MLB Watchability Index: Ranking which teams are must-see this season
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David Schoenfield
Imagine you’re sitting at home on a Saturday evening, and you know you need to put the phone down, but your favorite team played an afternoon game. Which MLB teams do you most want to watch? We’re back for our second annual MLB Watchability Index to identify this season’s must-see squads.
The original formula was years in the making, but after conducting further research this offseason, we’ve tweaked it just a bit. We’ll grade each team in five categories, plus the potential for up to five bonus points. The maximum total score is 40 points.
Here are the categories, all fitting into a general idea of “What makes baseball exciting?”
Star power (10-point scale): We’ll use our MLB rank top 100 list as a guideline.
Young talent (10-point scale): We love young players! This focuses on players in their first or second seasons in the majors plus potential call-ups from the minors.
Baserunning (5-point scale): Speed is exciting. This includes not just stealing bases but overall team speed.
Defense (5-point scale): Does the team play good defense or have extraordinary defenders capable of highlight-reel plays?
Minutiae (5-point scale): Ballpark, uniforms, mascots, unintentional comedy, broadcasters, colorful characters, etc. — fun factors that might make you want to tune in to watch this team.
Bonus (5-point scale): Anything else I want to reward.
In general, good teams are more fun to watch than bad teams, so while this isn’t a power ranking, we should expect the best teams to rank high. Let’s get to it.
Jump to team:
American League
ATH | BAL | BOS | CHW | CLE
DET | HOU | KC | LAA | MIN
NYY | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR
National League
ARI | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL
LAD | MIA | MIL | NYM | PHI
PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH
Star power: 1 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 1
Bonus (2): +2 for the possibility they could chase their own single-season loss record
The White Sox won 8-1 on Opening Day, which put them over .500 for the first time since Opening Day of 2023. Look, they probably won’t be as bad as last year’s 121-loss season, but the early returns don’t exactly look promising.
They do have a couple of rookies in the rotation who are worth watching in Sean Burke and Shane Smith, but the real pitchers to watch are top prospects Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith, who both started the season in Double-A. Maybe they get called up, but there’s also little need to rush them to the majors.
Star power: 1 | Young talent: 3 | Baserunning: 1.5 | Defense: 4 | Minutiae: 1
Bonus (2): +1 for Brenton Doyle‘s arm (repeat bonus from 2024), +1 for mountain views
Outside of the defensive ability of Doyle in center field and Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop, there isn’t much to go with here as the Rockies remain stuck in a rut of irrelevance. They even keep sticking with the same managers, with Bud Black headed for a seventh straight losing season in Colorado.
Rookie starter Chase Dollander, arguably the Rockies’ best pitching prospect ever, just made his major league debut, so that’s exciting. Good luck in Coors Field, Chase.
Star power: 2 | Young talent: 3 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 1
Bonus (3): +3 for the possibility of more weird, inexplicable managerial decisions
If weird, inexplicable managerial decisions are your thing, a game against the Mets last week showed why you might want to check out Miami this season. The Mets were leading 6-5 in the sixth inning and had runners on first and third with one out when first-year Miami skipper Clayton McCullough intentionally walked Juan Soto to load the bases for Pete Alonso. OK, that was weird enough. There were 15 intentional walks last season with runners on first and third. But seven of those came with two outs, five others came in the bottom of the ninth or later in a tie game, and one came with the count already 3-0 against Aaron Judge. That leaves just two that sort of replicate this decision — and both were issued by Blue Jays manager John Schneider (to Jesse Winker and Yordan Alvarez).
Here’s the kicker: Alonso is a prime candidate to hit into a double play, but McCullough then brought the infield in. Mets play-by-play man Gary Cohen, one of the best in the business, was beside himself. “What is going on? Why? Why would you set up the double play and then not play for the double play?” Alonso then doubled over the head of center fielder Derek Hill, who, as Cohen pointed out, was playing extremely shallow. It’s going to be a long season for the Marlins.
Star power: 3 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 1 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (3): +1 for Prince Day on June 10, +1 for Joe Ryan‘s four-seamer, +1 for having a Harrison, a Bailey and a Griffin on the roster — as first names
The Twins ranked low last year, and I’ll repeat what I said then: The team itself is probably better than this ranking, but there isn’t a lot of glitz and glamour here. No big star (Carlos Correa‘s shine has dulled and Byron Buxton really never got there in the first place), no big masher, no speedster on the bases or must-see ace on the mound. The youth score will go up if Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall get called up — which might be the case given the early struggles of the offense.
Star power: 4 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 3 | Defense: 1 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (2): +1 for Paul Skenes pitch highlights, +1 for Andrew McCutchen still getting the job done
Well, we got suckered last year, when the Pirates got off to a 9-2 start — and that was before Skenes was even called up. Quote from the 2024 edition of this story: “This is not an overreaction to Pittsburgh’s hot start. Nope. THIS IS A SCIENTIFIC SURVEY.” We ranked the Pirates No. 10 overall. Turned out, it was most definitely an overreaction to Pittsburgh’s start.
Look, the Pirates are watchable every fifth or sixth day when Skenes starts, but otherwise? I’ll pass, at least until Oneil Cruz learns to play center field. It doesn’t help that the Pirates started the season with two PR disasters in the Roberto Clemente sign situation and missing “Bucco Bricks” being discovered at a recycling park. At least it’s a great ballpark.
