Time once again for our annual exercise in proving that using a formula that only takes into account number of wins in past seasons is just about as accurate, if not more so, than “expert” human prediction.
At least this year, Sports Illustrated acknowledged that they almost never get the World Series teams right, so this year they’ve used their own formula to declare that the Series will be Astros defeating the Cubs.
But they did print a great article on the Rays’ most exciting player Kevin Kiermaier in the magazine a couple weeks ago (not available online yet), so I’ll forgive them. (Chris Archer is great, but the only exciting thing about him is his hair.)
Will there be any baseball-related program activities in 2016, given that our previous major activities were in 2004 and 2010 and it seems to fit a pattern? Unfortunately, my career is in a bit of flux (that is, April 18 is my last day of employment at my current job), and Levi’s career is such that he can’t take as much time off as he’d like. But please stay tuned.
| Sports Illustrated prediction | Baseballrelated.com prediction |
|---|---|
| AL East | |
| 1. Toronto Blue Jays (93-69) | 1. Toronto Blue Jays (90-72) |
| 2. Boston Red Sox (92-70) | 2. Baltimore Orioles (86-76) |
| 3. Tampa Bay Rays (84-78) | 2. N.Y. Yankees (86-76) |
| 4. N.Y. Yankees (83-79) | 4. Tampa Bay Rays (79-83) |
| 5. Baltimore Orioles (69-93) | 4. Boston Red Sox (76-86) |
| AL Central | |
| 1. Kansas City Royals (90-72) | 1. Kansas City Royals (93-69) |
| 2. Cleveland Indians (83-79) | 2. Cleveland Indians (82-80) |
| 3. Detroit Tigers (80-82) | 3. Detroit Tigers (79-83) |
| 4. Chicago White Sox (77-85) | 3. Minnesota Twins (79-83) |
| 5. Minnesota Twins (74-88) | 5. Chicago White Sox (75-87) |
| AL West | |
| 1. Houston Astros (94-68) | 1. L.A. Angels (89-73) |
| 2. Texas Rangers (90-72) | 2. Houston Astros (81-81) |
| 3. Seattle Mariners (82-80) | 2. Texas Rangers (81-81) |
| 4. L.A. Angels (72-90) | 4. Seattle Mariners (80-82) |
| 5. Oakland Athletics (63-99) | 5. Oakland Athletics (75-87) |
| NL East | |
| 1. N.Y. Mets (95-67) | 2. Washington Nationals (87-75) |
| 2. Washington Nationals (86-76) | 2. N.Y. Mets (86-76) |
| 3. Miami Marlins (78-84) | 3. Miami Marlins (73-89) |
| 4. Philadelphia Phillies (63-99) | 4. Atlanta Braves (71-91) |
| 5. Atlanta Braves (60-102) | 5. Philadelphia Phillies (66-96) |
| NL Central | |
| 1. Chicago Cubs (99-63) | 1. St. Louis Cardinals (97-65) |
| 2. St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) | 2. Pittsburgh Pirates (95-67) |
| 3. Pittsburgh Pirates (87-75) | 3. Chicago Cubs (89-73) |
| 4. Milwaukee Brewers (70-92) | 4. Milwaukee Brewers (73-89) |
| 5. Cincinnati Reds (68-94) | 5. Cincinnati Reds (68-94) |
| NL West | |
| 1. L.A. Dodgers (93-69) | 1. L.A. Dodgers (93-69) |
| 2. San Francisco Giants (88-74) | 2. San Francisco Giants (85-77) |
| 3. Arizona Diamondbacks (81-81) | 3. San Diego Padres (75-87) |
| 4. San Diego Padres (73-89) | 4. Arizona Diamondbacks (74-88) |
| 4. Colorado Rockies (73-89) | 5. Colorado Rockies (67-95) |