Busted out the Jack-o-Lantern hoodie today, so it’s definitely spooky season.
- You pretty much never actually get the World Series match-up that you might’ve predicted, on paper, back in March. But these Dodgers and these Yankees feature loaded rosters, massive payrolls, and then would go on to win the most regular-season games in their respective leagues. This is the “best” AL team facing the “best” NL team, something that has happened just 13 times in the last 56 years. It looked like it might be the two of them back in March, and sure enough, it is.
- Though MLB probably would’ve preferred each LCS to last a little longer or to get at least one game seven, the league has to be OVER THE MOON at the match-up its gotten for the World Series, which begins on Friday. Two of the biggest teams in the sport. The biggest stars in the postseason. Easy storylines. And, of course, the two biggest media markets. The attention is going to be through the roof, as far as a World Series in the 2020s goes, anyway.
- Fun reminder from MLB.com: “No two teams have faced off in October as often as the Yankees and Dodgers. The matchup, which dates back to the 1940s when both clubs were based in New York, has occurred 11 times in the postseason, with the Yankees winning eight of those. But we haven’t witnessed this once-frequent World Series pairing in more than 40 years. These teams last met in the 1981 Fall Classic when L.A. triumphed in six games.”
- It’s a relatively small sample, but it’s still funny/crazy:
- Similarly, a record for Ohtani:
- Yet it was Tommy Edman who won NLCS MVP honors. I guess I’m glad the Cardinals gave up on him?
- Agree with Greg on this:
- For the Cubs, that could mean some coaching announcements (though I would say those tend not to rise to the level of “taking attention away from the playoffs” anyway, so it could probably drop any time), and I suppose plausibly a front office move or two. At least as likely, there are notable vacancies around the league closer to the tops of front offices and in the managerial seat. We could see some decisions made/announced there.
- I think I forgot to include this over the weekend, but Driveline’s Kyle Boddy has a new part-time(?) gig, and there’s a past Cubs connection:
- Breslow, who ran all things pitching for the Cubs before taking over the Red Sox’s president gig, apparently has a good connection to Boddy, who is obviously well known in pitching development circles. There was a time when I thought he might consult directly for the Cubs (when Breslow was there), but it didn’t happen.
- 8-7 10:
- I generally did know, but it was nevertheless soothing to watch:
- Just so much fun:
- Heads up! Free watch party coming: