The Baseball Buffet for 10/10/2025

Issue #420

The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart-brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day!

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 197th day of the season featured two NLDS games:

• PHI 1, LAD 2 - I’d say unbelievable, except this is baseball and anything can and does happen. This game was a battle, a classic pitchers’ duel between starters Cristopher Sánchez (6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and Tyler Glasnow (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K). Both teams scored a run in the seventh inning, but it remained tied through nine, forcing extras. Roki Sasaki had already pitched two scoreless innings, and did the same in the top of the tenth. Jesús Luzardo entered as a reliever and kept the Dodgers from scoring in the bottom of the frame. LA went with Alex Vesia for the top of the 11th, and he kept the Phillies off the board. Luzardo came back out and got two outs but also allowed two runners on base, so Orion Kerkering came in with runners on second and third. He walked Kiké Hernández to load the bases, and then Andy Pages hit a grounder back to Kerkering… who inexplicably forgot there were two outs and threw home. His throw was wild, but wasn’t going to be in time to get the runner anyway. It looked like he did have time to get the force out at first base, so it was more of a mental error than the physical error that lost the game, and the series, for Philadelphia. The Dodgers move on to the NLCS.

• CHC, MIL - The Cubs jumped on Freddy Peralta early (4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), with Ian Happ hitting a 3-run HR in the top of the first. Kyle Tucker hit a solo HR later in the seventh, and Michael Busch did the same in the eighth. Meanwhile, Matthew Boyd did well in a short start (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), and four Chicago relievers combined for a 3-hit shutout. This Cubs' win ties the series 2-2, forcing a decisive game 5 on Saturday.

Today’s Trivia Question

Amongst this year's rookies, who had the most HR, Hits, and SB for hitters, and Strikeouts and Saves for pitchers?

League Leaders

We ended up with a dozen pitchers with 200+ strikeouts in 2025:

• 255 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 241 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 224 - SFG Logan Webb

• 216 - PHI Jesús Luzardo

• 216 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 215 - SDP Dylan Cease

• 212 - PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• 206 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 204 - MIL Freddy Peralta

• 203 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• 201 - STL Sonny Gray

• 201 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history. Unless otherwise noted, the descriptions are from baseball-reference.com.

📅 On October 10…

• 1920: Two World Series homerun firsts, plus an unassisted triple play. “The Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins, 8-1, in Game 5 of the World Series. For Cleveland, Elmer Smith hits the first Series grand slam and Jim Bagby, the winner, hits the first Series home run by a pitcher. The game is most noted, though, for an act by their teammate, 2B Bill Wambsganss, who turns an unassisted triple play in the 5th inning.”

• 1945: The Tigers defeat the Cubs in the World Series. “The Detroit Tigers score five runs in the 1st inning of Game 7 of the World Series, and rout the Cubs, 9-3, behind Hal Newhouser, who strikes out ten to win the World Championship. The Cubs will not play another World Series game in the 20th century.”

• 1956: The last NY Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers subway series game. “Pitcher Johnny Kucks sets down the Brooklyn Dodgers, 9-0, as the New York Yankees win the World Series in seven games. Yogi Berra hits a pair of two-run home runs and Bill Skowron hits a grand slam. It's the seventh and final time Brooklyn and the Yankees meet in the Series. In the future, it will take a jet, not a subway, to get these two teams together, as the Dodgers will move to Los Angeles in 1958.”

• 1968: Lolich over Gibson gives Detroit the series against St. Louis. “Mickey Lolich wins the World Series for the Detroit Tigers by defeating Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, in Game 7. It is Lolich's third win and comes after the Tigers had lost three of the first four games.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Andrew McCutchen (1986)

• Drafted in the first-round (11th overall) by the Pirates in 2005

• Has so far had a 17-year major league career, first with the Pirates as a CF from 2009-2017, then spent time as an OF with the Giants, Yankees, Phillies, and Brewers, before returning to Pittsburgh primarily as a DH for the last three seasons

• Had a nice combination of speed and power early in his career, including 20+ SB in his first five seasons and then 10 seasons with 20+ HR overall

• Five-time All-Star, and won a Gold Glove Award in 2012

• Was NL MVP in 2013 after batting .317 with a .404 OBP, 21 HR, 27 SB, 97 runs, and 84 RBI

• Overall has 332 HR, 220 SB, 1,290 Runs, 1,152 RBI, a .271/.365/.457 slash line, and a 125 OPS+

Troy Tulowitzki (1984)

• Drafted in the first-round (7th overall) by the Rockies in 2005

• 13-year major league career, spanning from 2006-2019, mostly with Colorado

• Was second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2007 after hitting 24 HR with 99 RBI and 104 runs

