Once again, baseball has snuck (or sneaked) into the month of November and the entire season boils down to one game.  Last year, I was in Chicago, hoping for a Cubs victory in Cleveland.  This year, the champion will be determined in Los Angeles, a stadium that I visited twice this year.  On the last occasion, the Cubs fell short in Game 1 and never recovered the chance to go back-to-back.

“Mr.  October,” a title once claimed by Reggie Jackson, has evolved into Derek Jeter’s role as “Mr. November,” as the baseball season pushed back later and later into the year.  November baseball started in 2001 with the Yankees and Diamondbacks.  The game actually started on Halloween night but extra innings took it past midnight.  Jeter hit the walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th.  That series continued until November 4th.  The 2009 series also finished on November 4th with the Yankees once again winning it all, only this time against the Phillies in 6 games.  In 2010, both Game 5 and the Series went to the Giants on November 1.  Finally, the last two Cubs’ victories against the Indians last year were in November.  After tonight’s World Series finale and a new “Mr.  November” potentially crowned, eleven November games will have been played.

Judging from all the facial hair sported by current baseball players, “Movember” came early this year.  It’s typically a month-long campaign to create awareness for men’s health issues, but everyone in baseball that can grow a beard already has one.  Without a doubt, regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game, I vote for Justin Turner of the Dodgers to be “Mr. Movember.”