Better to have a break?

The League Championship Series already began. After playing well in the division series, 4 teams are fighting hard to get a chance to play in the Fall Classic. At this moment, we still don’t know which teams will win the LCS.

 

Nonetheless, it could be interesting to look back at the last 4 postseasons. Perhaps, we might have a clue to know which team might have a better chance.

 

Back in 2021, in the American League, the Red Sox defeated the Rays in 4 games in the ALDS. At the same time, the Astros beat the White Sox in 4 games. Looking at the National League, the Dodgers beat the Giants after playing 5 games in the NLDS. Meanwhile, the Braves won the NLDS in 4 games. In the ALCS, the Red Sox and the Astros played 6 games and the Astros won the AL pennant. In the National League, the Braves beat the Dodgers in 6 games to win the NL pennant.

 

In 2022, the Houston Astros swept the Mariners in the ALDS. And the Yankees defeated the Guardians in 5 games in the ALDS. In the meantime, in the National League, the Phillies beat the Braves in 4 games and the Padres defeated the Dodgers in 4 games as well. In the NLCS, the Phillies and the Padres played 5 games. The 2022 NL pennant belonged to the Phillies. In the AL, the Astros won the 2022 AL pennant.

 

In addition, in the 2023 postseason, the Rangers swept the Orioles in the ALDS. The Astros won 3 games against the Twins in the ALDS. At the same time, in the NLDS, the Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers. The Phillies beat the Braves in 4 games. In the LCS, the Rangers and the D-backs each won the pennant after playing 7 games.

 

Finally, last postseason, the Yankees beat the Royals in 4 games in the ALDS. And the Guardians defeated the Tigers in 5 games in the ALDS. In the National League, the Dodgers and the Padres played 5 games in the NLDS. The Dodgers defeated the Padres. In the meantime, the Mets beat the Phillis in 4 games. In the NLCS, the Dodgers beat the Mets to win the NL pennant. In the American League, the AL pennant went to the Yankees.

 

	NLDS	ALDS
2021	Dodgers vs. Giants (3-2) Braves* vs. Brewers (3-1)	Astros* vs. White Sox (3-1) Red Sox vs. Rays (3-1)
2022	Padres vs. Dodgers (3-1) Phillies* vs. Braves (3-1)	Yankees vs. Guardians (3-2) Astros* vs. Mariners (3-0)
2023	D-backs* vs. Dodgers (3-0) Phillies vs. Braves (3-1)	Rangers* vs. Orioles (3-0) Astros vs. Twins (3-1)
2024	Dodgers* vs. Padres (3-2) Mets vs. Phillies (3-1)	Guardians vs. Tigers (3-2) Yankees* vs. Royals (3-1)
* Won the league pennant

 

So, what can we learn from those 4 postseasons? There’s something that we might take a look at. Perhaps finishing the division series early could be beneficial? Among 8 league pennant winners, 5 of them played fewer games in the division series than their opponents did. Meanwhile, we have to keep in mind that there were 2 times, which the two teams played the same number of games in the division series before they met in the LCS. In 2021, the Astros and the Red Sox each played 4 games in the ALDS. In 2022, the Padres and the Phillies each played 4 games in the NLDS. Well, unpredictability is something interesting in baseball. Nonetheless, if a team can finish the division series early, the players can have extra time to take a break, in particular, one or two extra days could be truly beneficial for the front office and coaching staff to identify a better way to use pitchers.