Star power: 5 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 1.5 | Defense: 1 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (3): +1 for Ron Washington, +1 for NOT having to watch Anthony Rendon struggle again, +1 for Kenley Jansen‘s cutter
The Angels are off to a nice start. Maybe they’ll even be surprise contenders in a potentially weak AL West. But the team’s star power is pretty much limited to Mike Trout, as young veterans such as Nolan Schanuel, Logan O’Hoppe and Zach Neto have graduated out of the “youth” category without becoming established stars, although Neto could develop into one after a promising sophomore campaign.
The youth score could go up if 23-year-old Kyren Paris proves to be the real deal after a strong start at the plate. I’m skeptical given the fact that he hit .167 in the minors last season, but he has been crushing it early on.
Star power: 4 | Young talent: 4 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 1
Bonus (2): +1 for the spicy stadium mustard, +1 for longest World Series title drought
I’m not trying to insult a team that reached the American League Championship Series last season, but the primary highlights are the great Jose Ramirez and a bullpen that was one of the best of all time. But … bullpens. We love you, we love you not, but we don’t really tune in to watch relievers.
Steven Kwan is an entertaining, scrappy player who puts the ball in play and covers everything in left field. Kyle Manzardo, Brayan Rocchio and Jhonkensy “Big Christmas” Noel fit into the young category, but the more intriguing young players are prospects Travis Bazzana and outfielder Chase DeLauter, two guys we could see in the second half. (DeLauter will have to bounce back quickly from core muscle surgery in March.)
Star power: 5 | Young talent: 1 | Baserunning: 3 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 2
Bonus (3): +1 for the Sunday cream-colored jerseys, +1 for summer days in Seattle, +1 for Bryan Woo‘s fastball/sinker combo
As a Mariners fan, I was ready to give up on watching them on a regular basis after they hit .162 in their first eight home games — aside from the marine layer making it a difficult place to hit, the park seems to be in their heads at this point (the Mariners do hit OK on the road). Then, the next game, they rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the final two innings to beat the Astros on Randy Arozarena‘s grand slam and three runs in the bottom of the ninth. Baseball, man, it has a way of sucking you back in.
Star power: 2 | Young talent: 7 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 2
Bonus (1): +1 for pitcher Brad Lord making the Opening Day roster after working at Home Depot in the offseason
This team is a lot more interesting than it was in 2024, when Washington ranked last on the Watchability Index after starting the season with Jesse Winker in left field and Eddie Rosario in center. The Nationals were somehow 19-18 in early May before reality set in and they eventually turned to a younger, more dynamic outfield: James Wood, Jacob Young and, in September, top prospect Dylan Crews.
That trio, along with shortstop CJ Abrams and starter MacKenzie Gore, forms the core of the 2025 team. Wood looks like he’s going to be a star, but Crews continues to appear overmatched at the plate, and as brilliant as Young is defensively in center field, he offers no power.
Star power: 1 | Young talent: 7 | Baserunning: 4 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 1.5
Bonus (1.5): +1 for those glorious Devil Rays throwback jerseys, +0.5 for Yandy Diaz‘s biceps
The selling point for the Rays is the group of players just entering the majors, not just Junior Caminero‘s ceiling as a power hitter but a wave that includes Curtis Mead along with Shane Baz and Kameron Misner. The last two fit on our scale of players entering their first or second full seasons, even though those guys aren’t all that young.
Now, if and when Carson Williams and Chandler Simpson (104 steals in the minors) get called up, the Rays will instantly become a lot more intriguing. Williams could be one of the game’s next star shortstops, and Simpson has the potential to be baseball’s premier burner on the basepaths. But, for now this team lacks star power and some of the defensive dynamism we’ve seen from it in the past.
Star power: 6 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 1 | Defense: 4.5 | Minutiae: 2
Bonus (2): +1 for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension, +1 for cotton candy fries (it took until 2025 for somebody to invent this?!)
One of the best things about Guerrero’s extension is that Jays fans can enjoy the season without worrying about what will happen to the face of their franchise in free agency. But we’re all winners here: We don’t have to spend all season speculating about potential Guerrero trades.
The Jays can improve on this ranking if Anthony Santander hits 44 home runs again or Bo Bichette returns to form or Max Scherzer finds his way back into the rotation. Amazingly, Toronto got off to a nice start even though Guerrero and Santander both failed to go deep until Santander finally homered over the weekend.
Star power: 2.5 | Young talent: 5 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 3.5 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (2): +1 for not trading Nolan Arenado, +1 for Masyn Winn‘s arm
The Cardinals are at least interesting as they transition to a younger roster. We’ll see what Winn can do in his sophomore season, how speedster Victor Scott II will fare and whether Jordan Walker will finally hit enough to match his prospect hype. Eventually, starter Quinn Mathews will be up and JJ Wetherholt, the team’s first-round pick in 2024, is in Double-A, putting him in line for a possible promotion as well.
The starting pitching probably ultimately limits the team’s upside, and Ivan Herrera‘s injury after a hot start is a bummer, so Cardinals fans will have to be patient — which isn’t really in their playbook.
