Baseball's East Coast: The New Big East?

There are many types of baseball clubs. There are aggressive teams, hopeless teams, and rebuilding teams. 

Aggressive teams are teams that are aiming for the playoffs, go big or go home.

Hopeless teams are the teams that are just along for the ride. They have a shot at the playoffs, but are towards the bottom of the pack.

Rebuilding teams are the teams that acknowledge that they have no shot at the playoffs, are willing to trade away their best players (if they have any) for top prospects, and are expected to be contenders in a few years.

Baseball has many of these teams. Almost every division has at least one of each.

But what part of the country fields the best teams? There is only one answer to that question. The East Coast.

Teams from the East Coast

New York Yankees

Boston Red Sox

Tampa Bay Rays

Toronto Blue Jays

Baltimore Orioles

Philadelphia Phillies

New York Mets

Florida Marlins

Atlanta Braves

Washington Nationals

Now, look at those teams. Included are the reigning World Champion Phillies, the Yankees, World Series runner-up Rays, the Red Sox, who have won the World Series twice during the past decade, and the New York Mets, who start some headaches.

The East Coast has six teams that are fully capable of winning the World Series. After the Yankees big acquisitions this offseason, they will surely be the favorites. The Mets have also been very active and have bolstered their bullpen significantly. The Phillies have also added bullpen help in Chan Ho Park and have filled their hole in left field.

The Braves may have recently lost John Smoltz, but he didn’t leave the East. He joined the Red Sox, and they won’t go unnoticed. The Rays have also signed long-time Phillie Pat Burrell, who will fill in excellently as the designated hitter. Though the Marlins haven’t made any significant moves, they proved they can hang with the best.

Last year, the East had three teams in the playoffs, the same number as the Central. But this year with all of the big names in the eastern divisions, when managers are preparing for an East Coast road trip, they will be staying up for hours trying to find a way to defeat these clubs.

Now there are some liabilities on the East Coast. The Orioles and Nationals are two of the worst teams in the majors, and the Braves and Blue Jays can cause some stirring, but the other teams can carry them.

The one thing you have to remember though is that these teams aren’t playing as one. They are still playing against each other. The only bad thing is that not all of the teams can make the playoffs.

Though the East may be a death trap to the outside, it’s a free-for-all on the inside.