By: Abby Altman

In 2021, the Minnesota Twins defined “disappointing”. They went from being back to back division champs, the league leader in home runs, and one of the best teams in baseball, to taking last place in the AL Central in 2021. The 2021 Twins were plagued with injuries, pitching problems, and an offense that seemed to have lost its power. 

In preseason power rankings for 2022, the Twins were consistently found in the lower 20’s. That has quickly changed.

Just 1 month since the lockout ended, and the season began, the Twins now find themselves at #10 in the MLB Power Rankings. 

The Twins started off the first few games in rough shape, but quickly turned it around. 

Beginning the season in a 4 game series against the Mariners, the Twins started 0-2, but came back to split the series 2-2. The 2 game series against the Dodgers was a well expected sweep by the Dodgers, potentially the best team in baseball. 

There were 2 more series before the Twins took their first series win. Minnesota split the series with the Red Sox, and then lost the 3 game series to the Royals 1-2. 

It was the mid April homestand when the Twins got hot. The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers traveled to Minnesota, where the Twins won 6 games in a row, sweeping 2 division rivals back to back. 

The Twins then traveled to Tampa Bay, where they won the series 2-1 against the Rays, landing a 7 game winning streak. 

In the most recent games, the Twins split a 4 game series with the Orioles and swept the Athletics. The Houston Astros swept the Twins in a 3 game series in Minnesota last week. The Guardians came to Minnesota to end the Twins longest home stand of the year, and the Twins took a 2-1 series victory. 

The Twins are now traveling to Oakland to take on the Athletics for the 2nd time this season. In game 1, the Twins took a 3-1 victory with Chris Archer pitching 4 innings, allowing only 1 run, and the bullpen shutting the A’s down the remainder of the game. 

The Twins .583 record has not come without any injuries or difficulties. Many Twins players have found themselves benched due to injury or COVID, or placed on the IL. 

Players like Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sanó, Luis Arraez, and many others have missed significant amounts of time due to injury and illness. Because of this, the Twins lineup is often full of young players. 

MLB veterans like Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Gio Urshela, and Gary Sanchez are essential parts of the Twins nearly every game, with the amount of young players in the lineup.

Alex Kirriloff, Royce Lewis, Gilberto Celestino, and Jose Miranda are just a few names who are found in the starting lineup more often than you would expect. 

Alex Kirrilof played in 59 games last season, before undergoing a season ending wrist surgery. Before the surgery, Kirilloff was batting .251 with 8 home runs. This season, he is batting just .172 in only 10 games. 

Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda are 2 players the Twins recently called up from AAA. Both infielders, Lewis has been playing shortstop while Correa heals his hand on the 10-day IL. Miranda has been making appearances at 1st base and 3rd base, with Miguel Sano on the IL as well. 

The Twins bats have been slower this year than in previous years, so a large part of the Twins success is provided by the pitching. The Twins have the 5th lowest overall ERA in the MLB, 10th in starting pitchers, and 6th in relief pitchers. 

The Twins have a fairly new pitching staff, acquiring Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Chris Archer, Chris Paddack, and Dylan Bundy, all just before the 2022 season. For the majority of the time, these pitchers make up the Twins starting rotation, who have held opponents to 4 or less runs in 70% of this season’s games. 

The AL Central is perhaps one of the worst divisions in the MLB. Because of this, the Twins find themselves in 1st place in the division, 3 games ahead of the White Sox. The Twins have the 5th best record in the AL, and the 9th best record in the MLB. 

By: Abby Altman

In recent history, very few teams have struggled with pitching as much as the Minnesota Twins. In 2021, the Twins were 26th in combined ERA, and 25th for starting pitchers. But nearly 1 month into the 2022 season, as of April 28th, the Twins are 9th in ERA, with a 3.21 average, and their starting pitchers rank 2nd in ERA with a 2.36 average, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

This new pitching success is propelled by rookie Joe Ryan. The Twins acquired Ryan from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, in a trade for Nelson Cruz. 

Joe Ryan was the starting pitcher in game 1 for team USA in the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021). Ryan pitched 10 innings in the Olympics, allowing 9 hits and just 2 runs, accompanied by 8 strikeouts. He finished his time in Tokyo with a 1.74 ERA. 

Ryan’s Olympic success is just one reason that the Twins announced Joe Ryan as the 2022 opening day starter, a week before game 1 against the Mariners. 

Ryan had just 5 career major league starts before this season, where his pitching was nearly untouchable. 

