Author Archives: David Pinto

Best Batter Today

The end of the 2025 season leaves Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Cal Raleigh of the Mariners in first and second place respectively in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Game seven of the World Series put Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays in third place. 0.24 points ahead of his teammate, George Springer. Guerrero went one for five with a double, while Springer produced a three for six in the 5-4 Dodgers victory.

Shohei Ohtani ranks fifth, 1.17 points behind Springer. The Dodgers star posted a two for five in the game with a walk. His teammate, Max Muncy, produced the highest game score of the night, a 73. He reached base four times with a walk and three hits, including a home run. Muncy hit just .214 in the post season, but managed to reach base other ways for a .353 OBP.

Outscored and Winning

The Dodgers won the 2025 World Series while being outscored 34 to 26. Much of that difference came in game one, an 11-4 Toronto victory. Three of the four Dodgers win came by one or two runs, including two one-run wins in extra innings.

Toronto produced a .269/.347/.398 slash line, the .347 OBP extremely impressive against a championship team. They drew 28 walks and were hit by pitches seven times to go with their 75 hits. The Dodgers slash line came in at .203/.294/.364. The Dodgers produced more power (isolated power won .161 to .129), but the Blue Jays did a better job of getting on base. That matched the team profiles coming into the series.

Neither hit well situationally. The Dodgers hit .191/.317/.213 with runners in scoring position, Toronto .231/.346/.385. Note the use of defensive walks by both teams, looking at this from the pitching side. The big win in power for the Blue Jays came in damage from home runs. The eight Toronto home runs produced 18 runs. The ten Los Angeles home runs produced 12 runs.

On top of that, the Blue Jays received the better starting pitching. Toronto starters (as starters) owned a 3.35 ERA with 9.6 K per 9, 2.4 BB per 9, and 1.2 HR per 9 IP. The Dodgers starters came away with a 4.76 ERA, 8.8 K per 9, 3.2 BB per 9, and 1.4 HR per 9 IP. The big difference came from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, shutting down the Jays for 17 2/3 innings, including the last 2 2/3 innings of game seven. He was a fitting MVP.

Note that two great defensive plays behind him kept him from blowing the game.

It’s a tough loss for the Blue Jays. Toronto fans should be proud of this team, however. There were plenty of moments when a ball might have been hit a foot longer, shorter, to the right or to the left where they win the series. Although, the home run by Miguel Rojas should cause some consternation. On the other hand, can you imagine someone that low on the depth chart being the hero in the NBA or NFL?

These were too evenly matched teams, and it’s tough to imagine a more tightly played series. As a neutral observer, It certainly was one of the most enjoyable I’ve seen.

The Managers

Two teams hired new managers in the last few days. Derek Shelton landed the Twins job:

“Derek brings a tremendous amount of experience from his many years coaching and managing at the Major League level,” Twins president, baseball & business operations Derek Falvey said in a statement. “He cares deeply about this community and our fans, and he’s genuinely driven to take on the challenge of bringing winning baseball back to Minnesota. We’ve seen firsthand the trust and respect he earns from players and how he helps them reach their best.

“His journey, through both the successes and the tough stretches, has given him real perspective as a leader. That balance and his connection to what this place means to people will serve our players and staff well as we work to build something lasting for our fans and for Minnesota.”
MLB.com

His hiring also makes it more difficult to use just first names when talking about Twins management.

Shelton never saw the Pirates reach .500, but they did improve every year until 2024, when they posted the same record as 2023. Off to a poor start this season, despite the addition of Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh let Shelton go with the team playing .316 ball.

I do think this is a good hire. The Twins are in rebuilding mode, and Shelton did that part of managing well. He might not be the kind of manager to take a team to the next level, however. He’s another Billy Gardner. At some point the Twins will need another Tom Kelly.

Meanwhile, the Nationals went with youth as they hired 33-year-old Blake Butera:

Butera, who was born Aug. 7, 1992, became the youngest manager in the Major Leagues since Frank Quilici managed the Twins at 33 years, 27 days old in 1972.

This is the first major move for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni since he was hired on Oct. 1.

“I’ve always believed that you win with people, and from our very first conversation, it was clear that Blake is the right person and the right leader for this role,” said Toboni in a statement. “Blake comes into this position with experience in a variety of roles in player development, including as a successful manager, making him uniquely qualified to get the most out of the players in the clubhouse and help us reach the next level.

