Juggernauts, underdogs and threepeat chances: Major League Baseball postseason preview
Aaron Dulaney, Staff Writer
Sept. 29 marked the beginning of this season’s Major League Baseball playoffs, as the last 12 teams began their run for the coveted World Series title.
In the American League Wild Card round, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros 2-0 in a best of 3 series. The New York Yankees finished the Boston Red Sox season in the same fashion. The White Sox are slated to play the 2-seed Cleveland Guardians in the best-of-5 American League Divisional Series (ALDS). The Yankees will face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays.
In the National League Wild Card round, the San Diego Padres took care of the Chicago Cubs in just two games. The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies were the only teams to need all three games to decide the Wild Card winner. The Braves won the series finale by a score of 6-3 and will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Divisional Series (NLDS). The Padres will meet the Milwaukee Brewers in the other half of the NLDS.
The winners of each NLDS round will meet in the best-of-7 National League Champions Series starting on October 11. The ALDS winners will play in the American League Championship Series beginning on October 12.
The winners of each championship series will make it to the all important World Series scheduled to begin on October 23.
At this point, it is anyone’s championship to win, but there are some early favorites emerging. The Dodgers have the best betting odds, standing at +160. They finished the regular season with an impressive 100-62 record and won the National League West Division by nine games. There is also level of pressure as they won both the 2024 and 2025 World Series over the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, respectively. They hope to go for a third year in a row of taking it all.
While the Dodgers are the juggernaut defending champs, the White Sox claim the title as the league’s biggest underdog story. They finished the season just one game shy of winning the AL Central. Despite a second place finish, their 84-78 record was enough to earn them their first playoff appearance in five years.
Health science senior and North Greenville University infielder CJ Martin said that he is hoping for another Braves World Series title, but he believes the Brewers are in the best position to win it all.
“In my opinion, they have been the most consistent team all year and they have the best pitcher in baseball, Jacob Misiorowski,” said Martin.
The Brewers ended the regular season with best record in the league at 103-59. Ace starting pitcher Misiorowski leads the league in many categories and is certain to leave an impact on this season’s playoffs. They also have the second highest betting odd at +425.
The Tampa Bay Rays are the favorite in the American League, boasting a 98-64 record. The Rays are led by third baseman Junior Caminero. The 24-year-old superstar is fourth in the league in home runs and shows no sign of slowing down for the postseason.
