Category: Sports News

The Dodgers have a tall task against a rested Chris Sale in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, after scoring three runs in 16 innings against the ace left-hander during the regular season. They also will have Shohei Ohtani batting fifth, his lowest spot in a starting lineup since 2020 with the Angels.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday he was considering moving Ohtani down in the order amid a slump, both before and after Ohtani’s September stint on the injured list.

“I think moving him from 1 to 2 — but going further than that? I’m open to it,” Roberts said Monday. “And it’s something that if I do, I would obviously have the conversation with Shohei to explain why.”

The Dodgers are also looking for their first hit with a runner in scoring position in the series, with a related problem that they only have 10 plate appearances in those situations through two games. For what it’s worth, the Braves only have 14 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, and have just one single in 10 at-bats.

Scoring has been very hard to come by in this series, other than when hitting a ball over the wall — none of which have come with more than a runner on first base.

With the left-hander Sale on the mound, the Dodgers once again have Miguel Rojas starting, after the veteran batted .293/.340/.469 with a 121 wRC+ against lefties this season.

Rojas got one at-bat in Game 2 against southpaw opener Ray Kerr, and doubled, before Max Muncy pinch-hit for him in the fourth inning. He has two singles in 13 career at-bats against Sale, including one of the Dodgers’ five hits in Sale’s shutout win on August 27.

Rojas plays second for Tommy Edman and bats sixth, and Kiké Hernández is starting at third base in place of Muncy and batting ninth.

“You’ve got Kiké, you’ve got Miggy Ro, you’ve got Muncy. We’ve got good options. I don’t see Josue De Paula being an option. I don’t see myself sitting Will Smith,” Roberts said Monday. “At the end of the day, our guys are our guys. And, yeah, I can tweak a lineup. I can kind of insert, take out a player or two. But at the end of the day we still have got to go out there and play and execute and take good at-bats.”

The switch-hitting Edman usually hits lefties well — 113 wRC+ this year, 118 wRC+ career — but hasn’t done much of anything for the last two months or so, hitting .201/.294/.329 over his last 46 games, including five hitless at-bats plus a walk in the NLDS. Edman started against Sale in Atlanta on August 27, but struck out in all three at-bats against him.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made some major changes to his lineup for Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday, Oct. 6 against the Atlanta Braves.

Postseason specialist Enrique Hernandez will step in for Tommy Edman at second base and Roberts dramatically shook up the batting order.

Battling injuries late in the season, Shohei Ohtani is facing questions about his effectiveness at the plate and was moved down to hit fifth in Game 3. Ohtani went 2-for-8 (two singles) in the first two games of the series and struck out twice in the Game 2 loss on Sunday.

With the Dodgers facing a left-handed starter for the third game in a row. $240 million man Kyle Tucker, who homered in Game 1, was dropped down to eighth in the order.

Los Angeles sends last year's World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound for Game 3 at Truist Park. Yamamoto had a 2.53 ERA in 28 starts during the regular season and has posted a 2.25 ERA in 56 career postseason innings.

Here's the Dodgers' starting lineup for Game 3 in Georgia:

Dodgers lineup today

1. Mookie Betts (R) SS
2. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
3. Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
4. Will Smith (R) C
5. Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
6. Miguel Rojas (R) 2B
7. Andy Pages (R) CF
8. Kyle Tucker (L) RF
9. Enrique Hernández (R) 3B

Fred Claire, the general manager of the World Series-winning Dodgers in 1988 and a longtime public relations executive with the team, died at his home in Pasadena on Monday night, his 91st birthday.

Claire’s time as Dodgers general manager was bookended by sudden upheaval. First in 1987, after Al Campanis was fired for his racist remarks about Black players and managers in baseball on the ABC show Nightline, Claire was plucked by owner Peter O’Malley to take over as GM after 18 seasons in the PR department. Then in 1998, Claire was ousted along with manager Bill Russell once the team’s sale to Fox was finalized.

In between, the Dodgers made the playoffs three times in Claire’s 10 full seasons as general manager, including winning the World Series in 1988.

