Only three days remain in the 2026 MLB regular season and there is still so much to be decided. Postseason battles, awards races, and much more. What we don't have to wait to decide are our superlatives for the season.
Here, via our CBS Sports panel of MLB experts, are 10 superlatives for the year that was. Some serious, some whimsical. On a certain level, nothing's surprising about the Rays' success, but consider the context.
Last season, Tampa Bay lost 85 games and finished in fourth place. This season, the Rays added roughly 20 wins to their 2025 total while playing in a pretty tough AL East. You can point to a number of pleasant surprises at the team level this year, but the Rays emerging as the best team in the American League is top among them. -- Dayn Perry This one's not a hard call.
Seattle made it to Game 7 of the ALCS last year and, on paper, looked like a strong World Series contender coming into the current season. That, however, hasn't come close to happening. The Mariners will finish below .500 despite having played one of the easiest schedules in all of MLB.
It's the kind of season that should lead to firings in the dugout and at the top of the front office. -- Dayn Perry Competitive category, but Walker gets the nod for his breakout campaign. In 2024 and 2025, he was perhaps the worst player in MLB, but he took a major step forward in 2026. Thanks to his improved ability to elevate the ball and the strides he made with plate discipline, Walker went from bust to All-Star in half a season.
Now the Home Run Derby champ is looking like a lineup fulcrum for St. Louis for years to come. -- Dayn Perry There are a number of viable candidates for this dishonor, but it says here that the Seattle catcher soars under all others. Coming off a 60-homer 2025 campaign in which he finished runner-up to Aaron Judge in the AL MVP vote, Raleigh this season has seen that homer tally more than halved, and he's seen his OPS+ drop by more than 70 points.
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