5 teams with the most pressure to win the 2023 World Series

You have to spend money to make a championship caliber team. It’s the name of the game, if your favorite teams owner isn’t willing to shell out the cash then, unfortunately, you don’t have much of a shot at the World Series. It was a method truly popularized by the late, great New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, with people crowning his team “The Evil Empire.”

Of course, there are exceptions, like the previously known Florida Marlins (1997, 2003), the 2015 Royals, and the San Francisco Giants of the 2010s that won three World Series titles (2010, 2012, 2014). However, in today’s game, the cream of the crop open their wallets and try to get the best players on the market.

When you spend that kind of money, your fans expect results. There is a direct correlation between championship pressure and total team payroll.

Here are the top five teams that are under the most pressure to win the World Series heading into the 2023 season.

5. Los Angeles Angels

After the Seattle Mariners snapped their 20-season postseason drought, the Angels now hold the longest one in the MLB (tied with the Detroit Tigers). They also have Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, meaning arguably the top two players in the entire sport are on the Angels roster. While Trout was willing to sign a massive contract to stay in L.A., Ohtani has voiced that he intends to play for a contender. If the Angels want to keep both of their generational talents, forget about winning the World Series, they need to get to the playoffs first. If they can do that, who knows how far they go? But the pressure is certainly on for them to succeed.

4. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies had a great postseason run last year, but ran out of steam when they faced the Houston Astros in the World Series. There’s no reason the Phillies can’t fight their way back to that spot. They are basically running it back with that same team, and added one of the best hitters and base stealers in the league with Trea Turner, who signed a massive contract this offseason. Despite being in arguably the most difficult division in baseball, they have a legitimate shot to win on the backs of their pitching staff, lead by Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, as well as their deep lineup.

3. New York Yankees

There has always been tremendous pressure on the Yankees to win. It’s what the fans expect, it’s what ownership expects, and it’s what the players expect when they don the uniform. However, the Yankees haven’t even made the World Series since they won win 2009. They handed out a massive contract to Aaron Judge, the AL MVP, and named him team captain, the first since Derek Jeter. They signed Carlos Rodon (who will start the year on the injured list), and, of course, they still have Gerrit Cole. They have some promising talent coming up soon with Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza, and Jasson Dominguez, but this core isn’t getting any younger. They’ve also been plagued by the Astros several times in the playoffs. It’s time for the once “Evil Empire” to assert themselves back at the top sooner rather than later.