Baseball Is Proving Why Sports Are The Greatest Reality Show

As the NL wild card race stands, the St. Louis Cardinals own the top spot. Followed by the Philadelphia Phillies and then the San Diego Padres.

Now, of those three, not a single soul would have thought that in June, St. Louis would be in a top three spot, let alone leading the wild card standings.

But there is more.

Take a look at the teams just outside looking in. In order, they rank as such: Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Pirates and Nationals?

Well, Pittsburgh was a bit of a trendy pick during Spring Training. However, Washington most certainly was not.

Has outfielder Jordan Walker's newfound confidence led to his improved overall performance, or has his improved overall performance given him the confidence to work through slumps?

Moving beyond the NL wild card, it wasn’t a given that the Atlanta Braves would be in first place, cruising with an eight-game lead over the second-place team, be it the Phillies or New York Mets.

The Mets, of course, are proving there is a reason games are played, but not in the happy sense that Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Washington are.  

The Mets' equivalent in the American League is the Detroit Tigers. Sure, they lost one of the best pitchers in the world in Tarik Skubal, but that is just the headline news.

They are middle of the pack in team era at number seven (3.97) which is near identical to last season when they ranked eighth within the AL’s 15 teams with a 3.95.

It is the offense that has come down for Detroit: 12th in batting average in the AL (.236) and 11th

in OPS+ compared to last season, when they finished fifth in team OPS+ and sixth in batting average.

Then of course there is the Tampa Bay Rays. Florida’s west coast team is in a virtual tie with the New York Yankees. Eking out the Bronx Bombers for the top spot with a winning percentage that is .003% better, while playing two games less than New York.

The Rays are doing Rays type things. Fielding a competitive team in the AL East, where they are outspent but not outclassed.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Chicago White Sox. They are performing the worst-to-first trick. Last season, Chicago was last in the AL Central Division at 60-102. This season, they are in first at 36-31. Their .537 winning percentage equates to 87 wins over 162.

The CHISOX have bounced back due to an increase in offensive production and top fielding. How goes their pitching? No different than last season. This year, they have a 4.28 team ERA, good for ninth best in the AL. Last season, they were 11th best in teh AL with a 4.26 ERA.

The White Sox join Arizona, Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis and Tampa Bay as teams with expected won-loss records worse than their current performance. Will these teams regress? Sorry kids, I’m not in the prediction-making business. Buckle up and enjoy the summer ride, lets find out together.

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read. 

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Photo Credit: Fanatics, LLC, Sports Illustrated

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