Real or not? 14 contenders, 14 reasons they can -- or can't? -- win the World Series

Does anyone privation to triumph the World Series? Is immoderate MLB squad going to measurement up and marque itself the postseason favorite? In what is shaping up arsenic the astir wide-open postseason successful caller history, each playoff squad oregon contender is either scuffling, facing cardinal wounded issues oregon has conscionable suffered 1 of the craziest defeats of the past 60 years (we mean you, Los Angeles Dodgers).

How upside-down is the shot satellite close now? Two of the champion teams since the All-Star interruption person been the Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Dodgers person lone 2 much wins than the Colorado Rockies since the break. We're decidedly headed for a chaotic and unpredictable October.

With that successful mind, let's look astatine each of the starring playoff contenders and cheque wherefore each squad tin -- oregon cannot -- triumph it all. We focused connected the 14 teams that person the champion shot, though determination are a fig of others -- including the Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals -- that could inactive marque the postseason.

THE FAVORITES

Milwaukee Brewers

Real oregon not: The Brewers don't deed capable location runs to triumph the World Series.

Years ago, successful explaining wherefore Billy Beane's Oakland Athletics had failed to beforehand to the World Series successful the aboriginal 2000s, erstwhile ESPN expert Joe Morgan argued that teams "have to manufacture runs successful the postseason." The A's played station-to-station baseball, drafting walks and hitting location runs. "If you beryllium and hold for a three-run homer, you're inactive going to beryllium sitting there," Morgan added.

Well, Morgan would emotion the Brewers' postseason chances arsenic they haven't relied connected location runs to make their offense, ranking 19th successful the majors successful homers contempt ranking 2nd successful runs scored. The occupation is: Morgan was incorrect past with his analysis, and he'd beryllium incorrect now. Home runs are a cardinal to postseason success. Here's the grounds for teams that outhomer their hostile successful the past 4 postseasons:

2021: 25-2
2022: 22-6
2023: 25-3
2024: 23-8

Add it up, and teams are 95-19 erstwhile hitting much location runs. That statistic is simply a small misleading, however, due to the fact that determination person been 47 postseason games since 2021 erstwhile teams deed an adjacent fig of location runs. So, a amended mode to enactment it mightiness be: If you bash not outhomer your opponents (meaning you deed less oregon the aforesaid fig of location runs), you inactive won 66 of the 161 of the postseason games played, oregon 41%. For the Brewers, the cardinal past could beryllium to triumph the games wherever they deed the aforesaid fig of location runs arsenic their opponent.

Verdict: REAL. Now, determination are 2 scenarios present that tin inactive enactment successful the Brewers' favor. Their pitchers don't let a batch of location runs either, tied for the 5th fewest successful the majors (they've deed 154 and allowed 148). It's besides imaginable that Brewers hitters tin get blistery and deed capable location runs successful October. St...