2020 Predictions By Division: AL East

No, nobody knows quite when the 2020 MLB season will get underway. The league has stated that a mid-May start, at the earliest, is possible, but the unpredictable nature of the Covid-19 virus puts this in jeopardy. Truth be told, we may not see the regular season start until June.

But I've always done my predictions by division in March since my first full year of blogging in 2018, and this tradition is one that I'd like to continue. I also don't envision much changing between now and Opening Day.

It's things like this, analyzing each team in Baseball, organizing cards, that's going to get sports fans through this time of uncertainty.

Of course, the MLB season being delayed is far from our biggest program, but for fans who look forward to the season starting around this time of year, we need to find something to take our mind off of things.

Hopefully, the predictions by division can get me into that type of mindset while also preparing for Opening Day, whenever that may be.

Moving onto the main content of the post, the AL East division has the most significance for me, yet I've never predicted the final results correctly.

Following a disappointing finish for the Red Sox, a resilient Yankees team, and an offseason of improvement for the Blue Jays, I'm fairly certain that anything can happen.

1st Place: New York Yankees

In 2018, following their offseason acquisition of reigning NL MVP Award winner Giancarlo Stanton, I chose the New York Yankees to win the AL East division. The rest, as we know, is history; the Red Sox surged to 108 regular-season wins and, eventually, a World Series championship.

This year, after the Yankees added Gerrit Cole to the tune of $324 million, it stands to reason that New York will capture the division title for the second consecutive season. However, I'd much rather have a different outcome occur than for me to be right.

Still, the delayed start will allow guys like Stanton and Judge to become fully healthy by Opening Day, though the loss of Luis Severino to Tommy John surgery will definitely hinder their rotation.

But as we saw last season, injuries can't really keep the Yankees down. It didn't happen in 2019, and it likely won't in 2020 either.

2nd Place: Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox finished third last year with David Price and Mookie Betts, so it seems a little ridiculous to elevate them to second following the most irritating offseason I've ever experienced as a fan (and that's saying something).

However, I'm trying to remain hopeful that the World Series hangover was the cause of Boston's lackluster 2019 season, and that everyone can come back and stay healthy in 2020 (I'm talking to you, Chris Sale).

Devers, Bogaerts, and Martinez are laying the foundation of both the Red Sox's lineup and future while Michael Chavis and Bobby Dalbec are a couple of young sluggers that I'm eager to watch.

If E-Rod is lights out like he was last year and Sale comes back strong, there may be, if nothing else, a Wild Card berth in Boston's near future.

3rd Place: Tampa Bay Rays

At this point, the Rays might've been able to win a World Series if not for the organization's many, many poor moves. It's impossible to get into all of them, but trading Tommy Pham for Hunter Renfroe and a prospect ranks as one of the worst.

The Rays won 96 games last season almost despite the front office, but my rationale is that, at some point, the terrible moves are going to catch up with Tampa Bay, and their luck will run out.

They do have one of the youngest teams as well as one of the lowest payrolls in all of Baseball, but for whatever reason, Tampa's always been a seller, not a buyer, at the trade deadline.

Simply put, the organization doesn't seem determined to find success, and if you're not actively doing everything possible to win, it's not going to happen, not with all the talented teams competing for that World Series trophy.

4th Place: Toronto Blue Jays

I don't think anyone's disputing the fact that the Blue Jays are going to become a genuine playoff contender at some point in the next few seasons, but I just don't see it happening in 2020.

Despite offseason acquisitions that include NL Cy Young runner-up Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Blue Jays are too young to make a real push this season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Cavan Biggio, and Bo Bichette have laid the foundation for a very successful future, but they don't have a very deep roster as of now.

In a year or so, the Blue Jays might be making new moves, or new prospects could make their way to the MLB, but the team is a little too inexperienced to surge to the top of the AL East quite yet.

5th Place: Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have finished in fifth place from 2017-2019 with the latter 2 seasons being absolute disasters for a team that as recently as 4 years ago was contending for and actually made the playoffs.

