We’re a tenth of the way through 2017
Don’t look now, but nearly 2,500 innings have been played in the 2017 baseball season. April is almost over. We’re 20 games in. And if you haven’t been paying close attention, now would be a good time to start.
Already, there have been some great surprises and streaks of misfortune. The baseball season is a marathon (really like a dozen marathons), and there will be ups and downs aplenty. But these are the ups and downs we’ve started with.
If you want to keep track of the whole league, there is just no better way to do it than in real time, and there is no better way to do it in real time than to watch games with MLB Extra Innings and monitor the rest with Game Finder. MLB Extra Innings gives you 25 channels to watch 100 live baseball games a week. Watch four at a time! Meanwhile, the Game Finder app shows you scores of every other game updated in real time.
With a comprehensive view of the MLB, this is what you might have seen so far.
Eric Thames is crushing it
Eric Thames was last seen playing ball on American shores in 2012. He spent the last three seasons in Korea. He got picked up by Milwaukee in November last year. Now? He’s hitting .370 and boasts a ridiculous 11 home runs. That’s as many home runs as the Red Sox have. Yes, all of them. Combined. How long can Thames stay hot? Who knows?
More unlikely feats
The Cubs won the title last year. Let no one say 2016 didn’t provide its share of surprises! They’re off to a strong start and are now in first place, a game and a half ahead of the Reds. As always, the Cubs will have one eye on the nearest threat and another on their NL Central rivals in St. Louis. The Cardinals went on a spending spree before the season, dropping $144 million to snare the likes of Dexter Fowler and Brett Cecil while retaining their own staff. The Cards, however, started the season in last place and have crept up a notch with a 9-11 record.
Some holes are too deep
While it is extremely early in the season, many are already writing off the Blue Jays. The sucking sound out of Toronto just keeps getting louder. The Jays are a dismal 6-14 and 7.5 games out of first. They have yet to win consecutive games. This early in the season, they might as well be on Mars: you don’t come back from there.
Elsewhere, things are looking up
Baltimore is like Toronto’s mirror image. They’re in first and have yet to lose on consecutive days. And despite all expectations, they have one of the top records in baseball at 13-6.
The Diamondbacks are rebounding after a disappointing 2016. After going 69-93 last year, they’re half a game out of first.
In Houston, Dallas Keuchel is off to a promising start after a very disappointing 2016 in which he averaged 4.55 earned runs a game—after winning the AL Cy Young award in 2015. This year, he has a 1.22 ERA after throwing 37 innings, including a complete game.
And the Rockies are first in the NL West on the strength of young starting pitching, a re-built bullpen, and reliable offense. It’s early, but they look like the real deal.
All this could change
All this could change in relatively short order. In a few weeks, fortunes could be reversed and all the standings scrambled. Get on the baseball roller coaster when you subscribe to MLB Extra Innings or MLB Network, part of the Multi-Sport pack.