Star power: 4 | Young talent: 7 | Baserunning: 1.5 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus: +1.5 for Colt Keith, Spencer Torkelson and Dillon Dingler, all character names in Taylor Sheridan’s next TV project
The Tigers have Tarik Skubal, and he’s awesome to watch whenever he is on the mound. They also have an intriguing young group in Jackson Jobe, Trey Sweeney and Keith, but this doesn’t necessarily register as the most exciting team around. They’re certainly not flashy on defense or on the bases. Maybe Riley Greene graduates to star status this season, and the possible reemergence of former No. 1 overall picks Casey Mize and Torkelson certainly adds an intriguing subplot to the season.
Star power: 7 | Young talent: 3.5 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 2
Bonus (3): +1 for Hunter Brown‘s changeup, +1 for Yordan Alvarez’s presence, +1 for Jose Altuve‘s left-field adventure
You can’t lose Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker and expect to rank highly in watchability. Houston does still have Alvarez and Altuve, however, and Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite pitchers. Cam Smith is one of the more intriguing rookies to watch after the Astros surprisingly promoted him to start the season, but he has struggled early so we’ll see if he can avoid a demotion. Jake Meyers and Jeremy Pena are fun defenders, and when Framber Valdez has his sinker dancing in on right-handed batters he’s as good as any starter in baseball.
Star power: 5 | Young talent: 1.5 | Baserunning: 3 | Defense: 3 | Minutiae: 4
Bonus (4): +1 for all the times we’ll hear Buster Posey‘s approach described as “old school,” +1 for Patrick Bailey‘s pitch framing, +1 for Jung Hoo Lee‘s swing, +1 for Mustache May
Maybe we’re swayed by the Giants’ hot start, but this might be the season they break out from the anonymous mediocrity of the recent past. Lee is healthy after injuring his shoulder early last season and looks terrific. Logan Webb is always a joy to watch as he moves the ball around the strike zone, and Justin Verlander is Justin Verlander, now an intriguing watch to see if he has anything left at age 42.
There isn’t much on the youth side (I’m not counting Lee there since he played in Korea’s highest league before coming to San Francisco), especially with top prospect Bryce Eldridge beginning the year on the IL in Double-A with a wrist injury.
Star power: 6 | Young talent: 3 | Baserunning: 3 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 2
Bonus (4): +1 for Terry Francona’s return, +1 for Matt McLain‘s return, +1 for Elly De La Cruz‘s surprising range at shortstop, +1 for De La Cruz’s everything else
A year ago, I viewed the Reds as an exciting up-and-coming team. De La Cruz and Hunter Greene lived up to their hype and graduated into stars, with Greene looking even better so far in 2025, but several of the other young players failed to completely take off.
There are also mixed messages here: Last year, the Reds ranked third in the majors in stolen bases but near the bottom in overall baserunning value. Their defensive metrics were weak in 2024 but have been strong early on in 2025.
Pitchers Rhett Lowder, who started the season on the IL with a forearm strain, and 2024 top pick Chase Burns, could impact the rotation in the second half, raising that youth score.
Star power: 5 | Young talent: 5 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 3 | Minutiae: 3.5
Bonus (3): +1 for those glorious orange jerseys (the all-orange uniform, however, is a sartorial disaster), +1 for the B&O warehouse, +1 for Zach Eflin’s control
What a difference a year makes. Last season, the Orioles were coming off a 101-win season, had traded for Corbin Burnes and had the hottest prospect in the game in Jackson Holliday. While they still made the playoffs, it seems fair to say the Orioles appear a lot less interesting entering 2025.
Ignore Gunnar Henderson‘s slow start coming off the injury in spring training; he’ll be fine. But the other young players haven’t really taken off in a big way, including Holliday, who has a poor strikeout-to-walk ratio, raising concern about the ultimate upside of his hit tool (he’s still very young though). Coby Mayo is struggling in Triple-A and Heston Kjerstad hasn’t hit in the big leagues. Maybe Samuel Basallo will make an impact later on.
The Grayson Rodriguez injury is a bummer, but the biggest bummer is the Orioles didn’t land an impact starter in the offseason.
Star power: 2 | Young talent: 10 | Baserunning: 1 | Defense: 1 | Minutiae: 4
Bonus (4): +2 for my pal Eric Karabell dropping a Jim Thome comp on Nick Kurtz, +1 for Jacob Wilson‘s contact skills, +1 for Mason Miller‘s fastball
First of all, it’s surprisingly pleasant watching these games being played in Sacramento, at a quaint minor league park with an outfield berm for spectators. Frankly, it’s a better viewing experience than the old stadium in Oakland was, with those awful dark shadows in the outfield and empty seats.
Mostly, however, the A’s have a fun group of young players: Wilson and Lawrence Butler and Miller and Tyler Soderstrom, who is off to a huge start. Kurtz will be up soon enough to join them as well. The A’s probably don’t have the pitching to compete, but the kids are fascinating.
Star power: 8 | Young talent: 1.5 | Baserunning: 3 | Defense: 3 | Minutiae: 4
Bonus (2.5): +1 for Bobby Witt Jr.’s mullet, +1 for Seth Lugo‘s nine-pitch repertoire, +0.5 for Jac Caglianone minor league home run highlights
How much of this score is simply just Witt? A lot of it. Put it this way: How many players in baseball history have hit for power, hit for average, stolen 30 bases a season while also being one of the fastest runners in the league and played Gold Glove defense at one of the two marquee defensive positions? It’s a very short list.
