We are more than a month into the MLB season and so much has already unfolded. Between big time hits, major injuries, and major this has been an interesting baseball season to watch unfold. Let’s dive into the 2024 MLB biggest disappointments thus far.
The NL West As a Whole
We have come to expect the Los Angeles Dodgers to dominate, and they are so far. As usual. However, we thought that maybe the Arizona Diamondbacks would be just as good after making the World Series last year. Unfortunately, that has not been the case so far this season and the whole NL West just looks like a total joke and dumpster fire right now. The Dodgers are the only team in the division with a winning record. The NL West is the only division in baseball with only one team with a winning record. Pretty sad. There were a lot of high hopes for this division and somehow, we are left with three teams struggling to keep their head above water, while the Colorado Rockies season is already lost as they are a whopping 15 games out of first place at the 25% mark of the season.
The A’s Implosion in Oakland
They are going to cease to exist at the end of the year. John Fisher remains the worst owner in American pro sports, and he has really outdone himself, officially relocating one of the most storied franchises out of Oakland thanks to complete mismanagement with the city over the last decade. Fans are seeing a team that they have refused to back because Fisher now completely packs up and moves. Fisher has refused to invest since he took over in the early 2000s, coining “moneyball” as a successful baseball strategy which has netted them 0 real wins. The announcement that they would play in Sacramento for the next three seasons while they wait for the Vegas stadium to be built was made the day before the season began. It’s amazing that they are only three games under .500.
Arm Injuries
I can’t recall an opening month of baseball where we lost this many good arms. It has been tough to watch as ace after ace has been shut down thanks to a nagging arm injury which is being debated by players as to “why?” Is it the pitch clock, is it the banning of spider tack that allowed more spin? There is no real answer at this moment, but what we do know is that Gerrit Cole has yet to pitch a game this season, Shane Bieber, and Spencer Strider, two Cy Young candidates in their respective leagues were unable to make it out of the first week of baseball and I am sure there will be more on the horizon.
The San Francisco Giants
We’ll end with one team in particular, the San Francisco Giants who finally invested some money this offseason and it has yet to impress. The Giants made huge splashes right before the season began, signing reigning Cy Young winner Blake Snell who has downright stunk and then got injured. Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman, two other big bats, have forgotten how to hit and it has resulted in the Giants streaking themselves into fourth place. There was lots of excitement for the homecoming of manager Bob Melvin who grew up in the Bay area, played for the Giants, and did an excellent job as the A’s manager for years, but San Francisco has wildly underperformed and underwhelmed in a division with little room for error.