MLB History

October is upon us, which means it is time for the 2010 MLB postseason. If baseball is a wonderful world in which the amazing can happen, then postseason baseball is a fantastic universe in which heroes are made and impossible dreams come true.

Every season, or so it seems, the MLB postseason gives us something that we'll cherish and remember forever.

To that end, let's have a look at the top 25 single season performances in Major League Baseball postseason history.

The 2010 Phillies beat out the 2010 Atlanta Braves for the NL East title. But in the postseason, Philly will have to beat the ghosts of the 1991-2005 Atlanta Braves. What? Well, hopefully it’ll make more sense by the end of this slideshow.

Right now, the Phillies have their own “Big Three,” and with it, a great chance to win their second World Series in three years.

Bud Selig has not done much right in his tenure as commissioner of Major League Baseball.

He has overseen the first-ever cancellation of the World Series and the first ever tie in the All Star game (in his former team's venue, no less). His tenure brought the steroid era to a feverish pitch and damaged the hallowed records of baseball, as well as the worst disparity of the haves and have-nots the game has ever experienced.

The Oakland Athletics have a history of talented and interesting players.

The club was born in Philadelphia in 1901, left for Kansas City in 1955, and finally settled in Oakland in 1968. They are the proud owners of nine world series titles, trailing only the Saint Louis Cardinals (10) and the New York Yankees (27).

37 Athletics are enshrined in the baseball hall of fame and there are certainly more to come.

My criteria for this list includes: statistics, defense, aura, and longevity with the team.

Though the 2010 season in Major League Baseball has not quite ended, most fans have an idea of who they think deserves awards to symbolize their excellence this year.

Some votes should be extremely close, while others may not be as close as expected.

Here are my predictions for the 2010 MLB Postseason Awards for debate and perhaps even ridicule by all the experts out there.

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Say what you want about the problems with MLB's current playoff system. You can bemoan the addition of the Wild Card, or whine about how home field advantage for the World Series is determined by the All-Star Game, or complain that a best-of-five series is a poor way to determine which of two good teams is superior.

But when the first round kicks off on Wednesday, don't pretend that you won't be watching.

The '90s were an interesting time for baseball. We saw the first Canadian world champion and a strike that devastated the game.

We saw the reemergence of the Evil Empire and one of the classiest men in baseball break the consecutive games started streak, and we saw a home run chase that made baseball America's pastime once again.

This was all fueled by the players themselves. I made this list based on many factors including stats, accolades, impact on the game, and my own opinion, among other things.

Before the past week, Houston was one of the hottest teams in the league since the All-Star break.

But the last six-plus games reminded fans, media, players, and coaches alike of the Astros of 2010’s past—and proof that there’s still some room to grow before the team gets to where it wants to be.

Regardless of the team’s poor play as of late, the Astros absolutely appear to be heading in the right direction.

Youth and talent abound on this promising group of Houston baseball players.

Can we really look through the historical legacy of Major League Baseball and say that out of all of the great arms that have stymied hitters for the past century that Cy Young was the greatest of them all? I, personally, don't think so. That is completely up to debate, as is almost all things baseball, and especially the Cy Young award and how it has evolved into the most prestigious pitching award given away in the Major Leagues.

The San Francisco Giants' pitching staff has been on an unprecedented tear in the last three weeks. The Giants have pitched in 17 consecutive games in which they've held an opponent to 3 runs or fewer, and 12 consecutive games in which they've limited them to 2 runs or fewer.

Both of these streaks are records.

Where does this feat place San Fran's rotation amongst the greatest pitching staffs of all time?

Are they even the best staff in Giants' history? In honor of their feat, here are the 20 greatest pitching staffs of all time.