Category: Baseball

It’s Sunday once more, and you know what that means — it’s time for our weekly social media roundup! With the untimely end of the Yankees season now more than a week and a half behind us, we begin to settle into what looks to be a long, long, loooooong winter. The offseason doesn’t mean that life stops, however, and this week, we have a jam-packed social media roundup. And so, without further ado, let’s get started!

Raise the Banner

This past Tuesday, the 2026-2027 NBA season went underway, and with it came one last celebration for the New York Knicks. The 2026 NBA Champions received their championship rings and raised a banner at Madison Square Garden, before unfortunately losing to the 76ers in the first game of the new season. A pair of Yankees fan favorites, Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler, were in attendance.

They weren’t the only ones from the Yankees family there, though. YES researcher James Smyth was also in the Garden, although since he didn’t mow down the Red Sox lineup or lead the league in postseason home runs and RBI (seriously, that’s how dominant Rice’s postseason was), he didn’t get a seat on celebrity row.

Two Best Friends

Former Yankee infielders Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela, along with their wives, were spotted on vacation together in Europe. Although they no longer don the pinstripes (and although Urshela has retired from the sport entirely), it’s nice to see they still find time to hang out.

The Pride of Somerset

The Somerset Patriots, as always, take great pride in the big league performance of their former players; this week, they celebrated the season totals of Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr.

Wedding Reflections and Outdoor Fun

Two weeks ago, Luke Pettitte — not only the son of a Yankee legend, but himself now a Yankee prospect — celebrated his wedding. This past week, his mother Laura took to Instagram to reflect on the occasion. She and Andy also went on a hike.

End-of-Year Reflections

Brendan Beck sat down with the Somerset Patriots to discuss his Major League debut and his dominant season with the Triple-A Scranton RailRiders.

Everything Must Go!

The Scranton No-Longer-The-RailRiders are hosting a yard sale on November 1st, if anyone is in Scranton, PA, and interested in buying RailRider merchandise.

For the World Series, we’re bringing you some of the key quotes and storylines from each game following the postgame press conference.

Pat Murphy

The Brewers erased an early 4-0 deficit to win 5-4 and take a 2-0 series lead. Murphy again spent most of the press conference discussing what impressed him most, including rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt. Pratt made an error on the first play of the game that snowballed into the Rays’ four-run first inning, but he bounced back to deliver a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

“That speaks to Cooper, what type of individual he is, being able to hang in there when things didn’t go great for him early, even early in that at-bat. That guy is super tough on right-handers. For him to put that ball in play, we spent a lot of time on that reliever and talking about how to face him. He’s outstanding, and Coop just put together a great at-bat, a great teacher for every young person in the room that the game doesn’t start a certain way, doesn’t mean it has to end that way.”

As a follow-up, Murphy was asked about this team’s mentality and its ability to come back from deficits over and over again:

“We’re down to the end of the season here. They’re going to tap us on the shoulder here at some point and tell us no more. Guys just, they don’t give up. They believe, and they don’t give up. They just keep going. That’s a great club across the way, it really is.”

In a game full of quality at-bats, Murphy shouted out several, starting with Brice Turang.

“His day didn’t start exactly the way he wanted. He had a line drive caught, but he put together four quality ABs today. Numerous guys (did). Sal put together four quality (at-bats), hit four balls on the screws today. Bauers put together quality (at-bats). Chourio gets two knocks. Contreras two knocks.”

Another at-bat Murphy highlighted was William Contreras’ RBI single in the first inning.

“It’s a huge at-bat. Huge at-bat. We set (Contreras up), and he came through with a knock, and then Mitchell got a big knock. That first inning meant something that we bounced back against a pitcher that good. I mean, that guy (Rays starter Drew Rasmussen), he’s as good as there is out there. We got his pitch count up and got him out of there.”

Murphy had high praise for Aaron Ashby, who pitched the final 1 2/3 innings of the win, comparing him to legendary relievers Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers.

“He does what it takes. It’s unconventional. Multiple innings in relief. It’s Goose Gossage-like. I guess we had a guy like that here too, Rollie.”

He was also asked about starting pitcher Logan Henderson, who gave up four runs (three earned) in that first inning.

“I think he was a little jittery again in the first inning. I think in his mind he thinks he’s tired because it’s the end of the year and it’s a lot, but this is where you’ve got to learn that lesson that you’ve got a lot left. You pick yourself up. You’ve got a lot left. He’s got to come to that realization because we need him going forward.”

Finally, Murphy was asked if he’s a “big Sal fan,” referring to Frelick. Murphy responded by saying he named his son’s dog Sal.

Sal Frelick and Cooper Pratt

Frelick, who hit the game-tying home run in the sixth, and Pratt, who hit a go-ahead single in the seventh, broke down their performances after the game.

Frelick on his approach against Tampa Bay reliever Ian Seymour prior to the home run:

“He’s pretty much a sinker guy. Was fouling them off. Missed a few good ones. And then late in the at-bat, he started throwing four seams and kind of caught me by surprise. Was able to spoil a few of those and was just really hoping, because I had seen the sinker earlier, that he would maybe leave one over the plate, and yeah, he did.”

