Category: Baseball

Over 40 years after fans of the “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn Dodgers sung the praises of Edwin Snider, another Duke took center stage in New York. This time, it was in the Bronx as one of the most celebrated Cuban players to take the field for his home country set his eyes on Yankee Stadium. A mysterious maestro on the mound, the man known as Orlando “El Duque” Hernández could seemingly do it all, quickly winning adoration for his poise in high-pressure moments while the Yankees won a trifecta of championships.

Orlando “El Duque” Hernández Pedroso
Born: October 11, 1965 (Villa Clara, Cuba)
Yankees Tenure: 1998-2002, 2004

For quite awhile, El Duque’s actual birth year was not actually known for certain. When he first joined the Yankees, he said he was born in 1969, but later it became evident that he was, in fact, born in 1965 and thus didn’t become a Yankee until he turned 32. Regardless, he was born on October 11, 1965 to Cuban pitcher Arnaldo Hernandez and Maria Cruz. Although well known throughout the country, his dad (also nicknamed “El Duque”) did not play much of a role in El Duque’s upbringing. He did however, father another son a little over nine years later with another woman, Miriam Carreras. That son’s name was Livan Hernández, and El Duque would have a close relationship with his half-brother, who of course also became a pitching phenom.

Growing up with his older brother Arnaldo Jr. in a small home was not ideal for the future pitching great. There wasn’t much schooling in his childhood, but El Duque certainly learned the game of baseball. He was clearly an intelligent kid, as he developed and perfected a complex pitching motion while also adding a potent arsenal of pitches. Once his reputation spread, it did not take too long for El Duque to be added to the perennial powerhouse Cuban national baseball team.

El Duque won his first gold medal at age 22 with the victorious 1988 Baseball World Cup squad and gradually added several more golds in numerous competitions over the next seven years, highlighted by the Cuban national team winning the gold medal in baseball at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. As if that weren’t enough, El Duque was also prominent on the most successful Cuban league baseball team, the Havana Industriales. He was a star there too, as he was the team’s ace while also getting to play with his brothers Arnaldo and Livan.

Tragically, Orlando only had one season with Arnaldo, who passed away suddenly in 1994 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. El Duque’s life was further complicated when Livan defected from the Cuban national team late in 1995. As a result of his association with Livan, El Duque was suspended from Cuban ball, left off the ’96 Olympic roster, and eventually banned entirely from the Cuban National Series. With nowhere to play, El Duque now basically had just one choice–defect himself or never play organized ball again. After watching Livan triumph in 1997 with the Marlins while winning both the NLCS and World Series MVP, it removed any doubt as to El Duque’s future plans.

Through the assistance of some shady dealings with his agent, Joe Cubas, El Duque defected from Cuba two months after the World Series and eventually was granted residency in Costa Rica. Now free to negotiate with any team, the Yankees and newly-christened general manager Brian Cashman came calling. Following negotiations, El Duque and the Yankees agreed on a four-year, $6.6 million contract, one of the best free agent contracts of all-time. The Yankees sure received some incredible value from that deal.

On a pure value basis, few contracts have been better than the comparatively measly $6.6 million invested in El Duque back in 1998. Minor leaguers could do nothing with the 32-year-old rookie’s repertoire, and when David Cone had to miss a start due to a bite on the finger from his mother’s Jack Russell terrier, he got his shot. El Duque pitched so effectively that the Yankees couldn’t remove him from the rotation, and he recorded a 3.13 ERA, 3.53 FIP, and 131 strikeouts in 21 starts during his first season.

Although the ’98 Yankees romped to 114 victories, they trailed the ALCS two games to one to the defending AL champs, and they were forced to ask El Duque to come up big for them in Game 4 at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. He did just that, twirling seven innings of shutout ball, the first of seven consecutive victories that the Yankees notched against Cleveland and San Diego, never losing another game en route to the World Series title.

El Duque was a fascinating addition to the rotation, dazzling hitters but also mystifying his manager and his teammates. On the day of that fateful Game 4, Joe Torre thought that he might be nervous, but in fact, El Duque was not at all afraid of the spotlight. Torre found him at a local Cleveland restaurant, pretending to serve dishes and humoring the patrons. On many occasions though, he bickered with his catcher, Jorge Posada, on his pitch selection, and once even cursed at Luis Sojo when Sojo asked him to stand during the National Anthem. Then, there were the times when he would absolutely baffle his teammates, like when he called all his infielders into the mound and said nothing, unless one counts stomping on the mound a few times as saying something.

Despite El Duque’s idiosyncrasies, he remained a steady presence in their rotation throughout the three-peat from 1998 through 2000. He was a fine pitcher in the regular season, but he seemed to be even better when the spotlight of the playoffs was on. The big start in Cleveland was just the beginning of his postseason excellence. The Padres had no answer for him in the World Series that year, nor did the Rangers in his Division Series start the next season. He dominated the Red Sox in the ’99 taking home ALCS MVP honors with 15 innings of 1.80 ERA ball, then outpitched Hall of Famer Greg Maddux in his World Series opener start against the Braves.

El Duque wasn’t quite as overpowering in the 2000 playoffs, but the Yankees still won in four of the five games he made an appearance. Those three years cemented El Duque as a Yankees cult hero.

The ’01 campaign was a rockier one for El Duque, as a bad toe sprain kept him off the mound for several months and he struggled when he actually did make starts. He shook it off to pitch well in two of his three starts that postseason, most notably when he kept the Yankees in the game against Curt Schilling in Game 4 of the World Series, a contest they famously won thanks to late homer heroics from Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter.