“He possesses a strong baseball acumen and has a reputation for building strong relationships with players and staff, making him a great fit for us in Washington, D.C. We’re so excited to welcome him to the Nationals family.”
MLB.com

I like that Butera comes from the Rays organization. The bullpen proved one of the big problems for the Nationals since the start of 2021. Relievers own a 140-144 record in that time, 5th worst in the majors (while starters can’t win games if they don’t pitch enough, they can lose games with any number of innings). The Rays, in the same period, saw their bullpen go 213-135, a .579 win percentage, seventh best in the majors.

This looks like a move in the right direction as well.

Technical Difficulties

The Day by Day Database final update is held up due to technical difficulties.

Dodgers Win World Series

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The Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2025 World Series 5-4, in one of the best World Series played in a long time. These were two evenly matched teams, and it came down to extra innings in game seven to decide the series.

One thing I love about baseball is that anyone can he the hero. Miguel Rojas hit the ninth inning home run for the Dodgers that tied the game, then made a great defensive play in the bottom of the ninth to save the game.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will probably win the MVP. He pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up a hit and a walk and a hit batter, but got out of trouble. He finishes with a 1.45 ERA for the post-season.

Congratulations to the Dodgers on an amazing post season and an extremely memorable series win.

Blue Jays in the Eleventh

The 2025 season for the Blue Jays comes down to Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Isiah Kiner Falefa, and Addison Barger. They will continue to face Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Update: Guerrero doubles down the leftfield line on a 3-2 pitch leading off the inning.

Update: IKF bunts Guerrero to third. One out.

Update: Barger gets ahead 3-0. He walks on four pitches to bring up Alejandro Kirk.

Update: Kirk falls behind 0-2. He grounds the next pitch to Mookie Betts, who steps on second, then throws to first for the double play. The Dodgers win the World Series and are the first team to repeat since the 2000 Yankees!

Smith Smashes

With two out in the top of the eleventh inning, Will Smith does. He homers to leftfield off Shane Bieber to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead, and put them three outs away from repeating as World Champion.

Update: That’s it as the game goes to the bottom of the 11th.

Wild Dominguez

Seranthony Dominguez pitches the top of the tenth inning for the Blue Jays. He helps the Dodgers load the bases with one out by issuing two walks to go with a single.

Update: Andy Pages grounds into a force out at the plate with the infield in. Two out.

Update: Enrique Hernandez grounds to first, and Dominguez covers just in time. To the bottom of the tenth.

Bo Gets On

After a long fly out by Vladimir Guerrero Jr leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, Bo Bichette singles to put the winning run on base. Isiah Kiner-Falefa pinch runs.

Update: Addison Barger takes a 3-2 pitch for a walk and IKF is in scoring position for Alejandro Kirk.

Update: The Dodgers replace pitcher Blake Snell with yesterday’s starter, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Update: Kirk gets hit on the hand on an 0-1 pitch. The bases are loaded for Daulton Varsho.

Update: Varsho gets to live the dream, with a chance for a walk off grand slam to win the World Series.

Update: Varsho falls behind 1-2. He hits a ground to Miguel Rojas, pulled in, and he throws home and the call is out. Replay confirms that.

Update: Ernie Clement, who set the record for most hits in a post season, drives a ball deep to leftfield. Enrique Hernandez and Andy Pages (just in) converge on the ball. Pages catches it, but takes out Hernandez.

The Blue Jays fail to score, and the game goes to the eleventh inning. That last two outs were a matter of inches.

Top of the Ninth

the Blue Jays lead the Dodgers 4-3 as Los Angeles comes to bat needing a run to stay alive. Jeff Hoffman is scheduled to face Enrique Hernandez, Miguel Rojas, and Shohei Ohtani.

Update: Hernandez falls behind 1-2. He swings and misses at the next pitch, and there’s one down.

Update: Rojas gets ahead 2-1. He works the count to 3-2, then homers to left field! Wow. The game is tied!

Update: Ohtani hits the first pitch to the leftfielder for the second out.

Update: Will Smith falls behind 0-2. He works the count full then takes strike three.

I gave the Blue Jays a 51% chance of winning this series due to home field advantage. That may turn out to be my best prediction ever.

Max Homers

Trey Yesavage pitches a scoreless seventh inning, but hangs a pitch to Max Muncy in the eighth inning. That cuts the Blue Jays lead over the Dodgers to 4-3.

Muncy is the Dodgers all-time leader in pots-season home runs with 16.

