Author Archives: David Pinto

Royals Keep Perez

The Royals and Salvador Perez agreed to a two-year, $25 million deal:

Perez, 35, has spent the entirety of his 15-year career with the Royals, and he was named team captain in 2023. A steady presence behind the plate who played in 155 games last season, Perez remains a powerful presence, hitting 30 home runs in 2025 — his ninth consecutive full season with at least 20 homers.
ESPN.com

He averaged about 1.1 fWAR over the last three seasons, so based on that, this was a very reasonable contract. When you look at the three years individually, however, 3.3 of the 3.5 fWAR came in 2024. That leads me to believe the Royals overpaid a bit.

The fans love him, however, and Perez gives back a lot to the community, and that should go into the calculation as well. While his ability to get on base waned, his power hasn’t, so he still should be useful at the plate.

Yu Can’t Pitch

Yu Darvish underwent UCL surgery and will miss all of the 2026 season for the Padres:

Darvish, 39, also got an internal brace in the surgery performed last week, the Padres announced Tuesday.

“I will be working hard on my rehab to be able to throw a ball comfortably again,” Darvish wrote in Japanese on social media.

Darvish had Tommy John surgery in March 2015 and returned to a major league mound on May 28, 2016.
ESPN.com

Of course, in 2015 he was seasonal age 28. When and if he returns in 2027, he’ll be seasonal age 40. There is a good chance this injury ends his career.

Results Versus Feelings

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Dylan Hernandez points out the the problem with thinking of a three-peat; the Dodgers are old:

Ordinarily, a team as old as the Dodgers would have to consider a roster makeover. Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas will be 37 by the start of the next World Series. Max Muncy will be 36, Kiké Hernández 35, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández 34 and Shohei Ohtani 32.

But under these circumstances, how could the Dodgers think of breaking up their team?

How could they unload any of their superstars, regardless of how much they could decline in the next year? How could they not retain their key free agents, regardless of how old they are?

They can’t, they can’t and they can’t.
LATimes via Sports.Yahoo.com

When the Yankees repeated as World Series Champs in 1999, their core consisted of Derek Jeter, seasonal age 25, Jorge Posada 28, Bernie Williams 30, Andy Pettitte 27, and Mariano Rivera 29. That’s not the Dodgers.

The Dodgers big three, Mookie Betts, Freeman and Ohtani will stick. Nimble teams replace the roster gradually to keep the complementary players young. The 1990s Braves did this superbly, replacing at least one weak player every season with a better one. The Dodgers did this well for a long time (Max Muncy is the best example). Gone are the day, however, when they could just dip into their minor league system and pull out an excellent starter, or a talented position player.

Front office honcho Andrew Friedman won’t be swayed by feelings. When he ran the Rays, I wondered what he could do for a team with plenty of money. He answered that question by building a juggernaut. He’s now pushing up against the limits of age and the lack of low draft picks. I would not bet on a three-peat for this team as currently configured. I expect Friedman wants the third championship in a row, but he will jettison and acquire to reach that goal. The feelings will go out the window.

No More Finalists

The top three vote getters for the four majors Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) awards came out Monday.

I do not like this format. We sit and wait a week while everyone talks about the top three, then spend two half hours listening to the analysts talk about the top three, then someone comes out and reads a name, when we all pretty much know most of the time who will get the prize.

What I would like to see is a count down show. The top ten MVPS revealed 10 to 1, then all the Cy Young and Rookie votes, since there are usually less than ten candidates. With each reveal, a short discussion of why they might be in that spot, with an eye on the distribution of votes. “Why did someone vote for the seventh ranked MVP second?” “I’m surprised no one ranked him higher than fourth.”

Since the ballots are public, have a sportswriter or two on to explain their outlier vote. That should would involve more fans, because someone’s favorite player might be on the list. This is the reveal show I’d to see.

Weiss Promoted

The Braves moved Walt Weiss from bench coach to manager on Monday:

Weiss, 61, managed the Colorado Rockies from 2013 to 2016, going 283-365 and never finishing higher than third place. He inherits a talented Braves team that finished 76-86 and was ravaged by injuries.
ESPN.com

I was impressed in 2015 that Weiss was batting the pitcher eighth, and really explained the concept clearly. Brian Snitker obviously liked the way Weiss thought about strategy, as Snitker kept Weiss as bench coach through his tenure. Weiss and the players do not need to get know each other, all positives contributing to the hire.

Gold Gloves

Rawlings announced the Gold Glove winners on Sunday.

Established in 1957, the Gold Glove Award honors the best defensive player at each position in each league. The voting process is made up of MLB managers and coaches (75%) and the sabermetrics community (25%). Managers and coaches vote only within their own league and cannot vote for players on their own teams.
MLB.com

Including some statistical analysis prevented the constant repeat winners, even when their age indicated they may no longer be the best. There were nine first timers out of the 20 positions awarded.

Defense keeps getting better. Pitching and hitting are in a constant battle, so they tend to even things out over time. There is nothing standing in the way of great defense. All season I found myself astounded by outfielders; they covered tons of ground, and made acrobatic catches when needed. While there were always a few players like that, the ability today seems much more widespread.

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

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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.