Alas, that year didn’t end in a parade, and injuries limited him again in 2002. He was far more effective that year than in ’01, but a nightmare relief outing in the playoffs against the Angels haunted him as the Yankees fell in the first round. At first, it seemed that it would be his last start as a Yankee, as they sent him away to the Expos in a three-team deal during the 2002-03 offseason. A rotator cuff injury led to surgery, and he never threw a pitch for Montreal.

However, El Duque’s career was not at an end. He surprisingly returned to the Yankees in 2004 and after successfully rehabbing in the minors from his surgery, he re-joined the pitching staff in mid-July. He provided a boost to the rotation and the Yankees won their seventh consecutive AL East title. This time, a five-inning, three-run start in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Red Sox would be the last start he would make in pinstripes, as the Yankees blew the series and El Duque departed in free agency.

Having rejuvenated his career with a successful ’04 season, El Duque signed with the White Sox for the 2005 campaign. While Chicago got off to a fantastic start that they never looked back from, it wasn’t as good for El Duque. He had a 5.12 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) and was more hittable than ever, with a career-worst 9.6 H/9. The White Sox won the AL Central, but they left him out of the playoff rotation, one that featured another Cuban star who was previously a Yankee, José Contreras. Considering how dangerous the rotation of Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, and Jon Garland proved to be that postseason, it’s hard to blame the White Sox for slighting El Duque. It didn’t prevent him from coming up huge on the big stage one more time.

The White Sox were up two games to none on the defending champion Red Sox in the Division Series, and they led them 4-3 in the sixth inning of Game 3 at Fenway Park. However, the dangerous Boston lineup had knocked Garcia out and loaded the bases against reliever Damaso Marte. Chicago manager Ozzie Guillén called on El Duque to bail them out and stop the Red Sox from seizing any momentum to get back into the series. What followed was amazing and vintage El Duque: a Jason Varitek foul out, a Tony Graffanino pop-up, and a swing and a miss from Johnny Damon.

No runs scored, Chicago held the lead, and they went on to win the World Series.

El Duque hovered around the game for a few more years and even spent about two months with his brother Livan again pitching in the Diamondbacks rotation. However, despite some relatively effective pitching, it was clear that he was wearing down–hardly surprising for someone who pitched past age 40. After a year and a half with the Mets, El Duque’s career ended in 2007. He tried to recover from ’08 foot surgery to pitch again in the majors, but a couple minor league stints with various teams went in vain.

El Duque officially retired in 2011, and he’s since returned to Yankee Stadium for multiple Old-Timers’ Days and dynasty reunion events. He’ll always be welcomed back to the Bronx by the home crowd; El Duque was just one of those special pitchers and fan favorites who comes around every once in a while. Keep on doing the El Duque.

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

I can imagine some Guardians fans might have had a feeling of déjà vu Saturday night in Cleveland.

It’s the deciding game of a postseason series. The visiting team is from Chicago. And… it’s raining.

Well. It’s not the World Series and it’s not the Cubs in Cleveland, instead it’s an upstart White Sox team that had won the first two games of this Division Series at Progressive Field.

By the time the Guardians had dispatched the White Sox 2-0 in Game 5 and moved on to the ALCS, it was clear which was the better team. I’ve thought for a number of recent years that the Guardians always seem to find a way. They did it last year when they overcame a 12.5 game deficit to the Tigers and won the AL Central, although Detroit got revenge by defeating the Guards in a Wild Card Series. This year Cleveland trailed the White Sox by 4.5 games on Aug. 30, then finished the season on a 17-9 run to take the division title — which ultimately might have been the difference in this series.

Cleveland’s offense was missing in the first two games, in which they scored a total of two runs. A lot of that was on third baseman José Ramírez, who went 0-for-6 over those games. Ramírez had a rough year after breaking a hamate bone in his wrist in June. He missed a month and had one of the worst years of his career. Hamate injuries are known for long recovery times and Ramírez might not be 100 percent until next year.

But after those first two games, Ramírez put the Guardians on his back, going 5-for-12 with a double, triple, home run and seven RBI over the three games Cleveland won. That included this impossible home run Saturday [VIDEO].

Look where that pitch was! How on Earth do you hit a home run off this pitch?

But he did. One more thing about that home run:

The lowest home run pitch in #Postseason history!

(MLB x @GoogleCloud) https://t.co/4MRUh9pAlwpic.twitter.com/j2C84gkuu8

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 11, 2026

Guardians pitchers struck out 21 White Sox to preserve that two-run homer as the only runs Cleveland would need. The 21 K’s are a record for any MLB nine-inning game, regular season or postseason. (The previous postseason record of 19 in a nine-inning game had been set by the Sox… on Wednesday.) The White Sox struck out 75 times in the five games, a 40.5 percent K rate. That’s just not going to get it done.

Congratulations to the White Sox on their fine season, though it didn’t end the way they’d have wanted it to. To win 84 games and make the postseason after three straight 100+ loss seasons (and one of those a record-setting 121 defeats) is quite the accomplishment. They have some very good young players, particularly Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery, and Munetaka Murakami brought intangibles along with a big bat from Japan. They’re fun to watch. They’ll also need to do something about that pitching staff if they want to move forward and improve on this next year.

Congratulations to the Guardians for winning this series, the 11th team to overcome a 2-0 deficit in a postseason series. That team is also fun to watch and, while it doesn’t have the talent level of the Rays, they also seem to have intangibles that help them win. Ramírez might be the most underappreciated superstar in baseball today. He’s eventually going to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and hardly anyone outside Cleveland even knows who he is. And if he continues hitting the way he did in the Guardians’ three wins over the White Sox, the Rays will have their hands full in the ALCS.

I’ll be rooting for the Guardians as long as they’re in it this October. Their championship drought stands at 77 years. Consider this: When the Cubs’ World Series drought was at 77 years, it was… 1985. The Cubs had to wait 31 more years! All of us as Cubs fans know how this feels. I’d like to see a World Series title go to Cleveland this year.

