A recurring theme in
Sports Illustrated’s power rankings to this juncture is the ongoing struggle to negotiate what we thought about each team heading into the season compared with the results on the field. At what point is there enough evidence to mistrust our preconceptions? When does fluke become reality? And how do we confront the terrifying notion that maybe, just maybe, we’ve been getting something wrong all along? The whole endeavor can start to feel like an existential crisis.
Well, friends, a time for reflection has come. We’ve reached a turning point, a fork stuck in the road, if you will: the (approximate) first quarter of the 2021 season has reached its end.
The wait is over: Baseball is back.
The 2021 season begins Thursday. The prospect of jumping from a 60-game sprint to a typical 162-game slog feels akin to preparing for a 10K and then deciding to run a marathon. For players and fans alike about to embark on the journey, remember to stay hydrated.
To commemorate what should be a national holiday, it’s time for the first MLB Power Rankings of the new season. To kick things off, we’ll identify what success looks like for each team from World Series contenders to rebuilding basement-dwellers and everyone in between.
Faithful followers of this column might notice a difference between this iteration and our way-too-early version from the spring. Some teams slid a spot or two here and there as a result of late player additions, injuries and, well, because sometimes we simply had a change of heart. With the semantics out of the way, happy baseball, everybody. Now let’s get to the rankings.