Witt isn’t a one-man grade, however, as Cole Ragans is one of the top starters in the game, plus games at Kauffman Stadium always remind me of George Brett, and when the Royals wear those baby blue jerseys it’s about as good as it gets.
Star power: 5 | Young talent: 8 | Baserunning: 2.5 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 2
Bonus (3): +1 for dreaming on a full season from Jacob deGrom, +1 for Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker being in the same rotation, +1 for those 1970s throwbacks
The Rangers ranked fifth a year ago coming off a World Series title but tumbled a bit in this edition. Some of the star power is in question: Marcus Semien declined last year and is really struggling to begin the season; Adolis Garcia was incredible in 2023 but not in 2024; and deGrom still has to prove he can rise to his previous level.
Wyatt Langford and the rookie combo of Leiter/Rocker make for an intriguing youth trio, although Langford just landed on the IL with an oblique strain. The biggest knock against watching the Rangers: Watching a game played at Globe Life Field is like watching baseball played in an airplane hangar.
Star power: 8 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 4 | Defense: 3 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (3): +1 for Zac Gallen‘s goggles, +1 for Corbin Carroll‘s exit velocities, +1 for Ketel Marte “underrated” references
Several of the Diamondbacks have graduated from youth to veteran, so they lose points in that category, dropping them in the overall rankings. Carroll remains one of the game’s most exciting players, although he’s not stealing bases this year and might never come close to that 54-steal season he had as a rookie. Marte is one of the game’s hidden gems, and Corbin Burnes helps give the rotation some star power. Josh Naylor is a fun player and even leads Carroll in stolen bases, 4 to 1. I love watching Gallen and his ability to change speeds and Justin Martinez throwing flameballs out of the bullpen.
Star power: 3 | Young talent: 8 | Baserunning: 5 | Defense: 3.5 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (1.5): +1 for Jackson Chourio‘s hot start (but take a walk, Jackson!), +0.5 for Jesus Made hype
As always, the Brewers punch up: They’re young and athletic, they scrap and claw, and they have a budding superstar in Chourio. Christian Yelich can still do some damage, and William Contreras, while off to a slow start, has emerged as the best catcher in baseball. Throw in Bernie Brewer, sausage races and a bullpen that always does the job, and this is a team that I expect will be closer to the top than everyone imagines in the NL Central. RIP, Bob Uecker.
Star power: 9 | Young talent: 7 | Baserunning: 1 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 3
Bonus (3): +1 for Spencer Schwellenbach‘s deep repertoire, +1 for Spencer Strider’s return, +1 for Michael Harris II glow-in-the-dark swag
We have to try to separate the Braves’ awful start here as they should turn into a playoff contender, but other than Marcell Ozuna, nobody is hitting, which is what happened last season.
For now, they still rank high in star power. Strider returns this week after dominating in his Triple-A rehab and immediately becomes one of the must-watch starting pitchers. Not far behind is Schwellenbach, my preseason sleeper Cy Young candidate, who crushed it his first three starts and does indeed look like a Cy Young candidate.
The big question: When will they get Ronald Acuna Jr. back — and how good will he be?
Star power: 8 | Young talent: 5 | Baserunning: 2 | Defense: 3 | Minutiae: 4
Bonus (4): +1 for torpedo bats, +1 for Paul Goldschmidt hitting leadoff, +1 for Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s custom cleats, +1 for Aaron Judge’s Titanic blasts
Even without Juan Soto, the Yankees move up the rankings this season — thank you, Aaron Judge and your potential for a 60-homer season. They also have one of the most intriguing rookies of 2025 in Jasson Dominguez; after hearing about him for years, let’s see what he can do. Second-year catcher Austin Wells has All-Star potential, while Ben Rice is off to a big start filling in for Giancarlo Stanton at DH. The loss of Gerrit Cole means Max Fried needs to have a big year as the new staff ace.
Star power: 10 | Young talent: 2 | Baserunning: 2.5 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 5
Bonus (4): +1 for Gary, Keith and Ron, +1 for the whole “how will Juan Soto do in New York with this big contract?” thing, +1 for winning the USA Today best stadium food award, +1 for the Jose Siri experience
What’s not to like here? A lineup featuring three of the biggest names in the sport in Soto, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. The best broadcast crew in the business (the other day, Keith Hernandez was not only talking about the sponsor of his Little League team as a kid, but the sponsors of the other teams). Great uniforms. An owner who wants to win. Passionate and demanding fans. And the angst that comes with not having won a World Series since 1986.
Star power: 7 | Young talent: 7 | Baserunning: 3.5 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 5
Bonus (4): +1.5 for Luis Arraez‘s ability to almost never strike out, +1 for Jackson Merrill‘s new contract, +1 for the Petco Park vibe, +0.5 for Leo De Vries hype
The Padres have a well-balanced score: Star power in Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Dylan Cease (although he’s off to a shaky start); Merrill single-handedly gives them a nice score in the youth category; they’ve been aggressive stealing bases early on (including Machado); and they clean up things like ballpark atmosphere, broadcast crew and one of the best uniform sets in the majors. Michael King has turned into a top starter, and Yu Darvish, once he returns, is a longtime favorite.
Of course, the big question is: Can they keep pace with the Dodgers? Let’s put it this way: Given last year’s postseason, Padres-Dodgers is the No. 1 series to watch in 2025.
