MLB's 60-game season is good news for mediocre teams

There's a reason the MLB plays a sprawling, 162-game season. Baseball is unique among major American professional sports in that the real separation between truly good and bad teams doesn't reveal itself right away. Sure, some teams get off to a strong start and remain in first place all season, while some awful clubs are out of it from the get-go. But usually teams pick up or slow down gradually.

There won't be time for that this year, though, since the league's newly-established, coronavirus-altered schedule will consist of just 60 games and a normal 10-team playoff format. That's not great news for some of the sport's heavy favorites that went all in on winning the World Series with splashy moves this offseason, like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Minnesota Twins, but it could be a silver lining for some teams that didn't expect to be contenders this year.

Remember, the Washington Nationals were just 27-33 last year at the 60-game mark before going on to win the World Series, while the Philadelphia Phillies, their National League East rivals, led the division and ultimately finished in fourth place.

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There are plenty of other examples — the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins were 27-33 after 60 games. In 2005, the NL pennant-winning Houston Astros were 25-35; on the flip side, that same year, the Baltimore Orioles led the American League East at 36-24, only to finish in 4th place at 74-88. The list could go on.

Maybe the season plays out according to talent, but it seems likely at least a couple elite teams will be frustratingly left out of the postseason picture while some mediocre clubs ride a strong month or two into October.