MLB Bold Predictions in Review
With the MLB Season in the rear view mirror, the MLB playoffs begin tomorrow night. After 162 hard fought games, 20 teams will begin preparing for the 2018 season and 10 teams will begin preparing for the 2017 postseason. I made bold predictions before the season began and let's see the results.
NL East: New York Mets: What I said: They would win 100 games this season.
What actually happened: They finished fourth in the NL East and only won 70 games.
Washington Nationals: What I said: Daniel Murphy would not bat .250 this season.
What actually happened: His batting average was .322.
Philadelphia Phillies: Tommy Joseph would hit 30 homeruns this season.
What actually happened: Close, he hit 22 homeruns.
Miami Marlins: What I said: They wouldn't win 70 games.
What actually happened: They won 77 games and finished in 2nd in the NL East.
Atlanta Braves: What I said: Dansby Swanson would make the all-star team.
What actually happened: Not even close, he struggled for most of the season and his batting average was .232 with 6 homeruns and 51 RBI's.
NL Central: Chicago Cubs: What I said: They would hit 220 homeruns as a team.
What actually happened: Basically spot on, they hit 223 homeruns as team.
Pittsburgh Pirates: What I said: Because of their young pitching rotation, they would get back to the postseason.
What actually happened: The pitching rotation and the team wasn't very good with a 75-87 record.
St. Louis Cardinals: What I said: They would miss the postseason.
What actually happened: Spot on.
Milwaukee Brewers: What I said: They would have the lowest batting average in the MLB.
What actually happened: Their batting average was .249 as a team and it was one of the lowest in the MLB, but not the lowest.
Cincinnati Reds: What I said: Dilson Herrera would hit 25 homeruns and 90 RBI's.
What actually happened: Not even close, he only hit 6 homeruns and 17 RBI's.
NL West: Colorado Rockies: What I said: Their high powered offense will help them win the NL West crown.
What actually happened: They had a good offense and made it to the postseason but as the second wild card team in the NL.
Los Angeles Dodgers: What I said: Julio Urias would strike out 200 batters.
What actually happened: Not even close, he only struck out 11 batters.
San Francisco Giants: What I said: Madison Bumgarner would hit 10 homeruns.
What actually happened: He only hit 3 homeruns.
Arizona Diamondbacks: What I said: Paul Goldschmidt would hit 50 homeruns.
What actually happened: A little off, but he hit 36 homeruns.
San Diego Padres: What I said: Will Myers would hit .300 this season.
What actually happened: A little bit off, his average was .243 this season.
AL East: Boston Red Sox: What I said: Chris Sale would win 25 games this season.
What actually happened: Sale won 17 games.
Baltimore Orioles: What I said: Manny Machado would win AL MVP.
What actually happened: Machado had a nice season with a .259 average with 33 homeruns and 95 RBI's and will get some votes, but Aaron Judge will win the MVP with a .284 batting average 52 homeruns and 114 RBI's.
New York Yankees: What I said: Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Greg Bird would hit more homeruns than anyone on the team combined.
What actually happened: Aaron Judge hit 52 homeruns, Gary Sanchez hit 33 homeruns, and Greg Bird hit 9 homeruns. The rest of the team hit 147. Bird, Sanchez, and Judge contributed to 40% of the teams homeruns.
Toronto Blue Jays: What I said: Marcus Stroman would be an AL Cy Young candidate.
What actually happened: He might be with an 13-9 record with a 3.09 ERA. He pitched 201 innings and walked 62 batters and struck out 164.
Tampa Bay Rays: What I said: They wouldn't win 70 games this season.
What actually happened: Wrong, they actually won 80 games and made improvements throughout the season. The Rays will be a team to keep an eye on in 2018.
AL Central: Cleveland Indians: What I said: Corey Kluber would have an ERA of under 2 this season.
What actually happened: Close, his ERA was 2.25 and will probably win the AL Cy Young this season.
Kansas City Royals: What I said: Jorge Soler would hit 30 homeruns this season.
What actually happened: Not even close, he only hit two homeruns.
Chicago White Sox: What I said: They would steal 30 bases as a team.
What actually happened: Way under predicted, they stole bases 71 times this season.
Minnesota Twins: What I said: Brian Dozier would hit 30 homeruns.
What actually happened: Basically bulls eye, he hit 34 homeruns.
Detroit Tigers: What I said: Michael Fulmer would strike out more batters than Justin Verlander.
What actually happened: Not even close, Fulmer only struck out 114 batters compared to Verlander's 219.
AL West: Houston Astros: What I said: Jose Altuve will win the triple-crown.
What actually happened: His .346 batting average led the AL, but he didn't come close to the homerun and RBI mark.
Seattle Mariners: What I said: They would win 90 games and make the postseason.
What actually happened: They only won 78 games and miss the postseason.
Texas Rangers: What I said: Joey Gallo would hit 85 RBI's.
What actually happened: Very close, he hit 80 RBI's.
Los Angeles Angels: What I said: They wouldn't be in playoff contention by July and they would trade either Albert Pujols or Mike Trout, not both.
What actually happened: They were decent in July and they didn't trade either of them.
Oakland Athletics: What I said: They would have the worst record in the MLB.
What actually happened: They actually won 75 games and the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants both had the worst MLB record at 64-98.
