MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers back on top to open August

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The Tampa Bay Rays have been near the top all season

The Philadelphia Phillies are as high as they have been all season in the latest 2019 MLB Power Rankings. As the month of August opens, that still only leaves them at 14th overall in Major League Baseball.

However, while they rank as middle-of-the-pack in all of baseball, they are the sixth-highest ranked ball club in the National League. That means they statistically come out right about where they are in the standings, as a legitimate NL Wildcard contender.

In taking a look at the landscape of contenders over the final eight weeks of the regular season, the Phillies are likely going to have to beat out the division-rival Washington Nationals and whichever team finishes as runners-up in the NL Central Division, the Chicago Cubs or Saint Louis Cardinals.

The Nationals made a series of moves to shore up their one glaring weakness – the bullpen – at yesterday’s MLB trade deadline. The Cubs added a big bat in Nicholas Castellanos.

In looking ahead at the schedule, the Phillies have just four games left head-to-head with the Nationals. Those will take place in Washington at the end of September in the club’s final road series of the year. Having met 14 times already, the Nationals have taken nine games from the Phillies, who would need a sweep of that final series to gain a 9-9 split.

The Cubs will come to Citizens Bank Park for three games in the middle of August. The Phillies and Cubs have already split four games at 2-2 this season. The Phillies are done with the Cardinals, having won four of six games between the two teams.

My own personal feelings never have anything to do with the MLB Power Rankings published here at Phillies Nation. Instead, the rank is all about actual team performance: results in the standings and statistical breakdowns.

I take what I have found to be key statistical categories and rank each of the 30 teams in Major League baseball on their ability to win ball games and perform on offense, the pitching mound, and in the field. There is never any subjectivity on my part.

The MLB Power Rankings are updated here at Phillies Nation on roughly the 1st and 15th of the month for the remainder of the regular season using the following methodology.

MLB 2019 Power Rankings: Minnesota Twins take over the top spot

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The Minnesota Twins outfielders celebrate another victory

The Philadelphia Phillies have sat pretty much right in the middle of the MLB Power Rankings since I began producing them for 2019.

From June 1 (15th), through June 15 (14th) and on to July 1, when they ranked in the #18 slot the last time around, the rankings have not revealed much movement at all.

The Phillies currently sit in the #16 spot, buoyed by their defensive play, which ranks fourth in all of baseball. With a middling (15th) offense, what is truly weighing the club down and keeping them from seriously competing is their 25th ranked pitching staff.

As always, my own personal feelings have nothing to do with the MLB Power Rankings published here at Phillies Nation. Instead, the rank is all about actual results and statistical performances.

There is never any subjectivity on my part. I always take key statistics and rank each of the 30 teams in Major League baseball on their ability to actually win ball games as well as their performance on offense, on the pitching mound, and in the field.

The MLB Power Rankings are going to be updated at Phillies Nation on roughly the 1st and 15th of the month for the remainder of the regular season using the following methodology.

RANKINGS METHODOLOGY

Introduced and then upgraded during the course of last season, my formula for compiling the rankings is always being researched to see if it can be improved upon. That formula carries two categories over from the 2018 season: winning percentage and OPS against. The first is simple, reflecting each team’s ability to actually win ball games. The second reflects a pitching staff’s ability to control damage.

As of my first ranking in this 2019 season, runs-per-game replaced simple “runs scored” in order to get the offensive component. This acknowledged the fact that teams play various numbers of games as of the time of each ranking. It wouldn’t be fair to consider a club that had scored 100 runs over 50 games as effective as a club who scored 100 runs over just 45 games.

There has now been a new update to the methodology. The new defensive metric will be the “Defensive runs saved” as measured at Fangraphs, replacing simple “fielding percentage” to gauge a team’s defensive competence.

I then assign each of those component category team rankings a 1-30 numerical value and simply add those values up to determine an overall final ratings score. Where there was a tie, it is broken by win-loss percentage, then by runs-per-game, followed by pitching OPS.

MLB 2019 Power Rankings: Astros, Dodgers remain at the top of each league as July opens

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Texas Rangers have been a surprise AL contender in 2019

This is a Philadelphia Phillies site, and so the team’s place on my MLB Power Rankings always needs to be highlighted. When I debuted the 2019 rankings on June 1, there were fans upset that the first-place club was in the #15 slot.

By the June 15 rankings, the Phillies had moved up a spot to #14, although by then the team had dropped to second place. Still, I heard complaints from fans who believed the club should be ranked higher.

Maybe now they can admit that the rankings were on to something? The Phillies have now slipped to the #18 spot. They have the 12th-best record in MLB overall, and are buoyed by their defense, tied for 8th in the game. But their hitting attack has been mediocre (15th) and they are seriously weighted down by a pitching staff rated just 25th in baseball.

Fans are allowed to be unrealistic about their team based on pure emotion. My own personal feelings have nothing to do with the MLB Power Rankings published here at Phillies Nation. Instead, it’s all about each team’s actual results and statistical performances.

