Baseball playoffs are tense affairs, but even in October the sport can turn dull on any given night. Why not spice up the fun by playing these drinking games? You will take a shot whenever one of the following things happens:

An Announcer Brings Up “The Cardinal Way”


It’s admittedly pretty amazing that the Cardinals lost their best pitcher, Adam Wainwright, to a torn Achilles early in the season and still ran away with baseball’s best record. They’ve also lost other important players throughout the year, such as 1B Matt Adams and OF Matt Holliday, and never broke stride. This breeds admiration of “The Cardinal Way,” which is amorphous, but basically means winning no matter what happens.

Joe Buck gets the rap for being a Cardinals apologist, but no announcer is immune to it. You’ll want to beware though; the NL wildcard game will be between the Cubs and Pirates, two teams with excellent records that fell victim to St. Louis’ machine-like efficiency.

The Blue Jays Hit A Home Run


Pitching gets ramped up in the postseason, but against sluggers like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki, that trope might as well be thrown out the window. The Jays led MLB with 227 home runs this season, and they are close to rostering three 40-home run hitters (Encarnacion has 37).

They’ve only gotten stronger as the season’s worn on too. Since August they’ve clubbed 92 homers. Bottoms up!

Any Time The Network’s Strike Zone Doesn’t Match The Umpire’s Call

Yeah, so stick to beer with these shots, because you’ll probably get alcohol poisoning otherwise. You know when there’s a borderline pitch, and FOX, TBS, ESPN etc. will have a fancy little graphic, with a tiny box that looks nothing like the strike zone that is actually used in games pop up? Well whenever that box comes up, and shows a pitch somehow tapping the nethermost region of that box, and the umpire’s call completely contradicts it, toss a shot of beer back. This is essentially a cousin of a power hour, because umpires and technology do not mix.

Dellin Betances Or Andrew Miller Strikes Someone Out



This is somewhat contingent on the Yankees making it out of the AL wildcard game, but if both guys pitch in this game, that’s still a real possibility of you sucking down six shots in two innings. Oh, and the AL Wildcard Round is on Tuesday, so be sure you have a sick day to use for your hangover.

Chug A Beer During Every Managerial Challenge

Baseball purists who lamented the introduction of instant replay worried that it would slow the game down. While other efforts – plus the decrease in steroid usage – have trimmed down the average length of a ballgame, reviews are still a tedious process. With so much at stake, managers won’t be shy about using challenges. Make them fun by chugging, shotgunning, funneling, or using any other method of rapid consumption to drink an entire beer while you wait.

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