The Dodgers after winning the National League West in 1985 lost 89 games in consecutive years, and Claire was a busy man in his first offseason as general manager after the 1987 season. The Dodgers were in talks to trade Pedro Guerrero to the Detroit Tigers for Kirk Gibson, but there was also the pending decision in MLB’s collusion case that would eventually make Gibson a free agent later that winter. The Dodgers in December signed Gibson, who won National League MVP and authored one of the most famous home runs in baseball history, hitting a walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

The Dodgers in December also signed outfielder Mike Davis, who averaged 22 home runs in each of the previous three seasons in Oakland. Davis was very bad in his time with the Dodgers, but did draw a pinch-hit walk ahead of Gibson’s home run in the World Series, and also homered in the Game 5 clincher in Oakland.

At the winter meetings, Claire was in simultaneous talks with the Toronto Blue Jays (for shortstop Manuel Lee), New York Mets, and Oakland A’s. After an all-night session of talks, the Dodgers on December 11 made a three-team deal that sent pitchers Bob Welch and Matt Young to Oakland, and Jack Savage to New York, with shortstop Alfredo Griffin plus relievers Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco going to the Dodgers.

“I knew that we had to do several things to improve,” Fred Claire told True Blue LA in 2017. “We went into those meetings with three things that had to be accomplished. We had to have a shortstop to stabilize our infield. We needed a closer and we needed a left-handed relief pitcher. It’s one thing to target one player or one position, but we had three needs.”

As luck would have it, the Dodgers would play the 100-win Mets in the National League Championship Series and the 104-win A’s in the World Series that year. They beat them both.

“Fred brought many victories and Dodger legends to our franchise, as well as the 1988 World Series title, and we are forever grateful for his leadership during such a memorable era,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said Tuesday. “Our hearts go out to his wife Sheryl and his family.”

The Dodgers under Claire also made the playoffs in 1995 as NL West champions and in 1996 as a wild card team. In 1994, after contract talks to retain Jody Reed stalled, so Claire traded for another infielder, getting Delino DeShields from the Montreal Expos. Going the other way was undersized 22-year-old right-hander Pedro Martínez, who would later win three Cy Young Awards, make eight All-Star teams, and sail into the Hall of Fame.

“The facts have to be the facts, and those facts are, I traded Pedro,” Claire told Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times in 2017.

Claire was born in Ohio but moved with his family to California as a teenager and graduated from Torrance High School before earning a journalism degree from San Jose State in 1957.

He worked at the Whittier Daily News before moving to the Pomona Progress-Bulletin, where he was sports editor for seven of his nine and a half years at the newspaper. In 1968, Claire moved to the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram to cover the Angels, and moved to the Dodgers beat in 1969, before getting hired by the team in July 1969 in public relations, becoming a vice president in that department in 1975.

Claire in 2016 was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in his jaw, and underwent strenuous treatment. In the last decade has raised money for City Of Hope, including riding in the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day in 2018.

When he was hired from the PR department as general manager in April 1987, Claire was aware of the criticisms coming his way for lack of experience, and speculation that his GM tenure might be a short-term affair.

“It’s now. I accept t on that, whether it’s one day or two days or three days,” Claire told Ken Gurnick of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. “I do know every day that’s there, I’ll devote what I can.”

Claire lasted in the general manager’s chair for over 11 years.

Note: The following is from a lineup that is now out of date. More information on the updated lineup can be found below.

The Atlanta Braves have a chance to take a series lead in the NLDS against the Dodgers at home these evening behind Chris Sale.

The pitching is what has been given a lot of love by the media and fans alike for good reason for the Braves, but the offense has been the unsung hero. Sure, the offense has not set the world on fire, but there have been quite a few small things that has really stuck out.

During the regular season the Braves were so bad at drawing walks, that only two teams in MLB has worse walk rates. In the postseason, the Braves are first in walks. A key player in that has been Ozzie Albies.

The Braves also lead in HRs, 2Bs, and TBs. If they keep getting runners on, it will eventually lead to more runs than what we are seeing. That is easier said than done against this Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but it is a good sign. Yamamoto has only surrendered one earned run against the Braves in 16.1 innings.

So far in the postseason the question about the lineup has been which player Walt Weiss is going to put in the DH slot.

The biggest change from last game is the Ha-Seong Kim will be playing SS with Mauricio Dubón shifting back to LF. Of course, this means Lane Thomas will not be getting the start. Murphy is staying at DH, apparently due to Weiss liking him to be available pinch hit for him easily whenever he wants.

This strategy does hold some weight, but a lot of Murphy’s value is in his defense. You could also shift Baldwin catcher mid-game if you prefer to have Murphy catcher when a pinch hitter comes in for Murphy. The assumption would be that Weiss does not like to swap catchers mid-game.

