baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
What Went Wrong: We Still Own You, Boston. Top Story - October 2025.
A familiar saying comes to mind in this case: "The more things change, the more they stay the same." First off, let's talk about the fact that this was the best Wild Card Series round ever. Yes, we're only four seasons in to this format, but still. In the first three years, there were 12 series. Only two went the maximum three games: Mets/Padres in 2022, and Brewers/Mets in 2024. This year saw three deciding Game Threes, and the last one was between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
By Clyde E. Dawkins3 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: How Do You Not Win the NL West?!
A lot of things happened when MLB changed the postseason format and added a second Wild Card team in each league back in 2012. One of them was that the emphasis on winning the division increased vastly. Before, each league's four playoff teams were on equal ground. When the second Wild Card was added, it allowed all of the division champions to take a bit of a breather while the two Wild Cards faced each other. Since 2022, it's only the top two division champions who get the byes, and while the #3 seed does have to play in the Wild Card Series, at least they'd get that series at home.
By Clyde E. Dawkins3 months ago in Unbalanced
What Went Wrong: Unlucky 77
How the American League Central was won in 2025 will definitely be the latest of a long, long list of amazing tales in baseball history. Much like their National League counterparts in the southern end of Ohio, the Cleveland Guardians were an afterthought. Not only were they 10.5 games out entering September, they were in third place! The Guardians exploded in September, capitalizing on the freefalling of the Detroit Tigers and moving into a position for them to easily clinch the AL Central. They did just that in Game 162 when the Tigers lost prior to Cleveland's game finishing.
By Clyde E. Dawkins3 months ago in Unbalanced
Reds 1st Team Eliminated, but They Have a Lot to Be Proud Of
On the first day of October, four teams looked to stay alive and avoid elimination. Three teams did so, leaving the Cincinnati Reds to complete the sweep. They did strike first in Game Two of their National League Wild Card Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, plating two against, of all pitchers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, again, the Dodgers were just too much for them. An 8-4 loss to the Dodgers, and just like that, the Reds' season was over.
By Clyde E. Dawkins3 months ago in Unbalanced
How The New York Mets Embarrassed Themselves In 2025
After one of the most memorable seasons in 2024, the New York Mets responded by giving fans one of their most brutal, frustrating, and exhausting years as a fan in 2025. The Mets were primed to make another deep run to October, and were in the midst of it with a strong 45-24 record before June 11, and could make memories for fans, and they did, which were awful, and painful memories of what could have been.
By Total Apex Entertainment & Sports4 months ago in Unbalanced
Welcome to the 2025 MLB Postseason
Greetings, baseball nerds! The 2025 MLB Postseason has finally arrived. We love witnessing outstanding plays and history being made. If you're nor passionate about baseball, especially in October, then you might be the problem. You are definitely missing out on all the action. I'll be breaking down each of the matchups and share my thoughts about them.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 4 months ago in Unbalanced
2025 Wild Card Series Preview
It's here, folks! The 2025 Major League Baseball Postseason is here! I'm always fascinated by the placement of each league's playoffs and championships--chronologically, that is. The NFL's playoffs and Super Bowl kick off the calendar year in January and February, the Stanley Cup and NBA Playoffs both start in April, and each champion is crowned in June. In baseball, the postseason and championship occur in October, though in this case, it actually begins in the final day of September, and the World Series is set to last as late as the first day of November.
By Clyde E. Dawkins4 months ago in Unbalanced
It All Comes Down to This... (Part 4)
That's a wrap to the 2025 Major League Baseball season! Next stop: the Postseason. The final week of the season was wild and in the final part of this series, we're going to find out who clinched playoff berths and the teams who will be in the Postseason. In case you missed the third part of this series, you can click the link down below.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 4 months ago in Unbalanced
MLB Pennant Race 2025: 160, 161, and 162
Three days. We are now down to the final weekend of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. All good things often come to an end, and in sports, the endings are often quite thrilling. Regarding regular season finales, it seems to me that the NFL and MLB seem to excel in this; the former due to the powers that be making changes to the schedule that pretty much guarantees a thrilling final week of the season, while the latter seems to have at least one close race come down to the 160th-162nd (or in some cases, 163rd, until the end of 2021) games of the regular season.
By Clyde E. Dawkins4 months ago in Unbalanced
It All Comes Down to This...(Part 3)
It's Monday and it only means one thing: it's the final week of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. The Postseason is within our sights and we're ready for it. In case you've missed the first two parts of this series, links to my previous stories will be found down below, so you can catch up on the happenings of the Wild Card races.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard 4 months ago in Unbalanced
MLB Pennant Race 2025: 168 Hours
March 18, 2025. My 4oth birthday. It was also when the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season started with the first of the back-to-back games in Japan. Here it is, just over six months later, and we baseball fans are preparing for the end. We now have just one week, seven short days left in this insane season. A week isn't a lot of time, but in that little time, the rest of the postseason picture will be filled in. And this season, there's still quite a lot to figure out.
By Clyde E. Dawkins4 months ago in Unbalanced
Al-Ahli Saudi vs Al-Hilal: A Classic Saudi Pro League Rivalry. AI-Generated.
Saudi Arabian football boasts some of the most passionate rivalries in Asia, and few matchups capture the excitement of fans quite like Al-Ahli Saudi vs Al-Hilal. These two clubs, among the most decorated in the kingdom, have shaped the landscape of Saudi football for decades. Their encounters are more than just games; they are historic events that unite and divide supporters across the nation.
By Asad Ali4 months ago in Unbalanced
