Making the playoffs in MLB is not as easy as it sounds, not even the increase from 10 to 12 teams in October.
That’s something reserved for functional franchises with a concrete plan, proper scouting, effective player development staff, and a sound analytics department.
Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Angels and the Detroit Tigers, they haven’t enjoyed most of those things in a while.
In a year in which the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies finally broke their long playoff droughts, hope is the last thing that MLB organizations will lose.
Things have been very difficult for the Angels and Tigers since 2014, and another year passed with them being left out of the party.
“The two longest playoff droughts in MLB entering this season (Mariners since 2001, Phillies since 2011) are now both snapped. The Tigers and Angels (both last made playoffs in 2014) now own the longest active postseason droughts in MLB,” ESPN Stats & Info tweeted.
The two longest playoff droughts in MLB entering this season (Mariners since 2001, Phillies since 2011) are now both snapped.
The Tigers and Angels (both last made playoffs in 2014) now own the longest active postseason droughts in MLB. pic.twitter.com/EZiOmu3btW
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 4, 2022
Two Dysfunctional Franchises
The Tigers haven’t been good since Miguel Cabrera‘s prime.
His decline, and the Justin Verlander trade in 2017 signaled a new era of rebuilding in the Motor City.
The rebuild has been long and painful.
This year, their two best prospects didn’t have the year they would have hoped: Spencer Torkelson has struggled all season, and Riley Greene fractured his foot near the end of spring training.
Their young pitching, namely Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Joey Wentz, and Alex Faedo, has had bad luck with injuries.
As for the Angels, they don’t have too much talent beyond Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
They are still paying for ignoring pitching for years, and Anthony Rendon has been injured a lot.
Perhaps things will change for these two franchises soon, but they may need a major overhaul in baseball operations.
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