There is never any subjectivity on my part. I take key statistics and rank each of the 30 teams in Major League baseball on their ability to actually win ball games as well as their performance on offense, on the pitching mound, and in the field.

The MLB Power Rankings will be updated here at Phillies Nation on the 1st and 15th of the month for the remainder of the regular season using the following methodology.

RANKINGS METHODOLOGY

Introduced and then upgraded during the course of last season, my formula for compiling the rankings received another tweak to begin this year. By the end of 2018, I was researching each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage.

This year, runs-per-game has replaced that simple “runs scored” category in order to get the offensive component. I then assign each of those component category team rankings a 1-30 value and simply add those values up to determine an overall final ratings score. Where there was a tie, it is broken by win-loss percentage, then by runs-per-game, followed by pitching OPS.

2019 JULY 1 –  MLB RANKINGS

The Houston Astros repeat at the top of the Power Rankings. But the top four teams remain the same, just with a slight juggling of the order.

The hot risers are the Washington Nationals, who have shot up 11 places since June 1. In the American League, the Texas Rangers are up again, this time from 11 to 8 after going from 16 to 11 in the June 15 rankings. And the Oakland A’s burst up from 12 to 5 this time around.

Final 2018 MLB Power Ranking

Ryan Braun and the Brewers ranked lowest
among MLB playoff teams
(Photo: Steve Paluch)

The 2018 Major League Baseball regular season has come to an end, and yet it still isn’t over. For the first time ever there will be a pair of “Game 163” events taking place.

The Chicago Cubs are hosting the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field at this very moment. The winner will be crowned champions of the National League Central Division. The loser will host the National League Wildcard Game tomorrow night.

Should the Cubbies win it would mark their third consecutive Central Division title. This will be their fourth straight postseason appearance. Back in 2015 the Cubs shut out the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wildcard Game behind a 4-0 gem from Jake Arrieta.

The Brew Crew last captured the division crown back in 2011. That was the first division title for the franchise since their move to the National League for the 1998 season.

Prior to that you would have to go all the way back to 1982 and the “Harvey’s Wallbangers” team that won a second consecutive American League East Division title to find the last Brewers division championship squad.

Beginning at 4:09PM EDT the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The winner of that contest will be crowned as champions of the National League West Division. The loser will travel to either Chicago or Milwaukee, whichever also loses today, for a do-or-die meeting in that National League Wildcard Game on Wednesday night.

The Dodgers have been kings of this division for a long time now. Los Angeles has captured the last five National League West Division titles and seven of the last 10 division crowns.

Last year the Dodgers rolled through the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cubs, losing just once en route to the franchise’ first World Series appearance in nearly three decades. There they were defeated in seven games by the Houston Astros.

The Rockies played their first season as an expansion team back in 1993, and they have never won a division title. Colorado has advanced to the postseason four times, three as the division runners-up. Last year saw the Rockies losing an 11-8 slug-fest in the NL Wildcard Game to the Dbacks after finishing third behind LA and Arizona in the division during the regular season.

The Atlanta Braves are sitting home, able to relax and enjoy a few days break after running away with the National League East Division title. It marked the first division crown for the Braves in five years. Atlanta will travel to play whichever club wins the west in one National League Division Series beginning on Thursday.

Whichever team captures the Central Division title will play host to the survivor of the NL Wildcard Game in the other National League Division Series. That series is also scheduled to open on Thursday.

Over in the American League the match-ups have been set for some time. It will be the New York Yankees hosting the Oakland Athletics at 8:00PM EDT on Wednesday night in the American League Wildcard Game.

The winner of that game will then travel up to Fenway Park in Boston to face the host Red Sox in one American League Division Series beginning on Friday night. The Cleveland Indians will visit the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in the other ALDS beginning on Friday evening at Minute Maid Park.

Those four division series are each a best-of-five games, played in a 2-2-1 format as to home field. The winners in each league would advance to face one another in a best-of-seven League Championship Series. The winner of those would then meet towards the end of October in the 2018 World Series.

I released my first 2018 MLB Power Ranking on July 1, when the season was three months old. There have been four more since that time. Each time saw the Astros either alone at the top or sharing the top spot.

That remains the case in the below final 2018 MLB regular season rankings. The old saying remains true. If you want to be the champ, you’ve got to beat the champ. The Brewers are the lowest-ranked among all of the MLB playoff teams at 13th overall.

Mid-September MLB Power Ranking

Terry Francona's Tribe clinch the AL Central once again
(Photo: Arturo Pardavila III via Wiki Commons)

This past week was the final full week of summer in the 2018 Major League Baseball regular season. 

The teams are now fully immersed in the stretch run, those final pivotal battles to determine division champions and wildcard playoff participants.

One team, the Cleveland Indians, has already clinched its division crown. 

Terry Francona's Tribe took the lead in the American League Central Division for good on April 21. Struggling a bit from mid-May through mid-June, once they got hot they pulled away and were never seriously threatened

In the American League East Division, the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of clinching. The Bosox "Magic Number" is down to just four to eliminate the arch-rival New York Yankees.

