As Main League Baseball enters the ultimate week of its common season, let’s establish the rarefied and the rotten, these groups, gamers and managers who over six months separated themselves from the pack, some heroically, others horrendously.
5 up. 5 down. Excuse us for a tilt towards Los Angeles since we’re charged initially with protecting this Metropolis of Angels and Dodgers.
UP
1. Shohei Ohtani. 50-50 already appears so rear-view mirror. The Dodgers’ designated-hitter deluxe has 53 house runs and 55 stolen bases solely 4 days after he grew to become the primary participant in historical past to succeed in 50 of every. Is 60-60 attainable?
“This man is doing issues nobody can consider, and for all we all know, he may find yourself at 60-60,” former Dodgers slugger Shawn Inexperienced informed The Occasions.
Ohtani appears to steal second or third base any time he pleases, so pilfering 5 extra is fully believable. However hitting seven house runs within the Dodgers’ final six video games — they host the San Diego Padres in a three-game collection starting Tuesday, then journey to Denver for a three-game collection in opposition to the Colorado Rockies — is unlikely even for the anticipated runaway Nationwide League Most Priceless Participant.
However Ohtani goes to hit at home-run glad Coors Area, so something is feasible.
Ought to the Dodgers win two of three in opposition to San Diego and clinch the NL West title, supervisor Dave Roberts would possibly even insist Ohtani shut down the bottom stealing to minimize the possibility of damage forward of the postseason.
Going into Monday, Ohtani leads the NL in house runs, runs batted in (123), runs scored (128), slugging share (.640), on-base-plus-slugging share (186), complete bases (391) and plate appearances (703). He’s all however sure of changing into the one participant apart from Corridor of Famer Frank Robinson to be named MVP in each leagues — Ohtani was American League MVP with the Angels in 2023 and 2021.
Learn extra: Plaschke: Nothing 50-50 about it. Shohei Ohtani needs to be unanimous NL MVP
2. Homers/steals combo plate. Though Ohtani’s feats dwarf these of anybody else, it needs to be famous that a number of younger stars have quietly compiled spectacular mixtures of energy and pace. Most noteworthy is Cincinnati Reds’ Elly De La Cruz, 22, who grew to become the first shortstop in MLB historical past to hit 25 homers and steal 65 bases in the identical season.
Cleveland Guardians six-time All-Star third baseman José Ramírez is three homers shy of changing into the seventh participant ever to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases. Moreover Ohtani, the unique membership contains Ronald Acuna (2023), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996) and Jose Canseco (1988).
Kansas Metropolis Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., 24, joined the far much less unique 30-30 membership — it has been completed 67 instances — in 2023 and repeated it this season. The 20-20 membership would want a banquet corridor to carry a gathering, however younger Angels shortstop Zach Neto, 23, is on an upward trajectory with 23 homers and 30 stolen bases in his first full big-league season.
Lengthy Seaside State and Cypress Excessive product Jarrin Duran, Jazz Chisholm, Corbin Carroll and CJ Abrams every have not less than 20 house runs and 30 stolen bases.
Learn extra: Shaikin: Beat L.A.? The Padres may. Right here’s how AJ Preller and Co. made that attainable
3. Division champions. The Dodgers’ three-game lead over the Padres is the closest race in any of the six MLB divisions. The Milwaukee Brewers within the NL Central and the Guardians within the AL Central have clinched titles, and the Philadelphia Phillies within the NL East, the New York Yankees within the AL East and the Houston Astros within the AL West all get pleasure from not less than five-game leads with six to play.
As for home-field benefit within the championship collection, the Dodgers maintain a one-game edge over the Phillies within the NL and the Yankees maintain a 2½-game lead over the Guardians.
4. Wild-card races. Within the AL, the Baltimore Orioles have all however clinched the highest wild card, however the second and third spots are a scramble among the many Royals, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins from the Central and the Seattle Mariners from the West.
Detroit has the recent hand, having made up 5 video games in little greater than per week to catch Kansas Metropolis, which has misplaced seven in a row. Minnesota is one sport again, and Seattle is one sport behind the Twins.
Within the NL, the Padres maintain a three-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets for the highest wild-card berth. Lurking two video games behind Arizona and New York are the Atlanta Braves, they usually start a three-game collection in opposition to the Mets on Tuesday.
