With the World Series now over and the Royals the kings of the baseball world, I thought I’d reflect on my biggest takeaways from the MLB Postseason.
MLB Postseason Takeaways
Jake Arrieta is just an above average pitcher
Arrieta caught fire at the onset of the second half and finished the regular season with a 22-6 record with a 1.77 ERA. Unfortunately, once the postseason rolled around, Arrieta’s ERA more than doubled and his velocity dipped about four MPH from 96-97 to 93. Fatigue was definitely a factor with Arrieta starting a grueling thirty-three games during the regular season. His previous high in games started was twenty-five in 2014. Arrieta also logged a ton of innings with nearly 230, seventy-three more innings pitched than he logged in any other season. Even factoring in fatigue, and with a Cy Young caliber season under his belt, Arrieta’s career ERA is a respectable-but-not-amazing 3.70. Arrieta is a solid number two starter, but his relative struggles in the postseason, his age (twenty-nine), and his career numbers are enough evidence that he is no ace, despite his unconscious second half.
The Mets are here to stay
Some teams catch fire and go on magical runs to make it to, or even win, a World Series, but the New York Mets, who beat the highly touted Washington Nationals to win the NL East, are a World Series contender for years to come. With a pitching staff featuring Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz, the Mets have the best rotation in all of baseball. Their pitching is scary good even without Zack Wheeler, who might have the best stuff of any pitcher on the staff. Not only are these pitchers talented, they are young (all under twenty-seven) and can improve. The Mets could still add a bat or two to their lineup, but with a pitching staff as good as they have, all you need is a player or two to get hot to make a World Series run (hello Daniel Murphy). Hitting helps, but pitching is what wins games and the Mets have pitching in spades.
Jose Bautista is the most polarizing player in baseball
This takeaway has little to do with the bat flip, though the now infamous flip does personify who Jose Bautista is in a nutshell, loud and proud. Bautista, originally a marginal third baseman, turned himself into a power-hitting machine when he moved to the Blue Jays and to the outfield, and added a leg kick to his swing. Perhaps being an average-to-below-average player for so many years added a chip to his shoulder; Bautista is as brash as he is good. Bautista will hit a home run out of the Rogers Center and watch it all the way as it rockets through the air, throw out a runner headed to second and chirp him back to the dugout, and even respond directly to talking heads that criticize him or his teammates. Bautista is one of the best players in baseball and he isn’t afraid to let anyone know, even if it rubs some people the wrong way.
Daniel Murphy comes up small when it matters most
Following his record setting NLCS that lead to utter domination of the Cubs and a trip to the World Series, Daniel Murphy fell flat on his face in the World Series. At the dish, Murphy went 3-20 with no extra base hits and seven strikeouts. This came right after netting seven extra base hits against the Cubs. His struggles at the plate, however, took a back seat to his struggles in the field when two late inning errors on routine balls to second aided two Mets collapses and a Royals World Series title. The Mets will have to pay a significant amount of money to bring Murphy back for the 2016 season and, with his collapse in the Series, I’m not sure the Mets will even consider bringing Murphy back now.
The Royals won in a different way
Teams that have recently won the World Series are either full of power hitting juggernauts or have dominant starting pitcher. The Royals had neither. Excluding game one, the Royals didn’t hit a single home run in the World Series. The Royals lineup is built of aggressive hitters that put the ball in play and run the bases with extreme aggression, and their pitching staff is made up of average starters after Johnny Cueto. The team’s strength is a dominant bullpen that slams the door when the team has a lead or stops the bleeding and gives the resilient lineup a chance to comeback. The Royals are no big spender with their payroll outside the top ten, so their model for building a World Series winner is something that can and should be replicated by other teams.
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