One would have thought that the Dodgers would be deploying a similar lineup like the one they had against Chris Sale since he and Kerr are both lefties, but there have been some major changes where certain starters will be fitting in the lineup.

Surprisingly Ohtani will be hitting fifth and Tucker is dropping all the way down to eighth. Rojas will be at 2B today instead of 3B and move of to hitting sixth while Kiké Hernández will be playing 3B and Edman will not be starting.

First pitch is at 6:00 pm EDT.

[UPDATE 4:37 p.m. ET]: Apparently, we have some late shuffling and scratching going on with Atlanta’s lineup. After being originally slated to play in the outfield, Ronald Acuña Jr. has been moved to DH for this contest. As a result, Sean Murphy is now out of the lineup. Here’s a look at the new lineup:

Mark Bowman reported on social media that the reasoning for this change was that apparently Acuña’s been dealing with a sore knee since sliding during Game 2 of the NLDS. A knock on effect here is that Lane Thomas is now in the lineup and batting seventh.

Outside of that, the lineup remains the same. Nothing like a little bit of lineup drama right before the start of a massive Postseason game, right?

New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change.

From 1991-2005, the Atlanta Braves made the playoffs every year and set an MLB record for most consecutive postseason appearances.

After the dust settled on the 2026 regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers tied that unprecedented mark.

And, now, ironically enough, they’re tied once again after two close NLCS games.

Next up, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Chris Sale’s elite National League clubs meet in a crucial third NLCS game this afternoon at Atlanta’s Truist Park that determines who takes a decisive 2-1 lead in this cutthroat best-of-five series.

“Both offenses are carrying their fair shares of frozen bats: Freddie Freeman entered Sunday hitting .167 over his final 18 regular-season games before homering, while Andy Pages is 0-for-7 this postseason and Tommy Edman is 0-for-5,” The Post noted.

“Ronald Acuña Jr. is 3-for-18 without an extra-base hit this postseason, while Matt Olson is 3-for-19 with seven strikeouts.”

Simply put, expect a pitcher’s duel (that won’t end in a tie). Yamamoto and Sale are built for this kind of big game.

Here’s how to tune in to the Game 3 of the NLDS without cable.

Dodgers vs. Braves time

Game 3 of the Dodgers vs. Braves NLDS is scheduled to begin today, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET.

How to watch Dodgers vs. Braves NLDS Game 3 for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream Dodgers vs. Braves NLDS games for free.

DIRECTV is our favorite service for trying live TV for free. Right now, you can take advantage of a five-day free trial before saving $30 on your first month. We recommend the Choice plan, which includes FS1 as part of its 125+ channel options.

Dodgers vs. Braves NLDS schedule

• Game 1: Dodgers 5, Braves 3
• Game 2: Braves 3, Dodgers 2
• Game 3: Oct. 6, 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET (FS1)
• Game 4: Oct. 7, 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET (FS1)
• Game 5: Oct. 8, 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET (FOX)*

*if necessary

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

Its a Tuesday afternoon, and LDS games don’t start for a few more hours.

I could write something about the Rangers, but I don’t feel like it. So instead, I am offering up a trivia question.

Once again, a couple of rules…

1 — Put a spoiler over your answer in the comments.

2 — Don’t go digging around on baseball sites to try to discover the answer. This is a trivia question, not a scavenger hunt.

Here is an alphabetical list of former major league Texas Rangers position players:

Doug Davis (the catcher, not the pitcher)

Greg Golson

Mark Parent

Luis Pujols

Ryan Roberts

Rob Sasser

These players all have something in common, and this is a complete list of every former Ranger baseball player who has this commonality (so, for example, the answer can’t be “Rangers players who have never been in my kitchen,” because Carlos Tocci and Mason Tobin and Keith Smith, among others, also haven’t been in your kitchen).

Can you guess what all these players have in common?

I will update later today with the answer.

Historically, who played first base for the Diamondbacks?

Only seven players had 120-game seasons at first base for the Diamondbacks.  The first five only reached that level for one season each.  Following that, Paul Goldschmidt reached that level in 6 of 8 seasons.  More recently, Christian Walker reached that level in 4 out of 6 seasons.  In the last two seasons, no player reached 120 games.

