The MLB playoffs have arrived after six long months and 162 regular-season games. At the beginning of the season, no one would have guessed which teams would make it into October. For example, neither the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, nor the St. Louis Cardinals made the playoffs. It is the first time in many years that none of these teams made it past the regular season. Additionally, there were some surprising regular season outcomes. The Baltimore Orioles had a 10.4% chance of making the playoffs this year. In the end, they were division winners of the American League East. Not to mention, the Rangers looked like they would take the American League West, but at the very end, the Houston Astros swept in and took the title. Going into the postseason, the three teams with the best records include the Atlanta Braves (104-58), the Orioles (101-61), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62). However, many fans wondered if their high win percentages would continue in the playoffs.
Half of the teams that made it to the postseason won their divisions while the other half clinched the wild card. The six division winners include the Baltimore Orioles of the American League East, the Minnesota Twins (87-75) of the American League Central, the Houston Astros (90-72) of the American League West, the Atlanta Braves of the National League East, the Milwaukee Brewers (92-70) of the National League Central, and the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League West. Although these teams can bypass the wild card round, we can’t count the rest of the teams out.
Wild Card winners include the Tampa Bay Rays (99-63) of the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays (89-73) of the American League East, the Texas Rangers (90-72) of the American League West, the Philadelphia Phillies (90-72) of the National League East, the Miami Marlins (84-78) of the National League East, and the Arizona Diamondbacks (84-78) of the National League West.
The Wild Card series commenced on October 3rd and ended only a day later on October 4th. All winning teams swept their opponents with a record of 2-0. The Rangers defeated the Rays, the Twins defeated the Bluejays, the Phillies defeated the Marlins, and the Diamondbacks defeated the Brewers.
Eight teams remained to face off in the division series, each fighting for a spot in their league’s conference series. The results are in. For the American League, there will be a face-off between the Texans–the Rangers swept the Orioles and will face the Astros, who defeated the Twins 3-1. In the National League, the Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers and will go against the Phillies, who beat the Braves 3-1. It’s safe to say that the Orioles’, Dodgers’, and Braves’ impressive records did not hold up in the postseason, proving baseball is an entirely different game in October.
Now it’s Conference time. ESPN predicts the Astros to defeat the Rangers and the Phillies to defeat the Diamondbacks. I agree the Phillies will most likely move on to the World Series, but I disagree with the American League prediction. After watching the Rangers sweep through every team in the playoffs, I think that they’ll move on to the final round. Although it would be entertaining to see a repeat of last year and watch the Astros and Phillies battle again, I predict there will be a different matchup: Cory Seagar and the Rangers versus Bryce Harper and the Phillies.
This leads me to my World Series prediction. Both teams ended the regular season with the same record: 90-72. Both have also been strong offensively this October. However, one is stronger defensively than the other: the Rangers. With four starting players in the MLB all-stars this year, it’s hard to deny that they have a top-tier defense. A team with players like Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Marcus Semien, and Adolis Garcia is hard to beat. The Phillies didn’t have any starters in the all-stars. For this reason, I bet the Rangers will continue their winning streak and win the World Series, but not without a fight from the red-hot Phillies.
