It doesn’t get much better than October baseball. Every year, the MLB Playoffs showcase the game’s best sluggers, pitchers, and — of course — storylines that baseball has to offer. Now that this year’s field of 12 has shrunk down to four, let’s take a look at how each team punched its ticket to the Championship Series and what it will take for them to walk away with a World Series win.
NLCS
In one of the bigger surprises of the season, the New York Mets were one of the last teams to clinch a playoff berth and the first to earn a spot in the NLCS. The Mets have earned only one playoff berth since 2016, and at first, it looked like the team’s dry spell would continue; New York dropped their first 5 games and would continue to stay under .500 for most of the season’s first three months. Seemingly at their lowest, the Mets needed a hero to turn their franchise around and bring them back to relevancy.
On a fateful afternoon at Citi Field, Mets fans’ unexpected hero arrived. Most known for his love of fast food, the giant purple being known as Grimace took a break from his job as a McDonald’s spokesperson to throw the first pitch before the Mets’ June 12 matchup against the Marlins. Reinspired, New York transformed into a new team, winning 7 games in a row. Since the Grimace game, the Mets have had the best record in baseball this season. After beating the Braves on the final day of the regular season, the Mets returned to the playoffs once again.
While most of the credit should go to Grimace, he couldn’t have done it without the Mets’ strong supporting cast. Francisco Lindor has been a man on a mission, leading the team in runs scored, hits, and batting average. Pete Alonso continues to be one of the elite home run hitters in today’s game, with 34 homers on the year. Coming off of series wins against high-powered opponents in the Brewers and Phillies, the Mets will look to carry this momentum all the way to the World Series.
However, the Mets will need to get through the Los Angeles Dodgers first, a tall order as the NL West champs — once again — have the best roster in baseball. Not only did the Dodgers keep stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Walker Buehler, but they’ve added the greatest baseball player on planet Earth: Shohei Ohtani. While he hasn’t been able to pitch this season due to an elbow injury sustained last year, Ohtani’s work at the plate continues to prove why he’s the best. Last month, he became the first player to ever record 50 home runs and 50 steals in a single season — ultimately hitting 54 homers and taking 59 bags in the regular season.
Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers cruised through the regular season and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. While the NLDS against the Padres proved to be a challenge, Ohtani showed that no stage is too big for him in his first appearance in the playoffs. While the Dodgers have won the NL West in 11 of the last 12 seasons, they only have one World Series win to show for it. Does this squad have what it takes to shake the Dodgers’ playoff woes, or will it be another disappointing end to a promising season?
ALCS
In the American League, the New York Yankees are, and have always been, contenders to win the World Series. After surprisingly missing the playoffs last season, the Yankees went all-in on All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. Adding him to an already-stacked roster with Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, and the Yankees are once again MLB’s frontrunners.
The Yankees won 94 games en route to being the top dogs in the American League, despite a fiercely contested AL East. With the high-powered offensive duo of Judge and Soto and former MVP Giancarlo Stanton heating up at just the right time, the Yankees made quick work of the Royals on their way to the ALCS.
The final team to earn their Championship Series berth was the Cleveland Guardians. Thanks to another strong season from José Ramirez and breakout performances from Steven Kwan and David Fry, they were not only able to win a tightly contested AL Central — sans the White Sox — but also earn the AL’s No. 2 seed. Despite coming out of left field this season (Cleveland finished ten games below .500 in 2023), The Guardians are poised for a deep playoff run.
While Cleveland’s offense has cooled off slightly in the postseason — having gotten shut out in both of their losses to the Tigers in the ALDS — their defense has remained hot. Guardians’ ace Tanner Bibee has an ERA of just 2.08 in his two playoff starts, both of which resulted in wins. He needs to stay hot if they want to slow down the Yankees and advance to the World Series.
World Series Prediction: Yankees Beat Mets 4–2
So, who has what it takes to reach the World Series and win it all? All four of these teams have the firepower to get there, but the MLB playoffs never fail to surprise us. In the National League, the sixth-seeded team has made the World Series in each of the last two years. Against the Dodgers — a team susceptible to choking in the playoffs — the sixth-seeded New York Mets have what it takes to continue the six-seed streak. Meanwhile, the Yankees have proven themselves to be the best team in the American League and will continue their dominance en route to winning the pennant. In a rematch of the 2000 World Series, the New York Yankees should have enough firepower to outlast the Mets in the Subway Series, winning the World Series 4 games to 2. Besides, the Yankees haven’t won a World Series since 2009. They’re long overdue for another one.