This season, Ildemaro Vargas had the most games at first base (74 games).   This season, he seemed to mostly share the position:

• April/May, shared with Jose Fernandez
• June, shared with Pavin Smith
• July/August, shared with Tim Tawa and Tyler Locklear
• September, shared with Tim Tawa and Pavin Smith

This season, the team Wins Above Average (WAA) at first base was negative 2.4, which was comparable to last season’s WAA of negative 2.2.  For more details about how bad things looked in July, see this AZ Snake Pit article.

And the offense was not much better. The following table shows, for first base, the team OBP and SLG (as well as the main players at first base).

Players who might play first base next season.

Current Diamondbacks.

Tim Tawa.  In his second season in the Majors, Tim Tawa is no longer a dark horse.  At 27 years old, he has not yet reached his peak performance.

“In 2026, his OPS improved every month [through August]. His OPS in August was better than league average. His defense was above average, especially at left field and first base.”

“Tim Tawa was one of four batters [in MLB] who were better than average on all five fundamental measures per Ben Clemens’ pocket guide (albeit he is basically an average batter).”

“He knows the mental imperative of expecting success while knowing it won’t always happen. He prepares for games with the mental skills staff and the hitting staff.”

“Tim Tawa is close to achieving everyday player status, which would exceed preseason expectations.” — Makakilo

Pavin Smith.  After sharing first base playing time in June, Pavin Smith was designated for assignment in July.  To my surprise, on 15 September he was back playing first base for the Diamondbacks.  Upon his return, his 1.144 OPS was impressive (24 PAs).  He is 30 years old.  His salary is $2.25 Million.  Next season will be his final in arbitration.

Current Diamondbacks who became FA at end of this season.

Ildemaro Vargas.  His salary is roughly $1.4 Million.  He is 35 years old.

At the end of last season, the Diamondbacks outrighted him off the roster.  In December, they signed him to a minor league contract.  On 23 March, they informed him that he will be on the active roster. 

This season, his 27-game hit streak was the longest streak by a Diamondback in 27 years.

This season, in a series against the Athletics, he did something impressive and unusual.

“Ildemaro Vargas had a walk-off hit in Tuesday’s game during that series, and then ended up closing out (if not closing) Wednesday’s game from the mound, being called on to pitch with a 12-run lead.” — Jim McLennan

Current Diamondbacks in AAA, or who made their MLB debut this season.

Manuel Pena.

“Minor League Baseball today announced that Amarillo Sod Poodles infielder Manuel Pena has been named a Texas League All-Star at Third Base. The slugging infielder had a remarkable Double-A campaign that began on 0pening day with the Soddies until his promotion to Triple-A Reno on June 16.” – Amarillo Sod Poodles

“…, a promising player in AAA who could have a future at first base is Manuel Pena. He is 22.6 years old. Recently, he impressed two writers, in May and July.”  — Makakilo  

Jose Fernandez.  He is 23 years old.   This season, his MLB debut, he played half his games at third base and half his games at first base.  He showed he can hit MLB caliber fast balls. 

“…There’s little reason for a pitcher to risk the relative unknown placement of an offspeed or breaking pitch if he can simply power a pitch by the batter. Fernandez has definitively passed that test as he has walloped fastballs to the tune of a .364 BA and .500 SLG while still seeing them nearly 53% of the time….” — Ben Seigel

Current Diamondbacks who may need a defensive shift.

Ketel Marte.  He is 32 years old.  In 2026, his OPS+ fell from 147 to 107.  Perhaps if he moved to a less demanding position, his batting would improve. 

“Top prospect Demetrio Crisantes is knocking on the door after reaching Triple-A in July. With incumbent second baseman Ketel Marte signed through 2030, a defensive shift is likely coming at some point. The alternative to shifting Marte to first base would be to make him the full-time DH, but that creates a logjam in the outfield.” —  Joel Reuter, 10 September, 2026

Possible Trade Acquisitions.  Assuming the Diamondbacks pitching looks good for 2027, the Diamondbacks may look to acquire a first baseman.  Avoiding the free agent market, I looked to acquire via trade (which is a strength of the Diamondbacks).  I found two candidates.

Ryan O’Hearn.  He is 33 years old, and under team control through the 2027 season.  Although in 2026 his OPS+ fell from 127 to 108, he is a bounce-back possibility because his BABIP was down. 

