The NL East had a very un-impactful season as far as the playoffs are concerned. The Atlanta Braves were the only team to make the playoffs and were quickly beat by the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games. This came as a surprise to a lot of people due mainly to the expectations that were put on this division at the beginning of the year. Most experts believed that the Nationals would also be in the playoff run but that was clearly not the case. Below is the final standings in the NL East.
Atlanta Braves 96-66 (2 seed)
Washington Nationals 86-76
New York Mets 74-88
Philadelphia Phillies 73-89
Miami Marlins 62-100
As you can see this division was clearly dominated by the Atlanta Braves who were only out of first place for one day of the entire season. Below is a quick review of every single team and what went on throughout their season.
Atlanta Braves
As you all know the Atlanta Braves won 96 games, only one behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in the National League. The Braves came out of the gates roaring, winning 12 of 13 of their games in April. Justin Upton was one of the biggest pieces during this streak as he hit six home runs in the first seven games. The Braves then went on to play .500 baseball until they went on a nine game winning streak in May. After May they once again went back to playing .500 ball until another amazing winning streak of 14 games in late July to early August. They didn’t have enough to take the best record home and had to face the Dodgers in the first round of the NLDS.
Washington Nationals
Arguably the most disappointing team in all of baseball was the 2013 Nationals. A lot of people had ALREADY crowned them World Series champions in March, which was clearly not the case. The Braves had their number early on winning the first five games played between these two teams. Since the Braves and Nationals are the two powerhouse teams of the East it is very crucial to win every game within the division. They lost seven of eight games in July and lost five of six to Atlanta in August. This team never went into any crazy losing streaks but they never had a stretch of time where they dominated. Stephen Strasburg had an all around good season and Ryan Zimmerman heated up in September but it was not enough to reach the playoffs. Davey Johnson also announced that he would no longer be the Nationals manager after the end of the season.
New York Mets
This was another surprise considering that the Phillies were expected to take third but either way neither team performed to the level of satisfaction that could get you to the playoffs. The biggest upside of the year was Matt Harvey who had an ERA of 2.27 with 191 strikeouts. Unfortunately he was sidelined in late August and is set to have Tommy John surgery later in the month. David Wright was hurt for a large part of the season and only played in 112 games. This Mets team was not expected to do much and not much they did. The next few years will be rough in New York but they do have some good young pitching that could compete soon.
Philadelphia Phillies
It seems like just yesterday that the they were dominating the NL East and winning the World Series. Those years are long gone and things have really changed. Charlie Manuel who won his 1,000th game on August 12 was rewarded by being fired four days later! This was definitely a surprise when it happened but he is 69 years old. The walking injury that is Ryan Howard played in a whopping 80 games this year, which is nine more than he played in 2012. This man is the perfect example of why you don’t give out a five year 125 million dollar contract extension two years before the guy is going to be a free agent. Roy Halladay was also out for a large portion of the season and the rest is history.
Miami Marlins
Ahh, the loveable Marlins. They lost 100 games this season but that is a surprise to no one. They lost 19 of their first 24 games only to lose 10 of 11 in May. This streak went on basically all season and things were pretty ugly from beginning to end. The one bright spot on this team was the appearance of Jose Fernandez. In his rookie season he went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and 187 strikeouts. The best hitter on this team was Giancarlo Stanton but he still had a down year. He hit 24 home runs, drove in 62 men but only batted .249. This team was not expected to do much and should be the cellar dwellars for a few more years to come.
NL East MVP: Freddie Freeman
The most consistent and best hitter in the NL East was Freeman. He batted .319 on the season which was the third best in the NL and the best of any first basemen. He walked 66 times which was the 12th best in the NL along with 109 RBIs which was tied for second in the NL. He also hit 23 home runs on the season and was one of, if not the main reason the Braves won 96 games. To throw some more stats at you we have to look at his OBP which was sixth best in the NL at a mark of .396. To go along with his amazing bat was some overall solid defense at first. He was seventh in all of baseball in defensive runs saved which is over-shadowed by his bat. We have yet to see the best from Freeman.
NL East Most Disappointing: B.J. Upton
Sticking with the Atlanta Braves here again is the most disappointing player in the East, Mr. Upton. He signed the biggest contract in franchise history at five years, 75.25 million dollars. The only bright spot in an otherwise worthless season was when he hit a game tying home run on April 24, followed by a walk off homer by his brother, Justin. BJ has one of the fastest bats in baseball but he couldn’t make contact to save his life. He struck out 151 times in 126 games which put him at the 14th highest in all of baseball but first if you consider how many games he played in. He batted .184 with an OBP of only .268. Towards the end of the season he was being booed time and time again at Turner Field. Look for him to start in center for the Braves next year but he will have to do a whole lot better to keep his job.
NL East Cy Young: Cliff Lee
For whatever reason Lee seems to fly under the radar as far as great pitchers are concerned. Now I know that he is a good pitcher and does get talked about some but he doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves. In 2013 he went 14-8 with a 2.87 ERA. His ERA ranked sixth in the NL and third in the NL East. He struck out 222 men which was the second most in the NL behind only Clayton Kershaw. His opponent batting average was .232 and his WHIP was 1.01, all amazing numbers. This guy is 35 years old but hasn’t lost any of his stuff. An amazing year and deservedly the East Cy Young winner.
NL East Rookie of the Year: Jose Fernandez
I talked about this guy above and showed all his stats there. Everyone is pretty aware of how great this guy is and will win the NL Rookie of the Year award in the MLB this year. He just turned 21 in July so the scary part is that he is that he is only going to get better. We haven’t seen the best from this guy which makes you wonder how special this kid could really become. Keep an eye on this guy, mark my words.