While no team can stay terrible forever, it's going to take a while for the Orioles to rise from 5th place and make some strides toward moving up in the division. Adley Rutschman won't be making his MLB debut for a few seasons, but he's a reminder, if nothing else, of hope for Orioles fans.

Truth be told, I don't know a whole lot about this team or its players, but I do know that anything besides a 5th place finish is highly unlikely.

Top 5 Cards: Derek Jeter

I don't know what's caused my irregular posting schedule over the last couple of weeks and, really, the past few months.

Part of it, I presume, stems from a lack of material. I, shockingly, haven't purchased cards in a month, and the period between frankensets that took up most of December left me without a go-to post to fall back on.

Other times, my decision not to post for a day or 2 stems, honestly, from a lack of motivation. Yesterday was the most severe case of this situation.

As I was debating what kind of post I wanted to write, news broke about the shocking and tragic death of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant.

"Shocking" and "tragic" don't even begin to describe the emotions of sports fans and athletes worldwide, but truthfully, no words can encapsulate how I felt when the ESPN notification popped up on my phone.

I don't really collect Basketball cards (I've only purchased them a handful of times in my life), and I don't follow the sport nearly as close as I do Baseball. But I do, however, remember watching Kobe, specifically towards the end of the 2000s when his Los Angeles Lakers were the rival to the Boston Celtics.

I remember the NBA finals in 2008 and 2010; one championship went to Boston, the other to LA. Now, that rivalry seems unbelievably insignificant.

It's also important to note that 8 others died on the helicopter crash along with Bryant, including his 13-year old daughter Gianna. The false news reports that circulated afterward and TMZ's reporting the tragedy before Bryant's family could be notified are truly despicable.

Like I said, I've barely collected Basketball cards and don't follow the sport, so I don't have a proper tribute post for Kobe with photos and stories to tell. I did, however, wanted to take some time to discuss the events of yesterday before today's top 5 cards post of the almost unanimous Baseball HOF inductee from last Tuesday.

From 1 sports icon in his respective city to another, let me tell you all about my 5 favorite Derek Jeter cards.

#5 1999 Bowman's Best

Like many chrome/shiny cards that I scan and feature on the blog, Jeter's 1999 Bowman's Best looks a lot better in-person. The set design is more of a vibrant shade of gold that compliments the Yankee pinstripes much more.

Aside from the fact that his first name is spelled using a different font than his last name, I don't have any real complaints about the set design or this specific card. It does a nice job of defining the late 1990s, arguably the most successful period of Jeter's Hall of Fame career.

#4 2001 Upper Deck Vintage Retro Rules

I'm pretty certain this card is saying that the retro era of Baseball rules rather than laying out the rules of the period in MLB history, but regardless of how one interprets the name, the actual card is pretty spectacular.

Upon closer inspection, you discover that the card is literally just 3 colors: black, white, and red. Few designs can claim that they only feature 3 colors, as many have hidden details that bring the total number up.

This card clearly doesn't need to be changed whatsoever; its simplicity is what garners a spot on the countdown.

#3 2019 Topps Stadium Club

I feel like I could choose almost any Stadium Club card from one of my PCs for their respective top 5 cards post, but Jeter's from the 2019 release stood out to me among all the others.

The sky blue background at Yankee stadium is a perfect match for the iconic home pinstripes, and the angle of the shot gives us a good look at both the foreground and the background.

Sometimes, I wonder if Topps Stadium Club has lost its unique elements and is becoming repetitive, but when I see cards like the one above, I'm reminded of just how fabulous the product is.

#2 2006 Topps Heritage

I had 106 different Derek Jeter cards to choose from when deciding the top 5 for this list, yet I don't think I could've chosen one more simple than his 2006 Topps Heritage card, styled after 1957 Topps.

In addition to the incredibly minimalistic design, the photograph, taken at Spring Training, fits with the overall basic theme. It's a classic batter's stance with the bat taking up more space than the card allows, and Jeter is, once again, wearing the Yankee pinstripes.

Simple as it may be, it's easily one of my favorites.

#1 1993 Topps

As if any other card could claim the #1 spot on this list.

