The District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia were well represented this fall in the baseball world.  Both the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals clinched their divisions with time to spare.  Both organizations made the playoffs in 2012, but exited before most supporters would have liked.

Fans from across the DMV area are rejoicing at the idea of their team playing extra baseball.

“[It’s] very exciting especially since this is the first time in a decade they’ve won a playoff series so excitement keeps growing,” said junior, and Orioles fan, Max Mihailovich.  The Orioles of 2012 and the Orioles of 2014 obviously have some similarities, but the differences are what make the O’s a much more favored team this year to advance in the playoffs.

“They have way more depth.  Even with three all-stars and a Gold Glover out, they still have strong hitters one through nine,” said Mihailovich.

One of the key additions to the Orioles being the former Texas Ranger Nelson Cruz.  His power has helped the Orioles lead the American League in homeruns.

As for the Nationals, they took a different approach to success.

The Washington starting pitching staff, led by Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann, led Major League Baseball with a 3.04 Earned Run Average.  Along with a

While both teams had success in the regular season, the postseasons have been quite opposite. The Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers in four games while the Nationals lost to the Giants in four games as well. Good thing for senior Nationals fan, Ferrell McGinnis is content willing to cheer for the team from Baltimore.

“It’s close enough to home,” said McGinnis.

The style of play in the postseason for these two teams could not be farther apart.  The Orioles were second in the playoffs with a team batting average of .263 while the Nationals had an average of .164.

Even though the Nationals had an underwhelming postseason by many people’s standards, others believe something should still be taken from the season.

“They already won the NL East and were pretty ahead the other teams so I think it was a pretty good season,” said McGinnis.

As for Orioles fans, there is a feeling of World Series or bust.

“I think fans may see it that way but there’s so much talent on this team and with more people healthy next year there will be more opportunities,” said Mihailovich.

After the postseason is finished, look for the Nationals to make moves to help their offense that obviously needed it during the playoffs, and for Orioles fans, just hope the boys from Baltimore keep it up.