By Woodrow Carroll
All one has to do is look at the standings of the Major League Baseball teams to quickly realize that, while a number of good teams may be having a good year, the really bad franchises are on their way to a record-setting bad year.
Heading into this week’s action, the Detroit Tigers had the best record among the MLB fraternity. Not only were the Tigers in first place in the American League Central Division with a 31-17 (.646) mark, Detroit’s record was the best among all Major League teams. And, leading the pack in the National League, is the Philadelphia Phillies with a 29-18 (.617) record.
Backers of the Tigers and Phillies might want to savor their team’s success while they can. To put it mildly, the good teams among the various Major League teams is just that! Good! But, not great by any standard! The good teams are not on their way to setting franchise records. There are, however, teams heading in the wrong direction at a record-setting pace.
Last season, the Chicago White Sox struggled out of the gate. And, never recovered. At the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, the White Sox were proud owners of a 41-121 (.253) final log. When the White Sox concluded the 2023 season with a 61-101 (.377) record, there were those who felt the franchise had reached its historic low point. Wrong! Last season’s White Sox ended up losing 20 games more than the previous year and, in the process, were subjected to a wide variety of negative remarks.
The present version of the White Sox has not set the world on fire. And, from an emotional standpoint, suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs last weekend did nothing to silence critics of the team’s play. After being roughed up at Wrigley Field last weekend, the White Sox entered this week’s action with a 14-34 (.292) record. The White Sox winning percentage of .292 is marginally better than the final won/lost figure of .253 from the 2024 campaign.
One thing in the White Sox favor, if you can call it that, is the struggle of the Colorado Rockies. As bad as the White Sox have been, the showing of the Rockies has gotten the attention, be it ever so negative.
At 8-39 (.170) entering this week, the Colorado Rockies have stolen some of the White Sox thunder although the sound of thunder might be the Rockies crashing and nothing else.
While the White Sox and Rockies are not in the postseason picture, thanks to Major League Baseball’s expanded playoffs, most of the teams can harbor a shot at reaching the postseason almost until the very end of the regular season.
In 1968, the World Series pitted the American League Champion Detroit Tigers against the National League winning St. Louis Cardinals. An exciting Series won in seven games by the Tigers. It was also the last year for a two-team postseason. Baseball expanded to a four-team postseason in 1969. For the record, the New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles in five games to win the World Championship. However, before the Mets and Orioles did battle, the Atlanta Braves (Mets) and Minnesota Twins (Orioles) had to be dispatched.
We now have a grand total of 12 teams that reach the postseason. With the Wild Card factor and divisional action in play, things are often difficult to follow. Many teams can go from being a divisional leader to a wild-card entrant and back in sort order. You have to look at a number of figures to determine a team’s position at any given time. Not always easy!