MLB 2022 season preview Baseball
Atlanta Braves win first World Series title since 1995
The Atlanta Braves captured their first championship since 1995 after a 7-0 win over the Astros in Game 6 of the World Series. Max Fried had a historic effort on the mound and the trio of World Series MVP Jorge Soler, Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson each homered as the Braves completed their improbable postseason run and secured their second title in franchise history since relocating to Atlanta in 1966.
Winners of just 88 games in the regular season and stuck below .500 in August, the Braves overcame numerous hurdles en route to a World Series crown that included series wins over the Milwaukee Brewers and defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves' win total was the lowest for a World Series champion since the St. Louis Cardinals' 83 victories in 2006.
| MLB 2021 Playoffs | |
|---|---|
| World Series | |
| Houston Astros - Atlanta Braves | 2 : 4 |
| League Series | |
| Atlanta Braves - LA Dodgers | 4 : 2 |
| Houston Astros - Boston Red Sox | 4 : 2 |
| Division Series | |
| Milwaukee Brewers - Atlanta Braves | 1 : 3 |
| San Francisco Giants - LA Dodgers | 2 : 3 |
| Tampa Bay Rays - Boston Red Sox | 1 : 3 |
| Houston Astros - Chicago White Sox | 3 : 1 |
MLB 2022 key dates
- April 7 - Opening day
- July 19 - All-Star Game, Los Angeles
- October 5 - Regular season ends
New playoff format
Twelve teams will qualify for the postseason, with the division winners seeded 1 through 3, and three wild cards seeded 4 through 6 in their respective leagues. The top two seeds in each league will receive a bye into the Division Series. The other four teams in each league will play best-of-three series, with the higher seed hosting all three games.
There will be no re-seeding for Division Series. The No. 1 seed plays the winner of the 4-5 series, and the No. 2 seed plays the winner of 3-6. There will no longer be play-in games to decide playoff spots. All playoff spots will be determined through tiebreaker formulas.
Odds by bookmakers
These are odds to win 2022 MLB World Series Championship published by online bookmakers before the start of the season:
| Team | Odds | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA Dodgers | 6 | Philadelphia Phillies | 31 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 10 | Detroit Tigers | 35 |
| Houston Astros | 11 | Minnesota Twins | 50 |
| New York Mets | 11 | Miami Marlins | 67 |
| Chicago White Sox | 12 | Texas Rangers | 80 |
| New York Yankees | 12 | Chicago Cubs | 100 |
| Atlanta Braves | 13 | Cincinnati Reds | 100 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 15 | Cleveland Guardians | 100 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 17 | Kansas City Royals | 100 |
| San Diego Padres | 17 | Oakland Athletics | 100 |
| Boston Red Sox | 19 | Washington Nationals | 100 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 21 | Colorado Rockies | 200 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 26 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 250 |
| San Francisco Giants | 26 | Baltimore Orioles | 250 |
| Seattle Mariners | 26 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 250 |
The Los Angeles Dodgers are widely considered a favorite to win the World Series after falling short of their goal last season. The addition of Max Scherzer to the already star-studded rotation made the Dodgers the clear World Series favorite by the second half of the season, but a disappointing postseason ruined their chance at two titles in three years. The biggest question surrounding the Dodgers in 2022 is the status of Trevor Bauer. The last time the former Cy Young winner pitched was June 28, 2021, and he has not appeared in a game since due to an off-the-field incident.
The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a 91-win season but ended up missing the postseason by just one game. Led by MVP runner-up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. the Blue Jays' offense was one of baseball's best. They suffered a major loss this off-season, however, losing Marcus Semien. His departure left a giant hole in their lineup but the recent addition of Matt Chapman should help. The Blue Jays lost Robbie Ray, but they signed Kevin Gausman to take his place. They have found a solution to every weakness they had in 2021 and might have one of the strongest teams Toronto has ever assembled.
Read more about offseason moves on MLB 2022 transfers. Visit main MLB 2022 page for latest news, scores and stats.
With three World Series appearances in five seasons, the Houston Astros are once again the team to beat in the AL West. They lost Carlos Correa in free agency but return most of their other key players from a team that won 95 games before losing the World Series to the Braves in six games. Houston's rotation should get a big boost from Justin Verlander's return. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has pitched just one game in the last two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Second-year owner Steve Cohen committed nearly $260 million to five free agents during a winter spending spree that positioned the New York Mets to have baseball's second-largest payroll. While Jacob deGrom will likely be out for multiple months with a shoulder injury, the additions of Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt make losing deGrom sting far less than it did last year.
