Facts, not fiction
Baseball is pretending there were two leagues this year, even though we all know there were three
The weirdest of all regular seasons has come to a close, and the records are safely in the books.
Not only have all 16 playoff teams been determined — 16! — but so have the individual leaders in dozens and dozens of statistical categories.
Like the Nationals’ Juan Soto as 2020’s batting champion for the National League (.351). Or the Braves’ Marcell Ozuna as the NL’s home run king (18). And on and on.
Yet, to be honest, there is a problem with this year’s records. We didn’t really have two leagues in 2020.
Each team was scheduled to play 40 games against the remaining four clubs in its own division, plus 20 games versus the five teams in the corresponding division of the opposite league.
That means each team played a larger number of opponents from the league other than its own. Soto’s Nationals, for example, squared off against five American League East clubs, but only four from the entire National League.
So it’s silly to say that Soto won the NL’s batting crown, despite his glittering average. He never faced a single pitcher from 10 of his league’s clubs.
What we really had this year were three leagues — Eastern, Central, and Western — each with American and National Divisions. And what Soto really did this year was finish second to the Yankees’ D.J. LeMahieu in the Eastern League’s batting race. (Ozuna was a runner-up, too, behind the Yanks’ Luke Voit in the Eastern League’s home run derby.)
The majors stubbornly plan to stick with their alternate two-league universe when they declare statistical leaders and announce award winners.
But we know better, don’t we?
Below is what really happened in 2020. You’ll see the divisional winners in each of the three leagues, the top pair of wild cards, the champions in seven statistical categories, and the frontrunners for the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards.
Eastern League
Division winners: Tampa Bay Rays (40-20) in the American Division; Atlanta Braves (35-25) in the National Division
Top wild cards: New York Yankees (33-27) and Toronto Blue Jays (32-28), both of the American Division
Batting average: D.J. LeMahieu, Yankees, .364
Home runs: Luke Voit, Yankees, 22
Runs batted in: Marcell Ozuna, Braves, 56
Earned run average: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets, 2.38
Wins: Gerrit Cole, Yankees, and Max Fried, Braves, 7
Strikeouts: deGrom, 104
Saves: Brandon Kintzler, Miami Marlins, 12
Most Valuable Player frontrunners: Freddie Freeman led the majors in runs scored (51) and doubles (23), while batting a strong .341 for the Braves. LeMahieu’s torrid bat kept the Yankees on track during an injury-ravaged season. Ozuna’s punishing RBI stroke teamed with Freeman to give the Braves an unmatched 1-2 punch.
Cy Young Award frontrunners: The Mets’ DeGrom won the Cy in the National League the past two years, and he is a solid contender this year at 4-2, 2.38, as well as the Eastern League’s strikeout lead. But don’t forget Fried, a perfect 7-0, 2.25, for the Braves, or Hyun Jin Ryu’s 5-2, 2.69, for the Blue Jays.
Central League
Division winners: Minnesota Twins (36-24) in the American Division; Chicago Cubs (34-26) in the National Division
Top wild cards: Chicago White Sox (35-25) and Cleveland Indians (35-25), both of the American Division
Batting average: Tim Anderson, White Sox, .322
Home runs: Jose Abreu, White Sox, 19
Runs batted in: Abreu, 60
Earned run average: Shane Bieber, Indians, 1.63
Wins: Bieber and Yu Darvish, Cubs, 8
Strikeouts: Bieber, 122
Saves: Brad Hand, Indians, 16
Most Valuable Player frontrunners: Abreu was outstanding for the White Sox, supplementing his Central League-leading totals of homers and RBIs with a .317 average. But a solid case could be made for the Indians’ Bieber as the rare pitcher who deserves to win an MVP.
Cy Young Award frontrunners: Bieber won the pitching version of the Triple Crown (ERA, W, SO) in the Central League, making him the obvious choice. The runners-up are Darvish, who went 8-3, 2.01, for the Cubs, and Trevor Bauer, who posted a 1.73 ERA in 11 starts for the Cincinnati Reds.
Western League
Division winners: Oakland Athletics (36-24) in the American Division; Los Angeles Dodgers (43-17) in the National Division
Top wild cards: San Diego Padres (37-23) and San Francisco Giants (29-31) of the National Division, and Houston Astros (29-31) of the American Division
Batting average: Donovan Solano, Giants, .326
Home runs: Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres, and Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels, 17
Runs batted in: Manny Machado, Padres, 47
Earned run average: Dinelson Lamet, Padres, 2.09
Wins: Zach Davies, Padres, and Marco Gonzales, Seattle Mariners, 7
Strikeouts: Lamet, 93
Saves: Liam Hendriks, Athletics, 14
Most Valuable Player frontrunners: Mookie Betts gave the Dodgers a strong initial return on the team’s longterm investment, blasting 16 homers, batting .292, and playing solid defense. Machado (16 HR, .304) helped drive the Padres to a rare playoff spot, and teammate Tatis was a revelation with his power and speed (11 steals).
Cy Young Award frontrunners: Lamet was dazzling in his third year with the Padres, leading the Western League in strikeouts and ERA. Other contenders include Lance Lynn, a solid 6-3 with a league-leading total of 84 innings for the Texas Rangers, and Zac Gallen (2.75 ERA, 82 SO) for the Arizona Diamondbacks.