The “Young Circuit” has had an unexpected group of teams that have taken the season by surprise, surpassing all the expectations that until the middle of the season had on them, becoming the pleasant surprises of the American League
Some sports are easier to predict than others. There are several disciplines in which just by seeing who they face, it is possible to determine comfortably and with a great margin of success, which of the participants will be victorious. That does not happen in the baseball.
Certainly there are teams that are stronger and better prepared than others that are simply terrible, but the very nature of baseball makes it unpredictable. For the 2021 season of the Big leagues There were clear favorites that many saw reaching the postseason with ease, while others, being involved in rebuilding processes or coming from bad seasons during 2020, were not favored with positive forecasts.
However, a group of teams have shattered all the expectations that were placed on them before the season of Big leagues, so that ESPN Digital brings you the list of teams for which there were low expectations, but which so far have played better than expected.
Define to Seattle Mariners it is a complex task. Certainly, the group is in the third position of the western division of the American leaguebut it’s not far from the second Wildcard qualifier of the “Young Circuit”, Being located three and a half games from Oakland Athletics, with a record of 46 wins and 42 losses.
From 2018 to date, Mariners They have not finished with a positive record in a season and although there are still many games to go, it is a good sign to see that they are approaching the Stars game with more victories than defeats and the interesting thing is that they do it with a young team and without prominent figures like the other teams in their division.
Overall, the team is one of the worst in hitting, churning out just 4.1 runs per game and averaging seven hits per game, while hitting .217, with an OPS of .672. It’s also important to note that during the pitching dominance in the first two months of the season, the team received two no-hitters. Despite this, they are in a better position than Los Angeles Angels with everything and Shohei Ohtani, while the difference between them and the Athletics can be dramatically reduced if Seattle take advantage of any slip of Oakland.
From being one of the worst teams in MLB in 2020 to hold the best record in the American league (second best of Big leagues), Boston Red Sox He has left many speechless who considered him discarded in a division where the current champion of the American league, Tampa Bay Rays, Y New York Yankees, a team that was the favorite to reach the World Series in 2021.
Red Sox has combined the talents of several players “utility”Within their ranks, constantly rotating their outfields and second base to create a kind of balance that has yielded impressive results. From the hand of Alex Cora, who has completely changed the face of the team, the Red Sox are just as dangerous as in years when they could reach the World Series and aim to reach the postseason, with the addition of Chris Sale and maybe some tokens during the trade deadline.
In what comes that, Boston It is the third team that produces the most runs per game (5.1), the same position it occupies in hits connected per game (8.8) and in batting average with .258. His .757 OPS is the fifth best in MLB and his pitching staff, which was noted as one of the biggest weaknesses of the team, has managed to do an acceptable job, allowing 4.4 laps per game and a batting average of. 260 by opponents.
Everyone was aware that White sox were an emerging force in the central division of the American league and that they would be competing head to head against Cleveland Indians Y Minnesota Twins. To the surprise of many and despite significant injuries such as that of Eloy Jimenez, who will debut in the season after Stars game, Chicago he’s been able to keep fighting and has a comfortable lead in first place.
Fifth in runs scored per game (5) and batting average (.255), White sox it’s a nightmare for any rotation that has to deal with them. They are one of the best teams in the league achieving on-base men, being second in MLB in on-base percentage (OBP) with .337. However, the key to his success has been his pitching, which allows only 3.8 runs per game, while keeping the opposition hitting .230 and striking out 10.38 per nine innings pitched (best average of MLB).
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