Three Noteworthy Storylines to Watch as Opening Day 2022 Nears
Following a prolonged off-season, the 2022 campaign is finally just around the corner with Opening Day less than a week away.
What once was threatened by Major League Baseball’s self-imposed lockout is set to commence next Thursday, beginning with a nine-game slate. For everyone else, they’ll kick off their respective regular-season schedules the following day.
When all was said and done CBA negotiations ultimately delayed the season by seven days. With those now squarely in the rearview mirror, it’s full steam ahead.
For most, there’s no better feeling than smelling the fresh spring air after enduring a long, miserable winter. Mix in a cold drink and some baseball and you’ve got an ideal recipe for almost every sports fanatic.
In anticipation of Opening Day 2022, let’s explore three interesting storylines worth keeping an eye on throughout the summer.
Rematch Between Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani for AL MVP
Ring the bell, it’s time for round two.
One of the biggest headlines from last season was the year-long American League Most Valuable Player race between superstars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani.
In a landslide, Ohtani’s impressive efforts as a two-way player earned him the award at season’s end, capping off his historic 2022 campaign. As of now, the 27-year-old is considered the favourite to capture back-to-back MVP trophies.
Heading into this season, Ohtani is favoured at +325 to win the 2022 AL MVP, according to OddsShark.com. Where’s Vladdy positioned, you ask? Currently, he’s valued at +400 to take home this prestigious award.
Luckily for fans, this is shaping up to be a must-see rematch featuring two of MLB’s brightest stars. Assuming both players remain healthy, this competition should stretch throughout the entire season once more- making for another summer-long tilt.
For Guerrero Jr., the 23-year-old is aiming to build off his breakout 2021 performance, which saw him lead all AL hitters in SLG percentage (.601), wRC+ (166), fWAR (6.7) and finish tied for the most home runs (48), according to FanGraphs.com.
Despite his strong showing, he fell victim to someone who’s been compared to the legendary Babe Ruth, and is perhaps even more talented than the “Babe” once was.
Nonetheless, at this early stage of his career, Toronto’s young slugger still has plenty left to accomplish as he enters his fourth major league season. Hopefully, it’s as strong or superior to his previous one.
With Ohtani, the two biggest obstacles he might encounter could be his health and teammate Mike Trout – who’s a three-time AL MVP winner. Both of these factors could potentially stand in his way of securing another MVP trophy.
Either way, whoever wins this season’s award, there’ll be tons of excitement surrounding this highly-competitive battle over the next six months.
Can the Atlanta Braves Repeat in 2022?
In most professional sports leagues, capturing championship titles is extremely difficult. Well, unless you’re Tom Brady or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Aside from them, winning back-to-back titles has proven to be extremely challenging. In MLB, this has occurred 14 separate times since the World Series was first introduced in 1903.
Most recently, the New York Yankees are the last franchise to win two straight World Series trophies, however, that took place 22 years ago. No other franchise since 2000, which is when the Bronx Bombers were crowned as three-straight champions, has repeated since then.
Last season’s World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves, are the latest organization attempting to end this two-decade-long drought.
Coming off their fourth championship – first since ‘95 – in franchise history, the Braves made a dramatic change to their roster in the off-season, swapping out franchise icon Freddie Freeman for Matt Olson. This was a ground-shattering move almost no one saw coming.
While both are considered highly-touted first basemen, this was certainly an interesting decision to make, especially after the club had just won the 2021 World Series.
Along with the addition of Olson, general manager Alex Anthopoulos also greatly improved his bullpen by acquiring relievers Kenley Jansen and Collin McHugh. Paired with a strong trio of Will Smith, Tyler Matzek and A.J. Minter, this should compete as one of the top units in the majors.
Backed up by a fairly deep starting rotation, headlined by starters Max Fried and Ian Anderson, Atlanta is fully stocked with regards to pitching. Once Canadian Mike Soroka returns from his Achilles injury, their staff should become even stronger.
In a similar sense, this club’s offence is poised to receive a massive boost when outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. – who’s expected to be sidelined until May as he recovers from his ACL injury – returns to action.
The National League might be overshadowed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at the moment, but the Braves appear ready to defend their crown this season. Nobody should be counting them out at this point.
Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer Headline New York’s Star-Studded Starting Rotation
One of the Braves’ biggest competitors in the NL East Division this season, the New York Mets, added one of the best pitchers in the sport over the winter.
Prior to this off-season, the franchise featured an elite starter on its roster in ace Jacob deGrom. But after watching their playoff drought extend to five seasons, management signed free agent Max Scherzer to a lucrative three-year, $130-million contract.
New York’s starting rotation now consists of deGrom and Scherzer – along with Carlos Carrasco, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker. That’s a pretty potent group.
Between deGrom and Scherzer, the superstar hurlers have compiled an impressive list of accolades throughout their HOF-worthy careers. In total, they make up for 12 all-star appearances and five Cy Young Awards.
Despite these accomplishments, the duo will only be worth the excitement if they can stay healthy. Unfortunately, additional injury concerns have hit the Mets’ ace once again, just as they did last season.
After elbow and forearm concerns limited deGrom to just 92.0 innings in ‘21, the team is obviously approaching this latest issue with extreme caution. But with the season opener just six days away, his current status remains unclear.
If deGrom isn’t ready by Opening Day, Scherzer is expected to get the nod when the Mets open the regular season against the Washington Nationals on Apr. 7.
In what’ll be a pivotal 2022 campaign for New York, they’ll need everyone – including deGrom – to remain relatively healthy if they hope to claim a playoff spot this time around.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85