That was fun, right? We just got through our first 162-game season since 2019. There was drama going down to the wire, with the possibility of a four-way tie for both AL wild card spots in addition to needing a one-game playoff for the NL West title. Alas, the simplest route ended up happening, with the Giants, Red Sox and Yankees taking care of business on Sunday. Sure, it spares logistical nightmares for Major League Baseball, but what do we care about that? We wanted chaos!
Still, what we have left is pretty great.
On the AL side, the Rays ended up with 100 wins and the best record in the league. But would anyone be overly shocked if the Yankees or Red Sox were able to take them down in the ALDS? I’d feel fairly confident in a Rays series win there, but it’s not out of the question for them to be toppled. It would be less of an upset than the 2019 Nationals over Dodgers. Even if the Rays prevail, the Astros or White Sox await and either of those teams could absolutely slay the Rays. Or maybe the Rays do come out of the AL side. It looks pretty open.
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On the NL side, it’s pretty obvious there are two teams head and shoulders above everyone, but one of them — the Dodgers — has to play the wild-card game against a Cardinals team that just won 21 of their final 25 games. Even if the Dodgers survive that, the two 106-plus win teams will have to square off in the NLDS. On the other side of the bracket would be the Braves, who went 36-18 since Aug. 1, a full season pace of 108 wins. They’ll get to deal with a Brewers team that won 95 games, has three aces — two of which are likely to finish in the top five in Cy Young voting — and can dominate a playoff series.
Former Marlins president David Samson discussed the biggest surprises and disappointments from the 2021 regular season on Monday’s Nothing Personal with David Samson. Listen below:
There really doesn’t seem to be a weakling or two of the bunch and even the dominant teams will have incredibly tough roads. That’s the recipe for an October to remember. Let’s get to it.
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 
| What more can you say? 107 wins. Absurd. They are now one of just 17 teams in MLB history to gather that many wins in a season. | — | 107-55 |
2 | 
| Only 23 teams in baseball history have won 106 games in a season. The Dodgers are the first one to do so and not finish in first place. What an incredible way to snap the streak of eight straight division titles. | — | 106-56 |
3 | 
| This is the first 100-win team in Rays history. Will it also be the first World Series champion? | — | 100-62 |
4 | 
| I’m not sure enough people are talking about how dangerous this group is. The offense can be a wrecking crew on any given night. | 1 | 95-67 |
5 | 
| The Cardinals went 6-1 the last couple weeks against the Brewers and have been nearly unbeatable for weeks. The Brewers won the division with the all-year body of work, but the Cardinals get the nod for current “power.” | 1 | 90-72 |
6 | 
| Devin Williams breaking his hand while punching a wall does put a dent in their chances of a deep run, but Craig Counsell might be the best manager in baseball at dealing with his pitching staff and pushing the right buttons. | 2 | 95-67 |
7 | 
| They lost 10 of their first 13 games to the Red Sox. They won their last six games against the Red Sox. Time to make it seven? | — | 92-70 |
8 | 
| This was the first season in this divisional format (wild-card era) that four teams in the same division won at least 90 games. The Blue Jays had the bad fortune of being the odd team out when it comes to the playoffs. They’ll be back, though. | — | 91-71 |
9 | 
| With a balanced, potentially powerful offense, a rotation with pitchers capable of pitching like aces and a bullpen capable of running out several lock-down arms, the White Sox have all the ingredients of a World Series champion. Have they played well enough to inspire confidence in that, though? I’m not sure. There’s still time, though. Put everything together in the ALDS and you never know. | 1 | 93-69 |
10 | 