This postseason has already created some great stories and had some compelling games. Let’s hope that continues through the next two rounds. We’ll have a game thread here for tonight’s NLCS Game 1 between the Brewers and Dodgers, game time 7 p.m. CT, thread posting time 6 p.m. CT.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 (1-0)

SURPRISE 9, SCOTTSDALE 3 (BOX)

• 1B COLE MATHIS: 1-4, RBI, BB
• 2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 0-4, R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 E (1, 2)
• RHP PEYTON PRESCOTT: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, W (1-0)
• RHP IRVING COTA: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP BRENDAN GIRTON: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, H (1)
• RHP RYAN LAMBERT: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, WP

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 (2-0)

SURPRISE 4, SALT RIVER 4 (BOX)

• 3B BOSTON BARO: 1-3, RBI, K
• RHP CALVIN ZIEGLER: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5 (3-0)

SURPRISE 8, GLENDALE 7 (BOX)

• 1B COLE MATHIS: 0-4, R, 2 BB, 3 K
• 2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 0-5, RBI, K, E (3)

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 (3-1)

SALT RIVER 7, SURPRISE 2 (BOX)

• 2B BOSTON BARO: 0-2, BB, K
• PH-2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 0-1, K

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 (3-1)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 (3-2)

SCOTTSDALE 4, SURPRISE 1 (BOX)

• 1B COLE MATHIS: 0-3, BB
• DH BOSTON BARO: 0-3, 2 K
• 2B BRUIN AGBAYANI: 1-3, 2 K, E (4)
• RHP BRENDAN GIRTON: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 (3-3)

PEORIA 10, SURPRISE 4 (BOX)

RHP PEYTON PRESCOTT: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, HBP

RHP IRVING COTA: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, WP

RHP CALVIN ZIEGLER: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2 WP, L (0-1)

RHP RYAN LAMBERT: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 (3-3)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE SEASON TO DATE

BRUIN AGBAYANI: 4 G, 13 AB, . .077/.143/.154, 1 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 BB, 6 K, 0/0 SB, .143 BABIP

BOSTON BARO: 3 G, 8 AB, .125/.222/.125, 1 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 BB, 4 K, 0/0 SB, .250 BABIP

COLE MATHIS: 3 G, 11 AB, .091/.333/.091, 1 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 BB, 3 K, 0/0 SB, .125 BABIP

IRVING COTA: 2 G (0 GS), 4.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER (3.86 ERA), 3 BB, 7 K, 0 HBP, 1 WP, 0 BLK, .100 BABIP

BRENDAN GIRTON: 2 G (0 GS), 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER (0.00 ERA), 1 BB, 0 K, 0 HBP, 0 WP, 0 BLK, .333 BABIP

RYAN LAMBERT: 2 G (0 GS), 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER (0.00 ERA), 1 BB, 4 K, 0 HBP, 1 WP, 0 BLK, .000 BABIP

PEYTON PRESCOTT: 2 G (2 GS), 3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER (9.00 ERA), 4 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 0 BLK, .500 BABIP

CALVIN ZIEGLER: 2 G (0 GS), 1.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER (36.00 ERA), 2 BB, 2 K, 0 HBP, 2 WP, 0 BLK,

.000 BABIP

The Dodgers on Sunday begin playing in their 18th National League Championship Series, a round that first began in 1969. The first NLCS for the Dodgers was in 1974, when Walt Alston’s Dodgers made their first postseason appearance since 1966.

This was the first full season of The Infield for the Dodgers, with National League MVP Steve Garvey at first base, Davey Lopes at second base, Bill Russell at shortstop, and Ron Cey at third base. They won 102 games, which stood as the best record by a Los Angeles Dodgers team for 43 years, but even then it took until the penultimate day to finally clinch the NL West over the Cincinnati Reds.

Tuesday, October 1 was clinching day for the Dodgers, who were in Houston to play the Astros while the Reds were in Atlanta. Cincinnati’s game ended first, and when the Braves prevailed that clinched the division for the Dodgers. It took a few minutes before fans watching Dodgers-Astros on television could see the reaction from the visiting dugout, much to the chagrin of Paul Henninger of the Los Angeles Times:

It’s ironic that the tape-delay, which has plagued baseball fans all season long on Monday nights, had to figure one more time, and on a channel that proclaimed it would bring us LIVE coverage until the Dodgers clinched the division. Everybody could treasure the glorious moment when it happened — LIVE, that is.

Dodger fans were all geared for it last Tuesday night. Channel 11 was telecasting the Dodgers game from the Atrodome. They knew the Reds were trailing. Doggett as on TV when word came. The Reds lost! Quick, cut to the Dodgers’ dugout to see the players’ reactions LIVE when they heard. Hey! They got the news! Davey Lopes was seen leaping for joy and … Vin Scully turns up on the screen frying sausage. What’s happening? Hurry up, Vinnie, flip those (deleted) links over, get on with it.

Then to compound this awful boo-boo, after the taped commercial somehow got in the way, after the initial excitement subsided, KTTV put on a tape-delay of the dugout frolics we missed. It was like reading yesterday’s newspaper. For shame, KTTV.

A different time

In the first 16 years of the League Championship Series (1969-84), the series was best-of-5, and home-field advantage alternated by division each year. It worked out that 1974 was the NL West’s year for home-field advantage, which matched up with the records, as the Dodgers were 102-60 and the Pittsburgh Pirates were 88-74.

But home-field advantage back then meant the team with the supposed advantage would first play two games on the road before coming home to play up to three games. So the Dodgers had to go to Pittsburgh first to open their playoffs.

