Compelling Storylines To Watch For In MLB's Regular Season Finale
Subplots to be aware of throughout this weekend...
We’re down to the final two days of the 2023 MLB regular season.
And there’s going to be a heck of a lot to pack in.
There are postseason spots still up for grabs. An icon is bidding a fond farewell to a sport and a city he’s given everything to. Certain players will be looking to impress one more time before awards are decided upon. There could be one or two managers taking charge of their teams in that particular dugout. Oh, and we’ve still got one more pennant race to wrap up too.
In other words, it is fitting that in the year baseball enjoyed a renaissance for the ages, MLB is still pulling out all the stops to ensure we get one more wild weekend before the playoffs begin.
And, with that being said, let’s take a look at some of the most compelling storylines on offer this weekend as the 2023 MLB regular season comes to a close…
Farewell, Miggy
There won’t be a dry eye in the house in Detroit this weekend.
In a city that has played host to its fair share of sporting heroes and icons, Miguel Cabrera stands alone as a true giant in the Motor City.
The first baseman will bring an illustrious career to a close this weekend in the city where he really forged his legacy. Fitting, then, that the Tigers announced earlier this week that Cabrera will be remaining in Detroit as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations.
Cabrera has done pretty much all there is to do in baseball over the span of a 21-year career in Major League Baseball. A star ever since he first appeared on the block with the Florida Marlins in 2003, Cabrera is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer. His place in Cooperstown is already ironclad.
The list of accomplishments really is quite something to behold. Two MVP Awards, a Triple Crown, 12 trips to the All-Star Game, four Batting Titles, seven Silver Sluggers, two Major League Player of the Year nods, and a World Series win in 2003. Furthermore, Cabrera went on an all-time run in Detroit between 2010 and 2015, producing an insane slash line of .333/.418/.586 en route to two MVP awards, a Triple Crown, six All Star appearances and four Silver Sluggers. That stretch alone cemented Cabrera’s lofty standing in the game.
As things stand, the 40-year-old ranks 17th on the all-time hits leaderboard, tied for 25th on the all-time home runs leaderboard with Mel Ott, and tied with the legendary Hank Aaron on the all-time doubles leaderboard. He’ll enter his final game on Sunday with a career slash line of .307/.382/.519/.901 to go along with 3,173 hits, 626 doubles, 511 home runs, 1,180 RBIs, and 1,257 walks.
You can make a compelling case that Miguel Cabrera deserves a spot on the Mt. Rushmore of all-time Detroit greats.
What can’t be undisputed, however, is just how much Miggy meant to that city, and to the sport he gave everything to.
Here’s hoping he receives the sendoff he so deserves on Sunday.
Down To The Wire
Here’s some cold, hard numbers for you to digest:
Two days of the regular season remaining
Five postseason berths up for grabs
Eight teams still with a chance to make the playoffs
One pennant race still to be decided
We head into the final two days of the regular season with so many formalities still to be decided, and a hell of a lot of drama to come. The AL West Division Title is still there for the taking, and the Rangers, Astros and Mariners are all contenders.
The Rangers, Astros, Marlins, Blue Jays and the D-Backs could all clinch the remaining postseason spots on Saturday. But, as someone who roots for chaos, it would be epic to see all of these races extend into Sunday and then for tiebreakers to come into play.
It would be super fun to see the Mariners continue to defy death at every turn. It would be fitting to see the Cubs embark on the ultimate redemption tour by overcoming a late collapse and somehow squeezing in, despite having single odd stacked against them. Heck, it would be great to see the upstart Reds cap off a memorable season by also clawing their way into the playoffs at the death.
That’s the kind of chaos we should all be rooting for this weekend.
I broke down each potential scenario in great detail HERE, but it is time to thank the Baseball Gods for giving us all-out madness on the final weekend.
Awards Season
In truth, the writing is probably on the wall for the vast majority of the major awards in baseball.
However, there’s always time to leave one lasting impression.
And a host of players could use the final two days of the regular season to either guarantee some hardware, or play their way back right into contention.