Out in the American League West Division, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros have re-established some measure of control. The Astros now hold a 3.5 game lead on the Oakland Athletics, four in the all-important loss column of the standings, and 11 is now their "Magic Number" to clinch.

Despite likely falling shot in their bids for a divisional crown, both the Yankees and A's can begin printing their playoff tickets as well. Each team is firmly in control of the two AL Wildcard playoff berths, and they are headed for a one-game playoff showdown with one another.

The Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays each trail Oakland by seven games in the loss column. The A's "Magic Number" is now just 7 in order to clinch that last available postseason berth.

While the AL playoff race is pretty much set, the National League races promise a far different and much more exciting final two weeks to the regular season.

Thanks to a collapse over the last six weeks by the second place Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves are closing in on the franchise' first division title in five years. The "Magic Number" is down to just nine for Atlanta, though the Phillies and Braves will meet seven times over the final week and a half.

The Chicago Cubs are trying to take their third consecutive NL Central crown. It would mark the first time since a 1906-08 run that the Cubs finished in first place. Chicago has just a 2.5 game lead on the Milwaukee Brewers, three in the loss column, and it's still a bit too premature to be discussing a "Magic Number" for the South Side ball club.

A two-horse race appears to be emerging in the wild, wild west. The National League West Division's five-time defending champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, just took over the lead by a half-game on the Colorado Rockies.

The two clubs are tied in the loss column, and they will meet for the final time this coming week. That three-game set will take place at Dodger Stadium with a sweep by either team probably settling things.

The Arizona Diamondbacks began the month in first place. But losses in 10 of their last 14 have likely doomed the Dbacks to fighting for a Wildcard berth. Those two NL Wildcard slots are currently held by the Brewers and Rockies.

The Saint Louis Cardinals are just a game back of Colorado in the loss column for the second and final spot. Arizona and the Philadelphia Phillies are sitting four games out of that final playoff position and are both running out of time. If either or both is going to make a final push, the time is now.

There is an old sports saying that goes "If you want to be the champ, you've got to beat the champ." Well at least as far as my MLB Power Rankings are concerned, that remains the case in Major League Baseball. The Houston Astros are once again on top. They have sat there alone or shared the lead all summer long.

My formula for compiling the rankings has remained unchanged. I researched each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value and added them up to determine an overall score.

The current MLB Power Ranking going into games of Sunday, September 16 are presented below. Each team's previous rank from the MLB All-Star break in mid-July, then the middle of August, and finally back on Labor Day is also presented from L-R in parentheses:

1.   Houston Astros (1-1T-1)
2.   Boston Red Sox (2-1T-2)
3.   New York Yankees (3-3-3)
4.   Atlanta Braves (4-6-4)
4.   Oakland Athletics (11-7-6)
6.   Cleveland Indians (10-4T-5)
7.   Los Angeles Dodgers (6-9T-10)
8.   Chicago Cubs (5-8-6)
8.   Washington Nationals (13-11-9)
10. Tampa Bay Rays (15-16-12)
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (7-4T-8)
12. Colorado Rockies (9-9T-11)
13. Los Angeles Angels (14-12-15)
14. Milwaukee Brewers (8-14-14)
15. Seattle Mariners (12-13-16)
16. Saint Louis Cardinals (18T-15-13)
17. Pittsburgh Pirates (18T-20-20)
17. New York Mets (24-26-20)
19. Cincinnati Reds (21-21-18)
19. San Francisco Giants (20-18T-17)
21. Philadelphia Phillies (16-17-18)
22. Minnesota Twins (17-18T-20)
22. Toronto Blue Jays (25-24-23)
24. Kansas City Royals (27T-27-27)
25. Texas Rangers (26-22-24)
25. Miami Marlins (23-25-26)
27. Detroit Tigers (22-23-24)
28. San Diego Padres (27T-28-29)
29. Chicago White Sox (30-29T-28)
30. Baltimore Orioles (29-29T-30)

These will be the penultimate MLB Power Rankings for this season. The final rankings are scheduled to come out on October 1, at the conclusion of the regular season and before the playoffs begin. They will be based on the final statistics accumulated by each team this year.

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Mid-September MLB Power Ranking"

Labor Day MLB Power Ranking

Atlanta Braves fans rooting on the NL's top-ranked team

The Labor Day weekend is coming to an end. September baseball is upon us. 

Pennant races. Heated divisional rivalry battles. Wild wildcard scenarios. And another MLB Power Ranking released.

The defending World Series champion Houston Astros were either alone or tied at the top of my Power Rankings as summer was opening at the start of July, again at the MLB All-Star Game break, and then also in mid-August.

Now the Astros are back alone on top. How did they earn that distinction? Houston enjoys the top pitching staff in baseball. They are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks as MLB's top defensive team. They are fourth in all of baseball in runs scored.

