2008 season. The Cubs aren’t exactly known for their postseason prowess, having not won the World Series since 1908. One hundred year droughts tend to calm optimism.
On the other hand, the Rays had never even made the playoffs. Entering 2008, many had Tampa Bay pegged as the worst team in the American League East. Not only do they stand above glorified organizations such as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, they now seem poised to contend for a World Series championship.
The only other team in baseball to clinch a playoff berth is the Los Angeles Angels.