Andrew Vaughn.  He is 28 years old, and under team control through the 2027 season.  In 2026, his OPS+ rose from 99 to 130.  His plate discipline broke out with career best 10.6 BB%, and 16.0 K%.  While his squared-up percentage rose to a career high 33.9%, his hard-hit percentage fell to 43.5%.

How can these players be compared?

Let’s compare their OPS (with split against right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers) and let’s compare their defense on three metrics:

• Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). 
• Outs Above Average (OAA).
• Defensive Fielding Run Value.

The following table compares the OPS of the candidates in 2026.

The following table compares the defense at first base of the candidates.

My View.

The best everyday player (no platoon) would be Andrew Vaughn.

Best spot player to be called up when needed would be Jose Fernandez (or Manuel Pena).

The best platoon players would be:

Vs RHP:  Tim Tawa (or Ryan O’Hearn).

Vs LHP:  Ildemaro Vargas (or Ketel Marte when his defense at second base declines).

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 49, Brenton Doyle (-0.4 rWAR)

For a while, it looked like the Colorado Rockies’ two-time Gold Glove center fielder would become the face of the franchise, especially after a 2024 season in which his bat caught up to his stellar defensive work.

However, 2025 was a mixed message that saw Doyle struggling in the first half while finishing strong in the second.

The 2026 season was critical: It was his chance to show who he was as a player, that he could put both sides of his game together while staying healthy.

Instead, 2026 kicked off with more of the same. On May 19, in a game against the Rangers, Doyle injured himself making a diving play in the outfield.

Prior to getting hurt, Doyle had again struggled at the plate. In 43 games, he slashed .207/.279/.270 with one home run.

In late June, he started a rehab assignment, but that was short lived due to a groin injury. Eventually, however, Doyle was ready to return to action. Over the course of two separate rehab stints with Triple-A Albuquerque, he appeared in 11 games and batted .395/.447/.651, an indication that he was perhaps back on track.

Finally on July 31, just days before the MLB trade deadline, Doyle returned to the Rockies.

“It was probably the longest injury stint I’ve ever experienced in my baseball career,” Doyle said.

However, things had changed in the Rockies outfield during his absence. Most notably, top prospect Cole Carrigg assumed Doyle’s place in center field. While Carrigg lacked Doyle’s defensive chops, he brought a versatility that Doyle lacked in addition to being a switch hitter.

Still, Doyle looked solid during his return. In seven plate appearances, he had two hits, including a double and an RBI.

But, it turns out, the Rockies had already decided on their new centerfielder. A few days later, Doyle was traded to the AL Wild Card-winning Chicago White Sox.

Worth noting, the White Sox have primarily used Doyle in a platoon role and as a defensive specialist. His OPS with the Rockies was .569 (51 OPS+) in 129 plate appearances. With the White Sox, those numbers improved to .720 OPS+ (98 OPS+) in 94 plate appearances. Those changes were surely the result of several factors: getting healthy; being used in a platoon role that gave him a better chance to succeed; and leaving the demands of baseball at elevation.

Still, for Rockies fans, the end of the #DoyleRules Era is bittersweet. Doyle spent his time on some miserable Rockies teams, but his defensive gems were always a highlight for fans.

When asked what his secret was to playing Gold-Glove defense in the most-challenging ballpark in MLB, Doyle said, “It’s no secret, really. It’s just a lot of hard work. I don’t take practice out there very lightly when I’m trying to shag balls and get reads. I actually look at it as an advantage, being able to play at Coors Field for every single home game, just because it, honestly, makes other fields and other stadiums seem even smaller and allows me to cover more ground.”

The hard work showed.

However, Doyle lacked offensive consistency, and between the 2025-2026 seasons, he’d begun to lose playing time to injuries. Surely Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes considered those factors before deciding to cast their lot with Carrigg.

That said, those Gold Glove and defensive highlight reels aren’t going anywhere, and they will love long in the memories of Rockies fans.

Here’s wishing Doyle a healthy and productive career with the White Sox.

It doesn’t appear that he needs Rockies fans to raise a glass in his honor since he’s raising plenty for himself these days.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

When Albert Pujols stepped into the batter’s box during his major league career, the game seemed to pause. Everybody wanted to watch, from his first season in 2001, when he hit 37 home runs, to his last, when he passed 700.

They wanted to watch AJ, his oldest son, too. AJ Pujols told his dad what that was like when he was around 13.

“Dad, I don't want to play baseball anymore,” he said.