Sitting at 30 games above the .500 mark on Labor Day, Houston has been pushed this summer by the incredible run that the division rival Oakland Athletics have been on since the middle of June. 

The A's woke up on the morning of Saturday, June 16 in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The club had dropped 11 of its previous 18 games. They had sunk to fourth place in the AL West, 11.5 games off the lead. Their season looked essentially over.

Oakland defeated the division-rival Los Angeles Angels that night, and then walked-off the Halos on Sunday afternoon to get back to the .500 mark. 

It was the beginning of an amazing turnabout, one that saw Oakland go 48-20 over the summer months to build a 5.5 game lead in the AL Wildcard race. The A's also now trail the Astros by just three games in the loss column in the AL West Division standings.

The Cleveland Indians have run away with the American League Central Division race. Terry Francona's Tribe, losers of a heartbreaking seven-game World Series just two years ago, will be back in the postseason once again trying to end the franchise' now 70-year championship drought.

In the AL East, the Boston Red Sox have built a comfortable seven-game lead on the arch-rival New York Yankees. The Yanks, with baseball's second-best overall record and now third in the power rankings appear headed towards a one-game Wildcard showdown for their season.

The Seattle Mariners are five games behind Oakland in the loss column and the Tampa Bay Rays are seven back. Those are the only teams even remotely capable of a push towards the AL's second Wildcard playoff berth.

In the National League, things appear far more interesting. The Atlanta Braves lead the Philadelphia Phillies by four games in the NL East. The Chicago Cubs hold a six-game edge on both Milwaukee and Saint Louis in the NL Central.

New this month in the senior circuit? Those Braves have risen to become the top-ranked team in the National League for the first time this season. With a young, talented ball club, Atlanta promises to be a contender for years to come.

In the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the lead, but are tied with the Colorado Rockies in the loss column. The Dbacks sit just a game behind those two in what looks for all the world like a three-horse race down to the wire.

The National League Wildcard picture is, well, wild. The Brewers and Cardinals currently hold the two available playoff spots. But the Rockies are just a game back, with the Dbacks and Phillies just two and three games back respectively.

My formula for compiling the MLB Power Ranking remains unchanged. I researched each of the 30 MLB teams current position in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value and added them up to determine an overall score.

The current MLB Power Ranking on Labor Day are presented here, with each team's previous rank from July 1, the MLB All-Star break in mid-July, and then the middle of August from L-R in parentheses: 

Mid-August MLB Power Ranking

Boston has moved into a tie atop the MLB Power Ranking

We are now squarely in the midst of the "dog days of summer" at the very mid-point of the month of August. 

With the sweltering hot summer months has come an unfolding of hotly contested battles in four of Major League Baseball's six divisions, as well as both Wildcard races.

When doing the last MLB Power Ranking, the Bosox held a 4.5 game lead in the AL East Division over the arch-rival New York Yankees. That lead has now grown to 10 full games.

The Cleveland Indians led the AL Central Division by 7.5 games a month ago. That lead has now swelled to 12.5 games.

The only true divisional race in the American League is being contested out west. The defending world champion Houston Astros have frittered away most of what was a five-game lead a month ago. 

The Astros now lead by just a game over the surprising Oakland Athletics. The top team in last month's rankings, they have now been tied for that number one position.

In the AL Wildcard race, the New York Yankees hold a comfortable seven-game cushion for one of the two available playoff berths. 

The Seattle Mariners led Oakland by three games at the all-star break for the other spot. But the A's have flipped the script, now leading the M's by 3.5 games - four in the loss column.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels were each above the .500 mark at the break, sitting 8.5 and nine games out in that Wildcard race respectively. Each club still sports a winning record, but only by a single game. Both teams have fallen 11.5 off the Wildcard pace, and their seasons are on life support.

The senior circuit presented a far more interesting picture last month, and it remains so today. The Philadelphia Phillies have yielded the first place position which they held for more than a month. The Atlanta Braves have surged past the Phillies, now leading the NL East by two full games.

There are four teams with winning records in the NL Central Division, led by the Chicago Cubs. The North Siders lead is at two games over the Milwaukee Brewers, but four in the all-important loss column. The Saint Louis Cardinals remain in striking distance just four games back.

The NL West Division was the tightest in the game a month ago and it remains that way today. The Arizona Diamondbacks are on top by a game but tied in the loss column with the Colorado Rockies. The LA Dodgers are two games out, and the San Francisco Giants remain in the race at five games off the pace.

The National League's two Wildcard berths are presently controlled by the Brewers and Phillies. A half-dozen teams still appear to be alive, all within six games of the Phillies, who hold the second of two spots. 

When I released my July 1 MLB Power Ranking, only statistics on offense, defense, and pitching were considered. At the all-star break, I began to incorporate a fourth category, winning percentage. This was in order to recognize a club's ability to actually win games despite statistical shortcomings.