Purchased in a factory sealed 1993 Topps set at the card show several years back, Jeter's rookie ranks as one of the most iconic cards in Baseball history. It's no wonder we've seen a million different reprints of it over the years.

It was almost an automatic decision for me to rank this card at #1. It may not be worth as much as other rookie cards of big-name Hall of Famers, but no other Jeter card rivals his rookie from '93 Topps.

Best 30 Cards From All 30 Teams; AL East

At first, I wanted to create 1 post featuring my best card from all 30 MLB teams. I thought it would be really interesting to have 1 card from every Baseball team in 1 total post, but I soon discovered how difficult it would prove.

When the idea of showcasing all 30 cards together in 1 post was still a reality, I began brainstorming which cards I'd select for each and every club. Some teams, like the Cubs, Yankees, and Angels, had a ton of different options to choose from.

Others, like the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, seemed to have no legitimate candidate for the "best card." While it doesn't necessarily have to be a hit, relics and autographs usually make up the top tier cards in my collection, though this isn't always the case.

Anyway, before I get to the post itself, I should briefly go over what this series is going to be like. Basically, for the next 6 posts, I'll be showing off my best card from all 30 MLB teams. However, I won't be going strictly off of value since there are numerous factors that come into play.

As you'll soon see, my best doesn't always mean necessitate an extremely valuable card, for there are a couple of teams of which I don't own a highly sought after rookie card or autograph.

I'll be writing these posts on and off for the next 10 days or so, in between the Baseball card show recap posts that I'll start tomorrow. I'm hoping, through these posts, that the viewers will gain insight into my collection and learn things that even I didn't know about my collection.

I'll be making my way through the league, so these posts will start with the 5 AL East clubs; the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays. 

While I have marquee cards from some of these teams, this isn't the case for the latter 2, forcing me to do some digging to discover the top card from each of these franchises.

Baltimore Orioles

This pick shouldn't really come as a surprise, for I placed this 2018 Topps Archives Rookie History auto of Jim Palmer at #1 on my top 5 Orioles relics/autographs list a couple of weeks ago. Out of all 5 AL East teams, this was by far the easiest decision for me to make.

This card, more so than any other Orioles card that I own, has a distinct story behind it; I purchased a redemption card for this autograph at the Baseball card show a few months back for the same price as a blaster box of cards. Now, this rookie reprint auto has become the best Orioles card in my collection.

There's different serial numbering for each of the Topps Rookie History autos, and Palmer's happens to be out of 125 copies. While I'd prefer to pull a card like this from a pack myself, I paid far less for this than I would for a hobby box of Archives, and Palmer's a better name than most of the guys in the set.

Boston Red Sox

In this series, I'm most excited for the chance to display cards that I haven't had the chance to or decided not to showcase on the blog beforehand. One of these cards is an absolutely gorgeous encased autograph relic out of Topps Luminaries, an on-card auto that I picked up at the Baseball card show earlier this year,

Admittedly, this was a splurge purchase from the Mansfield show earlier this year, but I opted not to feature it on the blog until now. Numbered 2/10, the card is absolutely breathtaking, and it features an autograph of one of my favorite Red Sox players of all-time.

New York Yankees

Although I've only just begun this series, I'm certain that choosing my best New York Yankees card will be one of the most challenging decisions that I'll have to make. Considering the wide variety of Yankees cards that I have, from vintage cards to printing plates, deciding on just 1 wasn't easy.

However, my 1962 Topps Mickey Mantle card is on a higher level than every other Yankees card that I own. Vintage Mantle base cards can hold a tremendous value depending on the card's condition, and a 3.5 isn't too shabby considering how profound the damage is on the wood-bordered set.

Even though I have some pretty awesome Yankees cards of guys like Whitey Ford, Gleyber Torres, and even Babe Ruth, there's something about Mickey Mantle that makes him the most collectible player in Baseball history. I cherish this unbelievable '62 Topps base card that I have of his, and that's why I selected this card as the best New York Yankees card in my collection.

