MLB Season Recap by Cameron Moore (7th)

Two-way player Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani

won the NL MVP in his first season 

with the World Series winning Los

Angeles Dodgers.

 

Wow. What a season it was in Major League Baseball. I guess it’s something I say every year, but there truly was some wacky stuff. From gambling to Grimace, here is a full recap of the 2024 MLB season!

Also, kudos to the LA Dodgers for winning the 2024 World Series. Now that that’s off my back, let’s actually get started.

The beginning of the year caught MLB in one of its biggest scandals since the steroid era. During the league’s Opening Series in Seoul, South Korea, money was found to be withdrawn from the bank account of the MLB’s star, Shohei Ohtani, while he was playing in that series. After signing a record deal with the Dodgers last offseason (I have an article on that, too!), maybe he could be using that money…to gamble? The league launched an investigation and found that his translator and friend Ippei Mizuhara had been taking money out of Ohtani’s bank account to pay off gambling debts. He is no longer with the Dodgers. That was quite the start. How could it get weirder?

Well, we of course have to talk about the surprises and disappointments of the season. I made two cool lists:

Surprises:

• Tigers: This was wacky. They looked done in early August and then absolutely tore through September to make the playoffs, beat the Astros, and get to the ALDS. Impressive.
• Mets: Don’t worry, I’ll talk about Grimace soon.
• Royals: 86 wins? Beat the O’s in the Wild Card? Competed with the Yankees in the ALDS? Pretty good for a 100-loss Royals team last season.

Disappointments:

• Astros: They made the playoffs at lea--WAIT! They lost to the Tigers? What a way to (maybe) end a dynasty.
• Rangers: They won it all last year. They weren’t in playoff consideration this year. Proves why last year’s Fall Classic was a dud.
• Orioles: They lost their first playoff series after a good regular season. Am I getting deja vu?
• White Sox: Had to include them. Hope ya know why.
• Reds: Did Elly fall off a cliff or something? No, the rest of the team was just bad and carried by him? Oh well.

But, we have some more weird stories to share. What about the White Sox? Well, they were a train wreck.

They finished the season with a record of 41-121, which is the most losses in the modern era, barely beating the 1962 Mets’ 120 losses. Honestly, it’s hard to even process how bad the South Side’s squad was this year. The crazy thing, however, is that they were a playoff team a few years ago and had higher expectations this season.

Talk about an underperformance.

However, probably the weirdest team this season was the New York Mets. I know, it’s time I talk about the elephant in the room. This guy.

On June 12, with the top-payroll Mets in an awful position in the NL East, McDonalds mascot and meme legend Grimace threw out the first pitch at a Mets game. And then something…sparked. They destroyed the Marlins 10-2 and started a massive hot streak. Grimace was seen as a “good luck charm” for the Mets. Any Phillies fan (like me) who watched the NLDS saw all of the Grimace costumes at Citi Field during games 3 and 4. It became so big that in September, the Mets commemorated Grimace with a purple seat in right field. One of the trains on the 7 (the subway line to Citi Field) was even wrapped in pictures of the purple monster!

But, these promotions from the Mets, McDonalds, and MTA all began with the fans, which we have truly never seen before. Grimace could have been a three day meme, like, “OH MY GOSH GRIMACE THREW THE FIRST PITCH AT A METS GAME!!!” But he lasted much longer than three days. The fans embraced that new identity like it was nothing.

The Mets are weird. And I also hate them. So there.

Postseason Recap!

