We live in one of the most unpredictable ages that baseball has ever had. For a long time, it was “dynasties” that ruled the baseball landscape; if you look back to the 1950s and 60s, it was the Yankees and Dodgers who won Championships nearly every season. In the 1970s, it was the “Big Red Machine”, and the “Swingin’ A’s”. Since then, besides a run by the Yankees in the late 90s, there has not been a truly dominate franchise in baseball, at least not in terms of World Series Championships. Since 2001, eight different teams have won World Series titles, with only the Red Sox, the Cardinals and, most recently, the Giants repeating. In fact, in recent years, rarely has the “best team” coming into the season been the team celebrating after the final game of the World Series. This means that, going into Spring Training for the 2013 season, there is a really wide-open feel to the upcoming season.
To make things even harder for those who enjoy online betting sites is the fact that there are always surprises that make the season not just unpredictable, but also exciting. Who would have thought that the 2012 playoffs would have featured the Baltimore Orioles and the Oakland A’s? Frankly, if you would have said that the Giants would win another World Series title after the first month of the season, people would have called you crazy.
So who are the teams to look out for heading into the 2013 MLB Spring Training season? In the NL, you have the Giants, who have won two out of the last three titles; the Nationals, who are quickly becoming one of the best teams to watch in baseball; the Reds, who have a team in place that are worth watching; the Braves and Phillies, who both have the teams that are worthy of a run; and the Dodgers, who are spending more than anyone in baseball on their team.
In the AL, you have the Tigers, who are nursing their wounds after a bad World Series loss; the Angels and Rangers continued their off-season spending to get big name players on their teams; Baltimore and Oakland are looking to build off of breakout seasons for even more playoff success; and of course you have to consider the Yankees, who are a bit under the radar right now, but always have the talent to make a big run. It is going to be another unpredictable season.