Tampa Bay Rays

Although I love the style of these mojo refractor cards from 2019 Bowman, I'm hoping that this Wander Franco card won't be the best Tampa Bay Rays card in my collection for long. I hope to sell this card on eBay very soon, for I'd rather cash in on this card while these mega box exclusive parallels are still hot.

This card was an extremely recent pull, for I landed it out of a Target mega box last weekend. Immediately, I listed it on eBay, and I've since had 4 people start "watching" the item. Franco is a top tier prospect at just 18-years old. 

The chances of him living up to the hype surrounding him now, in my opinion, are slim, so I'd rather sell this card and choose the Gypsy Queen framed relic that I have of Evan Longoria to take Franco's place on this list.

Toronto Blue Jays

The final team, the Toronto Blue Jays, was an extremely difficult one to decide on. I don't have any valuable Blue Jays cards or Vladimir Guerrero Jr rookies. This forced me to be more creative when it came to my choice since there were no immediate options that came to mind.

After pondering this decision for a while, I decided on my 1 and the only rookie card of the late Roy Halladay. A member of the 2019 HOF class, my one rookie card of Doc is from 1999 Topps Finest, and it still has the protective coating over the chrome card.

Highly-desired Blue Jays cards aren't exactly common like the Red Sox and Yankees, so it definitely required more thinking as to which card I'd choose for Toronto. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with my decision, because Halladay's rookie truly is the best Blue Jays card in my collection.

2019 Predictions; AL East

After growing increasingly impatient while waiting for the last few big-name free agents to sign contracts, I realized I cannot wait any longer on my 2019 MLB predictions. 

This year's Opening Day for all 30 teams is in just over 2 weeks, and I intend to go about my predictions the same way as last year; division by division.

In order to avoid becoming repetitive with my posting, I'll be forming my MLB predictions, by division, on-and-off up until a few days before Opening Day. Then, I'll make my picks for the awards and the playoffs before the 2019 MLB regular season officially begins on March 28th.

Last year's divisional predictions, although entertaining to write, were quite far off from the actual results. I have merely one hope for my picks this time around; to be more accurate than I was in 2018. Then again, Baseball's unpredictability may come back to haunt me for the 2nd year in a row.

First up in a series of divisional predictions is the AL East, home to the 2018 World Champions, the Boston Red Sox. For over a decade, this division has vigorous in terms of competition, with all 5 teams posing as a threat at some point or another. 

Last year, there were 3 90-win teams in the AL East with 2 teams reaching the 100-win mark as well. The race for the #1 spot in this division, like 2018, is likely going to be a nail-biter.

I wasn't correct in my predictions last year, so let's hope I have more success with my 2019 picks for the AL East division.

1st Place; Boston Red Sox

Coming off of a historic season in which the Sox won 108 games, all eyes will be on Boston in 2019 with many teams hoping that they crash and burn. However, the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros have taught us that, in recent years, World Series Champions can go on to take the division crown 2 years in a row.

Other than the departure of Joe Kelly and the unlikeliness for Craig Kimbrel to return, the Red Sox will be bringing back virtually everyone on their roster from 2018. A notable addition will also be Dustin Pedroia, a dependable option at 2nd base when healthy. 

Additionally, Betts, Benintendi, and Bogaerts are all coming off their best season yet, and the Sox's rotation is the best its been in years. Repeating as World Series Champions will be a challenge, but I have confidence that the Sox will be able to repeat as winners of the AL East.

2nd Place; New York Yankees

The Yankees took multiple steps last offseason to improve going into the 2019 season. The 100-win team traded for James Paxton, signed Adam Ottovino, and extended 2 of its stars, Aaron Hicks and Luis Severino. Clearly, the Yankees are coming for the Red Sox with a vengeance and eyes on recapturing the AL East crown.

New York has a balance of hitting and pitching going for them in 2019, something they lacked last season. Injuries aside, batting average was a notable concern for the Yankees who finished 16th in Baseball with a team batting average of .249. 

I don't expect sluggers like Hicks and Stanton to make vast strides to improve their batting average which could prove to be the sole thing holding the Yankees back in 2019. 

