2022 MLB Review
The 2022 MLB season started off delayed due to the lockout. All 162 games were able to be played, albeit by delaying the start of the regular season by a few days to accommodate a shortened Spring Training.
The Universal DH, which was instituted in the COVID-shortened 60-game 2020 season, made its permanent debut this season. The playoff field increased from 10 teams (5 per league, 3 division champs+2 wild cards) to 12 teams (6 per league, 3 division champs+3 wild cards, akin to the pre-2020 NFL playoff field). These changes meant that Game 163 tiebreakers are no more. As a result of the format change, the Top 2 teams in each league get a Wild Card Round bye to head straight to the LDS.
The seven-inning doubleheaders used in the 2020 and 2021 seasons have been reverted back to the pre-COVID era normal of 9-inning doubleheaders. The 13-pitcher limit that was initially supposed to take effect in 2020, finally took effect on June 20th. However, the extra inning automatic runner on 2nd base rule remained in effect for regular season games.
This is the first season that Cleveland’s MLB team was nicknamed the Guardians.
The next season will have significant rules changes set to take effect: no more infield shifts, pitch clock introduced (15 seconds with bases empty, 20 seconds with runner(s) on), bases will be increased by 3″ (inches), only two disengagements from the rubber per plate appearance for pitchers
American League
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National League
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Tiebreaker: The Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East over the New York Mets by winning the head-to-head regular season series 10–9.
| Wild Card Series (ALWCS, NLWCS) |
Division Series (ALDS, NLDS) |
Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) |
World Series | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Houston | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 0 | 5 | Seattle | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Seattle | 2 | American League | 1 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | NY Yankees | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | NY Yankees | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Cleveland | 2 | 3 | Cleveland | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Tampa Bay | 0 | AL1 | Houston | 4  |
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| NL6 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | LA Dodgers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | NY Mets | 1 | 5 | San Diego | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | San Diego | 2 | National League | 5 | San Diego | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | St. Louis | 0 | 6 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
2022 MLB All Star Game/Home Run Derby
ASG: AL 3, NL 2 | MVP: Giancarlo Stanton, DH/RF, NYY
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Kyle Schwarber (PHI) | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Albert Pujols (STL) | 20* | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Albert Pujols | 15 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Juan Soto | 16 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Juan Soto (WAS) | 18 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | José Ramírez (CLE) | 17 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Juan Soto | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Julio Rodríguez | 18 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Corey Seager (TEX) | 24 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Julio Rodríguez (SEA) | 32 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Julio Rodríguez | 31 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Pete Alonso | 23 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Pete Alonso (NYM) | 20 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL) | 19 | ||||||||||||