Pratt on baseball being a redemptive game:

“I need to be better defensively, but it’s always awesome when you have an opportunity to kind of redeem yourself and make up for it. Yeah, probably wasn’t the best swing, but it did the job and gave us the opportunity to score a run. I’m not going to complain.”

Frelick on this team’s comeback mentality:

“It seems like we’ve had a lot of experience with it in the postseason so far. It feels like kind of down early almost every game so far. I’m not sure what the actual numbers are on that. Our offense is built to kind of chip away and wear on pitchers, which I think can be good when you’re trying to come back. At the same time, if we’re up, it’s the same exact approach.

I think just having an offense built like that is really good for when you’re down. Again, today we go down four. We know how good that guy (Rasmussen) is over there. Let’s just wear on him, see if we can get him out of the game, get to their bullpen and really break the thing open.”

Frelick on being a competitor:

“I don’t know, I just grew up playing a ton of different sports. I wasn’t always the most gifted athlete. Murph will tell you firsthand that it’s never pretty watching me take a swing or run or field or whatever it might be. I just always felt like that was where I was able to get my edge was just kind of turn everything into a competition. Put myself in the box and iso me and the pitcher. Or on defense, just iso me and the ball. How can I beat it?

I just feel like that’s how I’ve always played. I know Murph always tells me I can’t look flashy, I can’t look cool. That’s not me. He doesn’t want that. Not that I do either, but I’m glad that he allows me to play that way.”

And Frelick on Pratt:

“Just to highlight this guy real quick… has a little mistake early in the game, doesn’t slam a glove, doesn’t hang his head, nothing. Comes off the field and later in the game has a big at-bat and maybe swings at a ball or two, locks it back in. This is a rookie, like people forget. This is our shortstop. This is a rookie, and we trust him. I just hope that if there’s people, young kids watching, that was just really cool for me to see. Coop has grown up a lot — I don’t know if you would have done that maybe your first game, but it’s cool to see.

I just hope everybody understands how hard that is, especially in the moment. All you want to do is throw something or get mad, but you’ve got four at-bats. I was just proud of that.”

Frelick and Pratt on whether they thought Frelick’s deep fly out in the seventh inning had a chance to make it over the fence:

FRELICK: “Did you think it was gone?”

PRATT: “I thought it had a chance or at least off the wall.”

FRELICK: “I’ve never hit a homer that I thought was gone, so, no, I didn’t.” (Laughter.)

PRATT: “It looked good off the bat.”

Entering 2026, the catcher position was one the Nationals were dying to get more production out of, as their catching room ranked dead last in fWAR in 2025 with -1.3. Keibert Ruiz had steadily been declining ever since being extended in early 2023, and Drew Millas and Riley Adams each had something to offer in a backup role, but probably not in a starting role. The acquisition of Harry Ford for Jose A. Ferrer in the offseason provided the Nats with a little more long-term clarity about the position, but probably not an immediate solution.

Turns out, the answer to the Nationals’ catching woes was just a commitment to better coaching; with the new staff in charge, the Nats’ catching room took a major leap, going from last in fWAR in 2025 to 17th in 2026. Now, as the Nationals enter a critical offseason for setting them up for success in the near future, let’s take a look at the Nats’ catching unit as a whole, and make sense of where playing time makes the most sense to go to in 2027.

Keibert Ruiz

Keibert Ruiz took the biggest leap of perhaps any National under the new coaching staff in 2026. He hit .280/.316/.443 with 10 home runs and a 105 wRC+, making him five percent better than the league-average hitter after adjusting for league and ballpark. His 1.9 fWAR was a considerable improvement from his -1.1 mark in 2025, and made him a completely viable starting catcher option for the Nats.

The defensive improvement mattered just as much. In 2025, Ruiz finished with minus-six blocks above average, plus-one caught stealing above average, and minus-nine framing runs. Those numbers illustrate why catching defense requires more than counting runners thrown out. His throwing was respectable relative to his opportunities, but other parts of his game remained costly.

In 2026, Statcast credited Ruiz with plus-two catching runs, including plus-three framing runs, zero blocking runs and minus-two throwing runs, along with a positive ABS contribution. Blocking runs and blocks above average are different measures, but the broader improvement is clear. Ruiz became a more complete catcher, even with room to improve against the running game.

Ruiz’s contract went from practically unmovable last season to now not bad value, and raises the question of if another team called the Nats with an offer for Ruiz, should they consider it? Ruiz certainly now looks like at least a decent platoon option behind the plate, but the presence of some other catching options in Triple-A could make him expendable depending on how the front office feels.

Harry Ford

Ford’s first season with the Nats was hardly a declaration that the position belonged to him. In 38 major-league games, he hit .190/.314/.350 with three home runs and an 87 wRC+. His Triple-A performance also fell short of expectations: a .223/.370/.335 line and 96 wRC+.

There were encouraging details beneath those numbers. Ford walked in 14.4 percent of his major-league plate appearances, showing that his patience could survive the jump. But getting on base cannot carry the entire offensive profile. The Nats need more consistent contact and damage when he swings.

