The Baseball Buffet for 10/13/2025

Issue #422

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 200th day of the season featured game one of the ALCS:

• SEA 3, TOR 1 - At home in Toronto, the Jays scored first with a leadoff HR by George Springer in the bottom of the first inning. But Seattle starter Bryce Miller settled in after that, and threw six solid innings (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K). Kevin Gausman did well also (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), finally giving up a 2-out HR to Cal Raleigh in the sixth. He then walked Julio Rodríguez, and Brendon Little entered in relief. A wild pitch allowed Rodríguez to advance to second, and then Jorge Polanco singled to left to drive in the go-ahead run.
  
  In the eighth inning, Seranthony Domínguez walked Randy Arozarena, who was then aggressive on the basepaths, stealing both second and third. Julio Rodríguez walked, and then Polanco singled again to drive in Arozarena. Mason Fluharty entered and struck out two to end the inning, but the Mariners now had a 3-1 lead. Three Seattle relievers meanwhile threw scoreless frames, including closer Andrés Muñoz in the ninth to earn the save.

Active Leaders

Yesterday I began covering the active leaders in various statistics, starting with HR. Today I’ll do the same for pitcher strikeouts, so here are the top-10:

• 3,553 - Justin Verlander (8th all-time, needs 22 to pass Don Sutton)

• 3.489 - Max Scherzer (11th all-time, needs 21 to pass Walter Johnson)

• 3,052 - Clayton Kershaw (20th all-time; has announced his retirement)

• 2,579 - Chris Sale

• 2,251 - Gerrit Cole

• 2,196 - Charlie Morton (has announced his retirement)

• 2,075 - Yu Darvish

• 1,954 - Kevin Gausman

• 1,925 - Sonny Gray

• 1,876 - Aaron Nola

Today’s Trivia Question

How about high strikeouts… and good control? Amongst all-time pitchers with 1,000 or more innings pitched, which two have the highest strikeouts-to-walks ratio? (Hint: Both are still active… and bonus points for however many you can name on the all-time top-10 leaderboard for career strikeouts-to-walks ratio.)

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 13…

• 1903: The Boston Americans win the first World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates. “In Game 8, Boston wins the first modern-day World Series. Bill Dineen pitches a 3-0 complete game against Pittsburgh, as Deacon Phillippe hurls his fifth complete game of the Series, but takes the loss. Boston wins the best-of-nine series, five games to three.”

• 1914: The Boston Braves win the first World Series sweep over the Philadelphia Athletics. “The Boston Braves complete a remarkable sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics, the first in World Series history. Dick Rudolph pitches a complete game 3-1 victory for the Braves, who were 15 games out of first place in early July.”

• 1921: The Giants win the first “Subway Series” over the Yankees. “In the first "Subway Series" ever, the New York Giants defeat the New York Yankees, 1-0, to take the World Series, five games to three. The only run of the game scores on a 1st-inning error by Yankees shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.”

• 1960: Bill Mazeroski’s HR wins the World Series for the Pirates. “Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits one of the most dramatic home runs in World Series history. Maz's leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th inning against Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees gives Pittsburgh a stunning 10-9 win in Game 7.”

• 1970: Dave McNally, Don Buford, and both Robinsons star in win over the Reds. “In the World Series, the Baltimore Orioles win their third straight over the Cincinnati Reds, 9-3, with winning pitcher Dave McNally slugging a grand slam. Frank Robinson and Don Buford also hit home runs and third baseman Brooks Robinson continues his excellence on defense as he makes two spectacular grabs in the field.”

• 1978: Graig Nettle’s defense leads Yankees to victory in Game 3 of the World Series. “New York Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles puts on a fielding clinic and prevents seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, in Game 3 of the World Series. Nettles makes four spectacular stops and gives the Yankees their first victory of the series.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Eddie Mathews (1931)

• Hall of Famer

• 17-year major league career, spanning from 1952-1968, mostly with the Braves organization (he played in all three franchise cities: one year in Boston, one year in Atlanta, and their entire tenure in Milwaukee)

• All-Star in nine seasons

• Was runner-up in the NL MVP voting in the two seasons that he led league in HR, with 47 in 1953 and 46 in 1959

• Had 25+ HR in 12 seasons

• Had 100+ runs eight times, and 100+ RBI five times

• Led the NL in walks four times, with a high of 124 BB in 1963

• Often amongst the league leaders in various 3B defensive statistics

• Overall had 512 HR, 1,509 runs, 1,453 RBI, a .271/.376/.509 slash line, and a 143 OPS+

Rube Waddell (1876)

• Hall of Famer

• 13-year major league career, spanning from 1897-1910, starting out with Louisville and Pittsburgh, but then having most of his best seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics

• Was a dominant strikeout pitcher, leading the AL in strikeouts for six consecutive seasons (1902-1907), with a high of 349 in 1904

• Posted 20+ wins four times, with a career-high and AL leading 27-10 record in 1905

• Led the NL with a 2.37 ERA in 1900 and the AL with a 1.48 ERA in 1905

• Overall had a 193-143 (.574) record, 2,316 strikeouts, a 2.16 ERA, and a 135 ERA+

