#mlb

#mlb

Mathematical probability, in a perfectly equitable distribution of championships, means each MLB team would win a World Series once every 30 years. That is not the world we live in, of course, so many franchises have experienced long title droughts that have stretched into multiple decades. There is even one that has never appeared in the Fall Classic.

NEW YORK -- The news spread like a flash of lightning on the night of Dec. 8. The New York Mets and free agent outfielder Juan Soto had reached an agreement on a jaw-dropping 15-year, $765 million contract that would be the largest in professional sports history once signed. That's larger than any deal global superstars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or LeBron James have ever inked with any of their teams.

And now we start watching the Astros. The Cleveland Guardians, remarkably, have overtaken the Tigers for the AL Central lead. The Tigers are clinging on to the third Wild Card, one game below the Sox. And the Astros got shut down by secret agent Jeffrey Springs out in NorCal last night, dropping them out of the race for now. With the Sox owning the tiebreaker against the Stros, a combination of three Red Sox wins or Astros losses clinches a spot in the postseason.

It's been long awaited. It's been tested in Minor League Baseball at the Triple-A level. It was even used during the 2026 MLB All-Star Game here in Atlanta. Now, it'll be arriving across Major League Baseball starting next season. MLB has officially announced that the "Challenge System" is going to be used from here on out. Whether it's a spring training game, a regular season game or a Postseason game,

Now we're talking about the the race to finish in one of three positions in the standings, none of which represent the top of any defined group of teams. I suppose the most accurate term is "Wild Card chase" but that term is (a) lame as hell, and (b) not even necesarily accurate vis a vis the Guardians and Tigers, who are still competing for the division. What the hell, man.

Wait ... what? That's right. The Astros, who have won seven consecutive full-season AL West division titles, are rightfully described as the underdog. How are they even in this position? They traded Kyle Tucker, lost Alex Bregman in free agency, have played most of the season without Yordan Alvarez, lost Jeremy Pena for over a month.

The 33-year old was taken No. 7 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2011 MLB Draft. Most scouts presumed Bradley to become an elite starting pitcher out of his native Oklahoma. Instead, Bradley morphed into a very credible reliever over the course of what was a nine-year career. He featured mostly for Arizona - though his time in the big leagues also included stops with the Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and the Miami Marlins.

MIAMI - Josh Bell homered for the fourth time in three games, Mitchell Parker threw 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 7-5 on Tuesday night. Rookie Daylen Lile also went deep while CJ Abrams and James Wood doubled and singled each for the Nationals. Parker (8-15) retired 14 straight after allowing Joey Wiemer's solo homer in the second. The left-hander allowed four hits, struck out two and walked two.

The marathon that is MLB's regular season is nearing its conclusion, with three weeks remaining before the real fun begins in October. For a dozen lucky teams, this month is merely an appetizer of what's to come in the postseason, but for the majority of squads, now's a reasonable time to take stock of the year that was. Our latest power rankings take a look at each team's most valuable player over the duration of the regular season.