The Baseball Buffet for 10/20/2025

Issue #430

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 208th day of the season featured the sixth game of the ALCS:

• SEA 2, TOR 6 - The Blue Jays scored two runs in both the second and third innings, including Addison Barger hitting a 2-run HR. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo HR, forcing Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) out of the game.
  
  Meanwhile, Toronto’s young starter Trey Yesavage did well (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), finally giving up two runs in the sixth inning, including a solo HR by Josh Naylor. Blue Jay’s closer Jeff Hoffman struck out four to earn a 2-inning save, and force a decisive game seven in this series.

Reader Survey

As the 2025 season winds down, I am conducting a reader survey! I am interested in feedback so I can plan for both the offseason and for the 2026 season too. After first mentioning this in yesterday’s newsletter I’ve already gotten over 130 responses, which is a great start. But if you’ve not participated yet, I’d love to hear from you… it only takes two minutes, so thanks in advance for your feedback!

Active Leaders

Yesterday I covered both runs and RBI… so today I’ll do another combo: active leaders in doubles and triples. Here first is the top-12 active leaderboard for doubles:

• 547 - Freddie Freeman

• 477 - Paul Goldschmidt

• 455 - Jose Altuve

• 451 - Andrew McCutchen

• 405 - Nolan Arenado

• 404 - Carlos Santana

• 401 - Bryce Harper

• 399 - Nick Castellanos

• 398 - José Ramírez

• 396 - Manny Machado

• 394 - Mookie Betts

• 384 - Xander Bogaerts

Then similarly here are the top-12 active leaders in triples:

• 55 - Starling Marte

• 55 - Mike Trout

• 50 - Andrew McCutchen

• 48 - Trea Turner

• 46 - Amed Rosario

• 45 - Shohei Ohtani

• 43 - Corbin Carroll… and he is only 24 years old!

• 43 - Nick Castellanos

• 43 - Ketel Marte

• 43 - José Ramírez

• 41 - Mookie Betts

• 41 - Jason Heyward

Today’s Trivia Question

Sticking with doubles for the question today, Freddie Freeman had 47 doubles in 2022 and an impressive 59 in 2023. The past two seasons he’s had 35 and 39 and respectively, and he is now 36 years old. If he plays well enough and long enough I suppose he could reach 700 doubles for his career (as noted above, he has 547 so far). Who are the only four players with 700+ career doubles?

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 20…

• 1910: Jack Coombs both pitches and hits the Athletics to victory. “On one day of rest, Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia Athletics pitches a complete game to beat the Chicago Cubs, 12-5, and give the Athletics a 3-0 lead in the World Series. Coombs also collects three hits and three RBI in the game.”

• 1981: Bob Watson and Ron Guidry lead Yankees to victory in game one of World Series rematch. “In a World Series rematch of the 1977 and 1978 teams, the Yankees take Game 1 over the Dodgers, 5-3. Bob Watson hits a three-run home run in the 1st inning as pitcher Ron Guidry goes seven innings for the win. Goose Gossage closes down a Dodgers rally in the 8th.”

• 1982: Brewers fall to Cardinals in World Series. “The Milwaukee Brewers, playing in their first World Series, are unable to hold on to a 3-1 lead in Game 7, as the St. Louis Cardinals, thanks to Keith Hernandez's two-run 6th-inning single, rally to a 6-3 victory and the World Championship.”

• 1988: Orel Hershiser leads Dodgers to second championship of the decade. “Orel Hershiser pitches a four-hitter and Mickey Hatcher and Mike Davis hit two-run home runs to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics and the World Series title in five games. Hershiser becomes only the third player to win the MVP honors in both the League Championship Series and the World Series. The win gives the Dodgers their first World Championship since 1981, becoming the only team to win more than one World Series in the 1980s. They will not win another one until 2020.”

• 1990: Reds sweep the A's as surprising champions. “The Cincinnati Reds complete one of the biggest upsets in major league history, beating the heavily-favored Oakland Athletics, 2-1, to sweep the World Series in four games. Pitcher Jose Rijo, with 9th-inning help from Randy Myers, wins his second game of the series.”

• 1993: 29 runs sets new World Series game record. “Devon White's two-run triple caps a six-run 8th inning as Toronto rallies for a 15-14 victory over the Phillies and a 3-1 World Series lead. The 29 runs shatter the Series record of 22 set in Game 2 of the 1936 Series, when the Yankees beat the Giants, 18-4. It is also the longest nine-inning game in series history at 4 hours, 14 minutes.”

