Look no further than the struggles of the Red Sox, Phillies and Mets to understand that preseason projections are only as good as the paper upon which they are printed. Baseball is a funny game and the marathon nature of a 162-game season guarantees some twists and turns with surprising stretches along the way. The American League East, which many thought would be the most difficult division in baseball, sees Boston and Toronto, the defending pennant winner, floundering at the bottom, struggling to pick up victories. The National League East is upside-down as Philadelphia and New York are a combined 15-29. Meanwhile there's another division that has shocked everyone by continuing to rack up wins across the board.
Despite a solid 12-9 start the Brewers find themselves in the cellar of a division with five teams over .500. They are looking up at the 15-8 Reds, and a trio of teams (Pirates, Cubs and Cardinals) locked together at 13-9. We're only somewhere between 14-15% of the way through the year but the heartland looks as though it's going to be intensely competitive.
Since Major League Baseball went to a divisional format in 1969, there has never been an instance in which all teams in a division finished with a winning record. There have been two instances of all the teams finishing with a .500 record or better—the 2005 NL East and 1991 AL West.
MLB divisions with every team finishing .500 or better
1991 American League West standings
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Twins | 95-67 | -- |
| White Sox | 87-75 | 8.0 |
| Rangers | 85-77 | 10.0 |
| Athletics | 84-78 | 11.0 |
| Mariners | 83-79 | 12.0 |
| Royals | 82-80 | 13.0 |
| Angels | 81-81 | 14.0 |
2005 National League East standings
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Braves | 90-72 | -- |
| Phillies | 88-74 | 2.0 |
| Marlins | 83-79 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 83-79 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 81-81 | 9.0 |
The bad news for teams in the NL Central this year is that it might be difficult to separate themselves from the pack. The good news is that playoff expansion has made it much easier to be rewarded for having an excellent year even if a division crown is not realized. Back 1991 only the Twins made the postseason from the stacked West, going on to win the World Series in an epic seven-game showcase with the Braves. In 2005 the Braves were the NL East's sole playoff representative and were quickly bounced by the Astros.
If the season ended today there would be a lot of unhappy people but the Reds, Cubs and Pirates would all be in the playoffs. The Cardinals, by virtue of a very premature tiebreaker, would be left out as well as the Brewers just a half-game behind their divisional rivals.
Yesterday's MLB scores
Red Sox 8, Tigers 6
Astros 9, Guardians 2
Reds 6, Rays 1
Marlins 5, Cardinals 3
Braves 9, Nationals 4
Orioles 7, Royals 5
Cubs 5, Phillies 1
Dodgers 12, Rockies 3
Blue Jays 5, Angels 2
Athletics 6, Mariners 4
MLB standings today
American League East
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Yankees | 13-9 | -- |
| Rays | 12-10 | 1.0 |
| Orioles | 11-12 | 2.5 |
| Blue Jays | 9-13 | 4.0 |
| Red Sox | 9-13 | 4.0 |
American League Central
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Guardians | 13-11 | -- |
| Tigers | 12-11 | 0.5 |
| Twins | 11-11 | 1.0 |
| White Sox | 8-14 | 4.0 |
| Royals | 7-16 | 5.5 |
American League West
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 12-11 | -- |
| Rangers | 11-11 | 0.5 |
| Angels | 11-13 | 1.5 |
| Mariners | 10-14 | 2.5 |
| Astros | 9-15 | 3.5 |
National League East
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Braves | 16-7 | -- |
| Marlins | 11-12 | 5.0 |
| Nationals | 10-13 | 6.0 |
| Phillies | 8-14 | 7.5 |
| Mets | 7-15 | 8.5 |
National League Central
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Reds | 15-8 | -- |
| Pirates | 13-9 | 1.5 |
| Cubs | 13-9 | 1.5 |
| Cardinals | 13-9 | 1.5 |
| Brewers | 12-9 | 2,0 |
National League West
| Team | Record | Games Behind |
|---|---|---|
| Dodgers | 16-6 | -- |
| Padres | 15-7 | 1.0 |
| Diamondbacks | 13-9 | 3.0 |
| Giants | 9-13 | 7.0 |
| Rockies | 9-14 | 7.5 |
Today's MLB schedule
All times ET:
Astros vs. Guardians, 6:10 p.m.
Reds vs. Rays, 6:40 p.m.
Cardinals vs. Marlins, 6:40 p.m.
Brewers vs. Tigers, 6:40 p.m.
Braves vs. Nationals, 6:45 p.m.
Yankees vs. Red Sox, 6:45 p.m.
Twins vs. Mets, 7:10 p.m.
Orioles vs. Royals, 7:40 p.m.
Phillies vs. Cubs, 7:40 p.m.
Pirates vs. Rangers, 8:05 p.m.
Padres vs. Rockies, 8:40 p.m.
Blue Jays vs. Angels, 9:38 p.m.
Athletics vs. Mariners, 9:40 p.m.
White Sox vs. Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m.
Dodgers vs. Giants, 9:45 p.m.
More MLB from Sports Illustrated
- Here’s How You Can Score Twice in One MLB Game Without Facing a Single Pitch
- Five Things That Have Gone Wrong for Phillies During Awful Start
- What the Padres Sale Says About Other Small-Market Teams
- How Dodgers Could Handle Closer Role After Edwin Díaz's Elbow Injury
This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLB Standings Suggest Surprising Division Could Be in for Historic Year.