“I think the big leagues is a little bit different than other levels, so there’s probably going to be more pressure in certain situations,” Ryan said. “But at the end of the day, I think last year I just learned it’s still the same game. There’s great hitters up there. Don’t make mistakes. Execute your pitches and it’s still baseball. I’m there for a reason, too.”

There certainly was a good reason that manager Rocco Baldelli chose Ryan to open the season, being the first rookie to do so for the Twins since 1969. 

Ryan held the Mariners to 2 runs, earned off of a 2 run home run in the 1st inning. The Twins offense was unable to provide run security, facing the reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, handing Joe Ryan his 1st loss, 2-1. 

Ryan and the Twins offense rebounded quickly. Ryan came back to pitch again against the Red Sox at Fenway Park a week later. Ryan pitched 6 innings, giving up 4 hits and only 1 run. Ryan also recorded 7 strikeouts in his first win. 

Starting last week for his 3rd game, Joe Ryan has only improved. Ryan was the starting pitcher in game 2 against the Tigers, where the Twins took a 5-0 victory, in Joe Ryan’s first shutout game. 

Backed by an excellent Twins defense, Ryan pitched 7 solid innings, allowing only 1 hit and 0 runs. Ryan recorded 9 strikeouts in his best game of the season. 

Ryan’s most recent appearance on the mound was in game 2 against the Orioles. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, and had 3 strikeouts. 

Joe Ryan currently has a 1.63 ERA, which is the 10th lowest for pitchers in the MLB this season. 

The “Joe Ryan Experience” as the Minnesota Twins call it, is exactly that. An experience. His pitches are located beautifully, his fastball ranges around 95 MPH, and he has his average exit velocity at just 68 MPH. 

Joe Ryan’s rookie season is off to an excellent start, and the Twins and Minnesota fans are all hoping to see how Ryan progresses in his career.

Ryan will pitch again on Tuesday against the Astros.  

By: Abby Altman

It has been 4 years since the Los Angeles Dodgers last won the World Series title, but their lineup has only gotten more and more impressive in that time. Recent additions to the Dodgers lineup include 1st baseman Freddie Freeman and shortstop Trea Turner.

In 2021, the Dodgers took 2nd in the NL West, just 1 game behind the San Francisco Giants, whom they beat in the wildcard round of the 2021 playoffs.

The Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves, who went on to win the World Series, in the NL championship series.

The Dodgers were considered one of the top teams in baseball last season, landing 2nd in the MLB’s end of season power rankings. To nobody’s surprise, the Dodgers are starting off 2022 hot. 

In the opening series against the Rockies, the Dodgers won game 1, but lost the series, starting the season 1-2. The Dodgers bats were hot, recording 25 hits in the first series, before getting even hotter in the next 2 series.

“We know we have, top to bottom, the best lineup in baseball,” said Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor Sunday afternoon after the conclusion of game 3. 

“We didn’t show that this weekend,” he said.

The 2022 Dodgers have high standards for themselves, and they met those against the Twins and the Reds this past week. The Dodgers came to Minnesota for a 2 game series against the Twins, and came out on top winning 7-2 and 7-0 for the sweep.

After the 2 series road trip, the Dodgers went home to Los Angeles and faced the Cincinnati Reds, winning 9-3, 3-1, 5-2, and 9-1, for a 4 game sweep. 

After a not perfect, but still hot start, the Dodgers have only improved, and are currently sitting at an 8-3 record, just 2+ weeks into the start of the season. While it is in no way an accurate portrayal of what the rest of the season will look like, only 1 other team in the MLB has had as good of a start to their season, and that is the 2021 NL West champions, the San Francisco Giants. 

The Dodgers, at the time of this writing, as a team are 2nd in the league in runs scored and 4th in the league in batting average. Home runs are not the powerpoint of the Dodgers lineup, hitting only 7 as a team, which is tied for 21st in the league. Regardless, the Dodgers lineup is beyond impressive. 

1st baseman Freddie Freeman is a reigning World Series champion, 2021 Silver Slugger award winner and the 2020 NL MVP, among many other awards stretching all the way back to 2010. Freeman is also ranked 9th on the MLB’s list of the top 100 players in 2022.

Shortstop Trea Turner is ranked 13th on the MLB’s top 100 ranking. He led the league in hits and batting average in the 2021 season, and came in 5th in voting for the 2021 NL MVP. 

Right fielder Mookie Betts tops the Dodgers appearances in the MLB rankings at number 6. Betts is the 4th highest ranked outfielder in the MLB. 

