Here is part one, talking about the eastern divisions, and here is part two, talking about the central divisions. It’s now time for part three, where I’ll compare NCAA football teams to the western divisions of the MLB.
AL West
Rangers: Auburn Tigers
They were often given less attention and had much less success than the other team in their state (the Astros in comparison to the Rangers, and Alabama in comparison to Auburn), but last year, they broke through in a major way: the Rangers won the AL pennant, and Auburn won the national title. Each team lost a big piece in the offseason (Cliff Lee and Cam Newton respectively) and is looking to rebound from the losses. The Rangers have. Will Auburn?
Angels: Oklahoma Sooners
They’re always a favorite to go all the way, each team has a great leader running the ship (Mike Scioscia and Bob Stoops are two of the best in their respective sports), and both have been dominant over the other local teams in competition with them in recent years. OU just can’t win the big one though, and while the Angels did win the World Series, it was nearly a decade ago.
Athletics: Northwestern Wildcats
Like Northwestern, the A’s have a significant factor working against them in their quest for a world title: payroll. Northwestern is hamstrung by their tight academic requirement, so both teams have to think outside the box to succeed. The A’s usually go after players who are undervalued by the market, while Northwestern goes after lower ranked recruits that fit the system better. Neither team can put it together in postseason play, either.
Mariners: Illinois Fighting Illini
They seem to be a chic pick to win the division every couple of years, and usually don’t live up to the expectations. When they do have a good year, it usually comes completely out of left field and doesn’t last very long. The leadership is also questionable, with Ron Zook being pretty awful most of the time at Illinois, while Eric Wedge and Don Wakamatsu before him look lost at times for the Mariners.
NL West
Diamondbacks: Louisville Cardinals
More often than not, they’re not a good team. But sometimes, they put it all together for a full season, and turn into a real fun team to watch and shock the hell out of everyone. Louisville won a BCS game in 2006, and Arizona won the World Series in 2001, so they’ve both managed to perform decently on the big stage.
Giants: LSU Tigers
Their pattern of success cannot go un-noticed, despite leadership (in Bruce Bochy and Les Miles) that is roundly panned across the board. They’ve both won titles, and are in the hunt for big-time postseason play every year. Both have their issues off the field as well, with the Giants going through the whole Barry Bonds situation and LSU having numerous players arrested over the years for every offense under the sun.
Rockies: South Florida Bulls
They’re consistently good, near the middle of the pack in their league, and have their share of superstars on the team (Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Grothe, BJ Daniels). But at the end of the day, you just kind of shake your head at them when it comes to contending for a championship.
Dodgers: Pittsburgh Panthers
Year after year, a solid team with a chance to compete, but every so often, nothing goes right and they fall off. They’ve had plenty of legends go through their program (Larry Fitzgerald and Dan Marino among others at Pitt, and I’m sure you can pick out dozens of Dodger greats), and they’re a storied franchise that hasn’t been able to get to the next level in recent years.
Padres: Maryland Terrapins
Some times, they’re contenders. Some times, they’re champions. Some times, they’re downright awful. You usually can’t name any of their players, but every so often, they’ll get a really great one (Tony Gwynn and Adrian Gonzalez come to mind in San Diego, Vernon Davis and Darrius Heyward-Bey for the Terps).