Star power: 4 | Young talent: 8 | Baserunning: 5 | Defense: 5 | Minutiae: 4.5
Bonus (2): +1 for day games at Wrigley, +1 for Shota Imanaga‘s 91 mph fastball/splitter combo
The Cubs ranked sixth a year ago but didn’t live up to that score, missing the playoffs once again while being a little less entertaining than we predicted. This year, we’re even higher on their watchability. They have one of the most intriguing groups of young players with Pete Crow-Armstrong, rookie Matt Shaw and starter Ben Brown, and their defense up the middle is electric with PCA, Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner.
What they have lacked is the marquee headliner. Now, Kyle Tucker is off to a great start and is on the way to earning himself a huge contract and might even play himself into MVP consideration, but as good as he is, he has never been a guy you switch the channel to watch. Maybe that changes this season.
Star power: 10 | Young talent: 3.5 | Baserunning: 3 | Defense: 2.5 | Minutiae: 5
Bonus (5): +1.5 for Bryce Harper‘s Phanatic gear, +0.5 for Matt Strahm‘s baseball card collection, +1 for stories John Kruk can’t tell on air, +1 for Zack Wheeler‘s splitter, +1 for the best uniforms in the majors
Harper is one of the sport’s iconic figures, and his at-bats remain must-watch TV. Kyle Schwarber might not be one of baseball’s best all-around players, but he proves that a three-true-outcomes approach can be entertaining. The Phillies also have perhaps the best rotation in the majors, with Cristopher Sanchez now throwing 96 and Jesus Luzardo looking poised for a big year after coming over from the Marlins. Wheeler is a joy to watch, as is Aaron Nola, who outthinks batters more than he overpowers them.
That young talent score is dependent on Andrew Painter reaching the majors at some point — but also keep an eye on outfielder Justin Crawford (son of Carl), who begins the year in Triple-A.
The Phillies are good, they have fun players, they have the best mascot and they play in front of sellout crowds. Now they just need a World Series title.
Star power: 7 | Young talent: 10 | Baserunning: 4 | Defense: 4 | Minutiae: 4
Bonus (2): +1 for Garrett Crochet‘s fastball, +1 for Wilyer Abreu‘s hot start
The Red Sox are oozing with talent on the position-player side: Abreu, Rookie of the Year candidate Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela, plus Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer in Triple-A. Jarren Duran was last year’s breakout star, a guy who did everything — hitting, defense, running the bases. Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers have done it for years, and Crochet gives Boston a Cy Young candidate.
I don’t know how good the Red Sox will be — Walker Buehler looks shaky and the back of the bullpen has to prove itself — but this is going to be an entertaining team.
Star power: 10 | Young talent: 7.5 | Baserunning: 2.5 | Defense: 2 | Minutiae: 5
Bonus (5): +2 for the Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound, +1 for Mookie Betts being Mookie, +1 for Teoscar Hernandez‘s joy, +1 for Decoy
Don’t be a hater. The Dodgers are clearly one of the most entertaining teams not just of 2025 but of all time. Ohtani is the sport’s biggest star, a global icon whose every at-bat is worth checking out. And now he’s slated to pitch again. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a pleasure to watch, and Blake Snell — currently on the IL — is as nasty as any pitcher in the game when he gets on one of his dominant stretches.
Throw in Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine, the most anticipated rookie of the season in Roki Sasaki, Dodger Dogs (OK, overrated), great uniforms and Mary Hart watching from behind home plate, and the Dodgers earn the top ranking for the second year in a row.
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David Schoenfield
Pete Rose, Joe Jackson, seven other members of the 1919 Chicago “Black Sox”, six other former players, one coach and one former owner are now eligible to be voted on for the Hall of Fame after commissioner Rob Manfred removed them from Major League Baseball’s permanently ineligible list.
Hall of Fame chairwoman Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement: “The National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration. Major League Baseball’s decision to remove deceased individuals from the permanently ineligible list will allow for the Hall of Fame candidacy of such individuals to now be considered.”
Due to Hall of Fame voting procedures, Rose and Jackson won’t be eligible to be voted on until the Classic Era Baseball committee, which votes on individuals who made their biggest impact prior to 1980, meets in December of 2027.
Let’s dig into what all this means.
Why were these players banned?
All individuals on the banned list who were reinstated had been permanently ineligible due to accusations related to gambling related to baseball — either throwing games, accepting bribes, or like Rose, betting on baseball games.
Most of the banned players, including Jackson and his seven Chicago White Sox teammates who threw the 1919 World Series, played in the 1910s, when gambling in baseball was widespread. As historian Bill James once wrote, “Few simplifications of memory are as bizarre as the notion that the Black Sox scandal hit baseball out of the blue. … In fact, of course, the Black Sox scandal was merely the largest wart of a disease that had infested baseball at least a dozen years earlier and had grown, unchecked, to ravage the features of a generation.”
The most famous player, of course, was Jackson, one of baseball’s biggest stars alongside Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker in the 1910s. While many have tried to exonerate Jackson through the years, pointing out that he hit .375 in the 1919 World Series, baseball historians agree that Jackson was a willing participant in throwing the World Series and accepted money from the gambling ring that paid off the White Sox players.
