Last night I attended what will probably be my last game of the regular season, to cap off what has been the craziest, most chaotic, most glorious season of baseball I've ever been a part of. I've been to 67 games this year- starting with 12 days of spring training down in Florida, and going right through last night's game at the Cell.

Along the way, I've seen 20 different teams and visited 10 ballparks in 9 cities, and that's not even counting the collegiate, minor league and spring training games. I've seen a miracle comeback (Boston-Baltimore on Mother's Day), a pitcher win #19 (Josh Beckett), a pair of legends (Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine), young guns (Cole Hamels, Dontrelle Willis), a rookie pitcher make his debut (Clay Buchholz), a "crowd" of 250 people (Phillies-Marlins raindelay in Miami), a grand slam (Big Papi vs. Angels), a dugout brawl (Zambrano-Barrett), a near-brawl (Phils-Marlins), a trio of fantastic closers (Papelbon, Rivera, Cordero), every pitcher in the Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies starting rotations, a crosstown rivalry (Cubs-Sox at the Cell), a rivalry for the ages (Sox-Yanks at Yankee Stadium) and the racing sausages (Milwaukee).

I've been rained on 4 times, rain delayed for 2+ hours twice, learned to appreciate (and even enjoy) lite ballpark beer, gotten 4 bobbleheads in ballpark giveaways, amassed a collection of 25 scorecards (one is incomplete, thanks to a downpour that rendered it illegible), even more ballcaps (no pink ones), a build-your-own Phanatic and a stuffed Oriole bird. I've had an immeasurable number of hot dogs and peanuts, taken thousands of pictures, sat next to the Marlins owner, sat up on the Green Monster on my birthday, done a shot with Aaron Rowand and got "the baseball" from Papelbon on the day of the Mother's Day Miracle.

In a sense, it was kind of fitting that my last regular season game was watching the White Sox and the Royals try and out-suck each other at the Cell. I never gave the Cell a chance until this year, and I've had a ton of fun over there (Bullpen Bar= best. invention. ever). Plus, there's a certain relief in being trapped at a ballpark, unable to see how your teams are doing- stuck only with that electronic scoreboard in right field that seems maddeningly slow to update. Crossing fingers every time your team takes the field that the little red light will flip over to indicate the turn of the inning without having that number of runs increase next to your opponent's name. Wondering what the heck could be taking so long for the 8th inning to end- has Gagne loaded the bases again? Watching your hated rivals' scores in wonder as one collapses (Yanks) and one near-comeback is thwarted (Mets). Ultimately, you just have to sort of let it all go when you realize there's nothing you can do to help, and that as these last regular season games dwindle away, whatever will be will be.

It's bittersweet to see this baseball season end- it's been a dream season for me to be able to travel around and be a part of so much baseball, and I'll probably not ever have an opportunity to have a summer like this again. But the Sox are guaranteed a postseason berth, and there are chances the Cubs and the Phils might make it as well- so now there's October to look forward to.

Anyone up for a postseason road trip?