Ruiz and Ford are a sensible catching platoon, as Ruiz performs better against righties and Ford performs better against lefties. Still, Ford may need to take a step forward either offensively or defensively in 2027 to guarantee his starting role moving forward.

Maxwell Romero Jr.

Romero delivered the loudest power numbers of the group, hitting 23 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A while batting .253/.364/.515. He reached Rochester in July, putting himself close enough to matter in the 2027 discussion.

Minor-league production does not automatically translate into major-league success. Nevertheless, that combination of power and on-base ability deserves consideration at a position where the Nats have struggled to generate offense.

Romero should enter spring training with a chance to push the established options. Depending on how Romero performs, Ruiz may become a luxury rather than a necessity for the Nats, one they could move to upgrade other areas such as the pitching staff. At minimum, he gives the Nationals another potential answer if injuries or poor performance disrupt their plans.

Where do Drew Millas and Caleb Lomavita fit?

Millas faces a tougher argument after hitting .185/.277/.262 with two home runs and a 53 wRC+ in 50 games. A backup catcher can survive below-average offense, but that level of production leaves little margin elsewhere. He looks more like depth than someone the Nats should pencil into its preferred tandem.

Lomavita remains a longer-term consideration. He hit 14 home runs with a .244/.311/.453 line and 102 wRC+ at Double-A. The power increased considerably from his six-homer 2025 season, though his overall offensive production was only slightly above league average. His season also ended on the injured list.

Entering 2027, Ruiz offers the strongest immediate case, Ford remains the key development priority, and Romero supplies intriguing pressure from below. For the first time in a long time, the Nats seem to have some solid options for how they move forward with their catching unit, rather than hoping for the best from what they had.

ST. PETERSURG, FL — He’s one of their best friends, a beloved former co-worker, who now lives and works 1,200 miles away from Milwaukee.

They’ll forever cherish their memories together and still speak of him as if he’s family, but they realize it’ll be altogether different when they see him again Monday.

You see, he now is the enemy.

The Milwaukee Brewers, halfway to achieving their dream of winning the first World Series championship in franchise history, know that Freddy Peralta, now employed by the Tampa Bay Rays, is a huge obstacle standing in their way.

The Brewers will face Peralta on Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field knowing that if they win, they’ll have a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series, an advantage that has never been squandered in World Series history.

And if the Brewers lose, it could flip the World Series script in a hurry, with the Rays having the best home-field advantage in baseball and certainly capable of winning three games in a row at "The Trop" and forcing the Series back to Milwaukee.

A few days ago, our good friends at The Good Phight in a similar boat—a star-studded, expensive squad that failed to live up to expectations—featured an article that resonates with every team of this profile, one discussing the hypothetical scenario of being able to amnesty a contract. After all, what big-market team is complete without the looming presence of at least one regrettable long-term deal, paying a former star a sum that’s not justified by their current production but more so the back of their baseball card? Read about it here as they argue for the merits of moving on from Aaron Nola in Philly.

Encouraged to run with the idea, we’ll look at who the Yankees would attempt to offload in a scramble to recoup some spending cash, having finished the 2026 season with a payroll of $313 million. First and foremost, as expensive as the Yankees’ active payroll is, the number of long-term commitments isn’t as large as you might expect. The likes of Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, and Carlos Rodón all see their contracts end in two years or fewer, and those signed to long-term deals are essential to this team’s current contending window: the likes of Max Fried, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger. In years past we might have had our pick of options in this exercise; happily, it’s slim pickings now.

Out of that group, the only one who arguably could get amnestied is Stanton, whose recent chapters of his Yankees tenure have been spent primarily on the injured list—sincerely placing in jeopardy the notion of him at any point being able to produce consistently in the Bronx. Before getting to Stanton’s contract, there is one more player who could feasibly fit as an amnesty candidate, even if his contract is only on the books for one more year: third baseman Ryan McMahon.

To assess which of these two gets the nomination neither would like, we must assess their respective contracts. Stanton is owed $25 million in 2027, of which $10 million will be covered by the Marlins. Stanton has a team option for 2028 worth $25 million, with a $10 million buyout, the exact figure the Marlins owe the Yankees for that year as well. In essence, the Yankees owe Stanton a minimum of $15 million. McMahon is entering the final year of his deal in 2027, with the Yankees owing their starting third baseman $16 million.

It’s not as simple as looking at those figures; although the Yankees may owe Stanton one million less, the luxury tax figure for his deal in 2027 is $22 million. Ultimately, that’s the number that would theoretically count toward whatever version of the tax exists next year, making moving on from Stanton a more appealing option than McMahon from a financial point of view.

On the field, Stanton seemed to move from an asset whose regular-season reliability is extremely questionable to one whose likeliest scenario is that of being a non-factor after spending nearly all of 2026 hurt. Given his postseason impact and reliable skill when healthy in recent seasons, Stanton would need very little to compete with McMahon here. However, even that very little seems unlikely to come at this point, or at the very least, it’s not a reasonable gamble to make.

