Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I know what you’re thinking: Baseball is boring, and I don’t disagree. There can be more tobacco chewing, seed spitting, and equipment adjusting than actual baseball playing. In this day and age, there isn’t enough action.
But things have changed a little this year. Major League Baseball introduced new rules that have made things better. The bases are a little bit bigger, which makes base stealing — one of the more exciting aspects of the game — easier and more frequent. There’s a pitch clock, which speeds up the game between pitches and at-bats. And there are new rules for infielders, which open up the game to more hits. It might not be the gladiator arena that is football, but the new rules have worked, and baseball is kind of back.
The playoffs started on Tuesday (Oct. 3), the first year with the new rules in place. And it promises to be good TV, despite the Red Sox not making the playoffs (but neither did the Yankees, so there’s that).
Here is a guide and some predictions for what to watch for:
In the American League, the Baltimore Orioles are the big surprise of the year. After a stretch of massively disappointing seasons, they somehow won 101 games this year, leading the league. They have an exciting core of young players, led by 25-year-old catcher Adley Rutschman. All around, from their bullpen to their starting rotation, they have a solid team, and they’re fun to watch.
The team to get in the way of the Orioles in the American League are the perennial powerhouse, the Houston Astros (boo!). They’ve struggled at times this year, but you can’t count out a team with huge bats from Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, and Jose Altuve.
I’m rooting for the Orioles, and I think everyone else is too, but it’ll be a tough road to the series for the black and orange.
In the National League, there’s no stopping the Atlanta Braves. They have a juggernaut of an offense. They have something like five of the top 10 home-run hitters in the National League. That includes Ronald Acuna Jr., the first player in history to hit 40 home runs and record 70 stolen bases in a year. Granted, that’s with the new rules in effect, but that’s a staggering accomplishment. Only five players, including Acuna, have hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in a year.
If the Braves have any weakness, their starting pitching hasn’t been what it was in the past. It’s not bad, but it’s a question mark.
And where the Braves are lacking, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers both make up for it in spades, or aces if you prefer. Whether it’s enough pitching to hold back the mighty Braves, that’s the big question.
So I’m going with the Braves over the Orioles in the World Series in six games, maybe seven if the Orioles can pull off some magic. Either way, there will be lots of steals, home runs, and a little less jockstrap adjusting.
