I would have to say from where the team was even a year ago, being in contention builds excitement for the whole club. Getting into the wild card lead is a step but I'm sure they have their eyes on the Angels, just look how hard they played this week against them. Especially since this is a fairly young club with quite a few of them not having experienced competitive play in MLB.
I don't get your example of the 2001 club either. Seattle got out to a lead in the division and was strong all year long and Anaheim was never in contention.
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