It is about that time of year again: the MLB playoffs are upon us, and the Commissioner’s Trophy is entirely up for grabs. The Rangers, the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) champions, have not lived up to the expectations this year, missing the playoffs entirely. Surprisingly, there has been a trend of the previous year's champions failing to make the playoffs the following season, so the Rangers being awful this season was not unexpected, especially since not many people thought the Rangers even had a chance to win the championship last year anyway.
With the Houston Astros and the Baltimore Orioles getting eliminated during the Wild Card round this year, Eight teams remain in the playoffs; the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, and the Los Angeles Dodgers representing the National League (NL); while the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Guardians, the Kansas City Royals, and the New York Yankees are representing the American League (AL). Out of the eight teams vying for a chance at the World Series this year, only the Phillies and Dodgers made it this far in last year’s playoffs.
Starting on the AL side of the bracket, I would bank on the Yankees to take down the Royals. The Yankees have historically been the better of the two teams, and there are numerous superstars on this iteration of New York’s roster, such as Aaron Judge. The Yankees were a disappointment last season given how strong their roster was, so it was not surprising to see them live up to expectations this season and finish the regular season as the best team in the American League. I could honestly see the Guardians versus the Tigers series going either way. Neither team has been particularly great in recent years, but they are both decent squads comprised mostly of some good role players with a few standout players. If I had to put money on one of the two teams, I would give it to the Guardians; they seem like they made more good moves in the past few seasons than the Tigers have.
Now onto the NL side of the bracket. With so many star players on the roster this year, I expected the Dodgers to dominate against a Padres team that realistically does not have a strong enough roster to contend with the juggernaut that is L.A. But so far, San Diego is doing quite well, currently leading the series 2-2. Next, the Philliy’s series against the Mets was quite underwhelming because of Philly’s swift defeat. The Philliy’s roster is star-studded, headlined by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, but they were unable to do anything against the Mets. It was so disappointing to watch as a Philly fan because that was a series they should have won.
Projecting out into the further rounds of the playoffs, a National League series between the Phillies and Dodgers would have been a closely contested series that could have come down to a game seven, if both teams had made it that far in the playoffs. In the AL championship, if they make it that far, I think the Yankees will likely defeat whoever they come up against. A World Series between the Yankees and the Dodgers is the most likely matchup. It should be a close series, but I would definitely put money on the team from Los Angeles; the National League teams, the Dodgers especially, simply have more complete rosters than the teams in the AL.
Overall, this year has been a great year for the National League and a weird one for the American League. The Phillies’ defeat at the hands of the New York Mets was quite unexpected, but I will expect the Dodgers to take the crown from here on out