| Not how they drew it up, but all’s well that ends well, right? They come into October looking strong. | 2 | 88-73 |
11 | 
| Rafael Devers is a menace to opposing pitchers. Lord. He could carry an offense for a month. | 2 | 92-70 |
12 | 
| Mitch Haniger’s go-ahead single Saturday night and the crowd reaction to it was so amazing. It’s a shame the Mariners couldn’t secure some home playoff games just yet, but they are coming. | 1 | 90-72 |
13 | 
| Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Sean Manaea and more (Chris Bassitt?) are likely to be hitting the trade block this offseason. The A’s are gonna look a lot different next year, but that’s what they do. | — | 86-76 |
14 | 
| What an absolute dud of a week. The Phillies controlled their own destiny and got swept in Atlanta. | — | 82-80 |
15 | 
| Nick Castellanos finishes the year hitting .309 with a .576 slugging, 38 doubles, 34 homers and 100 RBI. He has an opt-out clause. He’s gotta use it, right? | — | 83-79 |
16 | 
| They have now played their final game as the Indians. How will Year 1 of the Guardians fare? It’ll come down to what they add to the offense. The pitching is going to be great. | 1 | 80-82 |
17 | 
| What an epic collapse. The Padres lost 18 of their last 22 games. The good news is there’s plenty of talent here. It’s a big offseason, but they should contend next year. | 1 | 79-83 |
18 | 
| Raisel Iglesias finishes the year with 103 strikeouts and 12 walks in 70 innings. He’s now hitting free agency. Surely the Angels will prioritize keeping him around. | — | 77-85 |
19 | 
| It’s a weak division and all, but it sure feels like A.J. Hinch is an outstanding manager when looking at this roster and seeing it exceed expectations by getting to 77 wins. | 1 | 77-85 |
20 | 
| There’s plenty of talent here. It just needs to be properly supplemented. It’s a huge offseason for this ballclub. | 1 | 77-85 |
21 | 
| I just do not understand not doing an extensive search for a new general manager that includes interviewing people from outside the organization. The state of the franchise is not where you want to just keep everything the same. I feel for you, Rockies fans. | 1 | 74-87 |
22 | 
| Byron Buxton finishes the season a .306/.358/.647 hitter. He had 23 doubles, 19 homers, 32 RBI, 50 runs and nine steals in 61 games. He’s an elite-tier defender and baserunner. He’s one year away from free agency. His history is littered with injuries and inconsistency. Put all this together and the front office has quite the conundrum, right? | 1 | 73-89 |
23 | 
| OK, let’s try it again. An annual crowd-pleaser: Maybe *this* will be the offseason Dayton Moore finally decides to trade Whit Merrifield. | 4 | 74-88 |
24 | 
| Frank Schwindel hit .341/.385/.623 in his 56 games with the Cubs. Was that real? Did the Cubs seriously unlock something in the 29-year-old career minor-leaguer? | — | 71-91 |
25 | 
| Last season was a small-sample-driven fluke, so this wasn’t a step back or anything. There’s an excellent foundation of pitching in place to start turning things around in 2022, too. | 1 | 67-95 |
26 | 
| What a heartwarming scene on Sunday with Ryan Zimmerman waving goodbye to the Nationals faithful with tears in his eye. He’s forever Mr. National. | 1 | 65-97 |
27 | 
| Highly regarded prospect Oneil Cruz was called up for the final two games of the season and went 3 for 9 with a home run and three RBI. | — | 61-101 |
28 | 
| The Rangers haven’t had back-to-back 100-loss seasons since their first two years of existence. If big changes aren’t made this offseason, 2021-22 has a shot match the dubious distinction of those 1972-73 teams. | — | 60-102 |
29 | 
| The Diamondbacks had a walk-off win on Sunday. It cost them the top overall draft pick. They will pick second. That’s an incredible self own. | — | 52-110 |
30 | 
| Adley Rutschman hit .285/.396/.503 with 25 doubles, 23 homers, 75 RBI, 85 runs in 122 games between Double-A and Triple-A and is a whiz behind the plate. Grab another player of his ilk with the number one pick next year and then mock the Diamondbacks for winning on Sunday while the Orioles laid down to the Blue Jays. | — | 52-110 |