• 1996: 19-year old Andruw Jones hits 2 HR in World Series opener. “The Atlanta Braves continue to pound the ball, as they defeat the Yankees, 12-1, in the World Series opener. At age nineteen, Andruw Jones puts himself in the record books as the youngest player to hit a home run in the Series. He hits one homer in the 2nd inning off Andy Pettitte and another in the 3rd. Pitcher John Smoltz gains the win.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Mickey Mantle (1931)

• Hall of Famer

• 18-year major league career, spanning from 1951-1968, all with the Yankees

• All-Star in 16 seasons, mostly as a CF

• Won three AL MVP Awards, in 1956, 1957, and 1962

• Led the AL in HR four times, runs five times, walks five times, and won a batting title in 1956 with a .353 average

• Hit 30+ HR nine times, with a career high of 54 in 1961

• Was a member of seven World Series champions, and played in twelve World Series overall. Hit 18 HR in 273 postseason plate appearances over 65 games.

• Overall during the regular season had 536 career HR, 1,676 runs, 1,509 RBI, 153 SB, a .298/.421/.557 slash line, and a 172 OPS+

Juan Marichal (1937)

• Hall of Famer

• 16-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1960-1975, mostly with the San Francisco Giants

• All-Star in nine seasons

• Won 20+ games six times, including leading the NL in wins with a 25-8 record in 1963 and a 26-9 record in 1968

• Recorded 200+ strikeouts six times

• Led the NL with a 2.10 ERA in 1969

• Overall had a 243-142 (.631) record, a 2.89 ERA, and a 123 ERA+

Keith Hernandez (1953)

• 17-year major league career, spanning from 1974-1990, mostly with the Cardinals and Mets

• Outstanding defensive 1B, winning 11 Gold Glove Awards

• Five-time All-Star

• Was NL co-MVP in 1979 after leading the league with 48 doubles, 116 runs, and a .344 average, to go with 210 hits and 105 RBI

• Led the NL with 111 runs and a .408 OBP in 1980

• Modest power, hitting 15+ HR four times

• Overall had 162 HR, 1,124 runs, 1,071 RBI, a .296/.384/.436 slash line, and a 128 OPS+

Juan González (1969)

• 17-year major league career, spanning from 1989-2005, mostly with the Texas Rangers

• Three-time All-Star

• Power-hitter who led the AL with 43 HR in 1992 and 46 HR in 1993, with 35+ HR in seven seasons

• AL MVP in 1996 after batting .314 in 47 HR and 144 RBI, and AL MVP again in 1998 after batting .318 with 45 HR and AL-leading 157 RBI and 50 doubles

• Played a mix of all three OF positions and DH

• Although the Rangers fell to the Yankees in four games in the 1996 ALDS, Gonzalez was 7-16 with 5 HR and 9 RBI

• Overall had 434 HR, 1,404 RBI, 1,061 runs, a .295/.343/.561 slash line, and a 132 OPS+

Sammy Hughes (1910)

• 13-year major league career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1930-1946, missing three seasons due to Military Service

• Was an All-Star in five seasons as a 2B

• According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, he didn't have much power with only 21 HR in 1,794 plate appearances, but had a career .312 average and .384 OBP, with a 123 OPS+

Currently active players who were born on October 20 include LAA José Soriano, SFG Bryce Eldridge, SFG Carson Whisenhunt, and TEX Ty Blach.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a decisive game seven of the ALCS:

• SEA vs. TOR at 8:08pm ET - This game will decide who will face the Dodgers in the World Series. The Mariners will go with George Kirby, who did well in his first two postseason starts against the Tigers, but then allowed 8 runs in 4 innings against Toronto on Wednesday. The Blue Jays will counter with Shane Bieber, who was roughed up by the Yankees, but then did better against the Mariners on Wednesday, striking out 8 in 6 innings and only giving up 2 runs.

⚾ Enjoy the game today! ⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The four players with over 700 career doubles are Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, and Ty Cobb. Here is the all-time list of players with 600+ doubles, a club that it would seem quite likely include Freddie Freeman in another couple of years:

• 792 - Tris Speaker

• 746 - Pete Rose

• 725 - Stan Musial

• 724 - Ty Cobb

• 686 - Albert Pujols

• 668 - Craig Biggio

• 665 - George Brett

• 657 - Nap Lajoie

• 646 - Carl Yastrzemski

• 643 - Honus Wagner

• 636 - Adrian Beltré

• 632 - David Ortiz

• 627 - Miguel Cabrera

• 624 - Hank Aaron

• 605 - Paul Molitor

• 605 - Paul Waner

• 603 - Cal Ripken Jr.

• 601 - Barry Bonds

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.

• It doesn't get any better than Game 7. Here's everything to watch for, by Will Leitch at MLB, 10/20/2025

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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