* Round went into a swing-off after Pujols and Schwarber were tied 13–13 after regulation.
My 2022 All-MLB Team (35-man roster)
Position Players
C: Alejandro Kirk, TOR | J.T. Realmuto, PHI | Sean Murphy, OAK
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, STL | Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR
2B: José Altuve, HOU | Jeff McNeil, NYM
3B: Nolan Arenado, STL | Manny Machado, SD
SS: Trea Turner, LAD | Xander Bogaerts, BOS
LF: Steven Kwan, CLE | Kyle Schwarber, PHI
CF: Aaron Judge, NYY | Julio Rodríguez, SEA
RF: Juan Soto, WSH/SD | Mookie Betts, LAD
DH: Shohei Ohtani, LAA | Albert Pujols, STL
UTIL: Brendan Donovan, STL (2B/3B/LF/RF/1B/SS)
Rotation
SP: Sandy Alcántara, RHP, MIA
SP: Julio Urías, LHP, LAD
SP: Alek Manoah, RHP, TOR
SP: Justin Verlander, RHP, HOU
SP: Kyle Wright, RHP, ATL
Bullpen
SpS: Max Fried, LHP, ATL
LR: Framber Valdez, LHP, HOU
LR: Dylan Cease, RHP, CWS
MR: Kendall Graveman, RHP, CWS
MR: Brad Boxberger, RHP, MIL
MR: A.J. Minter, LHP, ATL
SU: Edwin Díaz, RHP, NYM
SU: Liam Hendriks, RHP, OAK
SU/CL: Kenley Jansen, RHP, ATL
CL: Emmanuel Clase, RHP, CLE
Batting Order
1 Trea Turner, SS, LAD
2 José Altuve, 2B, HOU
3 Aaron Judge, CF, NYY
4 Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, STL
5 Juan Soto, RF, WSH/SD
6 Nolan Arenado, 3B, STL
7 Shohei Ohtani, DH, LAA
8 Alejandro Kirk, C, TOR
9 Steven Kwan, LF, CLE
(Sandy Alcántara, RHP, MIA)
Manager: Dusty Baker, HOU
Assistant Manager: Buck Showalter, NYM
2022 Cooperstown Ballot Results
| Player | Votes | Percent | Change | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
David Ortiz |
307 | 77.9% | – | 1st |
| Barry Bonds | 260 | 66.0% |  4.2% |
10th |
| Roger Clemens | 257 | 65.2% | 3.6% |
10th |
| Scott Rolen | 249 | 63.2% | 10.3% |
5th |
| Curt Schilling | 231 | 58.6% |  12.5% |
10th |
| Todd Helton | 205 | 52.0% | 7.1% |
4th |
| Billy Wagner | 201 | 51.0% | 4.6% |
7th |
| Andruw Jones | 163 | 41.4% | 7.5% |
5th |
| Gary Sheffield | 160 | 40.6% | –0.0% | 8th |
| Álex Rodríguez |
135 | 34.3% | – | 1st |
| Jeff Kent | 129 | 32.7% | 0.3% |
9th |
| Manny Ramírez | 114 | 28.9% | 0.7% |
6th |
| Omar Vizquel | 94 | 23.9% | 25.2% |
5th |
| Sammy Sosa | 73 | 18.5% | 1.5% |
10th |
| Andy Pettitte | 42 | 10.7% | 3.0% |
4th |
| Jimmy Rollins |
37 | 9.4% | – | 1st |
| Bobby Abreu | 34 | 8.6% | 0.1% |
3rd |
| Mark Buehrle | 23 | 5.8% | 5.2% |
2nd |
| Torii Hunter | 21 | 5.3% | 4.2% |
2nd |
| Joe Nathan* |
17 | 4.3% | – | 1st |
| Tim Hudson* | 12 | 3.0% | 2.2% |
2nd |
| Tim Lincecum* |
9 | 2.3% | – | 1st |
| Ryan Howard* |
8 | 2.0% | – | 1st |
| Mark Teixeira* |
6 | 1.5% | – | 1st |
| Justin Morneau* |
5 | 1.3% | – | 1st |
| Jonathan Papelbon* |
5 | 1.3% | – | 1st |
| Prince Fielder* |
2 | 0.5% | – | 1st |
| A. J. Pierzynski* |
2 | 0.5% | – | 1st |
| Carl Crawford* |
0 | 0.0% | – | 1st |
| Jake Peavy* |
0 | 0.0% | – | 1st |
| Fielding Bible Awards | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | |||||||
| Pitcher | Ranger Suárez (PHI) | |||||||
| Catcher | José Trevino (NYY) | |||||||
| 1st Base | Christian Walker (ARI) | |||||||
| 2nd Base | Brendan Rodgers (COL) | |||||||
| 3rd Base | Nolan Arenado (STL) | |||||||
| Shortstop | Jorge Mateo (BAL) | |||||||
