Here’s your division winners, World Series champ

After a 2020 season that saw almost everything we’re used to in Major League Baseball turned on its ear, the 2021 season — back to a usual 162 games and 10 teams in the postseason (five in each league) — begins Thursday, for the Detroit Tigers and the 29 other teams.

About the only predictable thing about 2020 was the World Series matchup and result, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays — the No. 1 seeds in their respective leagues — took six games to decide the title in Arlington, Texas, with the Dodgers coming out on top.

Will the Blue Crew repeat as champs in 2021? Or will the Brew Crew — the up-and-comers in Milwaukee — break through? What about the Bronx Zoo Crew, the ever-mighty Yankees, who’ve seemingly reloaded a juggernaut with starters Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon?

OK, we’re done rhyming, mostly because have you tried finding rhymes for “Padres” and “White Sox“? They’re the hot picks after busy offseasons. The Padres, who made the NLDS before losing to the Dodgers, added star hurlers Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, among others, while the Sox, who lost to the A’s in the Wild Card Series, went back to the future to re-hire 76-year-old manager Tony La Russa and then added righty Lance Lynn via trade. Will the World Series trophy head to Southern California, or to the South Side of Chicago?

So, yeah, we’ve got questions — and we haven’t even gotten to the Rookie of the Year candidates. (Tarik Skubal, anyone?) Free Press sports writers Evan Petzold and Ryan Ford took their best shots at predicting the orders of finish for each division, as well as postseason award winners and who will win the World Series.

* denotes wild-card berth

AL Central

Petzold

1. White Sox.

2. Twins.*

3. Indians.

4. Royals.

5. Tigers.

Ford

1. Twins.

2. White Sox.*

3. Indians.

4. Royals.

5. Tigers.

AL East

Petzold

1. Yankees.

2. Blue Jays.

3. Rays.

4. Red Sox.

5. Orioles.

Ford

1. Yankees.

2. Blue Jays.*

3. Rays.

Story continues

4. Red Sox.

5. Orioles.

AL West

Petzold

1. Astros.

2. Athletics.*

3. Angels.

4. Mariners.

5. Rangers.

Ford

1. Astros.

2. Athletics.

3. Angels.

4. Mariners.

5. Rangers.

NL East

Petzold

1. Mets.

2. Braves.*

3. Nationals.

4. Phillies.

5. Marlins.

Ford

1. Nationals.

2. Mets.*

3. Braves.

4. Marlins.

5. Phillies.

NL Central

Petzold

1. Cardinals.

2. Brewers.

3. Reds.

4. Cubs.

5. Pirates.

Ford

1. Brewers.

2. Cardinals.

3. Cubs.

4. Reds.

5. Pirates.

NL West

Petzold

1. Dodgers.

2. Padres.*

3. Giants.

4. Diamondbacks.

5. Rockies.

Ford

1. Dodgers.

2. Padres.*

3. Giants.

4. Diamondbacks.

5. Rockies.

The postseason

Petzold

AL Wild Card: Twins over Athletics.

NL Wild Card: Padres over Braves.

ALDS: Yankees over Twins, White Sox over Astros.

NLDS: Dodgers over Padres, Mets over Cardinals.

ALCS: White Sox over Yankees.

NLCS: Dodgers over Cardinals.

World Series: White Sox over Dodgers.

Ford

AL Wild Card: Blue Jays over White Sox

NL Wild Card: Padres over Mets

ALDS: Yankees over Blue Jays, Twins over Astros

NLDS: Padres over Dodgers, Nationals over Brewers

ALCS: Twins over Yankees

NLCS: Padres over Nationals

World Series: Padres over Twins

Award winners

Petzold

AL MVP: Jose Ramirez, Indians.

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, Yankees.

AL Rookie of the Year: Wander Franco, Rays.

NL MVP: Mookie Betts, Dodgers.

NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets.

NL Rookie of the Year: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates.

Ford

AL MVP: George Springer, Blue Jays

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, Yankees

AL Rookie of the Year: Jarrad Kelenic, Mariners

NL MVP: Juan Soto, Nationals

NL Cy Young: Blake Snell, Padres

NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sanchez, Marlins

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MLB predictions 2021: Here’s who wins divisions, World Series

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