MLB playoff pressure rankings: Which World Series contenders must win now -- or else?

Which playoff squad astir needs to triumph the World Series?

This is simply a question we effort to reply astir this clip each year. What builds the unit to triumph close now? The reply is simply a small antithetic for each team, and the unit of that unit changes with each passing season. Teams age. Free agents permission and arrive. Playoff disappointments heap up. Playoff absences chafe.

The much occurrence a squad has without winning it all, the much the unit builds up. Not until it wins it each does that unit yet release, resetting the valve, and fans of that squad tin relax. Only the Dodgers' faithful are successful a authorities of axenic merchandise -- due to the fact that L.A. won conscionable past year.

Let's instrumentality a look astatine however the existent contenders complaint connected the unit scale.

The Pressure Index formula

The archetypal incarnation of our strategy was based connected an aged Bill James method for calculating "pressure points." Last year, we tweaked our methodology a small to adhd measurable narrative-based factors to the numbers-based humanities context, and that worked beauteous well, truthful we've carried that implicit for the coming 2025 MLB playoffs.

The revised Pressure Index considers the pursuing factors, ranked successful bid by the value they transportation successful the last calculation:

1. Drought pressure: This is each astir flags, some World Series titles and pennants. The title portion of this origin counts doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic the pennant factor. The existent person is the Cleveland Guardians, owners of baseball's longest rubric drought astatine 76 years. Teams coming disconnected a rubric -- e.g., the Dodgers -- person nary drought pressure. The New York Yankees, arsenic the defending American League champs, get a small merchandise from the drought origin for ending their pennant-less streak, but the unit won't afloat dissipate until the Bombers triumph it all.

2. Knock-knock pressure: There is simply a full antithetic unit for a franchise that lingers good beneath .500 twelvemonth aft twelvemonth than determination is for a franchise that consistently plays winning shot and yet can't look to get anyplace successful October. Looking astatine the astir caller 25-year window, the knock-knock origin counts winning seasons weighted from astir caller to astir distant. The Yankees, with their progressive streak of 33 consecutive winning seasons, person the astir knock-knock points. The 2025 play standings were included successful this calculation.

3. Flickering prima pressure: Using AXE ratings, we cipher the mean AXE of a team's pending escaped agents. Players with a nine enactment are not included successful this tally. Using the mean adds to the unit of clubs specified arsenic the Philadelphia Phillies, who person prima players (Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suarez) astir to deed escaped agency.

4. Exodus pressure: Another escaped cause factor: Using AXE ratings again, we tally the total AXE points for a team's pending escaped agents. Again, players with a nine enactment are not included. Losing a prima subordinate hurts -- but truthful does having a batch of holes to fill.

5. Father Time pressure: Time comes for america all. The older a squad is, the shorter its model of accidental for elite contention. This origin is based connected mean squad ages, hitters and pitchers combined.

The rankings

Note: This includes each squad that presently has astatine slightest a 5% accidental astatine making the postseason, per our regular simulations.

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