Night games weren’t as prevalent for the postseason back then, and every game of the NLCS and ALCS were played during the daytime. Also, the schedules weren’t staggered, with both the NL and AL playing games on the same days.

1974 LCS schedules

• Saturday, October 5: Dodgers at Pirates, 10 a.m. PT; Orioles at A’s, 1 p.m.
• Sunday, October 6: Dodgers at Pirates, 10 a.m.; Orioles at A’s, 1 p.m.
• Monday, October 8: A’s at Orioles, 11 a.m. PT; Pirates at Dodgers, 12:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 9: A’s at Orioles, 11 a.m. PT; Pirates at Dodgers, 12:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 10: A’s at Orioles, 11 a.m. PT; Pirates at Dodgers, 12:30 p.m.

Based on local newspapers at the time — Bob Cox in the San Pedro News-Pilot, Morton Moss in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and Henninger of The Times — the television coverage of the postseason was also much different from today. All NLCS games were televised locally in the Los Angeles area by KTTV, with Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett on the call, using the NBC video feed.

The national NBC call of the NLCS, which was also available locally, had Jim Simpson and Maury Wills on the call. NBC also called the ALCS, which made for a baseball doubleheader on the network on Saturday, with the main NBC team of Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek calling the ALCS. But on Sunday, NBC had NFL football with the Oakland Raiders playing the Cleveland Browns in the 10 a.m. PT slot so they didn’t show Game 2 of Dodgers-Pirates.

Games 3-5 of the LCS had the two games closer together, and NBC’s coverage plans were to televise the first game (A’s at Orioles) in full before joining Pirates at Dodgers in progress. But KTTV locally had every NLCS game live.

As it turned out, both the Dodgers and A’s closed out their LCS in four games, not needing to play Wednesday.

1974 NLCS results

• Game 1: Dodgers 3, Pirates 0
• Game 2: Dodgers 5, Pirates 2
• Game 3: Pirates 7, Dodgers 0
• Game 4: Dodgers 12, Pirates 1

There would not be an NLCS MVP award until 1977, but two Dodgers stood out for a potential 1974 NLCS MVP. Don Sutton allowed one run in 17 innings in his two starts, both wins, with 13 strikeouts, and Garvey hit .389/.421/.778 with two home runs, a double, and five RBI in the four games.

We’re down to four.

The Guardians managed to escape a 2-0 series deficit and will move on to face the Rays starting Monday night. Meanwhile, the NLCS starts tonight with what might be a pitching matchup for the ages at 5:00 pm PST on Fox.

Happy Sunday everybody!

In Mariners news…

• I like to imagine being the viewer who never saw this story, sees this question, and is left on their couch thinking, “he did WHAT??”

ANOTHER ESPN JEOPARDY GEM pic.twitter.com/HNydPPc7Xw

— marie SUPER BOWL LX CHAMPS (@marieners) October 10, 2026

Around the league…

• Guardians superstar José Ramírez showed everyone that a baseball doesn’t even need to be nine full inches off the ground in order to be a homerun pitch, and Guardians pitchers struck out 21 White Sox on the way to securing the reverse sweep.
• Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski will go head-to-head tonight in Game 1 of the NLCS, and according to Mike Petriello it’s one of the best pitching matchups we’ve ever seen, and he has the numbers to prove it.
• Mark Polishuk at MLBTR laid out the case for the Yankees moving on from Giancarlo Stanton this offseason.
• Phillies President of Business Operations Sam Fuld was reportedly offered the position of President of Baseball Operations for the Athletics but elected to decline the offer and will remain in his current position in Philadelphia.

Major League Baseball on .. announced the umpiring crews for the League Championship Series round. For the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers, the umpire crew will be led by crew chief Marg Wegner

This is the 26th career postseason series for Wegner, who is in his 28th year as a major league umpire, and his 15th year as a crew chief. He worked the 2025 World Series plus the Dodgers-Phillies NLDS last season.

There are six umpires instead of four during the postseason, with left field and right field added to the standard four infield positions. In the League Championship Series and World Series, there is a seventh umpire added to the crew, providing a day of rest for one umpire each game.

Here are the umpiring assignments for Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee:

Home plate: Edwin Moscoso
First base: Wegner
Second base: Ryan Additon
Third base: Alan Porter
Left field: David Rackley
Right field: John Tumpane
Reserve: Chris Segal

Umpires rotate positions throughout the series, such that seven different umpires will work behind home plate should Dodgers vs. Brewers last the full seven games.

League Championship Series replay officials in New York for the two LCS are Erich Bacchus, Lance Barksdale, and Adam Beck.

Position	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
Home plate	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane
First base	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal
Second base	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner
Third base	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon
Left field	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter
Right field	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley
Reserve	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso

Good morning, folks…

The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-0, in the decisive Game 5 of their series, setting up a Cleveland/Tampa Bay ALCS.

The Athletic talks about how the final four teams consist of the Dodgers and three low budget teams.

The A’s, in search of a president of baseball operations after firing David Forst in August, offered the job to Sam Fuld, who passed on it.

David Laurila has his Sunday Notes column up at Fangraphs.

The Dodgers are a juggernaut. They’ve finally met their (re)match.

In a regular season marked by broad parity, two teams stood alone. The Brewers won the most games (103) and finished second in fWAR (48.6). The Dodgers won the second most games (100) and finished first in fWAR (53.1). By any statistic you prefer — or even if you prefer to eschew statistics all together — these were far and away the best teams in the majors in 2026. Their collision in the National League Championship Series seemed inevitable from the earliest days of summer.

