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2022 MLB Season So Far: Top Teams and Stories to Watch

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2022 MLB Season So Far: Top Teams and Stories to Watch


You can’t draw many conclusions from a month of Major League Baseball, and it stands to reason that the first month of the 2022 season would tell us even less than usual. Spring training started late (team owners locked out the league’s players before the two sides finally reached a new collective bargaining deal), and the condensed run-up to the season has probably made things even more turbulent than usual in April and early May. We’re still early in the 2022 MLB season, even as Sunday marked exactly one month since Opening Day on April 8.

The roughly 15 percent of the season that has already been played still counts, though. In that span of time, a few teams have drastically changed their postseason outlooks, and it has also revealed a deeper question: Why are hitters across the league so unproductive? Below are three key storylines that stand out in the beginning of the 2022 MLB season.

2022 MLB Season So Far: Top Teams and Stories to Watch

1. The Angels might actually do something with the two greatest players in the game.

By this point, you know the drill. Mike Trout produces at an MVP level every year. The Angels spend a lot of money to surround him with a roster that should be good. A new addition in recent times: Shohei Ohtani does a convincing Babe Ruth impression, giving Los Angeles the sport’s first true two-way superstar in several generations. And none of it matters, because the rest of the roster turns out to have more holes than a poorly paved Southern California road.

Trout has produced at an inner-circle Hall of Fame caliber since not long after he arrived in 2011, and in that time, the Angels have made the playoffs exactly once—swept in the divisional series by the Royals in 2014. This is the best running joke in baseball, and it’s funny because it is, uh, barely a joke:

You know what, though? I think the Angels will play October baseball this year, and it’s only partly because the postseason now features 12 teams. The Angels were 19–11 through play on Sunday, and their FanGraphs playoff odds have gone from 25.6 percent on Opening Day to 69.9 percent. Staying a few games better than .500 the rest of the season would probably do it. Plus, looking deeper, there are more reasons to feel pretty good about the LAA.

First, Trout is in fine form. An injury robbed him of a typical 2021 season, but he’s tearing the cover off the ball so far this season. His batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage is a torrid .307/.440/.625, and even some standard regression to the mean should still have Trout as one of the best players in the world, because that’s who he is. His 1.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement put him fifth in MLB. He tends to finish higher, not lower.

Better yet, some reinforcements are probably coming. So far, the only other Angel to make much noise with the bat is journeyman outfielder Taylor Ward, who’s come out of nowhere to produce 1.9 WAR, even better than Trout, with a .675 slugging percentage. Ohtani has essentially been a league-average hitter so far, rather than the stud you’d expect him to be. (He has pitched well, especially lately, and has a 3.08 ERA.) Third baseman Anthony Rendon has been fine but hasn’t hit for anything like his usual power. The Angels are in a good position and still have a lot of room to grow. They’d better, because it’s a crime against baseball to keep wasting Trout and Ohtani.

2. The Padres look good again, and I am ready to get hurt one more time.

San Diego was the darling of the early MLB season in 2021. On May 29 last year, the Padres were 34–19 and had a 1.5-game lead on the Dodgers in the National League West. While they ascended, I wrote that they were an example other smaller-market MLB teams could follow: They spent big money on free agents like Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer. They developed great young players on their own, then gave them contract extensions, like the one for shortstop and franchise cornerstone Fernando Tatís Jr. They played with a boisterous personality. Mostly on the fly, they cobbled together what appeared to be a solid pitching staff.

Things fell apart after that. The Padres finished 79–83 and well out of the postseason picture. Their offense fell off a cliff in the last two months of the season. The pitching staff posted a combined 3.58 ERA in the first half of the season and 4.66 in the back half. The entire roster seemed to run out of steam right around the same time, and a great season imploded.

This year, the Padres started 19–10. Hosmer, the first baseman whose contract has looked like an albatross in recent years, is now rejuvenated. Machado has been the most valuable hitter in the league so far by WAR, at 2.8. Pitcher MacKenzie Gore, a 23-year-old longtime top prospect, has a 1.71 ERA and is striking out more than a batter per inning.

And, like the Angels, more cavalry should be on the way. Tatís probably won’t play until some time in June or July after undergoing wrist surgery in the spring. A reasonable plan would’ve been for the Padres to keep their heads above water until his return. So far, they’re doing a lot more than that. Their playoff odds are a convincing 84.4 percent, and I’m optimistic that we’ll get to see Machado, Tatís, and company playing important games deep into the fall.

3. Offense is pitiful league-wide, and there’s reason to be suspicious.

Teams are scoring an average of 4.04 runs per game. If that continues for the full season, it would mark the lowest offensive output across Major League Baseball since 1976.

Batters have finally put a stop to an astonishingly consistent trend of striking out more every year—an uninterrupted upward line that spanned from 2005 to 2019 and barely ticked down in 2020 and ‘21. But home runs are down to 0.91 per team per game, the lowest number since 1993. The kicker is the league-wide batting average, which sits at .232. In no season in MLB history has it finished lower than .237.

It’s fair to wonder if everything is entirely on the level, or if the league has made fundamental changes to the baseball without telling the public or the players. A lot of players think the league is quietly using two different sets of balls. That would be easier to dismiss out of hand if MLB hadn’t done exactly the same thing in 2021.

I don’t really care what kind of ball MLB puts into play. But it would be good to know what’s going on, and it would also be good if the best batters in the world could actually get a hit.


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10 Best Porters to Drink Right Now

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A bottle of Deschutes Black Butte Porter




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Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength

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Barbell Back Squat


The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.

“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.

If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.

Directions

Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.

Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength

Circuit 1

Marius Bugge

A. Barbell Back Squat

Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts renegade row
Marius Bugge

B. Renegade Row

Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side

Circuit 2

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts doing renegade row Dumbbell Bentover Row in gym
Marius Bugge

A. Dumbbell Bentover Row

Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts doing Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised 
Marius Bugge

B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised 

Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps

Circuit 3

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts doing Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Marius Bugge

A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat

Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts doing Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Marius Bugge

B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift

Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side

Circuit 4

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts doing pullup
Marius Bugge

A. Pullup

Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps

Athletic man wearing gray T-shirt and maroon shorts doing Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Marius Bugge

B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press

Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top.
Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps

Circuit 5

A. Dumbbell Pushup

Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop
once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps

B. Biceps Curl

Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps


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The Best Jump Ropes for a Killer Cardio Workout

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The Best Jump Ropes for a Killer Cardio Workout




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