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1928 NL Final Standings
“Alright, let’s get to the National League, because I gotta tell ya… this thing went OFF THE RAILS in the second half.”
NL EAST — THE CHAMPS ARE STILL THE CHAMPS
“Atlanta — one-oh-six and fifty-six. Folks, this is what a championship team looks like. They win the World Series last year, and what do they do? They come right back with another hundred-plus win season. That is sustained excellence. No nonsense, no drama, they just go out and beat everybody.”
“Washington — ninety-seven and sixty-five — very strong. They cooled off a little late, but they’re a rock-solid Wild Card team and they host one of the series. They’re dangerous, because they pitch.”
“Miami and the Mets? Average, average, average. Totally mediocre clubs. The Mets finish eighty-three and seventy-nine — AGAIN — and they’re watching the postseason on the couch. Same story every year with this team. They tease you, they play .500 ball, and then they go home.”
“Phillies weren’t good either. Whole division was basically Atlanta and Washington, and then a bunch of teams stuck in the mud.”
NL CENTRAL — THE BEHEMOTH AND EVERYONE ELSE
“Milwaukee — one hundred and fourteen wins. Let me say that again: one hundred and fourteen. That is an outrageous season. They dominated every single month. Best team in baseball wire-to-wire. They get the top seed, and honestly, if they don’t make the World Series, it’s a massive disappointment.”
“Pittsburgh — ninety and seventy-two — nice year. Very respectable. They’ll play San Diego in the Wild Card, and that’s a tricky matchup.”
“But after that? Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago — these are atrocious ballclubs. All losing ninety-eight, ninety-nine, a hundred games. The whole bottom of this division is a disaster. They should be ashamed.”
NL WEST — THE SHOCKER OF THE YEAR
“Now — let me get to the Padres, because this is the story right here.”
“San Diego — ninety-four and sixty-eight — NOBODY had this. Nobody. They were left for dead at midseason. Six, seven, eight games back. Dodgers were rolling in June. Arizona looked solid. And somehow the Padres put together one of the best second halves in baseball. They played with urgency, they pitched better, and they stole this division. Absolutely stole it.”
“Arizona — ninety-one wins — good team, but they got caught. Now they’ve gotta fly cross-country to play Washington in the Wild Card. Tough break.”
THE DODGERS — THE MELTDOWN
“And the Dodgers — eighty-eight and seventy-four — this is a BAD job. I don't wanna hear about ‘we won a championship in ’26,’ I don’t wanna hear about ‘we rebounded from ’27,’ none of that matters.”
“They played one game over .500 in the second half. One! You cannot win a division doing that. You cannot make the playoffs doing that when the team chasing you goes on a heater. They spit up the division, they spit up a Wild Card spot, and now they’re home.”
“For that franchise, with that payroll, with that talent? Embarrassing.”
NL PLAYOFF PICTURE
“So you’ve got Milwaukee and Atlanta getting the byes — as they should.”
“Wild Card matchups: Washington hosts Arizona, San Diego hosts Pittsburgh.”
“And let me tell ya something: this league is a LOT more volatile than it looks. Milwaukee is the best team. Atlanta’s right there. But after that? Any of these Wild Card teams could get hot, and one of them’s gonna end up in the NLCS. That’s just how this thing works.”
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