For all of his faults, McMahon is still capable of bringing a plus glove at third, even if 2026 was a down year for him defensively. Push comes to shove, you might look at him as a reasonable bench option. With or without McMahon, the Yankees can look at third base this winter. Without Stanton, you free up the DH position to rotate and keep players fresh or acquire a standout bat—not to mention the extra money in the budget given the luxury tax figures. Put it all together, and the choice becomes clear that the contract to wipe clean would be Stanton’s.

There is no Jays news and I’ve got nothing to talk about, so lets have an open thread.

We had the second great World Series game in a row last night. I like watching baseball (or any sport) when I have no rooting interest. After a season of caring about every Jays game, I like watching without sweating the outcome. I have a friend who keeps telling me I need to pick an NFL team, but I’d rather just watch. If there is a good play, I’m happy.

I can watch almost any sport. I guess cause my dad would watch almost any sport. But he always picked a team, and that team was always getting robbed by the referees. I get now that it was stress relief, and likely healthier than yelling at his son, but it made watching sports hard. He got so worked up about it. I took to leaving the house when sports were on.

Every now and then, I feel that kind tension building up in me while watching the Jays, but I can bring it back down. As much as sometimes I hate an umpire’s call, I know they aren’t trying to mess with the Jays. The world isn’t out to get a team because I cheer for them.

Anyway, use the thread to discuss anything you like. Maybe the ugly orange/red jerseys the Texans are wearing in the game I’m watching. Or anything else.

After playing for the Atlanta Braves back in 2022-2023, Danny Young spent two seasons with the rival New York Mets before making his way back to Atlanta. He didn’t spend much time on the MLB roster for the Braves in his first tenure in the organization, so if you failed to realize that he wasn’t just a fringy minor league callup, no worries.

How Acquired

Way back in August of 2022, the Mariners designated Young for assignment and the Braves claimed him five days later. Eleven days after that, he got called up for a cup of coffee and pitched in 2 2/3 innings in his lone appearance. Interestingly, the Braves sent him back down after he surrendered zero runs and zero walks. He made eight appearances the following year for the MLB squad. After the 2023 season, Young elected free agency and signed a minors deal with the Mets. He stayed with the Mets for two seasons, though his 2025 was cut short due to Tommy John Surgery. The Braves reacquired him in the offseason by signing him to a one-year, split contract.

What were the expectations?

Based on his history, his recovery from Tommy John Surgery, and his contract, it is safe to say that the expectations for Young were never more than depth if injuries happened at the MLB level, though he had some upside. Despite barely pitching (more than 8 1/3 innings just once in four seasons leading up to 2026), Young had a career 100/80/80 line (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-), built largely on dominating lefties (FIP and xFIP around 3.00) while not being nearly as effective against righties (FIP closer 5.00 and xFIP closer to 4.00). Put that all together and you had a lot of uncertainty: would Young be healthy enough to return and be effective? Would there be space for him on the roster (pitching injuries are inevitable…)? Is there really a spot on an MLB roster these days for a lefty specialist?

Young was basically projected as a replacement level reliever, or slightly above, coming into the season. That made sense given that he was better-than-average but had fewer than 61 big league innings under his belt, and was coming off a serious injury.

2026 Results

After the Braves deemed him ready following some rehab outings, Young appeared in sixteen games, but only completed 12 1/3 innings. That 12 1/3 inning mark was actually the second-highest of his career.

However, the overall results were not great: a 191 ERA-, a 186 FIP-, and a 146 xFIP-. “Not great” is a bit of an understatement — Young had a really rough landing after Tommy John Surgery. He finished with -0.5 fWAR, erasing all the positive fWAR he had accumulated previously in his career.

The Braves designated Young for assignment in August, and successfully outrighted him to the minors a few days later. They re-added him back to the 40-man roster earlier in the offseason — he’s out of options, but is still controlled at the league minimum rate (whatever it will be following resolution of the impending lockout), provided the Braves actually opt to carry him on the active roster going forward.

What went right?

Young somehow managed to skate by for his first 12 appearances of the season without much damage: a bizarre 49/141/137 line, which can definitely happen in a small sample. He was charged with runs in just two of those 12 outings. However, he had a nasty 8/8 K/BB ratio in that span… but we’ll skip past that for now. With luck on his side, he helped the Braves a fair bit in July, earning three shutdowns to one meltdown.

Two notable outings in that span included two strikeouts in an inning against his former employer on July 5, and an incredible stroke of luck on July 26 in Baltimore, when he was asked to pitch the tenth, went walk-wild pitch-walk, but then benefited from a lineout to first that allowed Matt Olson to step on the first base bag ahead of the runner as well. Young didn’t actually stick around after that close call, but that’s how those first 12 games went for him, pretty much.

What went wrong?

When you have a guy posting an 8/8 K/BB ratio during his “good” stretch, with his highest-WPA outing coming thanks to a fortunately-placed lineout after he walked two and had a wild pitch before getting any outs, well… it’s a miracle the bottom didn’t fall out sooner.