The Dodgers also had 8 other players in the MLB’s top 100 players ranking, including Chris Taylor at 95, Justin Turner at 64, Will Smith at 53, and Max Muncy at 35. 3 Dodgers pitchers also made the list. 

As of right now, stats would not place the Dodgers as the best lineup in the MLB, but looking at how the players stack up, the 2022 Dodgers have potential to be the greatest of all time. 

If anyone is confident in this lineup, it’s their manager Dave Roberts. “We are winning the World Series in 2022. I know where you’re going with that,” Roberts said in an appearance on the ‘Dan Patrick Show’. “We will win the World Series this year, put it on record”. 

Depending on how the rest of the season plays out, the MLB may be witnessing the beginning of a baseball dynasty.

By: Abby Altman

Carlos Correa-Minnesota Twins

3 year/$3.5 mil

In a deal that nearly nobody was expecting, Carlos Correa signed with the Twins for 3 years, with an opt out option after each of the first 2 years. While this is a massive win for the Twins, most fans were expecting to see Correa with a larger contract, looking at up to 10 years. Correa chose the smaller of his options, however, and the Twins are looking to go for a title, rather than the rebuild many were predicting. 

Trevor Story-Boston Red Sox

6 years/$140 mil

The Red Sox were quiet for a lot of the offseason, waiting until just one top ranked SS was left in free agency to snag Trevor Story. Story had told the league he was only willing to play SS, and would not be moved to 2nd base if he was signed. The Red Sox appeared to have changed his mind, however, with Xander Bogaerts filling in the SS position, moving Story to 2nd. Bogaerts is a more dangerous hitter compared to Story, but Story’s defensive skills have been higher in the past. Overall, this is a complicated signing for the Red Sox, moving players all over the diamond to make room for Story. 

Freddie Freeman-Los Angeles Dodgers

6 years/ $162 mil

The defending World Series champ has been an Atlanta Brave for the last 12 seasons, and his off season was highly anticipated. The Dodgers lost Cory Seager to free agency earlier in the offseason, but made up for it nicely by landing the 2020 NL MVP, and defending WS champion for 6 years. Freeman batted .300 in 2021, and should help the already scary Dodgers attempt for another WS title this year. 

Kris Bryant-Colorado Rockies

7 years/ $182 mil

Although the team seemed interested, it never seemed likely that Colorado would land Bryant, especially not with a contract this monster in size. This signing is a good sign for Rockies fans, showing that they’re looking to add to what is already a decent rotation. Bryant will presumably play left field, alongside Charlie Blackmon. 

Nelson Cruz-Washington Nationals

1 year/ $15 mil

After being traded from Minnesota to the Tampa Bay Rays, it is likely that Cruz will keep signing small contracts for just 1 or 2 years at a time. Cruz is 41 years old, and doesn’t have the mobility he used to have to play outfield, keeping him solely at the DH position. Minnesota utilized the best of Cruz’s DH abilities, with him hitting 76 home runs in a Twins uniform in just 3 years. It is likely that we won’t see Cruz in the league for much longer, so any ability to sign him is a good signing. The Nationals, coming off a 65-97 season, are finding themselves in a difficult situation, so hopefully all goes to plan, with Cruz in the lineup. 

Jorge Soler-Miami Marlins

3 years/$36 mil

In 2021, the Marlins scored the 2nd fewest runs in the MLB, and Soler should quickly become the hottest bat in Miami. Even though Soler is a bit of a wildcard when he steps up to the plate, where you could see a towering home run, or yet another strikeout every other at bat. Regardless, the Marlins haven’t had the all star bat necessary to be contenders. Signing Soler should bring a big enough name to Miami to put them in the mix, but the Marlins still don’t have enough tools all around to make themselves contenders. With a few more big name signings, the Marlins could throw their name into the playoff ring, but for now Soler is just a small piece of the puzzle. 

Anthony Rizzo-New York Yankees

2 years/$32 mil

While it’s not the first base signing that many Yankees fans were hoping for, signing Rizzo is an okay addition for the Yankees lineup. Although he isn’t Freddie Freeman, Rizzo is a solid lefty batter and a good defensive first basemen, which is exactly what the Yankees need, especially after trading Luke Voit. In 2021, Rizzo batted .248, fitting in nicely with the Yankees combined .231 batting average. This isn’t the signing the Yankees needed to become runaway favorites for the AL East, but Rizzo is a big name and big names win games. 

By: Abby Altman

What is a lockout?

There are basically 2 kinds of labor stoppages. A lockout and a strike. A strike is a stoppage initiated by the Union side; in this case, the player’s union. A strike would revolve around the player’s union refusing to work.

