With the MLB season ending, not a single team has clinched a playoff spot.
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers seem to have locked up their divisions, with both teams being up at least eight games in their respective divisions. In the American League, it is up for grabs in every division, with the biggest lead being the Guardians only up by five games.
The Wild Card race for the National League, one of the two leagues that make up the MLB, has become one for the ages, with the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets trying to hold off one team; the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves are not guaranteed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. It also looks like their streak of six straight division titles is going to end, with Philadelphia having a nine-game lead over Atlanta. Being one game back in the wild-card race, Atlanta will try to sneak their way into that last spot.
Coming off of a historic year, the Braves were highly favored to win the World Series in 2024. With last year’s MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and Cy Young favorite Spencer Strider going down early in the season, the odds were already stacked up against the Braves.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Braves as Austin Riley, Reynaldo López and Ozzie Albies have battled injuries all year. Albies and Lopez are expected to return soon, but Riley is not supposed to return until October. With all this going on, the Braves have had to rely on Chris Sale, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna to carry the load for the team.
“To say this season has been a disappointment would be an understatement,” said Griffin Taylor, a sophomore mass communication major and Braves fan. “At this point, even reaching the playoffs might be unattainable.”
Sale’s and Ozuna’s contributions to the Braves’ season cannot be understated, with Sale posting a 2.35 ERA, along with 219 strikeouts and 17 Wins. It is not every day you get a 35-year-old pitcher leading the MLB in all three major pitching categories, but that is exactly what Sale has done. Ozuna has posted a .302 AVG with 37 HR and 98 RBI’s.
The Braves would arguably have a losing record without the perfomance that these two players have had. They continue to closely monitor the availability of Albies and López, as they have a pivotal three-game series with the Mets next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. If that series concludes in two or three wins for the Braves, they could lock up a Wild Card spot.
“At 35-years-old and coming off an injury, I didn’t expect Chris Sale to have one of the best seasons of his career,” said Patrick Kryszczak, a junior business management major. “It has been very exciting to watch.”
The Mets are battling injuries to an extent, as MVP candidate Francisco Lindor has been battling back soreness. An MRI revealed minor injuries, and he should be back within the next few games.
The Padres hope to hold the top wild-card spot, as they have a pivotal series with last year’s American League champions, the Houston Astros. They will look to continue to ride on Fernando Tatis’s recent power streak, as he has hit home runs in three of his last four games.
The current second place wild-card team is the Arizona Diamondbacks, having an easy next couple games, playing the 58-93 Colorado Rockies. The American League division leaders are the New York Yankees, Cleveland Guardians and Astros.
The AL East has been a slugfest all year between the Yankees and the Orioles. The Orioles have had one of the most talented farm systems in recent memory, and it is all starting to come together for them.
Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Gunnar Henderson, has had an unbelievable season, slashing .282 with a .910 OPS. Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge has been superhuman this year, batting .321 with 53 HR and 132 RBI’s. On Sept. 24, the Yankees will square off against the Orioles at home in what could be a series for the decades.
After firing their head coach mid-season, the Seattle Mariners have won seven of their last 10 games and are looking for that last playoff push, being two games back behind the Twins.
The story of the year has been the turn-around that the Kansas City Royals have made. Last year, the Royals were historically bad with a record of 56-106, finishing dead last in their division. This year, they hold the second wild-card sport in the American league with a record of 82-69. A lot of praise can be given to their young shortstop Bobby Witt Jr, who is batting .332 with 32 HR.
With pivotal games for all these teams coming up, it is a matter of who gets hot at the right time.
