This MLB season, the league has produced multiple storylines that have brought joy to fanbases who have otherwise experienced a rough couple of years. Some teams are starting to believe that this is their year to break a World Series drought, or finally return to the playoffs following a long hiatus. On the other side of the wild card line, there are fans who are not getting to experience the year they were hoping for.
Some of the league’s best teams and worst teams occupied different ground last season. It is a hard task to remain good enough over one season to make it to the playoffs. The task of winning enough games for consecutive seasons is even harder. Here is a list of the teams who have either failed to live up to the expectations or who have not been able to repeat their performances from last season.
Major League Baseball’s Most Disappointing Teams
The New York Yankees
With a record of 99-63 last year, the Yankees topped the American League East by seven games and made it all the way to the League Championship Series. They would eventually fall to the Houston Astros in a four-game sweep, but they looked likely to threaten again in 2023.
That has not come to fruition and looks like it is not going to. The Yankees sit last in AL East, although to be fair, it may be the greatest division in baseball history. At 56-52, the team is struggling to stay above .500, and fare floating three-and-a-half games outside the last AL wild-card spot. Despite their pitchers having one of the better ERAs in the league, a poor offensive output, and a losing record against .500 teams currently has the team drifting further away from returning to the playoffs.
Hope remains that the team can turn itself around in the second half of the season, but a brutal division might not give them a chance to do so.
The Seattle Mariners
Sharing the same 55-52 record that the Yankees have, the Mariners were hoping to continue on last year’s success and avoid being in a race for the last wild-card spot. Grabbing the second AL wild-card spot last year with a 90-72 record, Seattle, much like New York, has produced above-average pitching and below-average batting.
The team maintains very close statistics in their expected wins and losses record, home-and-away record, and their record against winning teams. Currently only playing four games above .500 at home is a hindrance to the Mariners, and they will need to improve on that if the team wants to continue their season into late-October.
The New York Mets
It seems that no matter where you are in New York City, you are likely unimpressed with your team this year. The Mets had the T-third-best record in the league last season with an impressive 101-61 performance. Losing out to the Atlanta Braves, much like the team is also doing this year, on a tie-breaker for first place, the Mets fell to the San Diego Padres in a National League Wild-Card Series.
This year, the NL East team is 50-56, and six-and-a-half games away from a wild-card spot. Their season might not be over yet, but the Mets have been a liability to themselves on the road, and that will likely prevent them from mounting a comeback.
The St. Louis Cardinals
Everyone who read the title of the article knew the Cardinals would be in here sooner or later.
By far the most famous example in the league this season, St. Louis has not been able to make their star-studded roster produce any magic. NL Central winners last year with a 93-69 record, the team currently occupies last place in the division at 48-61. Only four-and-a-half games separate them from the bottom of the National League, but even the statistics for their losing season show the pain they have caused their fans.
The Cardinals have only been outscored by 24 runs so far this season, which is only three less than the Miami Marlins have been outscored by. The difference is the Marlins sit less than one game outside of an NL wild-card spot.
The San Diego Padres
The bad news each year for Padres fans is that they still have to play the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers had an MLB-best 111-51 record last year, while the Padres finished second in the NL West at 89-73. They exacted their revenge on the Dodgers with a shock 3-1 National League Divisional Series win over their LA rivals, but an exhausted team fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS.
Holding a 54-55 win/loss record this season, the Padres are not worrying about who they are playing in the postseason this year. Outscoring opponents by 75 runs, second only to the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card race this year, the team have, however, a relatable weakness. They do not win on the road. Their record against winning teams is 36-36, but at 24-30 on the road, and nearly five full games outside of a wild-card spot, most fans have already nailed the coffin shut on San Diego’s season.
Main Image: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