Trevor Hoffman (1967)

• Hall of Famer

• 18-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1993-2010, mostly as a reliever for the Padres

• Acquired by the Padres via trade with the Marlins in June, 1993 in a package for slugger Gary Sheffield

• Seven-time All-Star

• Led the NL in saves twice, with 53 in 1998 and 46 in 2006

• Had 30+ saves 14 times; second all-time in saves with 601, behind only Mariano Rivera (652)

• Had the intimidating "Hells Bells" by AC/DC as his walk-on song

• Career 2.87 ERA and 141 ERA+, with 1,133 K in 1,089.1 IP

Bill Donovan (1876)

• 18-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1898-1918, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the AL and Brooklyn Superbas of the NL

• Led the NL in wins with a 25-15 record in 1901, and later posted a 25-4 record with the Tigers in 1907

• Nicknamed "Wild Bill" because of his lack of pitching control, as he walked 100+ batters three times including a league-high 152 in 1901

• Was a player/manager with the Yankees in 1915-1916, managed for them in 1917 as well, and then also for the Phillies for part of 1921

• Overall had a 185-139 (.571) record, a 2.69 ERA, and a 106 ERA+

Frankie Hayes (1914)

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 1933-1947, mostly as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, but spending some time with four other clubs

• Five-time All-Star

• Had some power, with 10+ HR seven times, including a high of 20 HR with 83 RBI in 1939

• Overall had 119 HR, a .259/.343/.400 slash line, and a 101 OPS+

Eddie Yost (1926)

• 18-year major league career, spanning from 1944-1962, mostly as a 3B with the Washington Senators

• Was not a high-average hitter, but had a great eye at the plate, leading the AL in walks six times, with a career high 151 BB in 1956

• Had modest power, with seven seasons with 10+ HR and a career high of 21 HR in 1959

• Scored 100+ runs five times, including an AL-leading 115 in 1959

• Overall had a 1,215 runs, 139 HR, 1,614 walks, a .254/.394/.371 slash line, and a 109 OPS+

Currently active player who was born on October 13 is SEA Carlos Vargas.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have game two of the ALCS and game one of the NLCS (pitching stats are from the regular season):

• SEA vs. TOR at 5:03pm ET - Seattle won game one yesterday, and today they’ll go with Logan Gilbert (3.44 ERA, 173 K in 131 IP). They’re hitters will be challenged by Toronto’s rookie phenom, 22-year old Trey Yesavage who has been outstanding in his first four major league starts, including striking out 11 in 5.1 shutout innings in his one postseason game so far. (See this article by Sam Dykstra at MLB to learn more about Yesavage’s rise from Single-A to the ALCS this year.)

• LAD vs. MIL at 8:08pm ET - In Game 1 of the NLCS the Dodgers will go with Blake Snell (2.35 ERA, 72 K in 61.1 IP) who has struck out 18 in 13 innings across two wins so far this postseason. As of the time of this writing, the Brewers’ starter has not yet been announced.

⚾ Enjoy the games today! ⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The two pitchers (1,000+ IP) who lead all-time in strikeouts-to-walks ratio are Jacob deGrom and Chris Sale. Here is the all-time leaderboard (two players tied for 10th), which is an interesting mix of guys:

• 5.37 - Jacob deGrom (1,539.2 IP)

• 5.30 - Chris Sale (2,084 IP)

• 5.04 - Tommy Bond (3,628.2 IP - 19th century star)

• 4.81 - Josh Tomlin (1,067 IP - mixed starter/reliever from 2010-2021)

• 4.76 - Masahiro Tanaka (1,054.1 IP)

• 4.69 - Corey Kluber (1,641.2 IP)

• 4.50 - Gerrit Cole (1,954 IP)

• 4.48 - Max Scherzer (2,963 IP)

• 4.38 - Curt Schilling (3,261 IP)

• 4.37 - Stephen Strasburg (1,470 IP)

• 4.37 - Michael Pineda (1,008.2 IP)

Most of these pitchers are either still active or played quite recently, and the same is true if you look at the top-20 and top-50 leaderboards. This is because the rate of walks has remained relatively stable over the decades, while the rate of strikeouts has increased dramatically in recent years, due to the specialization of relievers; shorter outings for starters; emphasis on velocity, movement, and additional pitch types; hitters emphasizing power and living with more swing and miss results; and other factors. While walk rates were often low in many years in the early 20th century and also the 19 century, the strikeout rates were far lower than today, so with rare exceptions (e.g., Tommy Bond above) few pitchers of that era had very high K-to-BB ratios.

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.

• Our expert picks for Dodgers-Brewers NLCS, by Jared Greenspan at MLB, 10/13/2025

• 10 unsung moments in ALCS and NLCS history, by Jason Foster at MLB, 10/11/2025

• 5 questions for Yankees after latest early postseason exit, by Bryan Hoch at MLB, 10/13/2025

• The Top Ten Native Americans in Major League Baseball History, by Benjamin Chase at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 10/13/2025

• 5 Baseball Cards that Meant the World (Series), at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 10/12/2025

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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