After April 2022, the MLB Divisions looked like this:
I will remind you there was a lockout that delayed the opening of the 2022 season, resulting in seven or eight games less than here in the 2023 season. Here are the standings now that April is over in 2023:
Now that April is over, let’s compare how the first month ended in 2022 to where the season ended:
American League
In the American League in 2022, four out of the six teams held on. The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Tampa Bay Rays held on to get into the post-season. The Rays were lucky as the playoffs expanded to six teams, or they would have packed it in at the end of the regular season. The Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins faltered after a good start and would finish their seasons under .500. The Cleveland Guardians and the Seattle Mariners were the two teams that played solid ball throughout the rest of the season to take the two spots in October.
National League
In the National League in 2022, it was only three out of six that held on to make the playoffs. The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and the San Diego Padres held on and made the post-season. The Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, and the Miami Marlins had to pack up and go home at the end of the regular season. The slower-starting Atlanta Braves, St Louis Cardinals, and World-Series Runner-Up Philadelphia Phillies grabbed those three spots to play deeper into the Fall.
Will 2023 Be Different?
If the standings were to stay the same now that April is over, there would be a few shockers. First off, the Pittsburgh Pirates won 20 games in April. They won 62 games in all of 2022. Can they hold the pace and win between 95 and 100 games to grab the division title? That would be impressive and something to root for. The Baltimore Orioles began 2022 slowly, but finished the season four games over .500. They seem to have continued that pace into the early part of 2023. It may only take low to mid-90 wins to grab a playoff berth in the AL this year.
It is too early to tell, but now that April is over, we can see that separation beginning to build between playoff possibilities and the teams preparing for next season. Three or four games make the difference that about 10 teams from each league jockey in and out for playoff contention. There are no California teams currently with a check-mark and a few of the usual suspects are still on the outside looking in. The season is long and grueling and there are 130+ games to go to find out. We will see some surprises, as always. Hopefully, some of these newcomers will find a way to hold on.
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