But as soon as the calendar flipped to August, it did. In four outings before the DFA, Young was charged with nine runs in 3 2/3 innings, surrendering two homers with a 7/5 K/BB ratio. He cost the team win expectancy in three of those four outings, though fortunately only one was in a close-enough game to count as a meltdown. The Braves moved on shortly thereafter.

Young’s issue wasn’t surprising at all given that he was back on a big league mound after 14 months after Tommy John Surgery: he simply had no command. His sweeper was all over the place, and even his sinker occasionally sputtered way too far armside across the plate. Given that he doesn’t throw hard, a lack of command completely killed his effectiveness, including against lefties.

Young’s most damaging outing of the season was actually one of the silliest — and came during his “dance through the raindrops” stretch. He was asked to pitch to two lefties at the top of the Cardinals lineup in a tie game in the eighth: no-hit backup catcher Jimmy Crooks, and potential Rookie of the Year candidate JJ Wetherholt. Then, two righties were due up. Well, you can already guess, or remember, what happened: Crooks hit a game-winning homer, and Young somehow got through Wetherholt and two good righties.

But, the thing that probably got Young canned was the combination of acquiring Brent Suter at the Trade Deadline, and the fact that Young failed to get through a mop-up inning against the Diamondbacks before extending a five-run deficit to seven, thanks to two walks and a homer. He actually struck out the side in that outing, but with Suter’s rubber arm and Young’s luck entirely evaporated, there was little reason to carry him in the short term.

2027 Outlook

Given his 2026, whether Young is worth rostering in 2026 depends on his continued recovery and return of his command. Pre-injury Young was at least interesting, even if his LOOGY nature made him hard to use effectively in a world of three-batter minimums. Post-injury Young? Well, who knows — he seems like call-up depth at this point, but he’s out of options. So, organizational depth with upside seems like the right tag to apply here. Will he even make it through the offseason without getting cut off the Braves’ 40-man roster? Probably not, but you never know.

There was a bit of a choice in who we could profile today as part of our ongoing Yankee Birthday Series. As far as playing careers go, the obvious choice would’ve been Juan Soto. However, even without factoring in his still recent departure across the city, I still think I would opt to instead write about today’s player.

There are few people who have ever had a wider and more well-traveled life than Bobby Brown.

Robert William “Bobby” Brown
Born: October 25, 1924 (Seattle, WA)
Died: March 25, 2021 (Fort Worth, TX)
Yankees Tenure: 1946-52, 1954

While he was born in the Pacific Northwest, Brown moved around with his family a lot in his youth. They eventually settled in San Francisco, where Bobby attended Galileo High School, which was the same as Joe DiMaggio and his fellow MLB brothers. (However, Brown was several years younger than any of the DiMaggios.)

In his youth, Brown was a standout athlete, but got a lot of shine for his baseball ability. His father had played baseball to a semi-pro level, even playing against a young Lou Gehrig. The younger Brown had MLB offers coming out of high school, but instead decided to attend Stanford University. While there, he and another student helped rescue a Coast Guardsman from a plane crash.

With the US having entered World War II in 1941, however, Brown soon enlisted in the Navy. He never ended up going overseas. He had stints in San Diego and New Orleans, which allowed him to also continue his studies, as he attended medical school and played baseball for UCLA and Tulane during that time. Brown was eventually discharged from the Navy in 1946 and signed with the Yankees shortly after.

Brown spent most of 1946 with the Yankees’ affiliate in Newark. He was road roommates with Yogi Berra during his minor league career. That produced a famous story where Berra finished reading a comic book and asked Brown, who was reading a medical journal while continuing his med school studies, “So how is yours turning out?” On the field, Brown impressed with a .341 batting average, finishing only behind some guy named Jackie Robinson in the International League’s batting title race. That earned him a September call-up later that same season, where he hit well in a seven-game cameo.

The following season, Brown became an MLB regular, playing backup to Billy Johnson at third base while filling in elsewhere. He hit pretty well in general, but saved his best for the biggest stage. The Yankees used Brown as a pinch hitter on four occasions in the 1947 World Series, and he recorded three hits and a walk, reaching base every time. One of those occasions was in Game 7: down 2-1, he hit an RBI double in the fourth inning to tie the game. The hit also moved Phil Rizzuto to third, from which he scored on a Tommy Henrich single. The Yankees ended up winning the game 5-2, taking the series over the Dodgers.

Over the next two years, Brown’s playing time increased and he became the primary third baseman in 1949. He helped the Yankees to another World Series crown that year, this time hitting .500 in the five-game victory over Brooklyn. In total, Brown would win four World Series titles while a member of the Yankees. In 17 career games in the Fall Classic, he hit .439/.500/.707 with eight extra-base hits and a 1.207 OPS — though he missed out on the last two years of the Yankees’ five-peat as he was drafted to serve as a doctor in the Korean War.

Brown returned to the Yankees in 1954. However, he didn’t hit particularly well in his comeback. Following that, he decided to retire and go full time into the medical fields.

