At Least One Thing Each American League Team Can Be Thankful for During the Holidays
Now that Thanksgiving and the start of holiday season is upon us—with many free agents still to be signed—let’s gather ‘round the fireplace with a warm beverage and appreciate at least one thing each American League team has to be thankful for.
Baltimore Orioles— The 2022 Orioles are like that questionable relative who every year brings a ghastly side dish that is barely touched on the Thanksgiving dinner table, then one year shocks everyone by showing up with an incredibly delicious basket of homemade dinner rolls. For the first time in a long time, Orioles fans can be excited about their team after they went from 52-110 in 2021 to 83-79 in 2022. Catcher Adley Rutschman joined the squad in May and went on to finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Third baseman Gunnar Henderson made his debut on August 31, hit .259/.348/.440 (125 wRC+) in 34 games, and looks like a strong contender for next year’s AL Rookie of the Year Award. While Rutschman and Henderson helped the offense, the biggest improvement came from the pitching staff, which went from a worst-in-baseball 5.85 ERA last year to a middle-of-the-pack 3.97 this year.
Boston Red Sox—It may not seem like there’s much to be thankful for in Boston, where the Red Sox finished dead last in the AL East, but you have to remember the last time the Red Sox finished at the bottom of the division, they rebounded the next year to make the playoffs and ultimately came up two wins short of making it to the World Series. And the previous time they finished last in the AL East, they went on to win the division three years in a row, culminating with a World Series victory over the Dodgers in 2018. The Red Sox know how to recover from last place finishes, is what I’m saying. They also have Rafael Devers, a player Red Sox fans can definitely be thankful for.
Chicago White Sox—Way back in 1934, ten years before Tony La Russa was born, the powers that be in Chicago decided to have a Christmas Parade, slated for December 7. When the parade led to an increase in sales at downtown shops despite occurring during the Great Depression, a tradition was born (gotta get that green). The parade is currently known as the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade and will be held on Thanksgiving Day, as is now the tradition. The name of this event has changed over the years. When Tony La Russa was born in 1944, it was called the State Street Christmas Parade. At the end of his tenure as manager of the Chicago White Sox the first time, it was called the McDonald’s Children’s Charity Parade. After he completed his time as manager of the Oakland A’s, the parade was called the Brach’s Kids Holiday Parade. During his long tenure as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, the parade changed names multiple times, from The Field’s Jingle Elf Parade to The Field’s Jingle Elf Parade Presented by Target & Marshall Field’s to the Target Thanksgiving Parade to the State Street Thanksgiving Parade to the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade. Tony La Russa is no longer manager of the White Sox, which some fans are happy about, but the parade continues on, and there’s still plenty of talent on the White Sox roster.
Cleveland Guardians—The Guardians have a number of things to be thankful for after winning the AL Central by 11 games in 2022. There’s always the great Jose Ramirez, who finished fourth in AL MVP voting. Terry Francona won the AL Manager of the Year Award. Two of the players they acquired in the Francisco Lindor trade, Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez, were very good this year. And, of course, there’s rookie Steven Kwan, who was one of only six qualifying hitters to walk more than he struck out. He also finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Back in September, when the Angels were in Cleveland to play the Guardians, superstar Shohei Ohtani was reportedly recruiting Kwan to play for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. Recently it was announced that Kwan and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar were invited to join Team Japan.
Detroit Tigers—After going 68-61 over the last 129 games of the 2021 season, the future looked promising for the Tigers heading into 2022. In the offseason, they signed Javier Báez and Eduardo Rodriguez to lend their veteran presence to a team with promising young prospects Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson on the brink of the big leagues. Three young starting pitchers—Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, and Casey Mize—were supposed to take a step forward in their development. Unfortunately, seemingly everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Báez had a .278 OBP. Rodriguez only made 17 starts. Greene was limited to 98 games because of injuries. Torkelson really struggled at the plate, hitting .203/.285/.319 in 110 games. The promising young rotation took a hit early when Casey Mize was placed on the IL in mid-April after two starts. It would later be revealed that he needed Tommy John surgery. Manning also started the year in the rotation, but hit the IL two days after Mize and didn’t return until August. Skubal made it through 21 starts before going down in August. The Tigers’ season was like a disastrous Thanksgiving movie where the turkey doesn’t cook, a key person gets delayed in their travels, a couple has a fight, and it looks like all is lost until they hit a reset button and remember the important things in life so the movie can have a happy ending. The Tigers need to hit the reset button and hope for better days ahead, with the future of the franchise, 22-year-old Riley Greene, hopefully taking a big step forward in 2023.
