The Most Disappointments Teams of the 2023 MLB season

October 1st, 2023

The 2023 MLB season included a big display of teams true colors. From clear overspending to culture issues, there are many reasons that the high hopes of some teams were quickly shot down, and for that, they are deemed a disappointment.

The Yankees: The Yankees wrapped up their terrible season at 82-80. Which isn’t even that bad, but if you’re the Yankees it is. The Yankees are the historically best franchise in sports, and with that comes a lot of pressure to produce. It’s the first time they’ve missed the postseason since 2016. They increased their payroll by about $27 million dollars from last year, which mostly went to Carlos Rodon who only pitched in 14 games and posted a 6.85 ERA. Judge also missed some time, only playing in 106 games in which he was outstanding. So yes, injuries hurt them, but they also had many unresolved issues in the clubhouse. Judge, Rizzo, and Aaron Boone have all expressed that there are changes to be made in the clubhouse culture. Ironically enough, Boone has led the American League in ejections for three years running now. Rizzo stated that something felt “off” in the clubhouse and I agree. There’s something about this group that makes me feel like they’re just a bunch of employees rather than members of a team. It’s hard for me to explain, as it is for Rizzo and Judge. Something is off and they need to gel together better. They most definitely need a culture shake, and should try to get the absolute most they can out of the guys with big contracts without being hesitant to make some trades. They have the 2nd highest payroll behind their fellow New York team, the Mets.

The Mets: They have the highest payroll in the league, which is $64 million dollars more than the Yankees. They went 74-87 and finished with just three more wins than the Washington Nationals. Senga, Alonso, and Lindor were about the only sparks in the lineup for the Mets. Alonso hit 46 bombs with 116 RBIs, but his aura is not one that brings much applause, especially after he caught a lot of fire for making zero effort on a flyball just a few feet from him. Many fans (and Jeff McNeil) were upset at Alonso for this as it obviously was not a good look and it seems pretty clear that he doesn’t want to be there. Many fans were also upset at how the rest of their lineup performed. Vogelbach, McNeil, Baty, and Marte all had surprisingly disappointing seasons with an average OPS of just .669 from those four. They had a team ERA of 4.28, which was the 18th best in the league. As far as management goes, they gave up in the middle of the year by trading away Verlander, Scherzer, Robertson, and Pham before owner Steve Cohen stated the expectations of the team next year “will be a lot lower”. This organization has a lot of work to do.

The Padres: The common denominator for this list is payroll. It’s hard to be disappointed in a team that doesn’t spend money. The Padres, however, spent a lot of money. They had the 3rd highest payroll at around $253 million. They had a team full of all stars. They have the clear NL Cy Young award winner and one of the best relievers in baseball. They went to the NLCS last year. All these factored in to create high expectations for the team this year, and the Padres did not live up to the hype. They finished 3rd in the NL west with an 82-80 record with a team, had a team OPS of .744, and had a team ERA of 3.87. Now this isn’t a bad record, bad stats, or a bad team, but this isn’t about whether or not they were good. It’s about whether or not they were disappointing. This Padres team is fairly well rounded, but for what they’re spending on these guys, their floor should be making the playoffs which they failed to do. Similar to the Yankees, they have had some clubhouse issues as well. I wrote in a previous article how Josh Hader refused to pitch in one of their most important games of the season. Joe Musgrove has spoken on some internal issues that the team failed to address and let spiral out of control, and some sources have directed some of those issues at Manny Machado, who is well known for having an unusually large chip on his shoulder as well as routinely displaying a level of disrespect for the game. I am sure that A.J. Preller feels stuck because the team doesn’t need much. They have a loaded roster that’s coached by a man with three manager of the year awards under his belt. There are a lot of question marks in terms of my expectations of the moves that Preller needs to make this offseason.

The three most disappointing teams this season had the three highest payrolls. Money can’t buy happiness, but I’m sure it helps. One of the main issues for each of these teams is their culture issues. Baseball fans can tell when the energy of your team is there, and for the Yankees, Mets, and Padres, we did not see it. My best guess for the root of all these issues is that some people have big egos, and it’s typically the guys who get paid well that have the biggest egos. Maybe I’m wrong, but every one of these teams has had incidents this year where high-paid players have just given up on trying. These teams don’t need complete rebuilds; they are talented teams with guys that have proven at one point or another they can compete. It seems they just need to be woken up.