A bit behind thanks to our travels and visitors last week. But I have to offer up some MLB predictions.

First, though, I must link to this fine story about the 25th anniversary of Major League. It arrived during that brief glut of baseball movies in the late 1980s.1 You can argue it is the best. I’m more of a Bull Durham guy, but Major League isn’t far behind.

I did not know this:

  1. THE ENDING WE KNOW ISN’T THE ORIGINAL ENDING
    There’s an alternate ending to “Major League” that was actually the film’s original ending, but it tested so poorly, Ward re-wrote it. In the original ending, cheapskate owner Rachel Phelps reveals that she never wanted to move the team to Miami. She actually believed in the team and was playing the villain role to help them rally together. After spending the whole movie hating her, viewers weren’t ready for that swerve. This ending was included in a 2007 DVD re-release of the film, so some people may know the story.

‘Major League’ turns 25 — here are 15 things you didn’t know about the movie

OK, predictions. As always, half-assed and quarter-considered.

American League

East: Tampa

Central: Detroit

West: Anaheim

Wild Cards: Texas, Oakland

Playoffs:

  • Oakland over Texas
  • Tampa over Oakland
  • Detroit over Anaheim
  • Detroit over Tampa

National League

East: Washington

Central: St. Louis

West: Los Angeles

Wild Cards: San Francisco, Atlanta

Playoffs:

  • San Francisco over Atlanta
  • St. Louis over San Francisco
  • Washington over Los Angeles
  • St. Louis over Washington

World Series

St. Louis over Detroit. Yawn.

Kansas City wins 83 games and falls just short of making the playoffs.

  1. Others were Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and Eight Men Out. ↩