“He didn't feel good having his friends and everybody else stopping the game and coming, watching him hit,” Pujols tells USA TODAY Sports. “And I felt that pressure. He was getting a lot of pressure, and I respect that. I wish he would have kept playing, because he was really good at it, but I was always a dad that didn't force sports on any of my kids. I support them, whatever sport they want to play.”

Pujols, 46, a father of five kids ranging from teenagers to their 20s, watched AJ become a college golfer, while his daughter, Sophia, is a gymnast for UC Davis.

“I'm just a big supporter,” he says of his kids’ sports. “Anytime I get an opportunity to be there and watch them play and not judge them at all, just try to help them out to be better.”

He has been retired since 2022. He splits time between New York and his native Santo Domingo, traveling with his wife, Nicole, and  “doing the things that I wasn't able to do when I played for 23 years, because as you know, it's a busy schedule for nine months. And now I'm kind of my own boss, and I kind of make my own schedule.”

“I'm able to do a lot of things,” he says, “and as you see, that beautiful tan that I have, playing a lot of golf.”

Dressed in a sharp light aqua blue jacket and white collared shirt during our virtual interview, he spoke to us about his campaign with Cologuard to increase awareness about the importance of colorectal cancer screening and early detection.

He also spoke with us about his career and his mentors, where his desire stands to manage in the major leagues and how parents and their athletes can maintain a healthy lifestyle and relationship.

'Far from the truth': Pujols denies rumors of making big managerial demands

Pujols said he interviewed to be the manager of the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres last offseason. The Angels went with Kurt Suzuki, the Padres with Craig Stammen, but Pujols says he came away feeling good about how both went.

“I think there's an opportunity that could happen at the end of the day,” he tells USA TODAY Sports. “It’s playoff time right now, so I think things are busy within the season, but I'm looking forward to seeing if I get any job out there. I think it was a learning experience for myself as well.”

The Seattle Mariners have a vacancy so far, while the Phillies have likely moved on from Don Mattingly, although Alex Cora appears to be his likely successor.

John Mozeliak, who was general manager and president of baseball operations, respectively, during Pujols’ two stints with the Cardinals, joined the Angels front office this year. According to The Athletic, Mozeliak hopes Suzuki will be back, but he said it’s not his decision with a new ownership group.

When Pujols fell short of the Angels job last season, news media reports surfaced that he made heavy contract demands of the team, and they resurfaced in September.

“I think both of the teams showed me really good interest,” he says, “and just, it wasn't my time. So the process went well. I enjoyed it. I know the rumors about what I was asking, which was far from the truth, (there) was never anything about that. If anything, it was really close and it was great interview. I mean, it happens.”

Pujols referenced his extended second interview with the Padres.

“I think the whole process with the interview went really, really well,” he says. “I'm a big believer that when your last interview, you interviewed for (hours) because they like what you brought to the table, and it just didn't happen, but I think what I took from there, it was just a great experience of preparing myself better.

“I think at the end of the day, just waiting to see when my name (is called), and if it comes, great, I mean, if it doesn't, I still want to be around being a voice for this great game that helped me out a lot.

“I took the big jump on managing. I did it in the Dominican Republic and it was really successful.”

During the winter of 2024, Pujols managed Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Republic to the Dominican League and Caribbean Series championship. He led the Dominican team to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic.

We need to be able to lean on our family first, especially when we are kids

He has since taken a job as team president for the Estrellas Orientales, another Dominican winter league team. He says that as athletes, and as adults and parents, we are constantly learning.

“When I got into the country, I didn't know English that well, so it was hard going to school,” he says. “My cousin took a lot of the classes with me to help me out, but when I want something, I go hard at it, until I get the best out of it, and I learned the language, I mean, I’m still learning up to now [he laughs] but it's something that was tough at that time.”

Pujols came to the United States at 16 and settled in Missouri. He says the transition wasn’t easy, but it was eased by the presence of relatives who came with him, especially his father and grandmother.  

“I was around my family, who gave me the education and supported me every single game that I played,” he says.

The support started with his father, Bienvenido, whom he has said was one of the best softball pitchers in the Dominican Republic. Pujols followed him around from the time he was six, and his father saved him a seat at games.

“As a young player, my dad was my hero,” he says. “That's that person that I also look up to. And he was a great example for myself, especially growing up. And the reason why I fell in love with the game of baseball. My dad was somebody that inspired me, and  helped me out to... I would say, to learn the game.”