Houston Astros—I mean, c’mon. Is there any team in baseball that has more to be thankful for than the Houston Astros? Set aside the fact that every other fanbase hates them and focus on the two World Series titles, four World Series appearances, and six ALCS appearances in the last six years. Dusty Baker finally earned a ring. Justin Verlander won his third AL Cy Young Award. Yordan Alvarez finished 3rd in AL MVP voting. Jeremy Peña finished 5th in AL Rookie of the Year voting and won a Gold Glove. Kyle Tucker also won a Gold Glove. Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez were Silver Slugger winners and Martin Maldonado was a Silver Slugger finalist. Okay, that last one was ridiculous, but it happened.
Kansas City Royals—The Royals, under Dayton Moore, will always have that 2015 World Series championship, but after six straight losing seasons, it was time for Moore to go. By all accounts, he’s a great guy so good luck to him in the future. The new Royals GM is JJ Picollo, who is not to be confused with Rob Picciolo, who famously walked just three times in 363 plate appearances for the Oakland A’s in 1979. Since 1900, only two players had more plate appearances in a season and walked no more than three times (Ossee Schrecongost in 1905 and Whitey Alpermann in 1909). Picciolo is also famous for seemingly being in every single pack of Topps baseball cards I opened as a kid in 1980. As for the current Royals, despite finishing in last place in the AL Central, they have the start of a promising young lineup their fans can be thankful for, with Bobby Witt, Jr. at third base, Vinnie Pasquantino at first base, and MJ Melendez either at catcher or in left field.
Los Angeles Angels—Let’s take a trip in the Wayback Machine to May 24, 2022. The Angels were 27-17 and just a single game out of first place in the AL West. They were winning even with wacky manager Joe Maddon walking opposing players with the bases loaded. Mike Trout was hitting .328/.436/.693 (214 wRC+), with 12 homers. Taylor Ward was even better, with a triple-slash line of .354/.463/.681 (222 wRC+). Shohei Ohtani was once again doing amazing Shohei Ohtani things. Then it all fell apart, as the Angels lost 14 straight games and fell to 27-31, 9.5 games out of first place. Half of the 14 losses were by one run. After the first 12 games, wacky manager Joe Maddon was fired and replaced by Phil Nevin, but the Angels continued to struggle. Taylor Ward peaked on May 29, then hit .257/.322/.399 over the rest of the season. His 105 wRC+ made him slightly above league average on offense after his torrid start (a 100 wRC+ is league average). Mike Trout went on the IL in mid-July, which has become a yearly occurrence. The one thing that went really well over the rest of the season was Shohei Ohtani, who finished second in AL MVP voting and fourth in AL Cy Young voting. He was even better than he’d been in his MVP-winning year of 2021, but Aaron Judge had a season for the ages and won the award. So now it’s Thanksgiving 2022. What do Angels fans have to be thankful for? The Angels still have Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, which is more than many teams have. Taylor Ward finished with a strong final month. They also have a couple pitchers who showed promise this year in Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers, plus the newly-acquired free agent signee Tyler Anderson.
Minnesota Twins—While Twins fans are surely disappointed by the team’s second straight below-.500, playoff-less season, perhaps they can shift their allegiances to the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings, who were the hottest team in football until the Sunday afternoon debacle against the Dallas Cowboys in week 10. Ignore that for now, Twins fans. Here’s a primer on the Vikings. Their Rocco Baldelli is Kevin O’Connell. Baldelli was 37 years old in his first year as manager of the Twins when the team went 101-61 and won the AL Central by eight games back in 2019. O’Connell is 37 years old and in his first year as head coach of the Vikings, who are leading the NFC North by four games. Their Byron Buxton is wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who is incredibly talented, just like Buxton, with the difference being that Jefferson has been able to stay healthy, while Buxton’s brilliance has been limited to partial seasons. The Vikings’ Luis Arraez is running back Dalvin Cook, who rushes for yard after yard after yard, much like Arraez knocks hit after hit after hit. Their Sonny Gray is quarterback Kirk Cousins, a 30-something, middle-of-the-pack quarterback who occasionally shows flashes of brilliance.
New York Yankees—The main thing Yankees fans have to be thankful for in 2022 is Aaron Judge, who just had one of the greatest seasons in the history of the game. According to FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Judge’s season ranks 18th for position players. The players above him on the list are Babe Ruth (six seasons), Barry Bonds (three seasons), Ted Williams (two seasons), Mickey Mantle (two seasons), and one season each from Honus Wagner, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, and Ty Cobb. Of the 17 seasons in which a position player had more WAR than Judge, 12 occurred before black players were allowed to play in the MLB and the two Mickey Mantle seasons (1956 and 1957) came before all major league teams had been integrated (the Red Sox didn’t have a black player until 1959). In the post-Jackie Robinson, post-expansion world, it’s Judge and the three Barry Bonds seasons in 2001, 2002, and 2004. Now that he’s a free agent, fans in the Bronx will be REALLY thankful if Judge re-signs with the Yankees sometime over the next few months.