5. Dodgers attendance. Sellouts are all however sure for the Dodgers’ three remaining house video games, which might carry the season complete to roughly 3,945,000, their second-highest attendance (they drew 3,974,309 in 2019).
The Dodgers have by no means reached 4 million spectators in a season, though they’ve exceeded 3.7 million 10 instances since 2013 and 14 instances since 2006.
Learn extra: Angels’ four-run rally in ninth inning simply sufficient to beat the Astros
DOWN
1. The Angels. Granted, they are not Chicago White Sox unhealthy, however the Angels are on tempo to submit the worst file in franchise historical past. That may be very unhealthy. They’re 63-93 with six video games to play, and all-time low for these perennial underachievers is 95 losses in 1980 and 1968.
The Angels must win two video games this week to keep away from changing into the primary within the 64-year historical past of the franchise to submit a successful share underneath .400.
2. Mike Trout. For a participant who grew to become a Corridor of Fame lock earlier than age 30, Trout instantly appears awfully outdated. He is performed in 29 video games this season and solely 319 within the final 5 years due to accidents. His lifetime batting common has dipped to .299, and milestones reminiscent of 500 house runs and three,000 hits that after appeared a cinch are actually lengthy photographs or downright inconceivable.
He has six years left on a 12-year, $426.5-million contract that features a no-trade clause. He is gone from three-time MVP and three-time MVP runner-up to albatross.
Learn extra: Shaikin: How would possibly one other misplaced season for Mike Trout affect his Corridor of Fame candidacy?
But there may be motive for hope. Trout, 33, is just one yr older than Aaron Choose and is one yr youthful than Freddie Freeman. He informed reporters per week in the past that he is prepared to maneuver from heart area to a nook spot, with days as designated hitter sprinkled in, to maintain him as wholesome as attainable.
“Finally, my purpose is to be in that batter’s field, within the area each single day,” Trout mentioned. “Whether or not that’s transferring to a nook or DHing extra, that’s one thing that I’ll depart it as much as the entrance workplace to provide you with a plan. The place I’m at and what’s occurred the previous few years, I’m undoubtedly going to attempt to discover each possibility that may maintain me on the market.”
3. The White Sox. The very best factor the Angels have going of their quest to keep away from the worst file in franchise historical past is that they play the worst workforce in baseball historical past in a three-game collection starting Tuesday. The White Sox equaled the benchmark for futility Sunday after they dropped their a hundred and twentieth sport, the identical variety of defeats endured by the 1962 Mets.
The Mets had a built-in excuse: They have been a first-year enlargement workforce. The White Sox started play in 1901. This won’t be the most important embarrassment in franchise historical past — it is all however inconceivable to go decrease than the 1919 Black Sox Scandal — however it’s a lock for second.
Learn extra: Column: As Ohtani chased 50-50, White Sox vs. Angels was probably the most miserable sport ever
4. The Scorching Seat. David Bell was fired Sunday as supervisor of the Reds, a workforce with a great deal of younger expertise and a sub-.500 file. Two managers have been let go in August: Pedro Grifol of the White Sox and Scott Servais of the Mariners. Who is likely to be subsequent?
Nicely, Skip Schumaker all however gave a farewell speech after his Miami Marlins misplaced their remaining house sport of the season.
“It is form of a bizarre second, personally, in my profession,” he informed reporters. “Extraordinarily grateful that I used to be given a chance to handle the Miami Marlins even when it was a pair years.”
Bud Black, a revered supervisor as there may be within the sport, is likely to be gone after the Rockies end final within the NL West for the third consecutive yr. Black led Colorado to the playoffs in his first two seasons however it has been underneath .500 the final six years in a row.
The Cardinals may half methods with Oliver Marmol, who led them to the NL Central title in 2022 however adopted that with a disastrous 2023 marketing campaign and a ho-hum 2024.
Learn extra: Shaikin: Baseball groups are abandoning cities throughout California. How some are combating again
5. Oakland to Las Vegas. The Athletics will play their final sport in Oakland on Thursday in opposition to the Texas Rangers earlier than ending the season with a collection in Seattle. After 57 years and greater than 9,000 video games in Oakland, the A’s are off to Las Vegas by the use of Sacramento, the place they’ll play till their new sin metropolis stadium is prepared for occupancy in 2028.
“It simply looks like a punch within the intestine for them to be leaving,” A’s fan Alicia Valenzuela informed a Bay Space tv station.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Occasions.