For the next couple decades, Brown worked exclusively in medicine, most of which came at a private practice that he opened in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1974, he briefly returned to baseball, serving as the interim president of the Texas Rangers. His friend, Brad Corbett, had purchased the team and asked for Brown’s help. His former Yankees teammate, Billy Martin, helped Texas to an above .500 record, but they missed the playoffs and Brown returned to his practice after the season.

Ten years after that, Brown returned to baseball in a more permanent way when he was named president of the American League. He served in the role until 1994. The league president jobs no longer exist today, with their previous duties now part of the commissioner’s responsibilities. Brown eventually retired to Fort Worth, where he lived until his passing in 2021. He was the final living member of several of his Yankees’ championship teams at that time.

Brown once told a story about the early days of his relationship with his wife, whom he remained married to for over 60 years. When his then-girlfriend asked Brown how she should describe him to her parents, Brown said “Tell your mother that I’m in medical school, studying to be a cardiologist. Tell your dad that I play third base for the Yankees.” The fact that both of those are true about the same person is remarkable and something we’ll probably never see again.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Here is a player who epitomizes the Cubs’ pitching infrastructure.

The Cubs don’t have a lot of guys who throw hard. But Hunter Harvey does!

Or… sometimes does, because he’s more injured than not. He was the Orioles’ No. 1 pick (22nd overall) out of high school in North Carolina in 2018. He’s got a pedigree — his dad, Bryan Harvey, was second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 1988 and was a two-time All-Star, leading the AL in saves with 46 in 1991 — before he was injured and his career essentially ended at age 30. Bryan Harvey pitched in only a handful of games after that.

Hunter? Same thing. He wound up with the Nationals in 2022 and had two good years there, with 20 saves for them in 2023. But his numbers dived south in 2024 and since then he has pitched in 12 MLB games… which is exactly the number of games his dad pitched in 1994, his second-to-last season.

Bryan Harvey pitched in one game for the Marlins in 1995 and was done.

Hunter Harvey pitched in four games for the Cubs in 2026. Yes, really, he did! If you blinked while it was cold out, you probably missed it. Two of the games were at Wrigley Field, and the photo at the top is photographic proof of that, but you might have missed those too, as it was pretty cold both those days.

His last appearance was April 8, a scoreless inning against the Rays in a 6-2 win. Here’s the strikeout that was the final out in that game [VIDEO].

Hunter Harvey faced 18 batters in a Cubs uniform, recording 12 outs. For that they paid him $6 million. That’s $500,000 per out.

That’s $6 million wasted. Jed Hoyer should not have made this signing, knowing that this was a very possible outcome. There is a mutual option for $8 million for next year that Hoyer should decline at the first opportunity.

And learn the lesson to not to stuff like this anymore.

Good morning, folks…

The Brewers beat the Rays last night by a score of 5-4, giving them a 2-0 lead as the series now heads back to Tampa.

Cody Stavenhagen writes about how the presence Bob Uecker, who passed away in 2025, is still felt by the Brewers.

In non-baseball happenings, 20 year old Kimi Antonelli can clinch the F-1 Driver’s Championship this afternoon in Austin at the United States Grand Prix.

David Laurila has his Sunday Notes column up at Fangraphs.

Scoring three in the first and on the back of a dominant, albeit short start by Dodger farmhand Luke Fox, the Desert Dogs outlasted the Scorpions in a one-run win by a score of 5-4. Fox covered three frames, allowing a single run, recording six of his nine outs via strikeout, setting the tone for an overpowering 15 punchouts by the Desert Dogs pitching staff. For a pitcher who so heavily relied on strikeouts, Fox was relatively efficient, averaging a tad over 16 pitches per inning.

Fox wasn’t the only Dodger to start off this game strong, as Glendale opened the scoring in the first thanks to a leadoff home run by Charles Davalan, who got the nod at second base. The solo shot would be the only time he would get on base in this game and represent his second home run in the AFL.

Batting cleanup and playing first base, Chase Harlan didn’t record a hit but scored a run with a walk on four plate appearances. While Davalan’s numbers have been underwhelming as a whole, only Caleb Bonemer has an OPS higher than Harlan’s (.963) in the Desert Dogs lineup.

Saturday score

Glendale 5, Scottsdale 4

Sunday schedule

Sunday is an off-day in the AFL, and the Glendale Desert Dogs return to the field on Monday at 1:30 p.m. (PT) to welcome the Mesa Solar Sox in the matchup of the only two teams with a losing record in the league.

The final call in last night’s World Series Game 2 has sparked some controversy. Yandy Díaz got crossed up by an Aaron Ashby curve and was called for a swing on the appeal down to first, a call that Díaz disagreed with. I believe that the moment is way too big to allow a judgement call be the deciding factor, and while it’s easier said than done, you have to swing or get off the pot. Do you think he swung? Do you think he didn’t swing? Do you think if you stare into the abyss long enough it stares back? These are the important questions of our time.

Happy Sunday everybody!