Oakland Athletics—It’s not easy to find something to be thankful for in Oakland, where the A’s lost more than 100 games for the first time in more than 40 years. Then again, the last time the A’s lost more than 100 games was in 1979, when they went 54-108, but they rebounded to 83-79 the following season, then made the playoffs in the strike-shortened 1981 season. So to follow that trajectory, all the current A’s need to do is hire a Billy Martin-esque manager, develop a young Rickey Henderson, and figure out how to craft a five-man starting rotation that averages 251 innings pitched and almost 19 complete games each, as the 1980 Oakland A’s did.
Seattle Mariners—This is the year the Mariners youngsters move from the kid’s table to the adult table for Thanksgiving dinner. This includes, of course, AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez, but also starting pitcher George Kirby (sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting) and relievers Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee, and Matt Brash. They’ll join some of the other young Mariners who debuted last year and established themselves this year, like starting pitcher Logan Gilbert and catcher Cal Raleigh, lovingly known in the Pacific Northwest as “Big Dumper.” The Mariners made the playoffs for the first time since 2001, then swept the Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card Series before losing three straight games to the Astros in the ALDS. Those three losses included two by a single run, one of which went 18 innings. Despite the Seattle Freeze, the future of baseball looks bright in the Emerald City.
Tampa Bay Rays—If any team in baseball were to have a non-traditional Thanksgiving, it would be the Tampa Bay Rays. They would find a way to spend as little as possible on the big Thanksgiving Day meal, yet it would still turn out great, better than the much more expensive meals served by some other teams. Instead of the traditional main course of either turkey or spiraled ham, the Rays would have Popeye’s Chicken, and it would be great. You can see this with the way they build their team. Can you guess who led the Rays in FanGraphs WAR in 2022? That would be Yandy Diaz, a decidedly non-traditional third baseman who hit just nine home runs in 558 plate appearances. A big part of his value was in getting on base, with his .401 OBP ranking third in the American League. Yandy Diaz is the Popeye’s Chicken of the Thanksgiving meal. That’s not to saw the Rays would eschew all tradition on Thanksgiving. They would still have an incredible dish of candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows melted on top, one of the best parts of the Thanksgiving meal, much like Shane McClanahan is one of the best pitchers in the American League. Unlike Yandy Diaz, McClanahan was valuable the old-fashioned way, by producing terrific strikeout and walk rates. His K-BB% was 24.3, which ranked fourth in the AL.
Texas Rangers—Not long after Thanksgiving last year, the Rangers signed Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to long-term deals. Both were very good in 2022, worth a combined 8.7 WAR. The Rangers still finished a disappointing 68-94, but Semien and Seager were not to blame. If anything, there was some really bad luck involved, as the Rangers went 15-35 in one-run games. Their expected record was 77-85, which suggests they’re closer to playoff contention than people might think. The team has more money to spend this offseason and Jacob deGrom has been mentioned prominently as a target. At MLB Trade Rumors, two of the four writers predicted deGrom would sign with the Rangers. There’s no question that deGrom, when healthy, has been about as good as a pitcher could be over the last five years, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He pitched 64.3 innings last year and 92 the year before (combining for a 1.90 ERA and 40.7 K-BB%). If the Rangers don’t sign deGrom, perhaps they can persuade Justin Verlander to make the move from Houston to Arlington. Whatever happens, the Rangers should once again be busy post-Thanksgiving, so Rangers fans have that to look forward to while watching the 7-3 Cowboys play the 7-3 Giants in an NFC East battle on Thanksgiving Day.
Toronto Blue Jays—Canada celebrated Thanksgiving on October 10 which, unfortunately, was two days after the Blue Jays were swept out of the playoffs by the upstart Seattle Mariners. Even worse, they had an 8-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning in the final game of the series. Reliever Anthony Bass played a major part in the loss, giving up three hits and accounting for three earned runs allowed without getting an out. Suffice to say, Blue Jays fans won’t be enjoying bass anytime soon. Despite the abrupt ending, it was a good year overall for Blue Jays baseball. They won 92 games, which is their sixth-most ever, and they have four terrific young players in Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, and Alek Manoah, all 24 or younger. Speaking of Manoah, he established himself as a workhorse by pitching 196.7 innings and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. He was also one of the most entertaining parts of the All-Star game this year when he was mic’d up during his stint on the mound.