Yesavage gets the second out of the inning, then yields closer Jeff Hoffman.

Update: Hoffman gets a ground ball to end the inning, and the Blue Jays are three outs away from a World Championship.

Inching Forward

The bottom of the Blue Jays lineup gets the run back in the bottom of the sixth. Ernie Clement singles and steals second, then Andres Gimenez doubles him home. Toronto now leads Los Angeles 4-2 with a man on second, none out, and the top of the order up.

Update: Tyler Glasnow gets the next three batters, and Toronto takes a two run lead into the seventh inning,

Inching Back

The first two Dodgers batters in the top of the sixth reach base, and Mookie Betts scores on a sacrifice fly after a lead-off walk. That cuts the Blue Jays lead to 3-2, and the Dodgers bat with men on first and second with two out, but Miguel Rojas grounds out to the pitcher, and the Dodgers trail by one.

Some Words

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Justin Wrobleski comes in close twice on Andres Gimenez, hitting him the second time. Gimenez looked like he was trying to get hit on the first one, they took exception to being drilled. Both benches empty, but it was a mostly peaceful confrontation.

The Blue Jays have a man on first with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, and both teams have been warned.

Update: George Springer, next up, hits a line drive off Wrobleski’s leg for Springer’s third single of the game.

Update: The Blue Jays do not score, and they take a 3-1 lead to the fifth inning.

Third Not a Charm

Max Scherzer takes the Blue Jays three-run lead into the bottom of the third inning and runs into trouble, too. He loads the bases on a double, single, and walk, the latter coming with one out. Teoscar Hernandez hits a line drive to centerfield, and Daulton Varsho makes a shoestring catch to hold it to a sacrifice fly. Then Tommy Edman hits a hard line drive down the first base line, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. snags it for the third out. Scherzer gets saved by his defense and Toronto leads Los Angeles 3-1.

We’ll see if Scherzer comes out for the fourth inning.

Bo Gets a Really Bichette

The Blue Jays get batters on base again in the bottom of the third. George Springer leads off with a single for the second time in the game, he’s bunted to second, and moves to third on a wild pitch. That causes the Dodgers to issue an intentional walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette then hits the first pitch from Shohei Ohtani over the fence in centerfield and the Blue Jays lead the Dodgers 3-0 in game seven of the World Series. Bichette knew it was gone and just stood at the plate until it went out.

The Dodgers went too long with Ohtani, and now they are in a hole. Ohtani off the mound.

Loaded Up

A walk and two singles load the bases in the bottom of the second inning as the Blue Jays keeping dinging Shohei Ohtani. He gets Andres Gimenez to swing and miss with two out, however, to end the threat. No score in game seven at the end of two innings.

Springer Answers

George Springer singles to start the bottom of the first off Shohei Ohtani, matching Ohtani’s single int he top of the inning. We’ll see if Springer can go all the way, rather than getting stopped at third base.

Update: Springer is erased on a K-DP as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. thought the pitch was a ball, and I think Springer did, do.

Starter Versus Starter

Starting pitcher for the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, bats first in game seven of the World Series against Toronto starting pitcher Max Scherzer, and Ohtani wins that battle with a lead-off single. The final game of the season is underway.

Update: Ohtani gets to third base but does not score. Scherzer gets the next three batters to blank Los Angeles.

Playoffs Today

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It’s game seven of the World Series, the game that even mildly interested baseball fans will watch. MLB went through a long game seven drought, the last one taking place in Houston in 2019. Both Max Scherzer and George Springer started that day, although on different team. Scherzer did not pitch great, walking four and striking out just three in five innings, leaving with the Nationals down 2-0. The bullpen gave up just two hits in four innings, striking out five, giving Washington time to come back and win the game 6-2.

The word on the street gives the Dodgers start to Shohei Ohtani. This will be his fourth post-season start, his first on three days rest. By starting the game Ohtani will be able to stay in as the designated hitter. He could come on in relief, but then the designated hitter disappears, so Ohtani would need to stay in the field to keep batting. This is the one weakness of the Ohtani two-way player situation. Los Angeles gets less flexibility. They can’t rest other players by allowing them to DH once in a while, and they can’t bring Ohtani on in relief without complicating the lineup for the rest of the game.

Ohtani pitched well in terms of three true outcomes, striking out 25, walking five, and allowing one home run in eighteen innings. He is charged with seven runs, however, so his 3.50 ERA doesn’t match his FIP. Part of that comes from a weak Dodgers bullpen.