In the World Series…

• The Rays jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in Game 2 last night, but the Milwaukee pitching locked in and allowed no more runs after the first, while the offense slowly whittled away the lead, until Sal Frelick tied it in the sixth with an unlikely left-on-left homerun to center in the sixth, and Cooper Pratt singled to score Brice Turang in the seventh to complete the comeback. The series flips to Tampa where the Rays will try to prevent going down 3-0 on Monday at 5:00 pm PST on Fox.

In Mariners news…

• If you ever find yourself wondering where Josh Naylor is and what he’s up to for some reason just check whether or not the Kraken are playing a home game that day and you’ll likely have your answer.

• Adam Jude at the Seattle Times laid out the three major moves the Mariners need to make before the lockout starts on December 1st.
• Don’t forget to cast your vote for this year’s Lookout Landing Awards until October 31st!

Around the league…

• Minnesota Twins ace Pablo López has been on a very tight schedule since the last weekend of the season to make absolutely sure that he is on-time with his Tommy John rehab.
• The Yankees will likely be in the market for a backup catcher when the stove lights up, but the team’s belief, or possible lack thereof, in Austin Wells could potentially be the linchpin for their entire offseason.

Nick’s pick…

• I really need to start hitting the gym so that these pictures of me stop going viral.

Hi there, just trying something new, only for this season review. You’ll see the Spanish version I wrote below the English version. If you don’t speak Spanish, just scroll past it.

Saludos, probamos algo nuevo, pero es sólo para esta revista. La versión en español está debajo de la versión en inglés. Muchas gracias por su paciencia si hay error.

Luis Torrens capped off a successful 2026 with his second consecutive Gold Glove nomination. It is well-deserved, as he once again demonstrated his defensive acumen and, presumably, vibe. Although he was technically the backup catcher, he started 74 games and participated in a total of 86 games at the position. During his season, he also cemented himself as a steady hand for veteran and rookie pitchers alike.

After Francisco Alvarez tore his meniscus in May, Torrens took over as the starting catcher, and Hayden Senger joined him as his backup. During this time and throughout 2026, Torrens’ defensive metrics were elite. His DRS was 12 (17.8/1000 innings), his FRV was 10 (14.8/1000 innings), and he caught 17 runners stealing. In addition, his pop time was 1.86 seconds. It is no surprise that he was considered one of the best, if not the best defensive catchers in the league.

Pitchers also had success with Torrens behind the plate. It is difficult to do a comprehensive analysis of pitcher/catcher splits due to a variety of factors affecting pitchers, such as other players on the field, ballpark factors, weather conditions, and potential injuries at play. That said, pitchers complimented Torrens’ pitch calling and game management. It can also be noted that his catcher ERA was 3.74, lower than Alvarez’s at 4.54.

Despite typically being lauded for his defensive prowess, Torrens also broke out offensively in August. In 14 games, he hit six of his nine home runs, and raised his OPS from .602 at the beginning of August to .701 at the beginning of September. He hit .235/.295/.396 for the season.

And don’t forget that he pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two runs for an ERA of 7.71. For some reason, he also played 3.0 innings at first base. Maybe this contributed to his overall fWAR of 2.1; maybe not.

Torrens’ overall performance meant it was not surprising that the Mets offered him a two-year, $11.5 million contract to return through 2028. He signed in May, presumably to remain as the Mets’ backup catcher. With so many things now up in the air, it’s nice to think that he will return with the Mets when baseball returns.

Luis Torrens tuvo gran campaña detrás del plato

Luis Torrens tuvo una campaña exitosa en 2026 y fue nombrado finalista al Gold Glove por segundo año consecutivo, un honor muy bien merecido. A pesar de ser el cátcher suplente, fue el titular en 74 partidos y participó como cátcher en 86 partidos. Se ha establecido como una presencia firme y estable detrás del plato y con los pícheres veteranos y bisoños.

Cuando Francisco Álvarez se desgarró el menisco en mayo, Torrens se hizo el titular, con Hayden Senger como suplente. Mientras era titular y durante todo 2026, sus números defensivos fueron magníficos. Tenía DRS de 12 (17.8/1000 entradas), FRV de 10 (14.8/1000 entradas), y atrapó a 17 corredores robando. Su tiempo de tiro a segunda (pop time) fue de 1.86 segundos. No es sorpresa que Torrens sea considerado uno de los mejores, si no el mejor, cátcheres defensivos en MLB. 

Los pícheres tenían mucho éxito cuando Torrens estaba detrás del plato, también. Aunque un análisis completo es bastante difícil a causa de la variedad de factores que afectan a los pícheres, como los otros jugadores, los estadios diferentes, el tiempo, lesiones, etc., podemos decir que los pícheres elogiaban sus habilidades. Su ERA durante el año con Torrens fue de 3.74; en comparación, con Álvarez fue de 4.54.

Torrens era más conocido por su talento defensivo durante esta campaña, pero al final del verano también se encendió ofensivamente. Él participó en 14 partidos en agosto, y golpeó seis jonrones, subiendo su OPS desde .602 al principio de agosto a .703 al principio de septiembre. En toda la campaña, él bateó para .235/.295/.396.