3rd Place; Tampa Bay Rays

The most surprising team of 2018, the Tampa Bay Rays won 90 games almost in spite of themselves. They designated Corey Dickerson, a 2018 All-Star, for assignment before the season started and traded away Chris Archer and Alex Colome at the deadline. 

Somehow, this club was a top-6 American League team last season. It's just a shame that management doesn't work with the talented players that the Rays have. Instead, Dickerson's replacement, C.J. Cron, fell victim to the same fate this offseason. After hitting .253 with 30 homers, he too was designated for assignment.

Unfortunately for the talented players in Tampa, including Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, the Rays don't have the money or the market that heavyweights Boston and New York do. To compensate, smarter moves have to be made, or the Rays will be a 3rd place team forever.

4th Place; Toronto Blue Jays

Franchise player and 2015 AL MVP award winner, Josh Donaldson, is gone. Troy Tulowitzki was released after an injury-plagued few seasons north of the border. Roberto Osuna is now a member of the Houston Astros. 

Clearly, the Blue Jays team that made the ALCS 2 years in a row is no more. Therefore, it's time to completely start over and rebuild. The only problem is, that rebuild won't be ready until at least 2020 when Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are playing full-time. 

Until then, Canada's only Baseball team will have to struggle through 2019 with hopes of rising to the top of the AL East in years to come.

5th Place; Baltimore Orioles

I can't foresee it getting much worse for the Baltimore Orioles team that lost 115 games in 2018, but I also can't imagine things getting all that much better. With a first-year manager at the helm and their starting lineup being weaker than its been in over a decade, I wouldn't expect the Orioles to rise out of the cellar of the AL East.

Trey Mancini, a finalist for 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, provides some hope for an Orioles team that has seen Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Jonathan Schoop traded. They're grossly overpaying Chris Davis and Alex Cobb while still not having that 1 franchise player they so desperately need.

Considering that their farm system doesn't appear to have that impact player either, expect the Orioles to struggle for years to come, not just in 2019.

My Best Yankees Cards

Along with the Red Sox and Cubs, it seems that I have a natural ability to both purchase New York Yankees cards and pull them from packs. Because of that, I'd go as far as to say that the Yankees are the 3rd most represented team in my entire collection, behind only the 2 previously mentioned clubs.

While I don't quite know if this is a positive thing or not, it's somewhat odd for a collector like myself to actively collect cards of the Red Sox's arch-rival. But, with the seemingly endless number of Yankees cards out there, it's pretty difficult to avoid them. 

Whether you're opening a pack or making your way through a dime box, Yankees cards seem to be everywhere. After all, there are my Yankees cards listed on COMC than any other team, and I believe that to be a fair representation of all the cards out there to collect. 

Regardless, the abundance of Yankees cards has resulted in some pretty major cards making their way into my collection, either via a pack of cards or a direct purchase at the Baseball card show or online. 

As a result, this Red Sox fan has been left with a plethora of various Yankees cards, some of them even proving to be among the best cards in my entire collection. Today, I'll be taking a more in-depth look at the greatest Yankees cards that I own.

To commence this Yankees-centric post, I have a classic-looking card of one of the most underrated pitchers of all-time, Whitey Ford. Despite career stats that include a 2.75 ERA, 45 shutouts, and nearly 2,000 strikeouts, Ford isn't as widely recognized as other Yankees legends that you'll see later on in this post.

I have an older card of Whitey Ford from the 1958 Topps set, but the condition and the centering are pretty lackluster. Because of that, I went with my 5.5 Beckett graded card of Ford from '66 Topps instead.

The grade may not be the best, but this 1958 Topps All-Star card of Mickey Mantle is tied for the oldest Mantle card in my collection. Personally, the 2.5 grade doesn't matter as much given how fabulous these original All-Star cards from '58 are. 

My original look at these classic All-Star cards was from the 2007 Topps Heritage set with guys like David Ortiz and Albert Pujols. Nothing can truly compare to the originals, much less a Mickey Mantle card from this memorable set.

