The Major League Baseball season seems to drag on for years over the course of its grueling 162-game season. This year it was even longer, with two extra tiebreaker games played for the purpose of resolving seeding for the wild and wonderful MLB playoffs.
After all that slog, the time that we have waited for is here. The MLB playoffs feature only the best in baseball playing in consistently high stakes matchups, as proved by a couple of exciting wild card games. Here is what we can look forward to as the last remaining teams chase after the Commissioner’s Trophy.
The past few years have given us a menagerie of gripping storylines to follow, from the worst-to-first ascension of the Houston Astros and the breaking of a 106-year curse with the Chicago Cubs winning it all in 2016. We have no way of knowing exactly what magic will take place in October this year, but there are a few historic possibilities in play.
This year’s playoffs feature an exciting group of young teams that few forecasted to even make the playoffs. The Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers are pleasant surprises in the National League, each taking their divisions after unexpectedly successful seasons. The Brewers in particular are a welcome addition to the playoffs, making their first return to the postseason since 2011. As recently as two seasons ago, Milwaukee finished last in their division and more than 30 games back. Fast forward to 2018 and the Brew Crew have improved by more than 20 wins and have an MVP candidate in outfielder Christian Yelich.
In spite of the joy at welcoming new faces to the postseason, MLB’s playoffs are usually dominated by the cream of the crop. FiveThirtyEight gives the Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox the best chances at winning the World Series at 22 percent, 21 percent, and 19 percent, respectively. The Astros and Dodgers met in last year’s World Series in what turned out to be an incredible 7-game slugfest, and the Red Sox own baseball’s best record with a franchise-best 108 wins.
Barring a remarkable collapse from either team or an unforeseen hot streak from the Cleveland Indians or New York Yankees, Boston and Houston should meet up in the American League Championship Series. I believe that Boston will not have the starting pitching depth to match a thoroughly loaded Astros team.
On the other side, the National League is a little more complicated. The Dodgers may be the league’s most complete team on paper, but they have nowhere near the momentum that Milwaukee and the Colorado Rockies bring to the table.
The Brewers come into the postseason as undeniably the hottest team in the field. Winners of their last eight games, Milwaukee has an intriguing mixture of lights-out relief pitching and opportunistic hitting that seems like a close copy of the 2015 Kansas City Royals. Offseason acquisitions Yelich and outfielder Lorenzo Cain contributed to the upticks in the field and at the plate. Add them to a potent bullpen led by setup man Josh Hader, and you get the best record in the National League and a legitimate shot at the team’s first return to the World Series in more than 35 years.
There are of course three other teams competing for the National League’s crown, but the Dodgers are the only established threat to Milwaukee’s streakiness. Replete with postseason experience and mercurial pitchers, Los Angeles brings forth an approach opposite of Milwaukee’s. However, postseason experience and astronomical big-market payrolls have a long track record of success against upstarts like the Brewers.
All that being said, I want to see the Brewers win the pennant and I believe they will face the Houston Astros in the World Series. The matchup would be a strange reunion for the two teams, as they were division rivals just six seasons ago when Houston was still in the National League Central. Milwaukee’s luck would unfortunately run out against the defending champs who are arguably stronger than last year. The Astros win it all in five games against Milwaukee.
Jonah Baker can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @jonahpbaker