162 games flatten luck — until October brings it back
MLB rankings run on a paradox: the long regular season is the most predictive in sports (talent wins over 162), but October is a coin-flip where a hot bullpen beats a better team. So a team's tier depends on whether you're ranking the marathon or the sprint. Payroll disparity is baseball's open secret — big-market rosters buy a floor smaller markets earn through farm systems. Fan lists never rank the Yankees or Dodgers neutrally. Rank the roster's regular-season floor, then note who's built for a short series.