Scherzer makes his third start of this post season and he has not pitched well. He struck out eight and walked five in ten innings, giving up three home runs along the way. He allowed five earned runs, but also three unearned runs. So Max didn’t help out his fielders when they let him down.

Of course, it’s all hands on deck, so don’t be surprised to see anyone coming out of the bullpen with the exceptions of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Kevin Gausman.

Enjoy this rare treat of a game!

Best Batter Today

Three players from the top five of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings remained in action on Saturday night. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays ranks third after a one for three with a double and a walk, keeping his BA above .400 and his OBP over .500 for the post season. His teammate, George Springer, playing hurt, went two for four to take fourth place. in the 3-1 Dodgers win, forcing game seven.

Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers ranks fifth, also hitting a double and drawing a walk.

The best game score of the night came off the bat of Addison Barger of the Blue Jays, a 59. He collected two doubles and scored the Blue Jays lone run. His second double led to a bit of controversy as it lodged under the padding on the outfield wall:

Yet from the Blue Jays dugout, where the veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa was watching, he didn’t think the ball properly lodged in the wall..

“It wasn’t lodged in the wall,” said Kiner-Falefa. “I saw it. He got lucky they called it his way. You think of a tennis being stuck in a fence. It doesn’t move. It just sits there. That’s not what happened here. That ball was moving.

“Really, he got the call. But I don’t know if he deserved it.”
TorontoSun.com

The ball didn’t look like it was moving to me, but I’m also not sure it wasn’t playable. It’s like a ball disappearing in the ivy at Wrigley Field. Most of the ball was visible. I suspect someone with the strength of an MLB outfielder could have easily pulled it out from under the padding. The Dodgers did the right thing, however, and got the call.

Saturday Update

The Day by Day Database is up to date.

Jays Look for a Walkoff

Down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Roki Sasaki starts the ninth after pitching the eighth inning. He hits Alejandro Kirk after getting two strikes, then gives up a double to Addison Barger, who hit the ball so far to the wall that it stuck under the padding, preventing pinch runner Myles Straw from scoring.

Tyler Glasnow comes on to try to save the game in an old time fireman situation.

Update: Ernie Clement pops up the first pitch to the first baseman Freddie Freeman. One out.

Update: Andres Gimenez hits a dying line drive to leftfield. Enrique Hernandez charges the ball, catches it, and throws to second to get Barger who wandered too far off second base.

The Dodgers win game six 3-1, and there will be a game seven in Canada Saturday night!

Playing Through Pain

George Springer grimaces with every swing tonight. He manages, however, to single with a man on third and two out in the bottom of the third inning to drive in the first Blue Jays run of the game. The Dodgers’ lead is down to 3-1 at the end of three innings.

Dodgers Strike First

Doubles in the third inning by Tommy Edman and Will Smith bring in the first run of the game, the Dodgers taking a 1-0 lead over the Blue Jays. Kevin Gausman struck out two so far in the inning, and issued an intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani.

Update: Freddie Freeman walks to load the bases for Mookie Betts, batting fourth today.

Update: Betts singles with two strikes and drives in two runs to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

K Gausman

Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays strikes out all three Dodgers he faces in the top of the first inning to start game six of the 2025 World Series. He now owns 21 K in 25 2/3 innings with just 14 hits allowed in the post season.

Update: Gausman strikes out two more in the second inning as the Dodgers have yet to see a batter reach base still no score.

Playoffs Today

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Game six of the World Series kicks off Friday night at 8 PM EDT/ 5 PM PDT in Toronto with Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers taking on Kevin Gausman of the Blue Jays in a rematch of game two. The Dodgers won that game 5-1 after Yamamoto pitched a second complete game in the post-season. Note that he never pitched a complete game in the regular season. Note that even if Yamamoto pitches another complete game tonight, he won’t make the top 10 in post-season innings, missing it by 1/3 an inning. Madison Bumgarner in 2014 pitched 52 2/3 innings with a 1.03 ERA. Note that a number of pitchers are tied for tenth place at 38, and the top ten include Dodgers greats Orel Hershiser (42 2/3 innings, 1.05 ERA in 1988) and Fernando Valenzuela (40 2/3 innings, 2.21 ERA in 1981, the first year of three rounds due to the strike). Yamamoto comes into this game with a 1.57 ERA, walking just four batters in 28 2/3 inning with just 17 hits allowed.

