Major League Baseball. It has been America’s pastime for more than a century. Drawing views and making news, baseball has been a cornerstone of American sports for years. Before 1903, the American and National Leagues were separate organizations that functioned independently, but in 1903 they agreed to have the winners of both leagues play in a “World Series.”
Major League Baseball is now made up of 30 total teams. These teams are split into American and National Leagues, and these two leagues are split into west, central and east divisions. Each division has five teams, and 12 of the 30 teams make the playoffs.
Each team plays 162 games before playoffs, determining their seed in the postseason bracket. The top two teams from each league are given a bye into the next set of games, but the teams that place third to sixth from each league must compete in the wild card series to advance. This series is the best of three games to decide the winner.
The winners of the Wild Card series this year were the Tigers, Mets, Padres and Royals.
The next set of games are the American and National League Division Series. These matchups are decided by the best of five games. Once the winners of these games are decided, the remaining teams play in the American and National League Championship Series. They play a best of seven games to decide who advances to the World Series game. The winner of this is given the World Series title.
As the regular season of MLB comes to a close this year, 12 teams compete for the title. Leading the American League are the New York Yankees with a record of 94-66. Coming in at a close second are the Cleveland Guardians with a record of 92-69. The National League was led by the Los Angeles Dodgers with an MLB-leading record of 98-64. They were closely followed by the Philadelphia Phillies with a record of 95-67.
Trailing closely to these leading teams are the wild cards, seeking an opportunity to win despite facing a larger challenge. For the American League, these teams were the Detriot Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles. The National League teams included the New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.
One big question that remains: “who will emerge victorious?” Fans of each team hope they’ll see success from their teams, but what are the facts? Going into the postseason, According to ESPN, the Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies are most likely to win, with 19.4%, 19.2% and 17.3% World Series odds, respectively. These teams have star-studded rosters, including Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper.
The wild card teams have a much smaller chance, with every team having less than a 10% chance of winning. Most hover around the 5% chance range. However, upsets could happen and have happened commonly in the past. These wild card teams have put up fights all season to earn their space in the playoffs, and they aren’t expected to slow down now.
With the playoffs already showing some unexpected upsets, these odds could end up being far from the truth. My prediction is that while these underdog teams have put up a good fight so far, the Cinderella stories will soon end. In the ALDS, I see the powerhouse Yankees taking down the Royals and the Guardians defending their position from the Tigers. As for the NLDS, the superstar roster Dodgers will defeat the Padres and veteran Phillies will take down the prospect-filled Mets.
In the ALCS, I predict the solid Guardians roster will rise up against the Yankees in a close showing to move onto the World Series game. On the other side of the playoffs, the Dodgers will continue their incredible season over the Phillies to clinch the NLCS. In the final game of the season, I see the Dodgers taking the crown.
Led by Shohei Ohtani, the first MLB player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season, it only makes sense that the Los Angeles Dodgers would win the World Series and end their season on a high note.
Despite best predictions, anything can happen. All of the teams competing have put up strong performances this year. If they continue to do so, they all stand a chance at winning the title and the 2024 MLB season.