On paper, this looks like one of the best playoff matchups ever. It’s only the sixth time both teams in an LCS won at least 100 games during the regular season. The most recent examples were in 2018 and 2019, when the Astros played the Red Sox and then the Yankees in the ALCS. Before that it hadn’t happened since the 1970s. That’s to say, this could be an all-time contest of greatness vs. greatness — a rarity in modern baseball.

Of course, this is also rematch. These teams met in last year’s NLCS, in which the Dodgers throttled the Brewers in a four-game sweep. Los Angeles would go on to win their second straight World Series, and spend the offseason once again “ruining baseball” — signing the best free agent, pushing their payroll to new heights, and positioning themselves as favorites for a three peat.

They look just as formidable in 2026. This is one of the best and most well-rounded rosters the Dodgers have taken into the postseason in what’s now their 14th consecutive appearance. They have a deep lineup, the best pitching staff in the league, and have gotten hot at just the right time.

The brief instances where the Dodgers faltered this year — the stretches that limited them to a mere 100 wins — were due to their star-studded lineup under performing. Kyle Tucker struggled mightily through much of the summer, despite handwringing about what his $240 million deal means for the future of the league. Teoscar Hernández’s power disappeared for several weeks, leading him to finish 2026 with fewer than 20 homers for the first time over a full season. And Mookie Betts generated concern that his Hall of Fame career could be over sooner than anticipated. Without production from the core of their lineup, the Dodgers as a team ran a 92 wRC+ in July and August, bottom 10 in the majors.

That feels like the distant past now. The Dodgers offense exploded in September behind the trio of Tucker, Hernández, and Betts, who combined for a .314/.405/.586 (170 wRC+). With fellow stars Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, and Will Smith, this once again looks like the deepest and most fearsome lineup in the majors. Los Angeles ultimately finished the season with the second best wRC+ (111) and fourth most runs scored (801).

Offense isn’t even the Dodgers strength. They allowed the fewest runs in the majors this year, even with injury keeping Ohtani off the mound in the second half. Yoshinobu Yamomoto, last year’s World Series MVP, leads the rotation following another season of steady excellence. His 2.53 ERA was fifth best in the majors. After him is two-time Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal, who joined the team at the trade deadline in another “league ruining” deal, adding a second true “ace” to the mix. Then there’s the other two-time Cy Young winner in Blake Snell, who delivered on his particular brand of missing most of the season with injury, walking nearly 10% of batters he faced after returning, and otherwise being completely unhittable.

If one absolutely had to pick a weakness with this Dodgers, it might be the bullpen. There’s not a ton of depth in the middle innings (which is generally not an issue because the rotation covers those innings). But even that appears to be trending in the right direction. Edwin Díaz, after a miserable August following a trip to the injured list, looked untouchable in September, giving the Dodgers four pitchers who could serve as closers on any other team.

Again, this Dodgers roster is powerhouse, and perhaps the best in what may be the final act of their trilogy. But it’s worth pointing out they did not win the most games in the majors in 2026. That distinction belongs to the Brewers, who are just as formidable — and perhaps even the favorites in this all-time series.

Milwaukee, following an abrupt ending to 2025, had murkier offseason. They shuffled pieces subtly at the margins, leaning on their people, processes, and prospects more than big splashes in free agency. The Brewers front office is known as one of the most forward thinking collection of analysts in the league, and they seemed to be betting on themselves. The projections, however, weren’t impressed. FanGraphs projected the them to finish third in the NL Central; PECOTA pegged them at 80 wins. Did the Brewers know something nobody else could see?

Well, the answer was a resounding yes. The Brewers won 103 games, reaching triple digits in the win column for the first time in franchise history. It’s hard to improve on a season where they won the most games in the majors, but they got better in just about every facet, finishing first in run differential and second in fWAR. Again, there’s a good argument they were the best team in the majors this year.

Offensively, the Brewers are a brutal opponent. They work counts, put the ball in ball in play to all fields, and run the bases extraordinarily well. They don’t hit for a ton of power, but they can whittle down an opponent through relentless pressure, as we saw them do against a very good Padres bullpen in the NLDS.

Unlike the Dodgers it’s hard to name a true “star” of the group, but they are no doubt just as deep. Brice Turang finished fifth in the majors in fWAR as the league’s premier second baseman, doing a bit of everything on the field. Jackson Chourio is one of the game’s great young players, having already collected three 20-20 seasons at just 22 years old. Then there’s Jake Bauers, the journeyman first baseman who suddenly broke out at age 31, posting a 143 wRC+ as one of the 10 best hitters in the league. From top to bottom, every batter on this roster provides something, whether that’s defense or base running or platoon production.

In the rotation, Jacob Misiorowski is not so much the Brewers’ ace as the league’s ace — he is definitively the best pitcher in baseball. When he steps on the mound in Game 1, he will set all sorts of “top velocity in the NLCS” records. He is essentially unhittable, with a ridiculous combination of velocity, stuff, extension, and command. Much of the discourse in this series will follow how and when the Brewers choose to use him. 

Of course, some of that discourse will be necessary because there isn’t a ton of rotation depth behind Misiorowski. Logan Henderson is a great number two, but Dustin May has struggled since joining the team at the trade deadline. This is where the Dodgers hold the advantage.

Where the Brewers could take that advantage back is in the bullpen. Their relief core is very deep. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe have been untouchable in high leverage. Aaron Ashby and DL Hall give them excellence from the left side. Much like the lineup, everyone in this group offers something the Brewers can use in the series to keep the Dodgers off balance.

I would love to sit here and give you some “X factors,” or things that I think could sway the series. Maybe it’s Ohtani’s returning to form after coming off the injured list in September. Maybe it’s the sheer quantity of innings Misiorowski can throw. But I’m not sure that such a framing would do this matchups justice. These are two great teams with complete rosters from top to bottom. These are the best lineups and the best pitching staffs — and the best organizations overall — going head to head in a best of seven series. This is the NLCS we’ve been waiting all year for, and now it’s finally here.