I have kept that formula this time around, again researching each of the 30 MLB teams current rankings in the four categories of winning percentage, runs scored, pitching OPS, and fielding percentage. I then assigned each of those rankings a 1-30 value, and added them up to determine an overall score.

The current MLB Power Ranking for mid-August is presented here, with each team's previous rank from July 1 (L) and at the MLB All-Star break in mid-July (R) in parentheses:

Oakland A's Organization is in Desperate Shape

As recently as the 2014 season, the Oakland Athletics were legitimate contenders in the American League. The A’s finished 88-74 that season, good for second place in the AL West standings.

The club had taken the division crown the two previous seasons. In 2014 they were again in the postseason after capturing an AL Wildcard berth.

In that 2014 American League Wildcard Game against the Kansas City Royals, the A’s took a seemingly comfortable 7-3 lead into the bottom of the 8th inning.

The Royals rallied for three in the 8th and a run in the 9th to send the contest into extra innings. In the top of the 12th, Oakland scored to regain the lead. But Kansas City fought back once again, scoring twice in the bottom of the frame for a dramatic walkoff victory.

The loss would prove deflating for the entire Oakland organization, which has not recovered. The following year, the A’s sank to the bottom of the American League standings. Then a year ago, the A’s again finished at the bottom of the West Division.

Just three weeks ago, Baseball America released their annual MLB Organizational Talent Rankings. Oakland finished just 17th in all of baseball, which is actually their highest finish in at least the last seven years.

Unfortunately for the team and their fans in the Bay area, the Oakland A’s have fallen, and they can’t get up. At least not any time soon.

Oakland A's Finally Getting a Ballpark?

Oakland Coliseum home to the A's since 1968
(Photo: Amy K Posner via Wiki Commons)

The Oakland Athletics trace their history to the very beginning of the American League. The team was a charter franchise of the junior circuit back in 1901 when they were the Philadelphia Athletics.

The A’s franchise moved to Kansas City in 1955. The club then moved on to Oakland, where they began play in the City by the Bay in the 1968 season.

Ever since that first season in California, the Oakland Coliseum has been the Athletics home. A multi-purpose stadium, the A’s have shared the facility for much of the last half-century with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.

While nearly every other MLB team has built a new ballpark within the last couple of decades, Oakland has lagged behind. The Coliseum has the second smallest seating capacity of any facility in Major League Baseball.

Due to its age, a massive amount of foul territory, sewage problems, and “Mount Davis” in center field, the Coliseum is now considered one of the worst in the big leagues.

The inability of previous ownership to put together a new deal for a real baseball-only ballpark has led to talk of the team relocating. Places such as San Jose, Las Vegas, and Portland have been mentioned as possibly homes for the franchise.

Houston Astros Sign Josh Reddick

The Houston Astros finished a disappointing 84-78 in the 2016 season. That left the club in third place in the NL West Division. This came a year after they had returned to the postseason for the first time in a decade.

After finishing just two games off the division pace in 2015 and nearly upending the eventual world champion Kansas City Royals in the ALDS, the Astros had entered 2016 as popular World Series picks.

With Carlos Gomez and Colby Rasmus each leaving as free agents, the signing of Reddick helps set the Houston 2017 outfield.

The likelihood now is that George Springer will move to center field, with Reddick taking over in right field. That would leave the left field position open for competition in the spring, barring a further free agent signing or trade.

Following the signing, Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow was quoted by Hunter Atkins with the Houston Chronicle.

“Regardless of how he did it – hitting 30 home runs one year, increasing his on-base percentage another year, his arm on defense – you can nitpick this year he didn’t do this or he didn’t do this, but he’s a good, everyday player that’s going to fit in very well.”

Athletics 2016 POY: Kendall Graveman

For the Oakland Athletics, it was a second consecutive disappointing last place finish in 2016. The club finished 69-93, just a game better than last year’s result in the American League West Division.

The A’s did have a couple of offensive players who produced strong numbers in some areas. Left Fielder Khris Davis bashed 42 home runs with 137 hits, 102 RBI and 85 runs scored to lead the club in all four categories.

Shortstop Marcus Semien banged 27 home runs with 75 RBI, 72 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. Center fielder Billy Burns led the club with 14 steals in just 292 plate appearances.

Rookie third baseman Ryon Healy wasn’t promoted from the minor leagues until after the MLB All-Star break. He hit for a .305/.337/.524 slash line with 13 homers, 37 RBI, and 36 runs scored in just 283 plate appearances over 72 games.

Ty Cobb Ends His Career in Philadelphia

Ty Cobb is one of the greatest players in baseball history, but few are aware that the Hall of Fame legend finished up his long career as a member of the Philadelphia A’s, the franchise that would later relocate to become the Oakland Athletics.

Cobb is rightly remembered as a Detroit Tigers superstar. He played for 24 seasons in the big leagues, and 22 of those were with the Tigers. Nicknamed “The Georgia Peach”, Cobb was born in the Peach State in 1886 and grew to love the game of baseball at an early age.

