A 2017 Major League Baseball Season Recap

​Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

'It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.'
- Yogi Berra

Amen to that, Yogi. Baseball teams are volatile, especially over the course of a grueling 162 game season. Predicting in April where each of the 30 teams will finish in October is a fool’s errand, one that I happily took on. Unfortunately, I’m neither blessed with a time-traveling DeLorean nor a Grays Sports Almanac from the future. If I were, I might be a little more right. But that’s okay! I’m here to fess up for my predictions that were way off (and humble brag about those that were spot on). The 2017 MLB regular season was a tantalizing roller-coaster ride. As the dust settles, here’s a look at where things ended compared to how I thought they would look, back on Opening Day. 

---

Juuuust A Bit Outside

• Tigers Declawed: This is the most frustrating of my incorrect picks. I had my worries about the team’s aging core and I originally considered putting them much lower than I did. But I second guessed myself and spotted them second place in their division. Given how bad the Twins, Royals, and White Sox were looking, I thought that was reasonable if their starting pitching could match their offense. It didn’t. Their pitching was horrendous; worst in the majors in ERA (5.36), runs allowed (894), and opponent batting average (.282). As a result, they were dead last in the AL Central and tied for the worst record in the MLB (64-98).
• Mariners Sink: A lot of people had warmed up to the Mariners as potential contenders, myself included. I thought they had the offense to win the AL West, especially if Felix Hernandez pitched like 'King Felix'. Nope. They finished third in the division with a losing record (78-84). Their offense was middle of the pack, finishing 11th in the MLB in batting average (.259) and 15th in runs (750). King Felix played more like a jester, however. He went 6-5 in 16 starts, accumulating a 4.36 ERA which was the second-worst of his 13-year career.
• Aaand Twiiiins!: After the Twins finished 2016 with a meager 59 wins, I was pretty down on them. Minnesota ended up being a pleasant surprise, bumping up their win total way up to 85 and finishing in the American League’s second Wild Card spot. Though they lost to the Yankees in the Wild Card game, it’s hard to be upset about that much of an improvement.
• They Might Be Giants: I figured that the Giants would miss the playoffs. But they REAAAALLY missed the playoffs. I thought the lack of even-year magic that San Fran seems to have would place them at third in the NL West at worst. Instead, they finished last…not only in the division, but in the entire league. Nothing at all went right. 

Right in the Strike Zone

• Cream of the Crop: Maybe I have an eye for talent. Maybe powerhouses are easily identifiable. Either way, I had a good feel for who would come away with division titles, picking five of six correctly. I had the Nationals, Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Cleveland all winning their division, and most of those teams did so by a wide margin. The only team I didn’t peg to take theirs was the Astros. Thanks a lot, Mariners…
• Astro-nomically Good: Speaking of the Astros, I wasn’t completely wrong about them. I argued that Houston would continue to rocket up the standings, 'maybe into a Wild Card (or even higher…)'. Well, Houston chose 'even higher', finishing the year with a whopping 101 wins and the AL West title, finishing 21 games ahead of the Angels in the division.
• No Red October: Cincinnati lived up to expectations about how bad they would be. At the beginning of the year, I pointed out that the Reds’ pitchers had given up a league-worst 258 home runs in 2016 and expressed concern about the possibility for improvement in 2017. They repeated that feat this year, giving up the most home runs in the majors (248) and finishing with the second-worst ERA. That was good enough for a 68-94 record, making them the fourth-worst team in the league.

 
To try and save face again, I’ll go ahead and quote the wise Yoda: 'Difficult to see…always in motion is the future.' If a Jedi master doesn’t know who’s winning the American League West, then heck, I’ve got no chance. But unpredictability is what makes the 162-game trek so fun. And 2017 was a fun baseball year, full of record streaks and surprise contenders. If the MLB Postseason can follow in those footsteps, we’re in store for a good one! Play ball!