American League
Central Division
White Sox: Might have had decent year if relievers didn’t lead majors with 4.5 walks per nine innings and third-worst ERA.
Indians: Kluberrific: Corey Kluber finishes with second-best WAR among starters, just behind Clayton Kershaw.
Royals: Ned Yost has to win World Series and then Super Bowl to get Kansas Citians to believe in him.
Tigers: Claim Chris Sale’s purpose pitch woke them up. Still haven’t explained why they slept until Sept. 24.
Twins: Phil Hughes’ 11.63 strikeouts-to-walks ratio best of all time for qualifiers, edging Bret Saberhagen’s 11.0 in ’94.
East Division
Blue Jays: If you didn’t live in Canada or have Extra Innings package, you never saw the Jays’ slow fold from July on.
Orioles: Mike Trout deserves MVP, but Adam Jones carried the Orioles without an Albert Pujols behind him.
Rays: Small consolation, but who would have guessed Drew Smyly (1.70 ERA with Rays) would outpitch David Price?
Red Sox: Ryan Dempster gave up $13.25 million and avoided this wreck. What did he know, and when did he know it?
Yankees: Jeter hangover: Joe Girardi’s stuck with an old, injury-prone team and the A-Rod circus in 2015.
West Division
Angels: Led majors in runs and had best player in Mike Trout, but 14th-ranked bullpen is their Achilles heel.
Astros: Yin and yang: Jose Altuve finishing with higher slugging percentage (.455) than Adam Dunn (.422).
Athletics: From baseball’s best record to battling for wild-card spot in blink of an eye. Crazy times in Oakland.
Mariners: Robinson Cano said in March they needed one more right-handed bat. Hitting about .220 in September.
Rangers: A winning record in September should give Tim Bogar the opportunity to shed interim tag.
National League
Central Division
Cubs: Could it really have been the “Party of the Century” if none of the neighbors called the cops?
Brewers: Horror story: Another late-season fold, and another $117 million left on Ryan Braun’s contract.
Cardinals: Another year, another division title, despite ranking 22nd in runs. Pitching matters, and they always have it.
Pirates: After back-to-back postseasons, “Buctober” joining “yinzer” and “nebby” in language known as Pittsburghese.
Reds: Firing Dusty Baker didn’t work, and Joey Votto couldn’t stay healthy. Finally time for a fire sale?
East Division
Braves: If John Hart takes over as GM, dumping B.J. Upton’s contract becomes his highest priority.
Marlins: Keeping Marlins in contention after Jose Fernandez’s injury a tribute to Mike Redmond’s fine managing.
Mets: Join Cubs and Rockies as only teams in baseball with only one complete game, or one more than Mr. Met.
Nationals: Franchise formerly known as the Expos looks ripe for its first-ever World Series appearance.
Phillies: Ryne Sandberg forced to play defense against whining veterans during first full season as Phillies’ manager.
West Division
Diamondbacks: Will new GM Dave Stewart do it his way, or will Tony La Russa always be pulling the strings?
Dodgers: After yet another poor start to season, Dodgers come back to win West easily, despite 22nd-ranked bullpen.
Giants: Go figure: Giants were 22 games above .500 on June 8 but barely managed to squeeze into playoffs.
Padres: Baseball’s most boring team hitting .194 in their losses and .220 with runners in scoring position.
Rockies: Is Troy Tulowitzki a goner, or will the injury-prone superstar try to resurrect a brain-dead franchise?