The story of Cobb’s early life, brief minor league career, and a family tragedy that had lasting implications is well told in the book “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty” by Charles Leehrsen, and his SABR bio by Daniel Ginsburg.

Cobb With the Tigers

Cobb blew no one away during his rookie rookie season with the Tigers in 1905. The 18-year-old was a boy among men, and his stat line shows just how much that difference meant. He hit for just a .240/.288/.340 slash over his first 164 plate appearances that year.

But by the following season in 1906, Cobb had established himself more, and in 1907 at age 20 he exploded, leading the big leagues in hits, RBI, batting average and total bases, and the American League in steals, slugging, OPS and OPS+.

It was the first of many such seasons for Cobb. Over the 22 years in Detroit he would lead the majors in hits seven times, steals four times, runs scored and RBI three times, and triples and doubles twice. He even led baseball in homers during the 1909 season.

He won the American League MVP Award in 1911, and received Most Valuable Player votes in each of the next three seasons as well.

Can Oakland A's Get Back Into Contention Quickly?

The Oakland Athletics have fallen to the bottom of the American League West and look to get back to regular contending status.

In 2016 the Oakland Athletics finished 69-93 and in last place in the American League West Division, 26 games out of first place and 20 behind an AL Wild Card playoff spot.

This was a second consecutive last place finish for the A’s after three consecutive appearances in the MLB postseason.

The Athletics won the division in both 2012 and 2013, losing both years in a tough LDS, each going the distance. Then in 2014 they lost the AL Wild Card to the Kansas City Royals by surrendering two runs in the bottom of the 12th inning.

The A’s had traded away the big outfield bat of Yoenis Cespedes at the 2014 trade deadline to the Boston Red Sox for Jon Lester, and then lost Lester that offseason to free agency.

Then the club dealt away another big bat in Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason as well. Donaldson was due to begin seeing big contract increases which the small market Oakland Athletics were not in a position to support.

The franchise has not carried a top-20 payroll since the 2007 season, so any improvement is almost certainly going to have to come from within, and from smart, lesser free agent signings.

Book Review: "Diehards: Why Fans Care So Much About Sports"

If you are a baseball fan like me, you enjoy all aspects of the game. Not just the more analytical, statistics-based evaluations of recent years, or the classic excitement of a dramatic game, series, or season, but the whole enchilada.

The history of the game and the background stories of the players and other individuals involved fascinate me. 

The best resource to obtain information of this type can often be a well-written book on a particular subject.

All of the reading that I have done over decades following the game finally led me to this idea for the introduction of a "book reviews" series, with coverage of both the Phillies in particular and baseball in general.

In moving forward with the series, I will mostly focus on material written about the Fightin' Phils specifically. But if something influences me enough while only barely touching on the team, will highlight those as well.

I wanted to begin the series with something that  included the Phillies, but also would be of interest to the wider audience of baseball fans. I believe that I may have stumbled upon the perfect choice.

As a big fan of the team and the game in the passionate sports town of Philly, the aspect of fandom itself has always fascinated me. This led to my interest in introducing you to the 2015 book "Diehards: Why Fans Care So Much About Sports" by Chip Scarinzi.

Chip is one of us, a self-described "lifelong, diehard Philadelphia Phillies fan" who grew up in New Jersey

MLB 2016 Predictions: AL West Division

Our annual process of polling the staff at TBOH as to their predictions for the coming season has been completed, and so we’re rolling out those picks in a series of pieces.

The TBOH staff will reveal our cumulative staff choice, as well as our individual picks, for the order of finish in each of Major League Baseball’s six divisions, the two Wildcard teams from each league, and our World Series favorites.

To determine the staff cumulative pick for each division, I took the predicted order of finish from each of our writers and assigned a numerical value. 

Teams picked for first place received one point, teams picked to finish in fifth received five points. Thus, the lower your overall total points, the higher your predicted finish. The total points are listed next to each team name.

We’ll also be revealing our staffers picks for the Most Valuable Player Award in both the National and American Leagues, as well as the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award winners in both leagues.

Finally, our staffers have chosen their MLB manager who is most likely to become the first casualty of the season, the first to be fired this year.

Enjoy our picks, and we would love to hear your own. Please feel free to leave your choices in a comment. We’ll be sure to read them.

MLB Postseason Pitching: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As with the regular season, the 2014 MLB postseason is likely to hinge on pitching

When pitching began to dominate Major League Baseball in the late-1960's, the game responded with a number of concrete moves designed to change the game and bring back offense. When hitting began to dominate Major League baseball in the late-1990's, the game responded by finally addressing the PED issue. Now, runs are down about 1 per game, and batting averages are down about 20 points since 2000.

Baseball has ebbed and flowed over it's century and a half existence, alternating "dead ball" eras with "live ball" eras, allowing hurlers their day, and then propping up batters for a bit. In the last few years, there has been a steady decline in offense and a rise in pitching influence. Now here in the 2014 postseason, as in the regular season, it is likely to be the best pitching that wins it.