Cheri Bell does a great job covering the minor league system of the San Diego Padres among many other topics for Gaslamp Ball. Even though the big league club closed out its season just a few days ago, she is already looking ahead to what minor league talent will be showcased in the 2026 Arizona Fall League.

Bell will provide updates on the minor league players throughout the offseason and that will be great for readers looking for content as the sport continues to trend toward a lockout, which will bring a halt to any and all baseball activity at the major league level. The minor league players will not be impacted by the lockout, so get your pens and pencils ready because you may need to take noted as the Padres prospects take center stage in the weeks ahead.

Padres News:

• It probably does not need to be said, but Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wants people to back the Milwaukee Brewers against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Dennis Lin of The Athletic discusses three topics for the Padres’ offseason.

Baseball News:

• The Cleveland Guardians completed the comeback and advanced to the ALCS with a win over the Chicago White Sox.

• The Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers will send two of the game’s best pitchers to face each other in Game 1.

Chaim Bloom has gotten ahead of the offseason speculation season and all but told the fans that the upcoming offseason will be more of the same for the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether or not you agree with staying the course for an undetermined amount of time, the 2027 season has enough clouds around it that another offseason of inactivity could be excused by fans.

It appears the Cardinals have parts of their offensive core of the future, but that also relies on those players repeating and/or building off of career years with the bat. With a top four in the order mostly settled, assuming no offseason trades, the Cardinals are also expected to extend their lineup with Joshua Baez and Leo Bernal. Rounding out the final three will be, in some order, Masyn Winn, Nathan Church, and a third baseman to be named later.

Winn is pretty much locked in at shortstop and Church was announced as the incumbent starting center fielder if nothing else changes. I do think the last part of that sentence is important as Bloom and Oliver Marmol may want to check out the market for upgrades at that position. In the same conversation, Marmol said that third base is “wide open” with Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan looking like the early favorites, especially if Nolan Gorman is non-tendered this winter. Church and the 3BTBNL, to me, are holdovers for the futures of those positions and those players may or may not already be in the system.

Should the Cardinals prioritize center field or third base for the future?

2023 has become my new benchmark when looking at the current state of the Cardinals and so far, I feel as if that has been able to provide some insight on the recent struggles of the franchise. In center field, Cardinals players have put up a total 3.9 fWAR with a 75 wRC+, 39 homers, and a .619 OPS. Of course, the combination of Victor Scott II, Nathan Church, and Michael Siani, the three who have played the most in center since 2023, were known more for their speed and gloves than their bats.

However, those three combined for 73 stolen bases in over 450 games and the position’s .225 batting average was second to last in all of baseball, which never gave those players an opportunity to run. Their defense, while solid, ranked 11th in MLB over the past four seasons, which is nowhere near good enough to make up for the offensive shortcomings. Next year, Church looks to build off his double-digit homer and steals year as he enters his first season in a full-time role. Behind him, Chase Davis, Tai Peete, and Josiah Ragsdale all have different skillsets and timelines to the bigs.

Third base may be the more disappointing of the two positions, especially when Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman were supposed to power their way to hot corner leaderboards. Those two led the Cardinals’ third basemen to a 91 wRC+ as a group, good for 19th in MLB, while their 78 combined homers sat smackdab in the middle at 15th. The position’s .388 slugging percentage put them in 18th and just like in center, the defense did not make up for the offense.

Gold Glover Nolan Arenado took a step back before getting sent out of St. Louis and whoever took over for him was never going to replicate the human highlight reel. Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Saggese, and Blaze Jordan put the Cardinals in 10th place by defensive value and the future behind the later two is lacking depth.

Ramon Mendoza had a solid second chance in Triple-A this season, putting up a .291 average with nine homers. He has never profiled high on prospect boards, but he is Rule-5 eligible this offseason so if the Cardinals want him to enter the competition, they could add him to the 40-man roster. Behind him, Jesus Baez looks like a real threat with the bat, but has not yet settled on a final infield position. Third base makes the most sense due to Winn and Wetherholt holding down the middle of the diamond.

Since 2027 looks to be another season hovering around .500, the desire for the DeWitts and Bloom to spend on the roster is likely and unfortunately still low. My most recent Twitter soapbox is that spending money at a position of need without anyone knocking on the door, like third base and center field, does next to nothing towards changing the team’s long-term timeline. Like they did with Dustin May, a quality player can do a lot for a team while he is there, and then the franchise will hopefully reap the benefits of his cameo for years to come. While this happens less often with position players, it is a strategy I would like to see the Cardinals do this offseason.

That does not mean, like Jeff Jones said, skipping to the third page of the free agent list and signing Ramon Urias to platoon around the infield. Since the Cardinals are unlikely to take this path, looking deep into the free agent pool is not worth it this early, so I do not yet have names I am interested in at either spot just yet. For those of you who are 2-3 offseasons ahead of me, go ahead and let me know what you would like the Cardinals to do this winter at those spots. As of October 11, I think that the Cardinals trust Jordan to take the spot with Saggese filling a Jose Fermin role next season with Nathan Church in center.

For now, all of those players seem like placeholders for the future, but I would like some more quality in the lineup that could result in some more offense and a return to the Wild Card without sacrificing the future. The Wild Card is not the ultimate goal, but the 2026 Cardinals have now set a theoretical 77-win baseline for the next few seasons and a couple game jump could keep them relevant deep into September.

Sticking with the offense, let me know what position you would prioritize and if a short-term trade candidate makes sense to you.

Thanks as always!

