It’s Opening Day, with the excitement and promise of a new season radiating throughout the sport and beyond. It’s time to consume baseball in every form possible, including, of course, talking baseball. Whether it’s water-cooler discussions, Slacks from the home office, family dinners or group chats, you’re going to need some baseball topics at the ready. Everyone has a World Series pick, but not everyone is prepared with an A-plus Wander Franco nugget.
That’s where we come in. We don’t just want you talking baseball, we want to equip you to wow and amaze whomever you’re with. Here’s one fact per team to make you sound smart.
Blue Jays: Power, plate discipline combo
With sluggers like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Marcus Semien (now gone to Texas), Teoscar Hernández and Bo Bichette, the Jays led the Majors with 262 home runs in 2021. But the team also exhibited great plate discipline, led by Guerrero’s discerning eye. Toronto’s 1,218 strikeouts at the plate were the fewest in MLB. They became just the fifth team since 1900 to boast both the most homers and fewest K’s, along with the 1995 Guardians, 1909 Giants and 1904-05 Giants. Even with Semien gone, expect this offense to be prolific – and appropriately stingy – yet again.
Orioles: New year, new dimensions
Camden Yards will look a bit different this year, with a left-field wall that’s 26 1/2 feet further back and almost six feet higher. There were 277 home runs there in 2021, tied for the fourth…