| Left Field | Steven Kwan (CLE) | |||||||
| Center Field | Myles Straw (CLE) | |||||||
| Right Field | Mookie Betts (LAD) | |||||||
| Multi-position | Tommy Edman (STL) | |||||||
| All-MLB Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
| Starting pitcher | Sandy Alcántara (MIA) | Dylan Cease (CWS) |
| Alek Manoah (TOR) | Max Fried (ATL) | |
| Shohei Ohtani (LAA) | Aaron Nola (PHI) | |
| Framber Valdez (HOU) | Max Scherzer (NYM) | |
| Justin Verlander (HOU) | Julio Urías (LAD) | |
| Relief pitcher | Emmanuel Clase (CLE) | Ryan Helsley (STL) |
| Edwin Díaz (NYM) | Ryan Pressly (HOU) | |
| Designated hitter | Yordan Álvarez (HOU) | Shohei Ohtani (LAA) |
| Catcher | J. T. Realmuto (PHI) | Will Smith (LAD) |
| 1st Base | Paul Goldschmidt (STL) | Freddie Freeman (LAD) |
| 2nd Base | José Altuve (HOU) | Andrés Giménez (CLE) |
| 3rd Base | Manny Machado (SD) | Nolan Arenado (STL) |
| Shortstop | Trea Turner (LAD) | Francisco Lindor (NYM) |
| Outfield | Mookie Betts (LAD) | Julio Rodríguez (SEA) |
| Aaron Judge (NYY) | Kyle Schwarber (PHI) | |
| Mike Trout (LAA) | Kyle Tucker (HOU) | |
Other awards
- The Sporting News Player of the Year Award: Aaron Judge (NYY)
- Comeback Players of the Year: Justin Verlander (HOU, American); Albert Pujols (STL, National)
- Edgar Martínez Award (Best designated hitter): Shohei Ohtani (LAA)
- Hank Aaron Award: Aaron Judge (NYY, American); Paul Goldschmidt (STL, National)
- Roberto Clemente Award (Humanitarian): Justin Turner (LAD)
- Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award (Best AL reliever): Emmanuel Clase (CLE)
- Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award (Best NL reliever): Edwin Díaz (NYM)
Starters by position for All-MLB Team (since 2014), via JGibs Best Of Lists
C
J.T. Realmuto (3: 2018, 2019, 2020)
Buster Posey (2: 2015, 2017)
Alejandro Kirk (1: 2022)
Salvador Pérez (1: 2021)
Wilson Ramos (1: 2016)
Jonathan Lucroy (1: 2014)
1B
Miguel Cabrera (2: 2014, 2015)
Paul Goldschmidt (2: 2017, 2022)
Freddie Freeman (1: 2021)
José Abreu (1: 2020)
Pete Alonso (1: 2019)
Jesús Aguilar (1: 2018)
Anthony Rizzo (1: 2016)
2B
José Altuve (7: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
Brandon Lowe (1: 2020)
Ozzie Albies (1: 2021)
3B
Nolan Arenado (5: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022)
Anthony Rendon (2: 2014, 2019)
Manny Machado (1: 2020)
Kris Bryant (1: 2016)
SS
Fernando Tatís Jr. (2: 2020, 2021)
Francisco Lindor (2: 2018, 2019)
Trea Turner (2: 2017, 2022)
Carlos Correa (1: 2016)
Alcides Escobar (1: 2015)
Derek Jeter (1: 2014)
LF
Andrew McCutchen (2: 2014 (OF), 2015 (OF))
Christian Yelich (2: 2018, 2019)
Steven Kwan (1: 2022)
Tyler O’Neill (1: 2021)
Juan Soto (1: 2020) [Soto had 1 win in RF (2021)]
Marcell Ozuna (1: 2017) [Ozuna had 1 win at DH (2020)]
Starling Marte (1: 2016)
CF
Mike Trout (7: 2014 (OF), 2015 (OF), 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Aaron Judge (1: 2022)
Cedric Mullins (1: 2021)
RF
Giancarlo Stanton (2: 2014 (OF), 2017)
Bryce Harper (2: 2015 (OF), 2016)
Mookie Betts (2: 2018, 2020)
Juan Soto (2: 2021, 2022) [Soto had 1 win in LF (2020)]
Cody Bellinger (1: 2019)
DH
Nelson Cruz (2: 2017, 2019)
Shohei Ohtani (2: 2021, 2022)
Marcell Ozuna (1: 2020) [Ozuna had 1 win at LF (2017)]
J.D. Martinez (1: 2018)
David Ortiz (1: 2016)
Kendrys Morales (1: 2015)
Edwin Encarnación (1: 2014)
SP
Sandy Alcántara (1: 2022)
Max Fried (1: 2021)
Shane Bieber (1: 2020)
Gerrit Cole (1: 2019)
Jacob DeGrom (1: 2018)
Chris Sale (1: 2017)
Max Scherzer (1: 2016)
Dallas Keuchel (1: 2015)
Adam Wainwright (1: 2014)
JGib's Best Of Lists 