For three years, they were two of the best college baseball players in the country and among the best to ever play for Arizona. But now they’re just two of many hoping to someday reach the big leagues.

Former Wildcat stars Brendan Summerhill and Mason White were back in town on Saturday, playing in an Arizona Fall League doubleheader at Kino Stadium. All four teams featured at least one player with ties to Southern Arizona, including a former high school teammate of White’s at Salpointe Catholic and a one-time UA signee from Nogales who bypassed college for pro ball.

“Just being back here is so fun,” said Summerhill, who plays for the Scottsdale Scorpions. “Tucson’s got something in the air.”

Summerhill played center field and batted leadoff in the second game of the doubleheader, reaching base all four times in the 10-2 win over the Salt River Rafters. He had a single and double, walked and was hit by a pitch, scoring four runs and swiping a couple bases.

White, who played shortstop and hit fourth for the Mesa Solar Sox, was 0 for 4 in their 7-3 win over the Peoria Javelinas.

“It was really cool to play here,” said White, who learned he would play in the Arizona Fall League in August. “I never really thought about it until they announced the games here.”

The AFL, an annual monthlong league meant to showcase some of Major League Baseball’s top minor league prospects, has served as a springboard for players to get to the bigs. Former UA catcher Daniel Susac played for Mesa in 2024 and made his MLB debut this past season for the San Francisco Giants.

Summerhill and White just completed their first full season of pro ball, each getting drafted in 2025 after helping Arizona return to the College World Series. Summerhill was a supplemental 1^st round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays while White was a 4th-round selection of the Boston Red Sox.

Both played well enough to earn in-season promotions, with White finishing the year at Double-A Portland and Summerhill rising to High-A Bowling Green.

“I hit a lot of the goals that I set for myself, and hopefully to continue that into Spring Training and then next year,” said White, who overall hit .251 with 18 home runs and 55 RBI in 101 games.

Summerhill, who combined to hit .251 with five homers and 45 RBI in 85 games, did not meet the expectations he set for 2026. At the same time, he felt he grew as a player thanks to the way the Rays organization has coached him.

“I hit a lot of the goals that I set for myself, and hopefully to continue that into Spring Training and then next year,” he said. “I think the big thing about the Rays is they …want you to be good at what you’re good at.”

Both Summerhill and White have stayed in touch with former UA teammates and coaches, with Summerhill catching Chip Hale’s ceremonial first pitch between games. White trained and worked out with the Wildcats between the end of his regular season and starting AFL play.

The final four teams are set now, the Dodgers and Brewers in the NLCS, the Guardians and Rays in the ALCS. Both series have their quirks about them, the NLCS being a matchup of heavyweights, the ALCS being somewhat one sided on paper.

Who do you think ends up playing each other in the World Series?

Personally, I’m not sure anyone is beating the Brewers this year. They seem to be the most complete team left, which only means the Dodgers are going to steamroll them and whoever they face in the Fall Classic.

If you found it a little strange that Sonny Gray was considering retiring after one of the best seasons of his career, Sonny apparently agrees with you. Though he hinted all season that he could hang up the crooked hat for good this winter, Gray confirmed that he will return to Major League Baseball in 2027. Now the question is: with what team? “My family and I have talked about it and it’s an easy decision,” Gray said. “I still want to win a World Series, whether that is [with] Boston or with whoever wants me.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Another member of the 2026 Red Sox who isn’t done with baseball? That would be Alex Cora. But given that he’s getting married in November and, like the rest of us, seeing a looming lockout on the horizon, he’s taking his time. Cora recently turned down the manager’s job with the Phillies — for the second time in the last six months. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

The loss of Gray in free agency would certainly hurt the Red Sox. But, thankfully, starting pitching is the strongest area of the team. We all know the weakest: power hitting, particularly from the right side. For two years in a row now Craig Breslow has pledged to add power to the Sox lineup. But, this year, he’s already throwing up a note of caution. “I think as teams become more competitive, there are fewer and fewer teams that are willing to move current major league talent because everyone wants to be competitive,” he said. “So we’ll have to be creative in figuring out how we improve our roster.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Adley Rutschman didn’t provide all that much of a power boost when he joined the Sox late this season, but he is nonetheless one of the best offensive catchers out there. So will the Sox look to extend him before he enters free agency next offseason? Craig Breslow isn’t tipping his hand. “What I would say is that Adley stepped in as our primary catcher in the middle of a season, which is not easy to do,” Breslow said. “Especially when pitching is a strength for our team. He immediately endeared himself to the pitching staff, to the coaching staff, to the clubhouse. Just a really, really high-quality teammate and leader. As to the other question, I think that’s something that will develop internally. Any conversations about what Adley’s future looks like will take place between Adley, his representatives and me.” (Patrick McAvoy, SI.com)

David Ortiz also thinks there’s something missing from this Red Sox roster, but the slugger isn’t focusing on home runs. “We seemed shy. We seemed a little [concerned]. We seem a little scared when we go into those series. … We need attitude, bro. … I haven’t seen that this past couple of years going into the Bronx,” Papi said. “You know what I’m saying? And I tell you what, man, when you go to play in the Bronx, you better be ready. You better be ready.” (Conor Ryan, Boston.com)

And, following the Yankees subsequent playoff exit against the Rays, Ortiz had similar criticism of the pinstripes. “I never played for the Yankees, but I competed a lot against the Yankees,” said Ortiz. “There’s one thing that I can see missing from the Yankees. It is culture. There are a lot of little things that in the long run, they start catching up.” (Hayden Bird, Boston.com)

Meet the Mets

Danny Abriano asked whether the Mets should bring back Ronny Mauricio in 2027.

Mets prospect Peyton Prescott has something to prove in the Arizona Fall League this season.

