Let’s just say that this year’s MLB postseason didn’t exactly go the way I thought it would. It was a little mentally tough for me since the bad teams won, but here is a recap of each playoff team’s season. 

American League 

This year’s American League champions are the Houston Astros.  Their additional playoff teams were the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Guardians, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Seattle Mariners, and the Tampa Bay Rays. 

The 2022 American League winner is the Houston Astros. Did they cheat? I really hope they didn’t, but there’s honestly no telling. Their pitching is arguably what helped propel them to the World Series, but their offense was also standout. Previous to the World Series, they swept the playoffs 7-0 defeating each team they played. 

The New York Yankees were dominant during the regular season, as their offense was explosive. They were led by Aaron Judge, who recently hit his 62nd home run, breaking the AL record, for home runs in a single season. Their bullpen hadn’t been the strongest so that proved to be a struggle. 

The Cleveland Guardians won the regular season AL central, but it was not much of a shock. Their biggest strength was their pitching with the consistency from starters Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill. They advanced past their first series, and lost to the Yankees. I personally was hoping for the Guardians to make it farther, but this season could be a propelling force for the future. 

The Blue Jays closing pitching and occasionally their starting pitching is what guided them through the season. Their bullpen didn’t have much depth, so consistency proved to be an issue for them. 

As for the Mariners, they had a pretty strong rotation. With their consistent pitching, they could have had success. They didn’t have recent playoff experience, however, seeing as though they had not made the playoffs since 2001. Similar to the Guardians, this could be another season that could provide momentum for the future. 

The Rays faced the tough side of injuries this year with Wander Franco and Tyler Glasnow being out throughout the season. Shane McClanahan was one of their best pitchers this year, and Randy Arozarena had lots of success.  

National League 

This year’s National League champions definitely took me by surprise. If you had told me that the Phillies would win, I don’t think I would have believed you. I certainly thought that it would either be the Braves or the Dodgers (sadly), but I was wrong. The other NL teams that made the playoffs were the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets, and the San Diego Padres. 

The Dodgers. Well, they’re the Dodgers. They won the most regular season games, and they seem to pretty consistently have their offense and defense under control. They were definitely a major contender which is why it took me by surprise when the Dodgers lost to the Padres in three games. 

As for the Braves, they performed in a typical fashion this year. They didn’t play their best baseball during the first month of the season, but they showed up ever since then. (Well at least until the playoffs).  Whether they needed a healthy Acuña Jr., new leadership from Dansby Swanson, or  the outstanding performance of rookies Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider, it all showed up. The Braves dominated the rest of their season, overtaking the Mets in the last series. It all came down to game 161 which seemed very fitting. The Braves needed their offense and defense to be consistent which was an issue throughout the season, and it was also an issue during the playoffs. I really thought that the Braves were going back-to-back this year, but obviously that didn’t happen. Chop on always though. 

The Mets are the Mets. They led the NL East for a solid 175 days this season, and the Braves only led for 8. Yet, the Mets are not the east champions. With that being said, the Mets choking in the playoffs wasn’t a shock at all. They did what they knew how to do the best. Their rotation was super strong, as it had Max Scherzer, Jacob Degrom, and Chris Bassitt (when he wants to be good). Those names themselves should be relatively self-explanatory. 

The Cardinals had three fantastic hitters, a really good catcher, an incredibly strong reliever, and Adam Wainwright. I felt like they could’ve made it far because it would be strange for Wainwright, Pujols, and Molina to go down without a battle, but I was wrong. Their playoff run ended quite abruptly, as they lost to the Phillies. 

The Phillies have been quite the shock factor team because they hadn’t been on their game for the majority of the season. Their strength has proved to be their pitching, as Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Ranger Suárez have shut some teams down. 

The Padres had some pretty deep pitching, and it helped them since all their pitchers figured it out this postseason. They suffered some issues this year with the original injury to Tatis and then his drug suspension, which kept him out for the remainder of the season .This pretty much goes without saying that Manny Machado is 100% their leader. 

Update from November 3rd : The World Series will be best of seven with the Houston Astros vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. The series started in Houston and switched to Philadelphia after game two. The Astros and Phillies are currently tied 2-2 in the series.