The 2026 MLB Regular Season

Though the 2026 season was fairly unexciting, there was some drama on the last day as two playoff positions were still in doubt. In the end the Phillies won the last NL wild card slot from the D-Backs, and the Astros won the NL West over the Rangers. Also, the Tigers lost out to the Twins for third place in the AL Central, capping a most disappointing season.

The Tigers were not the only team to disappoint this year. Three other teams that were expected to compete for division titles disappointed. The Blue Jays finished last in the AL East, the Mariners finished third in the AL West, and the Mets finished last in the NL East. On the brihht side, two of my favorite teams, the Padres and the Brewers, had good seasons and are in the playoffs. The Brewers won 103 games, the best in baseball, and with their low payroll they are the most impressive team, along with the 98-win Rays.

Two other teams started out to be huge disappintments, but turned their seasons around after managerial changes. The Red Sox were 14 games under.500 in mid-July, and the Phillies were 10 games under .500 in late April. But after Chad Trady took over for the Red Sox, and Don Mattingly for the Phillies, both teams rebounded to make the playoffs.

The most striking thing about this season was the dominance of the NL over the AL. In head-to-head games, the NL won 52 more games than the AL. The result is a most bizarre situation where the weakest NL playoff team, the Phillies with 88 wins, had more wins than four(!) of the AL playoff teams: the Astros (81), the White Sox (84), the Guardians (85), and the Red Sox (87).

The season ended with two feel-good stories on the last two days. Justin Verlander made his last career start, and Max Scherzer made what might be his last career start. In each of these games the pitcher's wife and kids came out onto the field for emotional moments.