It’s almost Opening Day, so it’s a pretty good time to take a look at some baseball predictions, courtesy of a video game console, that will 100% come true. All of them. After all, computers are way smarter than you.
MLB 15: The Show hit the market yesterday and, being a big baseball fan and avid gamer, I picked up a copy for my PlayStation 4. I may post a review on the site at some point – once I’ve logged enough hours on the sticks – but, in the meantime, I thought it’d be fun to simulate a full season and find out how the game sees the upcoming season unfolding.
For full disclosure, I started a ‘Season’ mode campaign with default rosters and settings. My user controlled team was the Boston Red Sox and I didn’t play any games, make any user trades, signings or waiver pickups. All roster management decisions – including lineups, pitching rotations, call-ups, and DL – were deferred to the AI. I just sat back and watched it all play out.
Here are the results:
AL EAST
Red Sox (95-67)
Yankees (91-71)
Rays (79-83)
Blue Jays (74-88)
Orioles (70-92)
AL Central
Indians (91-71)
Tigers (89-73)
Royals (86-76)
White Sox (85-77)
Twins (71-91)
AL West
Astros (87-75)
Mariners (83-79)
Athletics (81-81)
Angels (81-81)
Rangers (67-95)
NL East
Braves (95-67)
Nationals (87-75)
Marlins (87-75)
Mets (78-84)
Phillies (60-102)
NL Central
Reds (89-73)
Brewers (79-83)
Pirates (77-85)
Cubs (72-90)
Cardinals (70-92)
NL West
Giants (102-60)
Padres (82-80)
Dodgers (80-82)
Diamondbacks (75-87)
Rockies (67-95)
Playoffs
[Play-In]
Tigers def. Yankees
Nationals def. Marlins
[Division Series]
Tigers def. Red Sox 3-2
Indians def. Astros 3-1
Nationals def. Giants 3-1
Reds def. Braves 3-2
[Championship Series]
Indians def. Tigers 4-3
Nationals def. Reds 4-2
World Series
Nationals def. Indians 4-1
World Series MVP: Ryan Zimmerman
Awards
AL MVP: Jose Abreu (.319, 59 HR, 168 RBI)
NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt (.332, 38 HR, 100 RBI)
AL Cy Young: Masahiro Tanaka (17-10, 2.71 ERA, 242 SO)
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (14-7, 2.10 ERA, 251 SO)
AL ROY: Rusney Castillo (.280, 3 HR, 39 RBI)
NL ROY: Jorge Soler (.262, 19 HR, 69 RBI)
Notable trades:
Cubs trade Jake Arrieta to the Tigers for Justin Verlander
Yankees trade Jacoby Ellsbury to the Braves for Mike Minor
There you have it. Not a bad simulation, but there are certainly some interesting observations to be made here – none more shocking than the the Astros (the ASTROS!) finishing atop the AL West. Also worth noting that Jose Abreu will apparently be a god amongst men this season. You’ve been warned.
Anyways, congratulations to Nationals fans on their (digital) World Series title. I guess I have to apologize for all the mean things I said about this guy.
About Pete Blackburn