Imagine this scenario: With two games left in the season, the Los Angeles Angels lead the AL West by a half-game, needing just one victory over second-place Texas to clinch a remarkable worst-to-first division title and their first postseason berth since 2014.
If baseball's season were as short as football's, that's pretty much where things would stand.
This question — what would the dominant baseball narratives be if this season were 17 games long? — is a worthwhile thought experiment, given how much discussion there's been lately about parity. There's a conventional wisdom that the NFL is a more competitive league, with so many teams staying alive in the playoff race down to the last couple weeks — and teams making dramatic rises and falls in the standings from one season to the next.
But how much of that is simply a result of how short the football season is? Right now, all but one of baseball's 30 teams have played between 15 and 17 games. And right now, the baseball standings mirror the type of anything-can-happen drama the NFL provides.
The Angels are in first place after entering the season as complete afterthoughts. The Atlanta Braves are in last. Toronto leads the AL East after finishing last in 2024. At this moment, 23 of the 30 teams are within two games of a playoff spot.
Shorter seasons lead to quirkier results and more compressed standings. That's worth remembering the next time the competitive balance in baseball and football are compared.
The Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles have spent the past few seasons swapping roles in the AL East. Toronto averaged 90.7 wins from 2021-23, with an exciting young core that included Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. But the Orioles surged to the top of the division in 2023, and suddenly their collection of up-and-coming talent was the talk of the sport — and when the Blue Jays stumbled to 74 wins last year, it was fair to wonder if their window was closing and it was time to deal Guerrero.
Well, a few weeks into this season, Toronto leads the division, and Guerrero just signed a $500 million, 14-year contract. Meanwhile, Baltimore's future looks less certain than it did a couple years ago. The Orioles were an average team down the stretch last season and are 6-9 so far in 2025, and they haven't extended any of their young stars.
Toronto and Baltimore split a two-game series at Camden Yards over the weekend, with each team blowing a three-run lead.
Who was the last major league team to go from worst to first in its division?
Michael King struck out eight in a two-hit shutout Sunday as San Diego beat Colorado 6-0. The Padres shut out the Rockies three straight times and improved to 10-0 at home on the season.
Arizona trailed by four runs with one out in the bottom of the ninth before storming back for a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night.
After a walk, a triple and another walk, Corbin Carroll doubled home two runs, putting the tying run on second. Geraldo Perdomo drew another walk, then Jake McCarthy singled to tie the game.
Following an intentional walk, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to end the game. The Diamondbacks had a 0.6% chance of winning earlier in the inning, according to Baseball Savant.
Boston finished last in AL East in 2015 at 78-84, then won the division the following year at 93-69.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker (43) pulls starting pitcher Chris Sale from the game during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Los Angeles Angels' Nolan Schanuel runs the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)
