What Happened Last Season and New Season Stats

Named as “America’s Pastime,” Baseball has been around since the mid-18th century and has evolved into a well loved sport that fans can enjoy around the world. Running from the end of March to early October, fans get to enjoy months of quick running to catch insanely fast balls and players sliding around the infield. For now, all we have to entertain ourselves with until the season starts is the spring training which is currently underway!

Okay, not only is spring training season happening, but back in December of 2023, the craziest contract deal had happened in the history of baseball. MLB (Major League Baseball) superstar, and most valuable player,  Shohei Ohtani signed a $700 million contract with the LA Dodgers for a 10 year stay. Leaving his six year residency with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani had also played forHokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters back in Japan for the NPB (professional league in Japan). Ohtani might just be one of the best baseball players as he continues to break records.We will see if he wins his 4th Best Major League Baseball Player of The Year award, perhaps even the 4th consecutive one. As Bob Dorfman, sports marketing analyst, once said, “He’s transcended baseball. He’s iconic now.”

Speaking of Dodgers, guess which west coast team is still on a roll? Yeah, you guessed it: your favorite team wearing the red, white, and blue. The Dodgers clinched their 10th NL West title on September 16, 2023 with a 6-2 win in 11 innings against the Seattle Mariners. 

Fun Fact: this is their 10th NL West title within 11 years. 

Following the 2023 titles, the Milwaukee Brewers became the NL Central champions with a 16-1. The Atlanta Braves helped them out with winning the NL East championship a few days before. 

Currently, Major League Baseball spring training has been assembling teams in Florida and Arizona to prepare for the upcoming season. The MLB has put together these exhibitions of practices and games for a little over a month to kick off the season. Spring training consists of 15 teams practicing in Florida with the other 15 practicing in Arizona for 34 days. If you simply cannot wait for the new season to start on March 28th, these games are for you! ESPN is a streamer of the spring training sessions, so go watch and enjoy!