Pujols remembers his father patiently hitting him grounders during a 20-minute break in between games.

“I think, sometime, you get parents (who) go to some of these games, and their kids didn't perform to their level that their parents were expecting,” he says. “And they get frustrated with the parent, and that's a big mistakes that we make sometimes as a dad, or as a mother, to yell at our kids (and) put a lot of pressure on them.”

Think of yourself being outside with your son or daughter, getting frustrated because they’re not quite doing what you want. When they are young, maybe they are being pushed into travel teams.

They are impressionable and still developing and figuring out what they like.

“At the end of the day, they need to do it because they love it instead of I'm doing it because my dad's forcing me, because that's the last thing that we want as a parent, have that guilt, that my son didn't want to play baseball,” he says. “Well, Albert Pujols decided, yes, because I'm a baseball player, you need to play. No, I didn't want to have guilt. I want my son to choose what he wants to do and support him.”

Pujols remembers taking the time to understand why AJ didn’t want to play baseball anymore, and listening to AJ’s reasoning. Pujols, during a 2019 episode of Graham Bensinger’s interview show, says he always told his kids to just be themselves.

 “He’s still a dad, still my dad,” AJ told Bensinger for the episode. “Every night when he comes home from playing a game, he’s still the same dad. Throughout the failures, throughout the awards, nothing changes in his heart and he’s awesome. … He tells me to keep going, no matter how much I fail, no matter how much trouble I’m going through, he always helps me push to the end.

“On the golf course when I’m playing, I’ll play my rounds and I’ll call him right after. I’m like, ‘Dad, I just got off the course, I just shot 87. I never play like this. This is terrible.’ And he’ll call me, he’s like, ‘Buddy, there’s days where I go 0-or-4, 0-for-5, 0-for-6 with three strikeouts and I don’t get a hit and I’ll go in a slump. But do you ever see me back down? I’m always standing there, I’m always fighting, I’m always pushing.’ He always tells me to stand up and I’ve got it.”

Bryce Harper went deep about his mistake in rightfield and how he came back from it and how kids can learn from that, especially his son

“I'll tell you what, I was thinking about Krew, my son, what I would say to him in that situation. I think it's a learning situation not for…

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 30, 2026

'Choose your friends': You can often tell which teammates you can trust

Even when we are extremely talented and move up levels, we can enter spaces where others have more experience than us. We find teammates and coaches we need to lean on for support.

Pujols saw them in manager Tony La Russa, who was like a father to him, and he listed a number of teammates who helped him get comfortable in the major leagues: Darryl Kile, Jim Edmonds, Woody Williams, Mark McGuire, Placido Polanco. Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Mike Matheny, J.D. Drew.

When you join a team, you can see who the leaders are by the ones who talk to the new guys, and not just the rising stars but the ones who are struggling.

“Choose your friends, who you have hanging around you,” Pujols says. “You always want to have people around you that are gonna bring great things to you and know, take you away (to) the place that you want to reach. And I was lucky enough and blessed, I guess, to have that wisdom, to see that right away.”

And at the end, when he hit home run No. 700 at Dodger Stadium in 2022, he found himself surrounded by his wife and kids. It’s a reminder that when we achieve sports success, or even fame, our families can also be the ones we look to for support when they are over and we move on to something else.

Check in on physical and mental health, for yourself and your kids

According to Pujols’ campaign with Cologuard, many people don’t know that screening for colon cancer is recommended for anyone 45 and older, while 60 million people either remain unscreened or are outdated on their screening. 

He says he learned from the campaign that colon cancer is the nation’s No. 2 cancer-related killer.

“You can be in the best shape ever, and feel great about it, and there's no red flag(s) and (you’re) not feeling anything, and then, all of a sudden something comes along,” he says.

The theme is similar to how we can be with our kids. Have open communications with them about their health and well-being, in and out of sports, even if you think things are going well.

“I always say that we only have such a short window with our kids before we (send) them into the world, they go to college, and we don't control them anymore, and I think the goal was as a dad is that is that when the kids run into temptation, we help them out," he says. "The discipline, hard work, day in and day out, separate the bad things from the good things.”

Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He played baseball in high school, rowed in college and spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents to a college and high school baseball player.For his past columns, click here

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pujols talks managerial pursuit, kids sports in wide-ranging interview