Latest Baseball Playoffs Update
As we go deeper into the month of September, there is one sport that is beginning to come into its own. Football fans may rejoice at the beginning of their season but baseball fans know that this time of year means the race for the playoffs is really heating up.
The World Series teams are yet to be decided. But we are getting closer to the moment when we know which ones will be extending the action into the second week of October at least. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the 2022 baseball postseason and who might be in with a chance of World Series glory.
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One very thing to note before we get into who might win the World Series this year is that the playoffs will look a little different right from the start. The new collective bargaining agreement included an extended playoff system with 12 teams, rather than the usual ten.
With three wild card teams from both the American and National Leagues, there are more teams fighting it out in the final weeks of the regular season. Many of the divisions already look settled for winners but the wild card race is still going just as strong as ever.
Dodgers Out in Front
It will surprise very few seasoned baseball fans that it is the LA Dodgers that have become the first team to make the playoffs this year. The Dodgers clinched a postseason berth in the second week of September and look on course to win yet another NL West divisional title.
There have been eight such titles in the last nine years and the lead this year has been as convincing as ever. There has only been one World Series triumph in that time period though. So dont get too carried away by the news of the Dodgers making it to the playoffs first.
Subway Series 2022?
The New York Giants met the New York Yankees in five World Series before 1940. Then the Brooklyn Dodgers had their own private duel with the Yanks in the Fall Classic for a while before the infamous move to LA. But since the Mets entered the picture there has only ever been one Subway Series.
The Yankees won that one in 2000 and have continued to hold the upper hand in the city ever since. But it has looked at times that the Mets were the better team this year and both look like they could make it to the playoffs this year. It is still far from a certainty, but another all-New York classic has never seemed closer.
Atlanta Repeat
One factor that could severely dent the chances of a Subway Series would be Atlanta repeating its 2021 triumph, of course. The Braves were not the favorites to win last year and were not fancied to repeat in 2022 either. The Mets have looked in control in the NL East most of the regular season but it has gotten closer in the last few weeks.
No team has won back-to-back championships since those New York Yankees in 2000 though. So it will still be a long shot even if the Braves do overcome the Mets to take the divisional title.
Can the American League Produce a Champion?
It has been three long years since the American League produced a champion. The Boston Red Sox beat those Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 to take the 2018 World Series. The AL has been the more successful throughout history but Tampa Bay and Houston (twice) have given the National League the glory in recent years.
That could change this year though. The Dodgers are the current favorites to go all the way perhaps because of their regular season form but Houston and the Yankees are also well fancied. We will discover more in the coming weeks as the regular season winds up and the postseason makes its return.