Parity is often a topic of conversation when the NFL comes up, but baseball has quietly become its rival in that regard. This season MLB is a lock to have a different champion than the previous year for the 15th straight season.
So how closely are this year's playoff teams bunched? Here are the Vegas World Series odds for the National League teams, per Sportsbook.com.
Texas Rangers' AL Odds Are A Perfect Example Of Parity
National League
St. Louis Cardinals (+500): The Cards have the best record in baseball, and yet they’re not even the biggest favorite in their own state to win the World Series. That screams parity. This club has less star power than perhaps any team in the playoff hunt, and yet has cobbled together the best season of them all.
Los Angeles Dodgers (+600): The Dodgers, on the other hand, have no shortage of star power. They have the biggest payroll in baseball, star veterans, aging ex-heroes, as well as a young uuber-prospect (Joc Pederson). This is the typical Hollywood team, and yet the blue-collar Cardinals beat them out in the regular season. Parity.
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New York Mets (+600): The Mets might be the best example of parity in the NL race, producing comparable work out of their starting rotation for a fraction of what the Dodgers’ paid for theirs. These teams will clash in the NLDS, and for all of Los Angeles’ financial might, they have the exact same odds as the Mets of emerging victors.
Chicago Cubs (+1,200): When a team has the likely Rookie of the Year (Kris Bryant), a proven ace with World Series pedigree (Jon Lester), a Cy Young candidate (Jake Arrieta), and one of the best prospects in the sport (Addison Russell), and only has the seventh-best chance of winning the World Series according to Vegas oddmakers, there are a lot of closely-matched clubs.
Pittsburgh Pirates (+1,200): Pittsburgh is going to host the NL wildcard game in all likelihood, and has a potential MVP in Andrew McCutchen in their outfield, and yet they’ve been given the same odds as the Cubs. Maybe that’s a nod to Arrieta’s dominance, but it proves how small the gap between these postseason-bound clubs really is.
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