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MLB standings based on record against winning teams

By Christopher Kline

Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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There’s a difference between winning games and winning the games that matter. How do the MLB standings look when reoriented around record versus winning teams? 

In sports, good teams beat the bad teams. Great teams beat the good teams. As we look toward the All-Star break and the second half of the MLB season, which teams are separating themselves from the pack as genuine contenders?

One single number cannot determine a team’s ability to contend, but wins against winning teams provide strong insight into which teams can handle high-level competition and which teams wither under the pressure.

The regular standings will ultimately determine playoff seeding, but the MLB standings ordered by record against winning teams, via Codify, might give us a clearer picture of the real heavy-hitters.

MLB standings: Divisional standings based on record against winning teams

NL East

  1. Atlanta Braves (31-17)
  2. Miami Marlins (21-22)
  3. New York Mets (23-28)
  4. Philadelphia Phillies (22-28)
  5. Washington Nationals (15-34)

The Braves are the best team in baseball. Atlanta is only eight games up on Miami in the real standings but this number is pretty telling. The Phillies have been red-hot lately but there’s still a lot of ground left to make up for the reigning NL champs.

NL Central

  1. Cincinnati Reds (20-21)
  2. Milwaukee Brewers (20-23)
  3. Pittsburgh Pirates (20-29)
  4. Chicago Cubs (20-33)
  5. St. Louis Cardinals (21-35)

The Reds have been on an absolute heater throughout the month of June and into July. Elly De La Cruz continues to bend physics to his will at the plate and on the base paths. Cincy has passed Milwaukee in the standings and we could be in for a hotly contested two-horse race down the stretch in the NL Central.

NL West

  1. San Francisco Giants (25-21)
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers (22-21)
  3. Arizona Diamondbacks (24-24)
  4. San Diego Padres (26-28)
  5. Colorado Rockies (16-36)

Bit of a surprise for the third-place Giants, who are a decent bullpen away from really making noise in the competitive NL West. The Dodgers are probably tentative favorites looking ahead to potential postseason battles, but Arizona currently has a 1.5-game edge for first place.

AL East

  1. Tampa Bay Rays (32-20)
  2. New York Yankees (34-29)
  3. Boston Red Sox (33-29)
  4. Baltimore Orioles (27-26)
  5. Toronto Blue Jays (28-35)

The AL East is the most cutthroat division in baseball right now. The Blue Jays are in fourth place despite being six games above .500, with Boston trailing them by 3.5 games in last place. Toronto looks like the imposter in this version of the standings, but there’s something to be said for winning the easy ones.

AL Central

  1. Cleveland Guardians (23-23)
  2. Minnesota Twins (22-27)
  3. Chicago White Sox (23-38)
  4. Detroit Tigers (17-33)
  5. Kansas City Royals (13-43)

What stands out the most here is the volume of games played against winning teams for the White Sox. Strength of schedule has not been kind to them over the first half of the season. Otherwise, these standings are a jumbled mess, not unlike the real NL Central standings. Minnesota is currently in first place at 45-43, the only team actually over .500.

AL West

  1. Texas Rangers (27-24)
  2. Houston Astros (24-27)
  3. Los Angeles Angels (22-29)
  4. Seattle Mariners (18-29)
  5. Oakland Athleitcs (16-49)

The Astros are 11 games above .500, so their struggles against winning teams come as a surprise. Especially when you consider the reigning champ’s recent track record of league-wide dominance. Of course, injuries were prevalent early in the season for Houston. These particular numbers could improve as the year progresses.

MLB standings: League standings based on record against winning teams

National League

  1. Atlanta Braves (37-21)
  2. San Francisco Giants (25-21)
  3. Los Angeles Dodgers (22-21)
  4. Arizona Diamondbacks (24-24)
  5. Miami Marlins (21-22)
  6. Cincinnati Reds (20-21)
  7. San Diego Padres (26-28)
  8. Milwaukee Brewers (20-23)
  9. New York Mets (23-28)
  10. Philadelphia Phillies (22-28)
  11. Pittsburgh Pirates (20-29)
  12. Chicago Cubs (20-33)
  13. St. Louis Cardinals (21-35)
  14. Colorado Rockies (16-36)
  15. Washington Nationals (15-34)

The Braves are lapping the field in the National League right now. With eight All-Stars in this month’s game and an MVP frontrunner in Ronald Acuña Jr., it’s hard not to feel good about Atlanta’s chances of getting back to the World Series for the second time in three years.

American League

  1. Tampa Bay Rays (32-20)
  2. New York Yankees (34-29)
  3. Boston Red Sox (33-29)
  4. Texas Rangers (27-24)
  5. Baltimore Orioles (27-26)
  6. Cleveland Guardians (23-23)
  7. Houston Astros (24-27)
  8. Minnesota Twins (22-27)
  9. Toronto Blue Jays (28-35)
  10. Los Angeles Angels (22-29)
  11. Seattle Mariners (18-29)
  12. Chicago White Sox (23-38)
  13. Detroit Tigers (17-33)
  14. Oakland Athleitcs (16-49)
  15. Kansas City Royals (13-43)

The top three and four of the top five all belong to the same division. It’s probably unwise to bet on the AL Central or AL West making it to the World Series right now, even if the Texas Rangers feel like a strong challenger from the west coast. The Rays are approaching the same level of dominance as the Braves, but Atlanta isn’t facing divisional competition as strong as New York, Baltimore, or Boston.

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