Tied with the previous card for my oldest card of the highly-collectible Mickey Mantle is another card from the 1958 Topps set, this one a World Series Batting Foes combo card, showcasing 2 of the greatest hitters in Baseball history.

Because base cards tend to possess a higher value than combo cards like the one above, the Batting Foes card isn't as valuable as Mantle's iconic base card from '58. Still, this card has been in my collection as long as I can remember, so you can definitely say I've grown attached to it. 

Even though I understood that the card wouldn't receive a high grade, getting this card graded was an easy decision to preserve this fabulous piece.

Finishing up with these combo cards, here's the final big one in my Yankees collection, this one from the wood-bordered 1962 Topps set. Originally, I had 2 of these graded, and I sold the one graded at a 4 on eBay. I saved the other card, graded at a Beckett 5, because, like the '58 card, it features 2 of the greatest players in Baseball history.

It certainly would be a "Managers' Dream" to have either one of these guys on your team, and it's still pretty surreal that I even have this card in the first place. Similar to the World Series combo card from '58, this card has always been a part of my collection. Getting it graded at a 5, however, was something totally unexpected.

In terms of my major modern-day Yankees cards, the best place to start would be the cards that were most recently added to my collection, a quartet of printing plates from the 2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Collection product. 

An entire set composed solely of Babe Ruth cards, Leaf did the best that they could without licensing rights and created a memorable and unique product. However, I didn't pull these 4 cards from a pack of cards. 

Rather, I grabbed this 4-card lot from a vendor at a major card show last year for a very fair price. At just north of $15 per card, this will go down in history as one of my greatest Baseball card show finds of all-time.

And as a result of that very same card show, I added this unbelievable card to my collection, and for the very first time throughout this entire post, the card I'm showing is one that I pulled myself from a pack of cards.

Though that feat will become more common over the next couple of cards that I show, pulling this Mickey Mantle warm-up jacket from a pack of 2010 Topps 206 was incredibly surreal. I certainly wasn't expecting anything close to this good to come from the box that I opened. 

It was simply supposed to be a fun and relatively inexpensive box break, and I ended up with a card that could pay for the entire box that I opened and then some. At some point in the near future, I could see myself submitting this card for Beckett grading as well.

Another card that I pulled from a pack myself, this one from a $10 rack pack of 2017 Topps Chrome, we have this Aaron Judge image variation rookie, a card I've likely shown here on the blog before today.

Back in August of 2017, Aaron Judge was at the peak of popularity, even making the cover of the 2017 Topps Chrome set. Because of that, everyone was looking to cash in and pull a valuable Judge card, including me. I just didn't expect that hit to come out of retail.

Flash forward roughly 1 and a half years and that card is now graded at a 9.5 and is easily the greatest Judge card that I own. Certainly, Topps Chrome retail was kind to me in 2017, and the same could definitely be said for the 2018 set as well.

If the Judge image variation was a major hit, I don't even have the words to express what this Gleyber Torres autograph pull meant to me, especially since I pulled it out of a blaster of Topps Chrome at last years' National in Cleveland. 

Numbered out of 250 copies, this Torres card is a purple refractor auto of one of the biggest rookie names of 2018. I made the decision to get this card graded as quickly as possible, while at The National, and I'll definitely be holding onto this stellar autograph, hoping Torres continues to progress as a talented and young player.

But honestly, none of these cards can truly compare to the beauty that is this 1962 Topps graded Mickey Mantle card, the one and only Topps base card of Mantle that I own, graded at a 3.5. Like all the other vintage cards showcased on this post, this Mickey Mantle card didn't receive the highest grade for the same reason that many vintage cards fail to do so as well. 

Even though the condition is obviously important for vintage cards, it doesn't matter all that much to me considering the fact that, like the rest of the cards shown above, I'll be holding onto this Mantle card from '62 Topps and not selling it.

If I wasn't convinced beforehand, this post did its job and changed my mind. All of a sudden, I'm not so certain that having too many Yankees cards is such a bad thing after all.

That still doesn't mean I like the team, though.