• AL Wild Card (best of 3):
  • 6 Tigers beat 3 Astros, 2-0. 
    • What? Did I hear that right? Wait. I did. The Tigers went on a hot streak to somehow, SOMEWAY, make the playoffs. They then proceeded to beat the dynasty Astros? What?
  • 5 Royals beat 4 Orioles, 2-0.
    • Another sweep by an unexpected team. 101 losses to the ALDS. Nice job, Royals. On the other hand, Baltimore had another incredible season, only to lose in their first playoff series AGAIN? When will this team succeed? (Answer: the regular season.)
• NL Wild Card
  • 4 Padres beat 5 Braves, 2-0.
    • The Braves were done for. The Padres are way too good to deserve the 4 seed (they only got it because the Dodgers are so good), and we all knew the outcome. Sorry, Atlanta.
  • 6 Mets beat 3 Brewers, 2-1.
    • Who doesn’t like winner-take-all? How about two absolutely massive home runs back-to-back by the Brewers before Pete Alonso mashes one to secure a win for the Mets? Classic.
• ALDS
  • 1 Yankees beat 5 Royals, 3-1.
    • As much as the odds were stacked against Kansas City, they put up a good fight, until game 4. Still though, improvement!
  • 2 Guardians beat 6 Tigers, 3-2.
    • The fact that the Tigers took the Guardians to a game 5 is extremely impressive, and it’s probably the team everyone wanted to see win. Oh well…
• NLDS
  • 6 Mets beat 2 Phillies, 3-1.
    • I really don’t wanna talk about this series. But, as a writer for a middle school newspaper in Pennsylvania, I am obligated to sum it up. So, no Phillies hitting, lots of Mets hitting, no Phillies bullpen. All in all, the Phillies absolutely stink and I don’t want to talk about them. 
  • 1 Dodgers beat 4 Padres, 3-2.
    • Quite a good series. The Padres seemed to have the upset in the bag until all of their bats shattered and LA won the series. Lot less exciting.
• ALCS
  • 1 Yankees beat 2 Guardians, 4-1.
    • Other than a Big Christmas (Jhokensey Noel) walk-off, the Guardians fell flat on their faces. The Yankees are in the World Series again. Disgusting.
• NLCS
  • 1 Dodgers beat 6 Mets, 4-2.
    • Thank goodness they didn’t win THIS series, at least. There were some incredible moments in this series, and it eventually led to a Dodgers win. Another 1 seed…huh.
• World Series
  • Game 1: 1 Dodgers beat 1 Yankees, 6-3.
    • Freddie Freeman is kidding, right. A walk-off grand slam? How does it get much better than that?
  • Game 2: 1 Dodgers beat 1 Yankees, 4-2.
    • If you like homers, good for you! Dodgers in control going to the Bronx.
  • Game 3: 1 Dodgers beat 1 Yankees, 4-2.
    • Very similar game. Lockdown pitching and key hits place the Yankees in a position you never want to be in; down 3-0.
  • Game 4: 1 Yankees beat 1 Dodgers, 11-4.
    • A key Anthone Volpe grand slam in the third inning set the tone: a dominant Yankees win to fend off elimination.
  • Game 5: 1 Dodgers beat 1 Yankees, 7-6.
    • The top of the 5th: the potential worst inning for a team in World Series history. It all started with a simple dropped fly ball from Aaron Judge, then a bad throw from Anthony Volpe to third, which loaded the bases. Then, on a ground ball to first, pitcher Gerrit Cole fails to cover the bag, and a run scored. The Yankees were up 5-0, and if one of these errors was reversed, the inning would end with no Dodgers runs scored. However, these mistakes led the Dodgers to score 5 and come back, before tacking on some more to take the lead and eventually, the World Series.

Fun Fact:

The last THREE World Series game 1’s have gone to extra innings.

• 2022: The Astros were ahead 5-0 before the Phillies tied the game at 5-5 to force extras, where J.T. Realmuto hit a solo home run in the top of the 10th.
• 2023: Going into the 9th, the D-Backs led 5-3, before the Rangers’ Corey Seager tied it up to force extras. Then, Adolis Garcia hit a walk-off home run in the 11th.
• 2024: It was 2-2 entering extras, when the Yankees scored 1 run to take a 3-2 lead. Then, a half-inning later, Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to win 6-3 in ten innings.

So, that is a full recap of the 2024 MLB season. What should we expect from the seasons to come? I have no idea. But, this season was truly wacky and fun to talk about, and that’s what I truly love about it.