Around the National League East

Despite making virtually all their players available for a potential Tarik Skubal trade, the Braves were unwilling to part with pitcher Didier Fuentes in any negotiations this past trade deadline.

Heading into the offseason, there are some questions about the Phillies’ outfield that could be completely reshaped in the coming months.

Jessica Camerato listed five questions the Nationals have to answer looking ahead to the offseason.

Around Major League Baseball

In completely unsurprising news, the Brewers officially named Jacob Misiorowski their starter for the first game of the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Zach Sweet listed four factors that will decide the winner of this year’s NLCS.

The pitching matchup of Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski is nearly unprecedented and a must-see battle in the making.

Gavin Williams tied Cleveland’s postseason single-game strikeout record in last night’s win against the White Sox, logging 12 strikeouts and flirting with a no-hitter.

The Guardians overcame the odds and beat the White Sox in last night’s decisive Game 5, punching their ticket to face the Rays in the ALCS.

This Date in Mets History

In 1969, the Mets played the first World Series game in the franchise’s history—and lost.

As someone with very fond memories of the Yankees winning fierce, neck-and-neck Division Series battles with Oakland, Cleveland, and Baltimore over the years, I’ve always enjoyed a tense Game 5. One team advances to fight for the pennant while the other goes home with those hopes dashed. I don’t think many neutral observers would pick either of these teams to upset the Rays after the way they posted the American League’s best record in 2026 and then mopped the floor with the Yankees.

But look, all you have to do is get the next round, and you’ll never know what happens. Who would’ve picked the 84-win Diamondbacks to upset the defending NL champion Phillies in 2023? Or going back further to a better memory for the City of Brotherly Love, how about when the 1993 Phillies dispatched a dynastic Braves team that outlasted the Giants to win 104 games? Dare to dream. The Guardians and White Sox both dared to do so; here’s how the winner booked a date at Tropicana Field for ALCS Game 1 tomorrow night.

ALDS Game 5

Cleveland Guardians 2, Chicago White Sox 0

(CLE wins, 3-2)

Star power often wins in the playoffs, and though Cleveland isn’t exactly awash with the stars the way it was in the 1990s when the team made it to multiple Fall Classics, they relied on a couple very good ones to lead the way in the winner-take-all Game 5 against the White Sox.

With a 2-0 victory, the Guardians won their third in a row, completing just the fourth comeback in MLB history for a team in a best-of-five that lost the first two games at home. To make this Yankees-centric and more familiar, this is the kind of the comeback that the 2001 Yanks pulled off against the A’s, sparked by the “Flip Play” game. It’s since been matched by the 2012 Giants, the 2015 Blue Jays, and now the 2026 Guardians. It’s also the first 0-2 comeback of any kind in a DS since the 2017 Yanks did it to Cleveland. (Shout-out Greg Bird, Masahiro Tanaka, and Didi Gregorius.)

The two stars who took center stage for the Guardians were José Ramírez and Gavin Williams. Whenever Ramírez ends his career, he’ll go down as one of the greatest players to ever wear a Cleveland uniform. October has sometimes been a struggle for him though, and he’s the last remaining player from their team that lost to the Cubs in a Game 7 heartbreaker in the 2016 Fall Classic. He hasn’t been back to the Greatest Stage since then, but he helped punch Cleveland’s ticket to give them a shot this year by going 5-for-12 across the three ALDS wins with two homers and seven RBI.

One of those dingers came yesterday off an otherwise-solid Sean Burke, and who could blame Burke for giving up a gopher ball on a pitch this low?

Ramírez has a good shot at a plaque in Cooperstown one day and this is one of those “tip your cap” moments. Not many players can physically do that. This has actually been a tougher year for him, as he had a broken bone in his hand that forced him to miss time and ultimately ended up with a sub-100 OPS+ for the first time since 2015. If it ends in Cleveland somehow breaking its championship drought though, the man won’t care a lick about his regular season.

Maybe it’s overstating a bit to call Williams a star, but the 26-year-old is a dangerous up-and-coming ace for Cleveland, leading the AL with 248 strikeouts despite not making the All-Star team. The Guardians wasted his 11-K start in Game 1, but he came out of the bullpen to help nail down Game 4 when closer Cade Smith wobbled late. Under 48 hours later, Williams started the game he forced and seemed unperturbed by those 18 pitches in relief. He did one better than his playoff opener, fanning a dirty dozen White Sox in 5.2 shutout innings, allowing only a single to Kyle Teel.

Williams’ primary drawback is that he doesn’t go deep into games, which hurt him in Game 1. Erik Sabrowski let him down then, but he made up for it last night by relieving Williams and fanning Munetaka Murakami with the bases loaded to escape a sixth-inning jam. The 2-0 lead remained intact.

The Pale Hose never came so close to scoring again. Tristan Peters never moved after a one-out single in the seventh, as Hunter Gaddis struck out both Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery as the potential tying runs. Sam Antonacci singled off Gaddis with one down in the eighth, so Cleveland skipper Stephen Vogt called on Smith for a five-out save, his third appearance in four days. Despite pitching every game in this series, he was up to the task. He struck out Kyle Teel and got Miguel Vargas to foul out to end the frame, and then struck out the side in the ninth to slam the door on the Sox, who set a postseason record with 21 team strikeouts in a nine-inning game. Woof.

The White Sox deserve a ton of credit for overachieving so much in 2026 after three consecutive 100-loss seasons. No one thought they’d make the playoffs, let alone come a win shy of the ALCS. Few predicted even a .500 finish! It will hurt knowing that they had three games to close out Cleveland and instead squandered the series, but this team honestly looked about as gassed possible. Can the Guardians actually threaten the Rays? I will at least hope they put up a better fight than they did in 2024 against the Yankees.