While the White Sox players were acquitted in a criminal trial in 1921, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned the eight players in a statement that began with the words “Regardless of the verdict of juries …”
If there was an innocent member in the group, it was third baseman Buck Weaver, not Jackson. Weaver had participated in meetings where the fixing of the World Series was discussed, and Landis banned him for life for guilty knowledge.
As for Rose, he was banned in 1989 by commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti for betting on games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, including those involving his own team. While Rose denied the accusations for years, he eventually confessed. He died last September at age 83.
Who else is impacted?
Phillies owner William Cox was banned in 1943 and forced to sell the team for betting on games. Cox had just purchased the team earlier that season. None of the other non-White Sox players are of major significance, although Benny Kauff was the big star of the Federal League in 1914-15, winning the batting title both seasons. The Federal League was a breakoff league that attempted to challenge the National and American leagues.
When is the soonest Rose and Jackson could go into the Hall of Fame?
The Hall of Fame voting process for players not considered by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America — such as Rose and Jackson, who never appeared on the ballot due to their banned status — includes two eras: the Contemporary Baseball Era (1980 to present) and the Classic Baseball Era (pre-1980). The voting periods are already set:
December 2025: Player ballot for the Contemporary Era.
December 2026: Contemporary Era ballot for managers, executives and umpires.
December 2027: Classic Era ballot for players, managers, executives and umpires.
Each committee has an initial screening to place eight candidates on the ballot, so Rose and Jackson will first have to make the ballot. While it’s unclear how a future screening committee will proceed, it’s possible that both will make the ballot. While comparisons to players with PED allegations aren’t exactly apples to apples — since they were never placed on the ineligible list — it’s worth noting that Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro were included on the eight-player Contemporary Era ballot in 2023.
Once the ballot is determined — a 16-person committee consisting of Hall of Fame players, longtime executives and media members or historians — convenes and votes. A candidate must receive 12 votes to get selected. In the most recent election in December, Dave Parker and Dick Allen were on the Classic Era ballot.
Which players have the best HOF cases?
Obviously, Rose would have been a slam-dunk Hall of Famer had he never bet on baseball and had he appeared on the BBWAA ballot after his career ended. The all-time MLB leader with 4,256 hits, Rose won three batting titles and was the 1973 NL MVP. And while he’s overrated in a sense — his 79.6 career WAR is more in line with the likes of Jeff Bagwell, Brooks Robinson and Robin Yount than all-time elite superstars — and hung on well past his prime to break Ty Cobb’s hits record, his popularity and fame would have made him an inner-circle Hall of Famer.
Whether he’ll get support now is complicated. Bonds and Clemens both received fewer than four votes in 2023. The committee usually consists of eight former players, and they may not support Rose given the one hard and fast rule that every player knows: You can’t bet on the game.
Jackson, meanwhile, was a star of the deadball era, hitting .408 in 1911 and .356 in his career, an average that ranks fourth all time behind only Cobb, Negro Leagues star Oscar Charleston and Rogers Hornsby. He finished with 62.2 WAR and 1,772 hits in a career that ended at age 32 due to the ban. Those figures would be low for a Hall of Fame selection, although the era committees did recently elect Allen and Tony Oliva, both of whom finished with fewer than 2,000 hits. And again, it is hard to say how the committee will view Jackson’s connection to gambling on the sport.
The only other reinstated player with a semblance of a chance to get on a ballot is pitcher Eddie Cicotte, who won 209 games and finished with 59.7 WAR. While his final season came at 36, the knuckleballer was still going strong, having won 29 games for the White Sox in 1919 and 21 in 1920 before Landis banned him.
For what it’s worth, the top position players in career WAR who made their mark prior to 1980 and aren’t in the Hall of Fame are Rose, Bill Dahlen (75.3), Bobby Grich (71.0), Graig Nettles (67.6), Reggie Smith (64.6), Ken Boyer (62.8), Jackson and Sal Bando (61.5).
Pitching candidates would include Luis Tiant (65.7), Tommy John (61.6) and Wes Ferrell (60.1). John was on the recent ballot and received seven votes. Others on that ballot included Steve Garvey, Boyer, Negro Leagues pitcher John Donaldson, Negro Leagues manager Vic Harris and Tiant.
Other potential pre-1980 candidates could include Thurman Munson, Bert Campaneris, Dave Concepcion and Stan Hack.
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Don Van Natta Jr.
In a historic, sweeping decision, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday removed Pete Rose, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other deceased players from Major League Baseball’s permanently ineligible list.
The all-time hit king and Jackson — both longtime baseball pariahs stained by gambling, seen by MLB as the game’s mortal sin — are now eligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Manfred ruled that MLB’s punishment of banned individuals ends upon their deaths.
“Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” Manfred wrote in a letter to attorney Jeffrey M. Lenkov, who petitioned for Rose’s removal from the list Jan. 8. “Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve.
“Therefore, I have concluded that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual, and Mr. Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.”
Manfred’s decision ends the ban that Rose accepted from then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in August 1989, following an MLB investigation that determined the 17-time All-Star had bet on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.
Jackson and seven other Chicago White Sox were banned from playing professional baseball in 1921 by MLB’s first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, for fixing the 1919 World Series.
Based on current rules for players who last played more than 15 years ago, it appears the earliest Rose and Jackson could be enshrined is summer 2028 if they are elected.
