So the season has come to end. And now it’s time to see how accurate those pre-season magazines were in their predictions.
Granted, these are made with everything being equal. That is, they don’t take into account the inevitable injuries that might derail a team’s chances. On the other hand, some choices are pretty obvious. The Dodgers finished another 100-win season to grab hold of first place in the NL West, but it wasn’t the runaway some had thought. Likewise, it wasn’t a difficult reach to pick the Angels and Rockies to finish in their division’s basements. Again.
Here are the final standings:
AL East: Rays, Yankees (WC), Red Sox (WC), Orioles, Blue Jays
AL Central: Guardians, White Sox (WC), Twins, Tigers, Royals
AL West: Astros, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels (Note: Astros win by going 81-81)
NL East: Braves, Phillies (WC), Marlins, Nationals, Mets
NL Central: Brewers, Cubs (WC), Pirates, Cardinals, Reds
NL West: Dodgers, Padres (WC), Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies
Now here’s how each magazine predicted the outcomes. Some even offered total wins while others did not:
Athlon:
AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees (WC), Red Sox (WC), Orioles, Rays
AL Central: Tigers, Royals, Guardians, Twins, White Sox
AL West: Mariners, Astros (WC), Rangers, Athletics, Angels
NL East: Phillies, Mets (WC), Braves, Marlins, Nationals
NL Central: Brewers, Cubs (WC), Reds, Pirates, Cardinals
NL West: Dodgers, Padres (WC), Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies
Lindy’s (which touted “informed forecasts”):
AL East: Blue Jays, Orioles, (WC), Red Sox (WC), Yankees, Rays
AL Central: Royals, Tigers (WC), Guardians, Twins, White Sox
AL West: Mariners, Astros, Athletics, Rangers, Angels
NL East: Braves, Phillies (WC), Mets, Marlins, Nationals
NL Central: Brewers, Cubs (WC), Pirates, Reds, Cardinals
NL West: Dodgers, Padres (WC), Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies
Sports Illustrated:
AL East: Blue Jays, Orioles, (WC), Red Sox (WC), Yankees (WC), Rays
AL Central: Tigers, Royals, (WC), Guardians, Twins, White Sox
AL West: Mariners, Rangers, Astros, Athletics, Angels
NL East: Mets, Phillies (WC), Braves, Marlins, Nationals
NL Central: Cubs, Brewers (WC), Reds, Pirates, Cardinals
NL West: Dodgers, Giants (WC), Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies
Overall, despite all their “experts,” they all received failing grades. Athlon and Lindy’s each scored 33 percent while SI only got 23 percent correct. But again, who knew that some of the major stars who were expected to lead their teams to the predicted finishes would sustain injuries that limited their playing time? And when such incidents led to shortfalls by the trading deadlines, some teams just gave up on the current season and move to dump salaries or build for the future.
But I’ll probably still buy whatever magazines come out next spring, for old times’ sake.
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