A lockout is when the stoppage is initiated by the management; in this case, the team owners. Basically, the MLB owners were refusing to allow work to be done, or games to be played. 

In a baseball sense, a lockout means that games and practices can’t be held, trades can’t be made, and free agency is put on hold. 

The lockout already put a halt to spring training, and regular season games have been canceled through April 7th by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. This is the first time the league has lost games due to a work stoppage since the 1994-95 players’ strike.

The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) had its main focus set on getting more money for younger players. They were asking to increase the minimum wage pool, and install a pre-arbitration bonus pool. They were also attempting to curb anti-competitive strategies. 

On the other side of the lockout, the league and team owners were looking to expand the postseason, to either 12 or 14 teams. The 2 sides remained in disagreement over tax balance thresholds, the increase in minimum salary, and the size of the pre-arbitration bonus pool. 

Early in negotiations, 3 major changes were made to the league. 

The first change, and perhaps the smallest of the 3, is an increase in base size. The league has agreed to change the base sizes from 15 square inches to 18 square inches. The increase in size will likely reduce injuries, as the larger the base is, the more room runners have to slide around the fielder, avoiding more collisions. The MLB is also hoping this will lead to an increase in stolen bases. 

The 2nd confirmed change is the installation of a pitch clock. One thing fans and non fans can agree on is that baseball is not a quick moving game. The addition of a pitch clock is an attempt to speed up the game, estimating it can bring the game from an average of 3 hours, all the way down to 2:40. MLB’s plan includes a 14 second timer between pitches with empty bases, and a 19 second timer with runners on. 

By far the most significant and most protested change is the banning of shifts. The MLBPA and the MLB have agreed to ban defensive shifts. Shifts are one of the most analytical parts of the game, making it possible for a hard hit ball between first and second base to result in a routine ground out. 

Left handed batters are by far the most shifted on batters, with big names such as José Ramírez, Joey Gallo, and Max Kepler facing the shift over 90% of their at bats. While banning the shift will allow for more hits on offense, it is a large part of the defensive game, and will change the way defense is played for many. 

Edit** following the writing of this article, the 2 sides reached an agreement, and baseball is scheduled to resume on April 7th. 

The MLBPA and the MLB have agreed on several more changes to the game of baseball. This includes a 12 team expanded postseason and a universal designated hitter. This means that pitchers will no longer bat in the National League, and all 30 teams will hold a designated hitter position in their lineup.

By: Abby Altman

Back in July at the trade deadline, the Atlanta Braves had an estimated 3% chance to represent the National League in the World Series. Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL in July and would miss the remainder of the season, which put a huge damper on the Braves season and playoff hopes. 

On the other side of the league, the Houston Astros were winning the AL West with the best record in the MLB and a massive 10 game lead. The Astros making the World Series was not only possible, but probable. 

The Braves front office was busy this season. They acquired outfielders Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler, as well as Joc Peterson. All 3 played massive roles in the Braves postseason success. 

The Braves beat the Dodgers, and the Astros defeated the Red Sox, securing their spots in the 2021 World Series. 

Game one opened with a deep home run by Braves Jorge Soler on the 3rd pitch of the World Series. In the bottom of the 1st, Atlanta pitcher Charlie Morton was hit in the shin by a comebacker, resulting in a fractured right fibula, and an early 2nd inning exit. 

Games 1-3 went back and forth with the Astros winning game 2 and the Braves winning games 1 and 3. The Braves also won game 4 giving themselves a commanding 3-1 lead, with game 5 at home in Atlanta. The Astros went on to defeat Atlanta in a must win situation to force game 6, back at home in Houston. 

The Braves went out strong in game 6, and never let up. Atlanta’s offense went on to score 7 runs, propelled by World Series MVP Jorge Soler’s 3 run homer, and Max Fried and the Braves bullpen combined for a World Series winning shutout against the Houston Astros. 

The 2021 World Series marks Atlanta’s first series appearance since 1999 and their first title in 26 years. 

Freddie Freeman has been an Atlanta Brave for 11 years, drafted in 2007, making his first start in fall 2010. Freeman has been a team and fan favorite for nearly 12 years, winning an MVP, 2 Silver Slugger awards, a Gold Glove, 5 All Star appearances, the Hank Aaron award, and finally his first ring this year. Freeman will be a free agent after this season. 

“We’ve had so many ups and downs this year… and for us to be world champions…it’s still so great to hear,” via Freddie Freeman in a post game interview. 

The Atlanta Braves are your 2021 world champions.