After 124 days, baseball is back. On Oct. 27, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. Since then, we have not had any Major League Baseball (MLB) games, but there has been plenty of baseball action. Starting pitcher Trevor Bauer signed with the Dodgers. The San Diego Padres traded for starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. signed a 14-year $340 million contract with the Padres. Center fielder George Springer signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. Shortstop Francisco Lindor was traded to the New York Mets. Beyond these big trades and signings, there are a few things headlining the 2021 MLB season that could make this season one of the most dynamic seasons we have ever seen.
One big story is that there is no longer the universal designated hitter (DH). This means that the National League pitchers will once again have to hit during games. The universal DH has been a topic for debate for many years now and last year they decided to finally try it. Many people wanted the DH in the National League because it meant that there was going to be more offense in games. Although there may not be a really noticeable difference in offensive numbers, it was clear that the game was different knowing that every player in the lineup was not a free out. However, ultimately the MLB decided not to make the change permanent and pitchers once again have to hit. This changes the dynamic for many teams in the National League. The Atlanta Braves re-signed outfielder Marcell Ozuna this past offseason. In the 2020 season he was incredible offensively, however his defense was not good. This leads many to believe that he would fit as a DH. The Braves were likely hoping to bring him back as the DH, however without the universal DH, he now has to play the outfield. Is his defensive play going to hold the Braves back at all? There are other National League teams with sluggers that likely would benefit from being a DH, but this season that isn’t going to happen, so it is going to be interesting to see how National League teams return back to their old form without the DH.
Players with bad seasons last year are very likely to make comebacks. Left fielder Christian Yelich won the Most Valuable Player award in 2018 and came in second place in 2019. Unfortunately, in 2020 he was not the same player. According to Baseball Reference, Yelich hit 0.205 and had a slugging percentage of .430. In 2019, he hit 0.329 and had a slugging percentage of 0.671. The 2020 Christian Yelich was a completely different player. However, there were many factors that could have led to this. He had just come off a major knee injury, so it is possible that he was still recovering. Additionally, the players did not have a solid spring training, so it is possible that he just did not have enough time to get ready for the season. This could apply to other players as well. Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin had a down year as well. His fastball was a few miles per hour slower. It is possible that without a full spring training, he was not able to get fully ready. This year, the players should have a full spring training, so they have a chance to get fully back into shape. Last year the players were not used to the pandemic restrictions, but they had a full season of that, so they should be used to it and ready to bounce back.
Who wins the World Series this year? Every year it seems as if the Dodgers have the best team in baseball and are the favorites to win, and most of the time, they have let their fans down. Last year this was not the case; the Dodgers were the favorites and they won. But that was last year. What is happening this year? The Padres are a team to look out for with all the quality pitching they have brought in. The New York Yankees are also a team to look out for. They always have a really good offense and this year they added starting pitcher Corey Kluber, so they may be able to contest the Dodgers. The Braves also added more starting pitching depth and they barely lost to the Dodgers last year, so maybe this year is when they break through. Many other teams made big additions, such as the Mets and the Chicago White Sox, so there are plenty of teams in contention this year. Although many teams made improvements, it does appear as if the Dodgers are still the favorites because they lost almost no one and actually got a lot better when they signed Trevor Bauer.
It is safe to say that this year is going to be different from last year. The league should be more competitive with so many teams getting better. Although you may not be excited that your favorite player is on a new team or that the National League no longer has a DH, you can be excited that we can once again watch baseball.