Which playoff team is best positioned for a deep October run this time around? Here are some thoughts, with a nod to an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, on which pitching staffs will give their club the best chance at lifting a World Series trophy at the end of the month.

THE GOOD

Washington Nationals

Owners of not only the best pitching staff in all of baseball, but also the deepest, Washington sits at the very top of the Fangraphs Pitching WAR rankings. The Nats had five (5) starters with double-digit Wins totals this season, and in the post-season will send out perhaps the best front four in Jordan Zimmermann, Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, and Gio Gonzalez. They have two experienced closers, each of whom registered double-digits in Saves. The bullpen features not only those two right-handed closers in Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano, but a trio of left-handers as well in Matt Thornton, Jerry Blevins, and Ross Detwiler. The righty relief core of Tyler Clippard, Craig Stammen, and the under-appreciated Aaron Barrett will be supplemented in post-season by the usual 5th/6th starters, Tanner Roark and Blake Treinen. This team isn't really just "good" on the mound, they are elite. This group has the best chance, the most options, to get their team all the way through to the Promised Land.

Underrated Doug Fister a Nats rotation key

Detroit Tigers

The best pitching staff that the American League has to offer, Detroit is 3rd in Fangraphs Pitching WAR, and one of only a couple that could matchup well with Washington in a World Series. Four (4) starters won in double-digits: Max Scherzer, David Price, Justin Verlander, and Rick Porcello. A fifth would have were it not for injury, and that pitcher, Anibal Sanchez, may give them a strong bullpen option in post-season play. They have a bunch of lefty options out of the pen with Phil Coke, Ian Kroll, Blaine Hardy and Kyle Lobstein. They have veteran righty options in Evan Reed, Joba Chamberlain, and Al Alburquerque. But it all may hinge on the effectiveness of closer Joe Nathan. One of the best in the business for the last decade, Nathan had a poor season overall. But in September, the veteran registered 7 Saves and 1 Win across 10 appearances, with just a single blown Save opportunity. His last three appearances were all "clean" - and that is the kind of consistency this club needs for him to carry over into October.

Kansas City Royals

It has been well-publicized that KC is back in the post-season for the first time in nearly three decades. That return was largely predicated on pitching and defense. The Royals have the best 'D' in baseball to help out a staff that doesn't really need much help to begin with. The Fangraphs 5th-ranked WAR staff had four (4) starters with double-digit Wins totals, and a fifth just miss out in Danny Duffy. He will likely give them a strong southpaw option out of the bullpen in post-season. The front four of 'Big Game' James Shields, Yordano Ventura, Jeremy Guthrie, and Jason Vargas all logged over 180 IP this season. In addition to Duffy, they have Bruce Chen as another lefty with starting experience who could help in the pen. That bullpen is baseball's best and deepest. Righties Kelvin Herrera, Aaron Crow, and perhaps the best non-closer in the game in Wade Davis, and lefties Tim Collins, Scott Downs, and young Brandon Finnegan join Duffy and Chen as options to setup elite closer Greg Holland. 

Oakland Athletics

The big additions during the season of Jon Lester, Jeff Samardzija, and to a lesser extent Jason Hammel to the rotation joining Scott Kazmir, Sonny Gray and Jesse Chavez took a weakness and turned it into an Oakland strength. This post-season was the reason that the now 8th-rated Fangraphs Pitching WAR club made those moves. Hammel and Chavez become righty bullpen options now. The Lester-Gray-Samardzija-Kazmir front four give the A's strong matchups every time out. Lefties Tommy Milone and Drew Pomeranz have starter experience, and at least one could be a key if Eric O'Flaherty continues with recent physical troubles. Chavez and Hammel join Luke Gregerson, Ryan Cook, and Dan Otero in an embarrassment of righty bullpen riches. They all setup one of the game's best, most under-appreciated closers in Sean Doolittle. All this pitching depth only helps either Kansas City or Oakland, as they meet in the AL Wildcard. The winner will move into an ALDS with a pitching staff superior to the team they will meet, a division champ that is the next club on the list below.

THE BAD

Los Angeles Angels

It didn't hurt them one bit in the regular season. On the contrary, the loss of young frontline starters Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs seemed to galvanize the Angels. But despite their excellence and the late, strong burst, the Halos were just 12th in MLB at Fangraphs in Pitching WAR. In Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson, the Angels have a pair of veterans who are capable of matching up with anyone, but also are capable of the odd blowup start as well. Matt Shoemaker has been excellent down the stretch, but is trying to battle back from a rib cage injury in time to help. Hector Santiago, a lefty, has been the 4th starter, with Cory Rasmus stretched out from the pen for a handful of short emergency starts down the stretch. I said at mid-season that the Angels needed to add not one, but a couple of proven starters if they wanted to win this season. They proved me wrong in the regular season, but I believe that I will be proven correct now in post-season. The Angels simply do not have enough, or good enough, starting pitching to win this thing. Huston Street is an elite closer. He is setup by strong righties in Ernesto Frieri, Jason Grilli, Fernando Salas, Mike Morin, Kevin Jepsen, and Joe Smith. The main, possibly only, lefty out of the pen is Wade Leblanc.