It seems clear-cut that Shohei Ohtani will win the American League MVP - that race was over months ago - and if I had a vote, I’d choose Ronald Acũna Jr. as my National League MVP. However, Mookie Betts has been right there all year and maybe a big weekend from Betts or Acũna Jr. could sway some voters either way.
Okay, so maybe most of the awards, which are all regular season only, are ironclad already, but the NL MVP Award is one that could still be decided this weekend. Again, Acũna Jr. is the clubhouse leader currently, as he has been for most of the way, but Betts has been on an all-time tear as of late and his 8.4 WAR is two marks greater. Watching those two slug it out for the final time in the regular season will be a lot of fun to watch.
Milestone Watch
There’s some pretty cool and rare-ish individual milestones that could be achieved this weekend.
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has gone 29-for-29 in stolen base attempts, which would be the most steals without being caught in baseball history. Yes, in history. Chase Utley went 23-for-23 in 2009 while with the Phillies, funnily enough. That’s quite an achievement, and we’ll see if Turner attempts to make it a nice round number by going for 30 before the weekend is out.
One player who should be being talked about a whole lot more, in my humble opinion at least, is Kansas City Royals’ star Bobby Witt Jr. In just his second year in the majors, the shortstop is having a year for the ages. He’s just one home run away from becoming the latest member of the 30-30 club. And, if Witt is able to back up a homer with two more stolen bases in his final two games, he would become just the fourth member of the 30-50 season. The other members? Barry Bonds, Eric Davis and Ronald Acũna Jr. That is quite some list.
And, finally, Luis Arraez will look to become the first player since Josh Hamilton in 2010 to hit above .350 for a full season. Arraez is currently hitting .354 heading into the weekend. It would also be his second consecutive batting title after winning the AL crown last year with a .316 mark.
Changes Coming?
What a hot mess of a dumpster fire the 2023 season was for the mighty New York Yankees.
Whatever could have gone wrong for the Yanks this year has, and they will end the weekend having to live with the fact they’ve just suffered their worst season in 30 years.
This iconic franchise has been a disaster from start to finish. They are officially eliminated from playoff contention, and they’ve been out of contention for months now.
Something needs to change, and superstar slugger and captain Aaron Judge has already made it clear he wants to have a big role in any discussions about the future. Could this weekend’s series in Kansas City mark the end for manager Aaron Boone? What about GM Brian Cashman? The latter seems unlikely given his ties to the Steinbrenner family, but Boone could perhaps pay the price for a complete bust of a season.
This dramatically flawed roster is in need of a major overhaul too. Too many veterans on blockbuster contracts failed to play to the back of their baseball cards in 2023 - and well before that, in truth - and this is a team that needs to get younger, faster and more athletic. And in a hurry.
The Yankees have been doing the same things over and over for a substantial amount of time now, and they have kept on getting the same sorry results. This isn’t a franchise used to being mired in mediocrity, and a big offseason awaits in the Bronx.
Last Stand
This weekend could mark the end of the road for some managers in Major League Baseball.
The San Francisco Giants decided not to hang around, firing manager Gabe Kapler with three games left and a season remaining on his contract.
Who could join him in the unemployment line?
Craig Counsell, who has done a brilliant job on limited resources with the Milwaukee Brewers, will see his contract expire this offseason. If he doesn’t renew, he could be one of the biggest and most interesting names available. His availability could even prompt a team like, say the Yankees, make a change in their dugout in order to pursue him.
Outside of Counsell, there’s a slew of other managers who could be overseeing their final games with their respective teams this weekend.
Buck Showalter of the Mets and Bob Melvin of the San Diego Padres are two names to watch over the coming weeks. Both men were in charge of teams with heady expectations - and even bigger payrolls - heading into 2023, and both men carry a lot of the can for those teams laying Godzilla-sized eggs. They could pay the ultimate price for overseeing epic failures. Place Yankees manager Aaron Boone in that category too.
Other names to watch could be Phil Nevin (Angels) and Dusty Baker (Astros). And, with Cleveland legend Terry Francona retiring after this season, the managerial landscape could look a whole lot different in Major League Baseball in 2024.
