“Try to get my body ready so I'm ready to go.” - Aaron Judge, owner of strained calf, willing himself to the playoffs, so maybe (no) the Yankees can win their first title since 2009.
🎙️ Leading Off
I won’t spoil this All-Baseball post with any banter about Amen Thompson’s contract extension or Jaren Duren’s restricted free agency. I can’t even begin to think about the Great Repricing of NBA Contract Extensions. Pick that convo up with your own family. For today, it’s all MLB.
⚾️ Hard In The Paint
(GQ)
Shhhhhhh….I won’t tell anyone. I know your baseball hat got a little dusty. I know. The eternal optimism of Spring perhaps faded over summer. Were you in Europe? The Finger Lakes? Perhaps somewhere even more domestic. The crack of the bat faded into late evening crickets, a bonfire, waves on the shore. I can’t blame ya. But I need you wearing a button-up jersey over your hoodie. Fall is here and now October. MLB’s postseason begins next week so you can hang on every pitch. A walk becomes a rally. The last three outs are the hardest. We made it.
Before all that, can we take a hot second to air out what happened over the last 6 months?
25 qualified batters (more than 500 plate appearances) are batting above .280 (less than one per team).
19 men (way less than one per team) have more than 30 dingers.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA to his family) is so far and away the best player in baseball that people largely forgot Aaron Judge spent the year injured (66 games).
Jacob Misiorowski is the King of the Brewers (99 wins, the best in baseball).
Most disappointing teams (welcome to the entire AL West): Mariners, [wide gap], Blue Jays, Mets, Angels, Rangers, Giants, Astros.
Let air one more thing out: the Red Sox (with 85 wins) extended GM Craig Breslow and Manager Chad Tracy. The braintrust engineered this summer’s hottest turnaround, including a 15 game win streak. For their efforts, each will hang around for three more years. Is this an achievement? Are the Red Sox, limping to 88 wins, third in their division, really in such a tremendous place that they need to lockup their front office and dugout? What happens if they bow out in the Wild Card round? The Red Sox feel to me like a representation of too much of the league. Batting .255? You hit third. Sub .400 slugging percentage? Not a problem, league average defense makes you a starter. This was not a banner year for counting stats, sluggers, or even web gems. This summer was defined by winning on the margins, fundamentals, and being barely above average.
Is there anything left to play for? Barely. The hottest playoff races look like the following:
AL Wild Card (3rd place): currently, held by the White Sox who are also one game behind the Guardians in the AL Central. Chicago gets to wrap up their season at home against Rockies, all but guaranteeing a playoff spot unless.
AL West: currently, owned by the Astros (one game under .500). The Rangers (trash, also under .500) need to make up two games before Sunday.
NL Wild Card (3rd place): The Diamondbacks need help from the Padres between now and Friday, and then need to sweep the Friars this weekend.
Man, by the time I got down here, I expected to be a little more excited for the playoffs. I’m such a big fan of the structural changes the league office enforced (pitch clocks, no-shifts, etc…). The good news: all that gets to shine with the league’s best teams on display. Everyone’s stats are wiped clean, and a hot month makes you a legend. So let’s get through one more week. Postseason Baseball is still the Best, and we’re right on the doorstep.
📻 Over The Air
📡 JumboTron: Tonight’s Must Watch
All times PST
Liberty vs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 4:30pm, ESPN
Falcons vs Packers, 5:15pm Prime
☎️ The Phone Line
Best thing on the timeline today:
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Walkup Song
Walkup Song
Rascal Flatts
For October’s sprint to the World Series:
Spotify