Closer Huston Street was a key Halos pickup

Los Angeles Dodgers

Whaaat? Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Dan Haren, Kenley Jansen bad? No, of course not. But there is a reason that the Dodgers ranked just 13th in MLB in Pitching WAR at Fangraphs. Beyond their elite guys, there are tons of injuries and under-performers. If Hyun-Jin Ryu is healthy, a big "if" since he has been battling a shoulder issue for a while now, then LA has a 4th strong SP option. They absolutely must win on days that Kershaw and Greinke pitch. Losses on any of those days could be devastating. The bullpen has experienced arms in righties Jamey Wright, Chris Perez, Brian Wilson, and Roberto Hernandez, the latter of whom may be called on to start a game or two if Ryu cannot go. The lefties out of the pen are likely to be J.P. Howell and some combo of Paco Rodriguez and Scott Elbert. Most of the bullpen options have been inconsistent, to say the least. That bullpen could prove an Achilles' Heel...or the vets could get their acts together and turn a weakness into a difference-making strength. That is probably what will be needed if they want to go all the way.

Baltimore Orioles

Ranked one spot below the Dodgers at Fangraphs Pitching WAR, the O's pitching has been masterfully handled by manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Dave Wallace. Rookie Kevin Gausman and perennially injured Miguel Gonzalez emerged in the 2nd half to give a major boost to the rotation, bumping veteran Ubaldo Jimenez to the pen. Gausman is likely to join Jimenez in the post-season bullpen, with Gonzalez joining Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, and Bud Norris in the rotation. They have all pitched well at times and struggled at times. It's hard to imagine them all suddenly turning it on together. Even if they don't, Buck goes to the pen and trots out righties Darren O'Day, Tommy Hunter, and Ryan Webb or the impressive lefty trio of Andrew Miller, T.J. McFarland, and Brian Matusz to get him to young closer Zach Britton. If the rotation guys don't absolutely blow up, the Orioles always have a chance, as their regular season record demonstrates.

Saint Louis Cardinals

The rotation is led by one of the best in the business, Adam Wainwright, and the other options are all talented in John Lackey, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, and Michael Wacha. The bullpen has a big strikeout guy in closer Trevor Rosenthal, but he also is wild at times. He is setup by a strong righty trio of Pat Neshek, Seth Maness, and Carlos Martinez with the experienced Jason Motte around as well. Lefty options include Randy Choate, Sam Freeman, and Kevin Seigrist. The Cards staff ranks just 18th in Fangraphs Pitching WAR, and a great deal of that is the inconsistency shown by almost everyone except Wainwright and Neshek. They could really use Wacha returning to his magical post-season performance level of a year ago.

THE UGLY

San Francisco Giants

Hard to believe that a San Fran playoff team pitching staff is being called "ugly", but they are here. Much as with the Cardinals, the Giants rotation is led by one of the best in Madison Bumgarner. The season-ending injury to Matt Cain and continued deterioration of Tim Lincecum were off-set by the solid free agent signing of Tim Hudson and the trade acquisition of Jake Peavy. Hudson and Peavy are proven veterans with post-season experience that could be invaluable this October. The Bumgarner-Peavy-Hudson troika should be joined by Yusmeiro Petit, with both Lincecum and Ryan Vogelsong heading to the pen, joining Jean Machi and J.C. Gutierrez as righty options. Javy Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt give the GMen a pair of veteran lefties in the pen. Santiago Casilla has supplanted Sergio Romo as the closer, but both are capable veterans who have shown they can shut the door at the back end of that bullpen. Despite pitching half their games in a pitcher's haven, the San Fran staff was near the bottom, 28th overall of 30 MLB teams, in Fangraphs Pitching WAR. Aside from Bumgarner, they don't overpower people. That should open up more opportunities for opposition hitters than most of the other staffs they will faceoff against in post-season play.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Only the Mets kept the Giants and the 29th-ranked Pirates from the bottom of Fangraphs Pitching WAR rankings. The individual pieces don't look all that bad. Gerrit Cole was an exciting 2nd year starter who is one of the game's rising star pitchers. Veterans Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano pitched well. Vance Worley and Jeff Locke were solid, if unspectacular, 4th and 5th starter options. Mark Melancon emerged as a solid closer, and he is setup by spectacular righty rookie John Holdzcomb, righties Jared Hughes, John Axford, Jeanmar Gomez, Stolmy Pimentel, and Brandon Cumpton, and lefties Justin Wilson and Tony Watson. Overall, the group tends towards inconsistency, walking too many while striking out too few, and giving up too many longballs. Like the Giants, they have enough talent to put it all together. But to do so against stronger, deeper, more consistent, proven staffs over the next month is asking a lot. The Bucs and GMen should enjoy the NL Wildcard Game, since the winner has to face Washington, and likely won't last too long.