Can we read anything into how the 2024 postseason played out?

The 2024 baseball season ended Wednesday night, when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 7-6 to win the World Series four games to one.

Last year the World Series was a matchup of wild card teams with No. 5 seed Texas beating No. 6 seed Arizona for the WS championship.

In 2023, there were three teams that won 100 games or more. The Atlanta Braves won 104, the Orioles won 101 and the Los Angeles Dodgers won 100.

None of those teams won a single playoff series. In fact between the three teams, they won one playoff game. The O’s and Dodgers were swept in the Division Series.

Fans were wondering if winning your division and getting a five-day layoff, was working against those teams. This year, teams had no such problems.

Ironically, at a time when there were no 100-win teams, some favorites still won. Major League Baseball's two winningest teams played in the World Series.

The last two years to me show that the playoffs are just wide open and anything can happen. In 2023, a team with 84 wins (Arizona) won three playoff series while the 104-win Braves won just one playoff game.

That is part of the beauty of the sport for me. An 84-win team can get in and make a deep run. But a 104-win team can’t just show up and expect to roll.

You have to do it in that moment. You have to do it on the big stage. No team knows that better than the Orioles who went 0-5 in back-to-back Octobers. For two years they played at one level during the season and could not match that in October.

It doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t have an Orange October one year. And hopefully sooner than later. The Dodgers, by the way, went 1-6 the last two Octobers, before going 11-5 this season. And they were almost out, remember, in the 2024 Division Series, trailing San Diego 2-1 in the best-of-five. They won two straight elimination games, both by shutouts. Maybe that should have told us what they are made of.

For the Orioles this year it felt like six months of an exhausting grind led to a playoff series that was over in 15 minutes. Well it wasn’t that fast. But in a span of about 24 hours, it was over. Abrupt.

By the way, according to BetOnline.ag, the Orioles have a better chance to win the World Series coming off a 91-win season than they did coming off a 101-win year.

Going into 2024, the Orioles were listed by that outlet as 16-1 to win the World Series. Thursday, after the World Series ended the night before, they were listed at 12-1 to win next season.

The day after Texas won last year the odds to win the 2024 World Series had Atlanta at 7-1, the Dodgers at 8-1 with Houston and Texas both at 9-1.

Here are the 2025 WS odds: As one World Series ends here are the current favorites to win the next one with the Orioles tied for the fourth-best wagering favorite.

13/4 - Los Angeles Dodgers (+325)

15/2 - New York Yankees (+750)

8/1 - Atlanta

12/1 - Orioles, Houston

14/1 - Philadelphia, San Diego

20/1 - New York Mets

22/1 - Texas

25/1 - Minnesota, Seattle

The Chicago White Sox are listed at 300/1 while the Rockies, Angels and Marlins are all at 250/1.