By Jason Alwang
October baseball is here, and the final eight teams are ready to make a run to the finish. With the NLDS and ALDS underway, these eight teams all have a good case as to why they believe they have what it takes to win it all.
There are three teams who before the season started were heavily favored to make it to the World Series matchup. The Dodgers, Yankees, and Phillies are all in the division series, looking to find their way into the final series. The Yankees and Dodgers were the number one seeded teams. The Yankees had the superstar duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, with both of them playing MVP baseball this season. Those two and the rest of the Yankees have a matchup with the Kansas City Royals, who they haven’t played in the postseason since 1980.
The Phillies were a few games off from being the top team in the National League thanks to their offensive powered lineup, mixed in with stellar pitching from the likes of Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. From the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber, along with others, this team has the offensive firepower to punch their ticket to a World Series trip they haven’t had since 2009.
The Dodgers are once again at the top of the league and have been the league wide favorites ever since the season began. For one they have the most dynamic player that MLB has seen in recent memory. Shohei Ohtani signed a massive 700-million-dollar contract over the offseason and is coming off a record season, recording the MLB’s first-ever 50/50 season consisting of 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. It was a season no one had seen before. While Ohthani was a universal designated hitter this season because of his injury making it so he couldn’t pitch this year, that didn’t stop him from more than likely being named MVP. On top of Ohthani and the rest of the Dodgers want to go all the way. Their roadblock, however, is the San Diego Padres.
The battle of LA is underway. The Padres are hoping to overcome the star power of the Dodgers and punch their ticket to the conference championship, and then the World Series. The Padres defeated the Dodgers two years ago, however, with the Dodgers’ new additions, it will be tough for anyone to get rid of them. Fernando Tatis Jr and the rest of their staff have the pitching and star power to compete with the Dodgers.
From 22-33, to grimace to ‘OMG’, the Mets have been the best team in baseball along with the Detroit Tigers over the last couple of months. They have been carried by MVP candidate Franciso Lindor, as well as the singer who started the ‘OMG’ trend in New York. The Mets snuck their way into the playoffs with a gutsy go-ahead homerun against Atlanta last Monday, September 30. The Mets then eliminated the Brewers in game three of the wild card series with a go-ahead three-run homer by Pete Alonso, making it one of the most memorable home runs in Mets history. The Mets hope the good vibes they have going right now will help them against the Phillies and potentially beyond.
The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers are undergoing their matchup, and despite the Guardians being the favorites, the Tigers have had quite a story. On August 11, the Tigers were sitting at 55-63. Ever since then they won 31 of their next 42 and snuck their way into the playoffs. They are going to bring the energy to keep fighting against the Guardians team who have been consistent all year, something that has granted them the number two seed. Although they have the longest World Series drought among the teams competing, the Guardians have shown that they want to break that stretch this year. They’ve had clutch pitching, all-around hitting, and earned their way to one of the best teams in the league this year. They will be a tough out for any of the teams.
Who will win the World Series this year? Tune into the games, as the pennant race will be one for the history books.
