A Closer Look at the Oakland A’s Chances in the 2024 World Series (Sponsored ad)
2023 has been a dreadful year for the Oakland Athletics. Although they’ve been in Oakland since 1968, the team has never experienced as many losses as they now have in the 2023 World Series.
The A’s find themselves ranking at or close to the bottom in various statistical categories this season. History indicates that losing 112 or more games in one season is extremely challenging for a team. However, the 2023 Oakland A’s concluded with a hideous record of 50-112 in the postseason.
As other teams celebrated division titles or playoff berths, the A’s found no reason for champagne celebrations as they secured their second-worst record in their 55 years in Oakland. After a 50-112 season, the Oakland A’s are legitimately considered one of the worst baseball teams in history.
The aftermath of these losses won’t go away overnight. But for those grasping any shreds of optimism for the team, you may wonder what approach they plan to employ to build a roster for the next season.
A Look Back at the Oakland A’s 2023 Season
Before delving into the Oakland Athletics odds of winning the 2024 World Series, let’s examine what A’s discovered about their roster in 2023. General manager David Forst found positively discussing the season a little fake, given A’s losses in 112 games. The team indeed failed to improve their 60-102 record from the preceding season.
Statistics tell most of the story. In the 2023 season, the Oakland Athletics finished 29th in Major League Baseball (MLB) for team batting average (.223), 28th in OPS (.668), and 26th in on-base percentage (.298). On the pitching side, the A’s issued 694 walks, the highest number among all MLB teams. Likewise, the team’s ERA of 5.48 was the highest in the American League.
The inexperienced pitching staff struggled with command issues throughout the year. The A’s MLB-leading record for walks is a clear manifestation of that. However, the impact of those issues became only apparent in A’s 17-6 loss to the Mets on April 14 at the Coliseum. No wonder the team’s ranking in the farm system also stood at 22nd or 23rd.
After all that, the A’s realized that counting on a pitching staff with limited experience entering the 2023 season was risky. The Oakland Athletics could make improvements in all areas. But pitching is the most notable area in need, specifically the bullpen, considering A’s closer Trevor May’s retirement after nine MLB seasons.
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The impending departure of the A’s primary closer leaves a significant void at the back end of the team’s bullpen as they approach the 2024 season. Despite this setback, it remains hopeful that some of the A’s young pitchers will perform better with this season of growing pains.
The Oakland A’s Odds to Win 2024 World Series
It’s never too early to anticipate the World Series odds for the 2024 MLB season. Based on the early 2024 World Series odds, the Atlanta Braves opened as the +600 betting favorites for the MLB championship in the next season. The team has a 104-58 record in the 2023 season.
In light of that, how do the odds look for the Oakland Athletics? Even with a disappointing record and the lowest payroll in MLB, the A’s still have plenty of people who care about and are rooting for the team.
Considering the team’s impending relocation to Las Vegas, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the A’s future in 2024. But unsurprisingly, after a 50-112 season, the team is not expected to come close to the World Series in 2024.
The Oakland Athletics odds of winning the 2024 World Series stand at +25000. That means placing a $10 bet would pay $2,510 if the A’s win the Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of the season. Considering this, the implied probability for the A’s to win is 0.4%.
With all that in mind, the Oakland Athletics are the team least likely to emerge victorious in the competition. A surprising twist is that they’re not alone as underdogs listed with those odds. The Colorado Rockies also have +25000 odds to win the 2024 World Series.
The Bottom Line
The Oakland A’s are where you anticipate them in 2024 after performing historically badly this season. It’s worth noting that while they haven’t reached the World Series since 1990, they’ve secured the playoffs 11 times since 2000. That’s often, as the Boston Red Sox did, and way more than the postseason appearances of the Mets and the San Francisco Giants.
The number of young and intriguing talents in A’s certainly provides glimmers of hope. For instance, it has successfully picked up a couple of valuable assets. However, Oakland’s trade strategy in recent years has not been effective so far. The A’s are still far from becoming serious contenders in the 2024 World Series.
