Howdy folks, it's been awhile. I've been really inactive with my blog this year, having not posted since the end of May, though I do still read many of yours regularly. I've really taken a step back from collecting this year, mostly due to finances. I'm sure some of you know how that is. But I thought I would check in and followup my 2017 MLB predictions post from before the season and see how I did.
Starting with the AL East:
My prediction
Starting with the AL East:
My prediction
1. Orioles
2. Red Sox
3. Blue Jays
4. Yankees
5. Rays
And how they actually ended up:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Blue Jays
5. Orioles
So I really missed the mark here placing none of the teams in the correct spot. That really doesn't come as a surprise to me with as competitive as the AL East tends to be every year.
AL Central:
Mine
1. Indians
2. Royals
3. Tigers
4. Twins
5. White Sox
Reality
1. Indians
2. Twins
3. Royals
4. White Sox
5.. Tigers
For the AL Central I got the Indians in first place correct, that's not a surprise. The rest of the division was a little harder to predict. I don't think many people expected the Twins to make the playoffs nor the White Sox to finish ahead of anyone, but both of those things happened.
AL West:
Mine
1. Mariners
2. Astros
3. Rangers
4. Angels
5. Athletics
Reality
1. Astros
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Rangers
5. Athletics
I thought the Astros needed one more year before they would be ready to win the World Series. Glad I got that wrong. Also, calling the Athletics in last was not difficult.
And now the big three AL awards.
MVP
Mine: Mookie Betts
Reality: Jose Altuve
Betts certainly was a legitimate pick pre-season. Altuve definitely earned it.
Cy Young
Mine: Felix Hernandez
Reality: Corey Kluber
I was thinking..or maybe hoping King Felix would bounce back to his old self, (he was a centerpiece of my fantasy team's pitching staff for years.) Alas, injuries took everything he had left. Kluber on the other hand was fantastic and has proved once and for all that his 2014 Cy Young wasn't a fluke.
ROY
Mine: Andrew Benintendi
Reality: Aaron Judge
Benintendi was another legitimate pre-season pick. No one saw the record setting rookie year that Aaron Judge had coming. It will be very interesting to see if he can maintain this level of performance.
And now the National League
NL East:
Mine
1. Nationals
2. Mets
3. Marlins
4. Braves
5. Phillies
Reality
1. Nationals
2. Marlins
3. Braves
4. Mets
5. Phillies
Predicting the Nationals in first wasn't difficult, nor was the Phillies in last. However, I thought the Mets were going to have a better season. Definitely didn't foresee the implosion of that pitching staff.
NL Central:
Mine
1. Cubs
2. Pirates
3. Cardinals
4. Reds
5. Brewers
Reality
1. Cubs
2. Brewers
3. Cardinals
4. Pirates
5. Reds
Like the Nats in the East, predicting the Cubs as first in the Central was a given. Though the Brewers did give them a run for their money for much of the season.
NL West:
Mine
1. Dodgers
2. Giants
3. Diamondbacks
4. Rockies
5. Padres
Reality
1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks
3. Rockies
4. Padres
5. Giants
Again the division winner was easy to predict, in fact I got all three NL division winners correct. I definitely didn't think the Giants would be that bad, so bad that the Padres finished seven games in front of them and they finished tied with the Tigers for the worst record in baseball.
2. Red Sox
3. Blue Jays
4. Yankees
5. Rays
And how they actually ended up:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Blue Jays
5. Orioles
So I really missed the mark here placing none of the teams in the correct spot. That really doesn't come as a surprise to me with as competitive as the AL East tends to be every year.
AL Central:
Mine
1. Indians
2. Royals
3. Tigers
4. Twins
5. White Sox
Reality
1. Indians
2. Twins
3. Royals
4. White Sox
5.. Tigers
For the AL Central I got the Indians in first place correct, that's not a surprise. The rest of the division was a little harder to predict. I don't think many people expected the Twins to make the playoffs nor the White Sox to finish ahead of anyone, but both of those things happened.
AL West:
Mine
1. Mariners
2. Astros
3. Rangers
4. Angels
5. Athletics
Reality
1. Astros
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Rangers
5. Athletics
I thought the Astros needed one more year before they would be ready to win the World Series. Glad I got that wrong. Also, calling the Athletics in last was not difficult.
And now the big three AL awards.
MVP
Mine: Mookie Betts
Reality: Jose Altuve
Betts certainly was a legitimate pick pre-season. Altuve definitely earned it.
Cy Young
Mine: Felix Hernandez
Reality: Corey Kluber
I was thinking..or maybe hoping King Felix would bounce back to his old self, (he was a centerpiece of my fantasy team's pitching staff for years.) Alas, injuries took everything he had left. Kluber on the other hand was fantastic and has proved once and for all that his 2014 Cy Young wasn't a fluke.
ROY
Mine: Andrew Benintendi
Reality: Aaron Judge
Benintendi was another legitimate pre-season pick. No one saw the record setting rookie year that Aaron Judge had coming. It will be very interesting to see if he can maintain this level of performance.
And now the National League
NL East:
Mine
1. Nationals
2. Mets
3. Marlins
4. Braves
5. Phillies
Reality
1. Nationals
2. Marlins
3. Braves
4. Mets
5. Phillies
Predicting the Nationals in first wasn't difficult, nor was the Phillies in last. However, I thought the Mets were going to have a better season. Definitely didn't foresee the implosion of that pitching staff.
NL Central:
Mine
1. Cubs
2. Pirates
3. Cardinals
4. Reds
5. Brewers
Reality
1. Cubs
2. Brewers
3. Cardinals
4. Pirates
5. Reds
Like the Nats in the East, predicting the Cubs as first in the Central was a given. Though the Brewers did give them a run for their money for much of the season.
NL West:
Mine
1. Dodgers
2. Giants
3. Diamondbacks
4. Rockies
5. Padres
Reality
1. Dodgers
2. Diamondbacks
3. Rockies
4. Padres
5. Giants
Again the division winner was easy to predict, in fact I got all three NL division winners correct. I definitely didn't think the Giants would be that bad, so bad that the Padres finished seven games in front of them and they finished tied with the Tigers for the worst record in baseball.
NL Awards
MVP
Mine: Yoenis Cespedes
Reality: Giancarlo Stanton
Picking Cespedes was definitely way off the mark. And now we know how good Stanton can be when he stays healthy.
Cy Young
Mine: Noah Syndergaard
Reality: Max Scherzer
Scherzer would have been a safe pick pre-season and he followed through on that. Instead I went with the riskier pick in Syndergaard and he may well have been a contender for the award if injuries hadn't kept him out for most of the season.
ROY
Mine: Dansby Swanson
Reality: Cody Bellinger
The Braves fan in me obviously made me a little overconfident in how Swanson would do this year. He definitely didn't have the season I thought he would. I'm hoping he'll turn it around with more experience and become a solid major leaguer. Now Bellinger had a fantastic season. He was almost overshadowed by the record setting rookie year Aaron Judge had, but Bellinger got to play in the World Series.
And speaking of the World Series..
My prediction: Nationals over Indians in 6
Reality: Astros over Dodgers in 7
I missed the mark here but at least both the teams I predicted still made the playoffs, though both were eliminated in the Division Series. I'm not disappointed though as the Astros vs. Dodgers World Series was an instant classic.
So overall I was wrong for the most part with my predictions, though it's hard to accurately predict the results of a 162 game season. I did get four of the six division winners correct and five of the ten playoff teams correct, though not all in the right position.
Well that's a wrap folks. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season!