MLB 2021 regular-season standings
| Team | % | W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL East | |||
| 1 | Tampa | 61.7 | 100-62 |
| 2 | Boston | 56.8 | 92-70 |
| 3 | NY Yank. | 56.8 | 92-70 |
| 4 | Toronto | 56.2 | 91-71 |
| 5 | Baltimore | 32.1 | 52-110 |
| AL Central | |||
| 1 | Ch. Sox | 57.4 | 93-69 |
| 2 | Cleveland | 49.4 | 80-82 |
| 3 | Detroit | 47.5 | 77-85 |
| 4 | Kansas | 45.7 | 74-88 |
| 5 | Minnes. | 45.1 | 73-89 |
| AL West | |||
| 1 | Houston | 58.6 | 95-67 |
| 2 | Seattle | 55.6 | 90-72 |
| 3 | Oakland | 53.1 | 86-76 |
| 4 | LA Angels | 47.5 | 77-85 |
| 5 | Texas | 37.0 | 60-102 |
| NL East | |||
| 1 | Atlanta | 54.7 | 88-73 |
| 2 | Philadel. | 50.6 | 82-80 |
| 3 | NY Mets | 47.5 | 77-85 |
| 4 | Miami | 41.4 | 67-95 |
| 5 | Washing. | 40.1 | 65-97 |
| NL Central | |||
| 1 | Milwaukee | 58.6 | 95-67 |
| 2 | St Louis | 55.6 | 90-72 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 51.2 | 83-79 |
| 4 | Ch. Cubs | 43.8 | 71-91 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 37.7 | 61-101 |
| NL West | |||
| 1 | San Fran. | 66.0 | 107-55 |
| 2 | LA Dodg. | 65.4 | 106-56 |
| 3 | San Diego | 48.8 | 79-83 |
| 4 | Colorado | 46.0 | 74-87 |
| 5 | Arizona | 32.1 | 52-110 |
World Series in last five seasons
| 2021 | Houston - Atlanta | 2 : 4 |
| 2020 | LA Dodg. - Tampa | 4 : 2 |
| 2019 | Houston - Washing. | 3 : 4 |
| 2018 | Boston - LA Dodg. | 4 : 1 |
| 2017 | Houston - LA Dodg. | 4 : 3 |
| Team | Titles | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY Yankees | 27 | 1/2 | 1/4 | 1/2 | 1/4 | - |
| St. Louis | 11 | - | - | 1/2 | - | - |
| Oakland | 9 | - | - | - | 1/4 | - |
| Boston | 9 | 1/4 | title | - | - | 1/2 |
| San Fran. | 8 | - | - | - | - | 1/4 |
| LA Dodgers | 7 | finals | finals | 1/4 | title | 1/2 |
| Pittsburgh | 5 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cincinnati | 5 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Atlanta | 4 | - | 1/4 | 1/4 | 1/2 | title |
| Detroit | 4 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ch. Cubs | 3 | 1/2 | - | - | - | - |
| Baltimore | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ch. Sox | 3 | - | - | - | - | 1/4 |
| Minnesota | 3 | - | - | 1/4 | - | - |
| Philadelphia | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cleveland | 2 | 1/4 | 1/4 | - | - | - |
| Miami | 2 | - | - | - | 1/4 | - |
| NY Mets | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Toronto | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kansas City | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Washington | 1 | 1/4 | - | title | - | - |
| Houston | 1 | title | 1/2 | finals | 1/2 | finals |
| Arizona | 1 | 1/4 | - | - | - | - |
| LA Angels | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Tampa | - | - | - | 1/4 | finals | 1/4 |
| San Diego | - | - | - | - | 1/4 | - |
| Milwaukee | - | - | 1/2 | - | - | 1/4 |
| Colorado | - | - | 1/4 | - | - | - |
| Texas | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Seattle | - | - | - | - | - | - |
The table shows the overall number of World Series titles and team success in the last five seasons. (title, finals - World Series, 1/2 - League championship series, 1/4 - Playoffs)