• Five-time All-Star, and won two Gold Glove Awards at SS

• Hit 20+ HR seven times

• Overall had 225 HR, a .290/.361/.495 slash line, and a 118 OPS+

Wally Berger (1905)

• 11-year major league career, spanning from 1930-1940, mostly with the Boston Braves, New York Giants, and Cincinnati Reds

• Four-time All-Star, and received down-ballot MVP votes six times

• After slugging his way up through the minors for three years, had outstanding rookie season in 1930 hitting .310 with 38 HR, 14 triples, and 119 RBI

• Led the NL with 34 HR and 130 RBI in 1935

• Overall had 242 HR, a .300/.359/.522 slash line, and a 138 OPS+

Gene Tenace (1946)

• 15-year major league career, spanning from 1969-1983, mostly with the Oakland A's and San Diego Padres

• Was primarily a catcher, but played a lot of 1B as well to keep his bat in the lineup

• Had 15+ HR in eight seasons, with a high of 29 HR in 1975, his one All-Star campaign

• Not a high average hitter, but walked a lot with six seasons with 100+ BB, including leading the AL with 110 in 1974 and the NL with 125 in 1977

• World Series MVP in 1972 when he went 8-23 with 4 HR and 9 RBI

• Overall had 201 HR, a .241/.388/.429 slash line, and a 136 OPS+

Plácido Polanco (1975)

• 16-year major league career, spanning from 1998-2013, primarily with the Cardinals, Phillies, and Tigers

• Played a mix of 2B and 3B throughout his career, and was good defensively winning two Gold Gloves at 2B and one at 3B

• Two-time All-Star

• High average hitter, he had modest power with a high of 17 HR in 2004, and modest speed on the bases with a high of 14 SB in 2003

• Overall had 1,009 runs and a .297/.343/.397 slash line

Pat Burrell (1976)

• Drafted with the first-overall pick by the Phillies in 1998

• 12-year major league career, spanning from 2000-2011, mostly with Philadelphia

• Power-hitter with nine seasons of 20+ HR, and a high of 37 HR in 2002

• Overall had 292 HR, 976 RBI, a .253/.361/.472 slash line, and a 116 OPS+

John Stone (1905)

• 11-year major league career, spanning from 1928-1938, as a LF and RF with the Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators

• High-average hitter with top marks of .341 in 1936 and .330 in 1937

• Had modest power with a high of 17 HR in 1932, but hit 10+ triples seven times, with a high of 18 in 1935

• Career was cut short after his age-32 season due to a lung ailment

• Overall had 105 triples, a .310/.376/.467 slash line, and a 116 OPS+

Rube Curry (1898)

• 9-year major league pitching career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1920-1928

• According to the statistics available at baseball-reference.com, had an 82-59 (.582) record, a 3.47 ERA, and a 121 ERA+

Jeurys Familia (1989)

• 12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2012-2023, mostly with the New York Mets

• Posted a 2.21 ERA over 77.1 innings in his first full season in 2014, then became the Mets' closer and had 43 saves with a 1.85 ERA in 2015

• Led the NL with 51 saves in 2016, his one All-Star campaign

• Overall had 127 saves, a 3.58 ERA, and a 110 ERA+

Brad Ziegler (1979)

• 11-year major league career, spanning from 2008-2018, Mostly with the A's and Diamondbacks

• Recorded 11 saves with a 1.06 ERA over 59.2 innings as a rookie for Oakland in 2008

• Had a career high 30 saves to go with a 1.85 ERA in 2015

• Overall had 105 saves, a 2.75 ERA, and a 149 ERA+

Currently active players who were born on October 10 include KCR Vinnie Pasquantino, AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr., NYY David Bednar, SEA Leo Rivas, MIL Shelby Miller, TEX Alejandro Osuna, BAL Luis Vázquez, MIN Genesis Cabrera, and SEA Collin Snider.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have one ALDS game which will decide who plays the Blue Jays in the ALCS (pitching stats shown below are regular season totals):

• DET vs. SEA at 8:08pm ET - The deciding game five will feature Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal (2.21 ERA, 241 K in 195.1 IP) up against George Kirby (4.21 ERA, 137 K in 126 IP). Both pitchers are stingy with walks, and have elite K/BB ratios, so that will be in an interesting factor in this contest.

⚾ Enjoy the games today! ⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

This year’s leaders amongst rookies were:

• HR - 36, ATH Nick Kurtz

• Hits - 151, ATH Jacob Wilson

• SB - 44, TBR Chandler Simpson

• SO - 171, NYY Will Warren

• SV - 11, COL Seth Halvorsen

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• Top storylines for epic win-or-go-home ALDS Game 5, by Will Leitch at MLB, 10/10/2025

• Mookie Betts like his teammate Freddie Freeman, is already a HOFer too!, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 10/10/2025

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.

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