When we looked back last December at the state of the sports world in 2020, we could only marvel at a bizarre juxtaposition: While the COVID-19 pandemic created the strangest year of sports in anybody’s memory, the winners of the major sports were about as predictable as could be. Across the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, […]
As we look back on the highs and lows of 2021’s sports calendar, it’s tempting to crown certain teams as the best — or worst — in all of sports, not just their sport. That’s been difficult to do across the pro sports landscape … until now. We here at FiveThirtyEight made a concerted effort […]
With MLB in a lockout, baseball is confronting its biggest labor crisis since the 1994-95 seasons. And while games haven’t been lost — yet — this move is just another milestone in what has become an increasingly ugly relationship between team owners and the players association. After several hot-stove freeze-outs and some extremely contentious negotiations […]
When longtime San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced his retirement on Thursday, it marked the end of the line for one of baseball’s most unassuming great players — and a stunning end at that. After missing the 2020 season, Posey had just put the finishing touches on a terrific comeback by helping to lead […]
After a season when things seldom came easy, the Atlanta Braves finally changed that script for good on Tuesday night, dispatching the Houston Astros 7-0 to clinch their first World Series crown in 26 years. The title was a culmination of one of the most mercurial campaigns by any champion, but the Braves also proved […]