2013 MLB Season Predictions in Review

Time for the ritual humiliating of myself by reviewing my season predictions for the sports I cover. Last year, my MLB regular season predictions were pretty good, but my playoff predictions were better. We'll check playoff predictions from the preseason ones and the upcoming predictions at the end of the month, but for today it's time to check standings and award predictions. This won't go well.

NL East: I at least predicted the Marlins would be 5th, but vastly overrated the Nationals and underrated the Braves. Seems about right.

NL Central: I at least got the Reds and Cardinals close, but the Reds didn't eventually take the division as I expected. The Cardinals won the division, which didn't really surprise me, but I thought injuries would take more of a toll. I also overrated Milwaukee, and underrated the Pirates, but I'm so happy they finally broke their playoff jinx.

NL West: The Giants really surprised me in how far they fell off from their World Series form, and it was going to be a disaster for awhile for the Dodgers before they hit their stride.

AL East: Oh boy, this one didn't go well. I did correctly predict the Yankees would miss the playoffs, but again was duped by overrating a team that spent gobs of money in Toronto. The Red Sox were also totally underrated, and the Orioles' regression to the mean was at least somewhat founded.

AL Central: Hooray! I predicted a division winner correctly! But the Indians performed way better than I thought they would, and the White Sox were incredibly bad. At least I got one division right.

AL West: I've now learned my lesson. I will never believe in the Angels to do anything. This is 2 years running that their failures have been spectacular. It's good to see the A's winning the division again, proving that spending money to win means very little. I had the Rangers struggling a bit more, but they made it to a game 163, so close enough.

Award Predictions:

NL MVP: Joey Votto- He was good, but nowhere near NL MVP good. Andrew McCutchen probably takes this one.

AL MVP: Mike Trout- All around solid, but you can't be a MVP on a team who doesn't play any meaningful games from late May on. Miguel Cabrera walks away with this one easy.

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw- Exactly right here. At least there's one.

AL Cy Young: Felxi Hernandez- Not even close. Max Scherzer probably takes this one, with his 21-3 record over Hisashi Iwakuma, who was better with the advanced stats.

NL Rookie of the Year: Oscar Tavares- Yeah, these are more crapshoots than not, and the NL had some amazing rookies this year. I bet Yasiel Puig takes it, despite tailing off towards the end of the year, and Jose Fernandez was awesome too.

AL Rookie of the Year: Jurickson Profar- Jose Iglesias was better at his position for the Tigers, and Wil Myers went on that midseason tear as well.

NL Manager of the Year: Bruce Bochy- Nope. Clint Hurdle wins by a landslide.

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon- He was good, but John Farrell should win this one.

My World Series prediction was Nationals-Tigers, so at least there's one team with a chance. Overall, my season predictions were pretty bad. Let's hope the playoffs go better.