Manfred’s ruling removes a total of 16 deceased players and one deceased owner from MLB’s banned list, a group that includes Jackson’s teammates, ace pitcher Eddie Cicotte and third baseman George “Buck” Weaver. The so-called “Black Sox Scandal” is one of the darkest chapters in baseball history, the subject of books and the 1988 film, “Eight Men Out.”
In 1991, shortly before Rose’s first year of Hall of Fame eligibility, the Hall’s board decided any player on MLB’s permanently ineligible list would also be ineligible for election. It became known as “the Pete Rose rule.”
Rose believed his banishment would be lifted after a year or two, but it became a lifetime sentence. For “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who died in 1951, the ban became an eternal sentence, until Tuesday.
Jackson was considered for decades by voters, but Pete Rose’s name has never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot. He died in September at age 83.
Nearly a decade ago, Lenkov began a campaign to get Rose reinstated. On Dec. 17, Pete Rose’s eldest daughter, Fawn, and Lenkov appealed to Manfred and MLB chief communications officer Pat Courtney during an hourlong meeting at MLB’s midtown Manhattan headquarters.
“This has been a long journey,” Lenkov said. “On behalf of the family, they are very proud and pleased and know that their father would have been overjoyed at this decision today.”
Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the board of the Hall of Fame, said Manfred’s decision will allow Rose, Jackson and others to be considered by the Historical Overview Committee, which will “develop the ballot of eight names for the Classic Baseball Era Committee … to vote on when it meets next in December 2027.”
Lenkov said he and Rose’s family intend to petition the Hall of Fame for induction as soon as possible.
“My next step is to respectfully confer with the Hall and discuss … Pete’s induction into the Hall of Fame,” Lenkov said. The attorney said he and Rose’s family will attend Pete Rose Night on Wednesday at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.
“Reds Nation will not only be able to celebrate Pete’s legacy, but now optimistically be able to look forward to the possibility that Pete will join other baseball immortals,” Lenkov said. “Pete Rose would have for sure been overjoyed at the outpouring of support from all.”
Rose and Jackson’s candidacies presumably will be decided by the Hall’s 16-member Classic Baseball Era Committee, which considers players whose careers ended more than 15 years ago. The committee isn’t scheduled to meet again until December 2027. Rose and Jackson would need 12 of 16 votes to win induction.
Jackson had a career batting average of .356, the fourth highest in MLB history. After his death, Jackson’s fans, including state legislators in South Carolina, launched numerous public and petition-writing campaigns arguing that Jackson deserved a plaque in the Hall of Fame. Despite accepting $5,000 in gamblers’ cash to throw the 1919 World Series, Jackson batted .375, didn’t make an error and hit the series’ only home run.
Across the decades and among millions of baseball fans, especially in Cincinnati where Rose was born and played most of his career, the clamor over the pugnacious, stubborn legend’s banishment from baseball and the Hall became louder, angrier and increasingly impatient.
Few players in baseball history had more remarkable careers than Pete Rose. He was an exuberant competitor who played the game with sharp-elbowed abandon and relentless hustle. Rose, whose lifetime batting average was .303, is Major League Baseball’s career leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215) and outs (10,328). He won the World Series three times — twice with the Reds and once with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Rose often said — and stat experts agree — that he won more regular-season games (1,972) than any major league baseball player or professional athlete in history. He also won three batting titles, two Gold Glove Awards, the Most Valuable Player Award and the Rookie of the Year Award.
In 2015, shortly after Manfred succeeded Bud Selig as commissioner, Rose applied for reinstatement with MLB. Manfred met with Rose, who first told the commissioner he had stopped gambling but then admitted he still wagered legally on sports, including baseball, in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.
Manfred rejected Rose’s bid for reinstatement after concluding he had failed to “reconfigure his life,” a requirement for reinstatement set by Giamatti. Allowing Rose back into baseball was an “unacceptable risk of a future violation … and thus to the integrity of our sport,” Manfred declared on Dec. 14, 2015.
Rose often complained that the ban prevented him from working with young hitters in minor league ballparks. On Feb. 5, 2020, Rose’s representatives filed another reinstatement petition, arguing that the commissioner’s decision to level no punishment against the World Series champion Houston Astros players for electronic sign stealing was unfair to Rose. “There cannot be one set of rules for Mr. Rose,” the 20-page petition argued, “and another for everyone else.”
But Manfred, who did not meet again with Rose, chose not to rule on that second appeal prior to Rose’s death on Sept. 30, 2024.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced he planned to posthumously pardon Rose. “Over the next few weeks I will be signing a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, who shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING,” Trump wrote on social media Feb. 28.
Trump didn’t say what the pardon would cover. Rose served five months in federal prison for submitting falsified tax returns in 1990.
During an Oval Office meeting on April 16, Trump and Manfred discussed Rose’s posthumous petition for reinstatement, among other topics. Manfred later declined to discuss details of their conversation.
On Tuesday, Manfred called Trump, who was on a state trip in Saudi Arabia, and Forbes Clark about his ruling, multiple sources told ESPN.
John Dowd, the former Justice Department attorney who conducted MLB’s Rose investigation, told ESPN in 2020 that he believes Jackson belongs in the Hall but said he would disagree with Manfred on Rose. “There’s no difference with him being dead — it’s about behavior, conduct and reputation,” Dowd said.
