MLB Playoffs 2026: Picks and predictions for every round, including World Series champ

But we're going to do it anyway. Why? Because we're human and are burdened to look for sacred purpose in a never-ending chain of random events until our last day in this mortal coil … okay! I think we've maybe jumped the shark a little bit with this intro, so let's talk about some baseball!

I love baseball analytics and data ; those of you that have read or watched my stuff recently will recall my rabid hatred of bunts, my love of pull-side power and of impact-based pitching evaluation . But all of that kinda … doesn't apply in the playoffs. I mean, it does, but even the furthest out teams in the Wild Card only need to win 13 of 22 games to win the World Series. Going 13-9 is not an especially potent stretch of baseball; you can kinda just … mess around and do that accidentally. The Boston Red Sox got criminally hot and won 25 of 30 this year at one point including 15 in a row! I watched every single game, and I'm still not sure why it happened.

For baseball writers like myself, the regular season is thus a massive information-gathering period so that we are prepared for articles like this one. I won't be able to point to every piece of data that informed this piece, just like the apple cider maker can't point to every single apple that they used to make your beverage. But I am asking you to trust me, because I have done my homework. What follows is my best attempt at the final exam.