Y no se nos olvide que Torrens también fue pícher por 2.1 entradas este año. Permitió dos carreras para una ERA de 7.71 y jugó en la primera base por 3.0 entradas. ¿Por qué? No sabemos. Quizás contribuye a su fWAR de 2.1, o quizás no.

Su conjunto de obras en 2026 demostró por qué los Mets decidieron ofrecerle a Torrens un contrato rico para quedarse como suplente por dos años más. En mayo, él firmó un contrato de $11,5 millones hasta 2028. Con todo lo que pueda cambiar ahora, es buena noticia saber que Torrens volverá a los Mets cuando el béisbol vuelva.

Like everyone else, the ALDS and the conclusion to the Yankees’ 2026 season left me very frustrated. It just feels like another year of missed chances with a roster that is good, but not good enough as it probably should be. There will always be moves made and unmade that you can look back on that you wish you could go back over. However, there’s no way to really do that… except in the fictional world.

I decided to take out my frustration at the end of the season in the only way in which I have a real way to: using the MLB The Show video game. Messing around with the game, I wanted to see how many pieces the Yankees truly were away from maybe winning the World Series. None of this is completely realistic, but that’s not the point, I wanted to use the Yankees to put a hurt on some teams. With that in mind, here is my experiment.

To start, let’s upgrade the Yankees’ weakest position, both in the game and arguably in real life this year: third base. To do that, we’ll not only add to the Yankees but weaken their biggest enemies this year by taking Junior Caminero from the Rays.

The Caminero addition doesn’t help the Yankees avoid a slow start to the season, as they’re hovering around .500 well into June. However, they play good baseball after that, finishing 91-71 and getting the top AL Wild Card. The Rays are significantly weakened without their star, but the Yankees still fall short of the Blue Jays.

Judge stays fully healthy and hits over 50 homers, with Caminero hitting 41 himself. However, this universe’s Cam Schlittler struggles to a 5.00 ERA, while Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón both throw less than 10 innings in the regular season due to injury. Max Fried picks up the slack, putting up a nice season though. In the end, this universe’s 2026 ends like the real universe’s 2025: the Yankees lose to Toronto in four in the ALDS. The Dodgers end up completing the three-peat, beating the Royals (???) in the World Series.

For round two, we decide to shore up the designated hitter spot and take the guy who will likely win this year’s AL MVP in Yordan Alvarez.

Despite that, the Yankees again go just 91-71. Alvarez isn’t really the issue, as he posts a .898 OPS with 32 home runs. This time, they’re severely hampered by Caminero missing over 100 games with injury, and Amed Rosario struggles in his place. However this time around, those 91 wins are enough to take the AL East.

This time with home field advantage, the Yankees again take on the Blue Jays in the ALDS. This series goes all the way to Game 5, and features a wild ending. Taking a 2-0 lead into the ninth, David Bednar coughs up three runs to put the Jays three outs away. However, the Yankees rally in the ninth, scoring twice with Austin Wells getting a walk-off, series winning hit to move onto the ALCS.

In the ALCS, the Yankees face the Mariners, who put up the top record in the AL. The series again goes to the final game and is also decided by one run, albeit not in as dramatic circumstances. A 5-4 Yankees win in Seattle sends the Yankees to the World Series, with Bednar recording the save this time around.

In the Fall Classic, the Yankees dispatch the Cubs in five games, winning Game 5 after failing to sweep the series. The latest addition, Alvarez, proves to be a very big one. He goes 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in the clinching win. He OPSed .912 in the postseason in general. Cody Bellinger ended up winning the World Series MVP though, having homered and drove home three runs in the clinching Game 5 win.

So that’s what it would apparently take for this Yankees’ roster to get over the hump and win the World Series, but I’m still out for blood. I want to know what it will take for the Yankees to get towards record setting territory. While I’m hopeful about George Lombard Jr., we can still upgrade that spot even if he turns out pretty good. Let’s go get the best shortstop in baseball.

An 8.7 WAR season from Witt — and 6.0 from Austin Wells??? — gets the Yankees to 100-62, but an ALCS loss to the Mariners. Now, it’s time to go in for the kill.

Doing all that apparently only gets the Yankees to 106-56. That may have to do with the fact that somehow Mark Leiter Jr. reappeared on the roster.

While it takes six games, the Yankees do end up taking the World Series over the Brewers.

While the Yankees’ roster is now excellent, the depth still lacks. Plus, we’ve been leaving “budgets” on, and we should not have to follow those. Let’s go truly nuts.

The Yankees now have the top rated depth chart at every position except for first base. As far as that goes, I don’t want to trade Ben Rice, and we can’t upgrade Paul Goldschmidt until June 15th as he was an offseason free agency signing. Once that deadline goes past, I decide to make a further move as the team is still not good enough for my liking.

Finally now have we assembled a truly unstoppable team. It’s baseball, so they still end up losing over 40 games, but this version of the Yankees goes 119-43. They score 985 runs on the season which is over six per game. They drop just four total games over their three playoff series. Two come in the ALCS against the Twins, which seems unrealistic for several reasons. However, I now feel better about things, at least until I turn off my XBOX.