Dowd’s inquiry found Rose had wagered on 52 Reds games and hundreds of other baseball games in 1987 while serving as Cincinnati’s manager. Giamatti then banned Rose from baseball permanently on Aug. 23, 1989.
When asked at a news conference whether Rose’s punishment should keep him out of the Hall of Fame, Giamatti said he’d leave that decision to the baseball writers who vote every year on players eligible for induction.
“This episode has been about, in many ways … taking responsibility and taking responsibility for one’s acts,” said Giamatti, a Renaissance scholar and former Yale president. “I know I need not point out to the baseball writers of America that it is their responsibility to decide who goes into the Hall of Fame. It is not mine.”
In his letter Tuesday, Manfred referred to the Giamatti quote and said he agrees “it is not part of my authority or responsibility to express any view concerning Mr. Rose’s … possible election to the Hall of Fame. I agree with Commissioner Giamatti that responsibility for that decision lies with the Hall of Fame.”
Giamatti had said Rose’s only path back into the game was to “reconfigure his life,” a not-so-subtle hint that if Rose continued to bet on baseball, he had no shot to return.
Only eight days after announcing the ban, Giamatti died of a heart attack at 51. His deputy and successor, Fay Vincent, adamantly opposed Rose’s reinstatement — both during his tenure as commissioner (until 1992) and until his death three months ago at age 86.
Rose was his own worst enemy. For nearly 15 years, he denied having placed a single bet on baseball. In the early 2000s, then-commissioner Bud Selig offered Rose a chance, but with conditions, including an admission that he bet on baseball and a requirement that he stop gambling and making casino appearances.
Rose declined.
In January 2004, he admitted in his book, “My Prison Without Bars,” that he had gambled on baseball as the Reds manager. But he insisted he only bet on his team to win. In 2015, ESPN reported that a notebook seized from a Rose associate showed Rose had also wagered on baseball while still a player, something he would not acknowledge.
Rose’s illegal gambling and prison time aren’t the only stains on a legacy that might be weighed by Hall of Fame voters, a group instructed to consider integrity, sportsmanship and character.
In 2017, a woman’s sworn statement accused Rose of statutory rape; she said they began having sex when she was 14 or 15 and Rose was in his 30s. Rose said he thought she was 16 — the age of consent in Ohio at the time. Two days later, the Philadelphia Phillies announced the cancellation of Rose’s Wall of Fame induction.
In January 2020, ESPN reported that for all practical purposes, Manfred viewed baseball’s banned list as punishing players during their lifetime but ending upon their death. However, Hall of Fame representatives have said that a player who dies while still on the banned list remains ineligible for consideration. With his 2020 reinstatement application sitting on Manfred’s desk, Rose was granted permission by MLB to be honored at a celebration of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies World Series championship on Aug. 7, 2022.
In the dugout before fans gave Rose a lengthy standing ovation, a newspaper reporter asked him about the 2017 allegation and whether his involvement in that day’s celebration sent a negative message to women.
“No, I’m not here to talk about that,” Rose replied to her. “Sorry about that. It was 55 years ago, babe.”
The public backlash to Rose’s remarks was swift and severe. MLB sources said his comments derailed his campaign to get off the ineligible list.
In the past several years, some fans have become more insistent that Rose should be forgiven by MLB and inducted into the Hall of Fame. One reason is America’s love affair with sports betting. As MLB has embraced legalized gambling through sponsorships and partnerships — like all U.S. professional sports — some fans and commentators complained that Rose deserves a second chance, echoing an argument Rose often made.
“I thought we lived in a country where you’re given a second chance, but not as far as gambling’s concerned,” Rose said in a 2020 interview with ESPN. He estimated the ban cost him at least $80 million in earnings as an MLB manager.
Rose, who signed baseballs and jerseys for years in memorabilia stores inside Las Vegas casinos and in Cooperstown on Hall of Fame induction weekends, gambled legally on sports nearly every day for the rest of his life.
Asked how much money his gambling had cost him, Rose said he didn’t know, though he acknowledged he lost far more than he won. “No one wins at gambling,” said Rose.
“I’m the one that’s lost 30 years,” he told ESPN in the 2020 documentary “Backstory: Banned for Life*.” “Just to take baseball out of my heart penalized me more than you could imagine. You understand what I’m saying? … I don’t think there’s ever been a player, I could be wrong, I don’t think there’s ever been a player that loved the game like I did. You could tell I loved the game, the way I played the game.
“So then you take that away from somebody. I’m able to hide it on the outside, but it’s ate me up inside, for all those years. Hell, you’d think I was Al Capone. I’m Pete Rose — played more games than anybody, batted more than anybody … OK? Got more hits than anybody. I am the biggest winner in the history of sports.”
Last September, in his last interview 10 days before his death, Rose told sportscaster John Condit: “I’ve come to the conclusion — I hope I’m wrong — that I’ll make the Hall of Fame after I die. Which I totally disagree with, because the Hall of Fame is for two reasons: your fans and your family. … And it’s for your family if you’re here. It’s for your fans if you’re here. Not if you’re 10 feet under. You understand what I’m saying?”
“What good is it going to do me or my fans if they put me in the Hall of Fame a couple years after I pass away?” Rose told Condit. “What’s the point? What’s the point? Because they’ll make money over it?”
ESPN’s William Weinbaum and John Mastroberardino contributed to this report.
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