As a wise leader once said when faced with a daunting task: “Never tell me the odds.”
Orioles fans could not be blamed for failing to give their team much of a chance when this most unusual MLB season began in late July. FanGraphs put Baltimore’s playoff odds at 1.5% on Opening Day—which, if you’d spent much time watching the Orioles the past few years, felt a bit generous.
Conversely, the Yankees began the season firmly entrenched in the inner circle of World Series contenders. Fangraphs pegged their playoff odds at 93% on July 23, a number that ballooned to 99.