Gausman owns a 2.55 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. He has not delivered the strikeouts, just 18, but still managed to limit hits, allowing just 14 in the post season. Four of them went for home runs, however, The four solo shots account for most of his seven runs allowed.

Both pitchers throw the split finger fastball. The pitch experienced a renaissance, after being dropped due to injury concerns. I suspect that since pitcher injuries kept going up after the pitch went on leave, people started to realize that maybe it’s just the act of pitching that causes injuries.

Both Yamanoto and Gausman get an extra day of rest due to the two travel days, so if they pitch well, expect both of them to go deep tonight.

Enjoy!

Ohtani and Betts

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The other day during the World Series broadcast Joe Davis talked about Shohei Ohtani and Babe Ruth. He made the point that Ohtani spent a lot more time as a two-way player. I believe he said that after a couple of seasons Ruth just wanted to hit.

It should be obvious that in 1920, Ruth didn’t really have a choice. All hitters back then played in the field, and faced all the wear and tear cause by that. If Ruth had tried to keep doing both, at least one of his skills would have suffered.

When Ohtani came to the Angels, management was very careful about putting too much stress on him. He would only bat as a designated hitter, and until Joe Maddon came along, he would not play the day before he was supposed to pitch. If baseball adopted a DH in the 1920s, two way players might have been a bit more common, with Ruth, and maybe Red Ruffing taking that role.

Which brings me to Mookie Betts. Cy Morong at Cybermetrics notes this about Betts’ defense:

He might be the only guy to ever lead his league in defensive WAR at 2 different positions. That is among all players, regardless of position. All data from Baseball Reference.

I made a list of all the guys who led their league in defensive WAR more than once since 1901 (Just the AL & NL). There were 51 guys. I counted OF as one position (this actually did not matter). Then I looked at each guy one by one and only Mookie Betts has led his league in defensive WAR at 2 different positions(OF in 2016, SS in 2025).
Cybermetric.Blogspot.com

What an amazing defensive performance, especially since Betts moved to the most difficult position behind the pitcher, and did it at seasonal age 32. It came at a cost, however, as Betts posted batting number far below his career averages; down about 30 points in BA, 40 points in OBP, 100 points in slugging percentage. Shortstop wears down players much more than the outfield. There are more dives into the dirt, more throws, more collisions with base runners.

Which brings us back to Ohtani. The Blue Jays walked him five times in the 18 inning game, four times intentionally. They could do that because they no longer feared Mookie Betts. Betts gave his all to post a gold glove season in the field, and it hurt him at the plate. The Dodgers also could not use the DH position to rest fielders, since it’s the only position Ohtani plays.

If Ohtani had to play the outfield or first base in order to hit and pitch, we would not be as good a hitter or as good a pitcher. Ruth pitched great. Ruth hit great. The game at the time did not allow him to do both well at the same time. We are lucky the rules allow us to see Ohtani be superlative at both at the simultaneously. And while we marvel at Ohtani, let Betts remind us that defense takes a toll on the body of players, and Ohtani doesn’t pay that toll.

Union Money

ESPN does a deep dive into Players Way, an organization created by the MLBPA and apparent large amounts of money that flow to it for accomplishing very little:

Federal law officers are investigating a youth baseball company owned by the Major League Baseball Players Association that spent at least $3.9 million while holding few sparsely attended live events for kids, sources familiar with the inquiry told ESPN.

The Florida-based business, Players Way, has generated barely six figures in revenue since its founding in 2019. While the union said it has put $3.9 million into the company, two sources with knowledge of union finances and who have talked with investigators told ESPN that the amount is closer to $10 million.
ESPN.com

Having read the article, I don’t think anything nefarious is going on here. My bet would be that Tony Clark founded this with good intentions, gave jobs to some of his friends, and they do just enough work to get paid. My guess is now that this is out in the public, the union members will put an end to it.

Best Batter Today

For the second day in a row, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays posted the best game score of the day, this time a 64. That puts him third in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. He went one for three with two walks and a home run, and is now tied with Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers for the most home runs this post season with eight. Overall, he is hitting .415/.506/.831. His teammate, George Springer, once again did not start due to injury and ranks fourth.

Ohtani went 0 for 4 with a strikeout and occupies the fifth slot. Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Cal Raleigh of the Mariners rank 1-2 respectively.

The teams take the day off before playing game six of the World Series Friday night in Toronto.