Clinched

It’s near the end of September and that tells us that October baseball is coming. By far, 6 teams already clinched playoff berths. There are several cool things to expect in this postseason.

First of all, the Giants are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. We might still remember the Giants’ even-year success last decade. They won the World Series Champions in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Buster Posey has been catching for the Giants since 2009 and he got 3 rings. He opted out last season, but Posey comes back strong in 2021, Posey hits .302/.388/.501 with 18 home runs and 51 RBI. Moreover, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt each have been with the Giants since 2011 and won the World Series twice. Crawford was hitting .256/.326/.465 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI last season and he now enjoys a great year with a .302/.378/.526 slash line with 23 home runs and 89 RBI across 133 games played this season. Crawford has never finished a season with an over .300 batting average yet. And, Brandon Belt hits .274/.378/.597 with 29 home runs and 59 RBI so far. However, Belt is now on the IL and could be out for a few weeks. Furthermore, the last time that the Giants won 100 games was in 2003 and they lost to the Florida Marlins in the NLDS. It’s another season that the Dodgers win at least 100 games in a single season. The Dodgers won 8 consecutive NL West titles since 2013 and they reached 100 wins twice, one was in 2017 and the other was in 2019. The Dodgers are the defending World Series Champion, however, they are still 2 games behind the Giants in the NL West. The Dodgers have never played in the wild card game. The last time they clinched a wild card was in 2006 and the Dodgers lost to the New York Mets. In addition, the Milwaukee Brewers are the 2021 NL Central Champions. The Brewers finished 4th in the NL Central last year, but they still clinched a playoff spot. They lost to the Dodgers in the 2020 NL Wild Card Series. It’s worth noting that the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year winner Devin Williams didn’t pitch in the postseason last season. If he stays healthy, it will be a big bonus for the Brewers because they already have top pitchers such as Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes in the rotation and Josh Hader, who only blew one save this season and is considered the best closer in MLB. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the AL East title for two consecutive years. It’s the first time in franchise history. The Rays fell to the Dodgers in the World Series last year and they are still looking for the first World Series champion in franchise history. Randy Arozarena was phenomenal last postseason and Brett Phillips’ walk-off hit in the World Series was impressive. Who will be the hero this postseason? At the same time, Tony La Russa’s return to the White Sox has been successful in the 2021 season. The White Sox won the AL Central title for the first time since 2008. Craig Kimbrel was traded to the White Sox on July 30 and with Kimbrel, the White Sox bullpen is expected to be pretty good, however, he owns a 5.32 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 23 games. Also, Liam Hendriks has 6 blown saves so far. Tony La Russa, who has won 3 World Series Champions, has to figure out how to help the White Sox move forward in the playoffs. Finally, the Cardinals are back to the playoffs again. They are playing extremely well in September and they are on a 17-game winning streak. Most importantly, they clinched the second NL Wild Card. By far, 6 teams already clinched playoff spots. With only one week remaining in the regular season, the Braves are 3.5 games ahead of the Phillies. The Blue Jays are 1 game behind the Red Sox, who currently hold the second AL wild card spot. And, the Mariners are now 0.5 games behind the Red Sox. The Mariners are fighting hard for the first playoff appearance since 2001. The playoff races are just getting intense in the final week.