With a week left in the 2024 MLB season, there is drama galore. Who will get into the playoffs? Who will just miss out? Award races, record chases and much more are topics of discussion. Here’s everything you need to know about the final stretch of the MLB season:
National League Wild Card
The story of the final week of the 2024 season will be who comes out on top of the National League (NL) Wild Card race. It’s a three-team race for two available slots. As it currently stands, the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets hold the final two wild card slots, while the Atlanta Braves are on the outside looking in. However, the season for the Mets and the Braves will likely come down to the mid-week three-game set between them. At this moment of writing, the Mets are up a game and a half on the Braves, but allowing a sweep or even a 2–1 series loss would make for a tight finish. The San Diego Padres hold a sizable lead in the Wild Card race, but if they were to get swept by the Diamondbacks in their upcoming series, this could become a four-team race.
Storybook for Skenes?
Paul Skenes is baseball’s new superstar. He has been nothing but dominant, arriving mid-season and carving up opposing lineups to the tune of an 11–3 record with a 1.99 ERA. In any other season, he would be a shoo-in for Rookie of the Year (ROY), but this year the competition is stiff. The Padres’ outfielder Jackson Merrill has been a key piece to a playoff-bound Padres team. He has slugged 24 home runs while batting nearly 0.300 and has also played an extra third of the season when compared to Skenes. Skenes was called up after a few months in the minor leagues while Merrill has played 150 games at the major-league level for the Padres this season. Historically, voters have leaned towards giving hitters the ROY award, and that combined with an extra 40 games of contributions might be enough to spoil Skenes' quest for a perfect rookie campaign.
American League Wild Card
There is drama in both leagues with four teams on the American side vying for the last two wild card slots. The Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners have been jockeying for a position all year. Currently, a late surge by the Tigers and an abysmal seven-game skid by the Royals have left them tied for the final two playoff spots. The Twins find themselves half a game back, while the Mariners — despite a scorching start to the season — are two games out. None of these teams will play each other, but the Tigers are in the best position to clinch a spot, being gifted their final series of the year against a historically bad Chicago White Sox team. The Royals will need to stop the bleeding fast and take a couple of games from a scrappy Braves team in their final series if they are to hold on to the final playoff spot.
Sho-Time
Shohei Ohtani is having one of the best offensive seasons ever. He recently became the first player to ever hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. He accomplished the feat in perhaps the greatest single game ever, going 6/6 with three home runs, two stolen bases and 10 RBIs. He will assuredly win Most Valuable Player and now the only question left is: how far can he push the record? A 55/55 season seems possible and would be an incredible feat for baseball history. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has also hinted at a possible return to the mound for Ohtani during the playoffs — something to keep a close eye on during the final stretch of the 2024 season.
