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MLB: Five Most Disappointing Teams To Start The Season

By Sonny Martinez

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Woodford (40) and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) charge Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos (2) as Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India (6) holds them back in the fourth inning of the MLB baseball game between Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, April 3, 2021.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Woodford (40) and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (4) charge Cincinnati Reds right fielder Nick Castellanos (2) as Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India (6) holds them back in the fourth inning of the MLB baseball game between Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, April 3, 2021. /
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

162 games is a long season, but a disappointing start can crush an MLB team’s confidence for weeks.

It’s hard to judge an MLB team based off their start. There’s always a team that starts terrible that makes a playoff run. We’ve even had one start 19-31 and win the World Series. The flip to that is the team that starts red hot, sometimes even in the thick of the conversation into the All Star break, and then they fade and barely even finish at .500.

We, unfortunately, lost the Nationals/Mets series this weekend, which by itself is probably the most disappointing series of the week. As for what happened on the field, these teams had a very rough start to their 2021.

The five most disappointing MLB teams thus far

5. Atlanta Braves

The Braves are a popular pick to win a crowded NL East. In a division where even the worst team (on paper, the Marlins) made the playoffs in a shortened 2020, every game is crucial. So how did the run for the division start? They were swept by the Phillies.

Let’s cut the Braves some slack: the Phillies are no pushover. They could just as easily win the NL East as the Braves.

Atlanta is led by it’s offense, which is loaded with young talent. But that great lineup floundered, scoring just three runs over three games, low lighted by Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies going 0-for-the weekend and Ronald Acuna going 2 for 12.

On Saturday, the Braves were one-hit and struck out 14 times by Zach Wheeler, Archie Bradley and Hector Neris. Neris stuck out the side to end the game, two looking. It was a fitting end to a forgettable series.

The Braves are scheduled to play the Nationals next, but Covid has already impacted that schedule as Monday’s opener was postponed. An extra day might be what the Braves need, taking a few extra swings to brush off the bad opening weekend.

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