The Baseball Buffet for 10/27/2025

Issue #437

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 215th day of the season was a travel and rest day for the Dodgers and Blue Jays, who will face off for game three of the World Series tonight in Los Angeles.

Today’s Trivia Question

First, a mea culpa regarding yesterday’s trivia question and answer. As several astute readers noted, Orel Hershisher was only the most recent Dodgers’ pitcher to throw consecutive complete games in a postseason before Yoshinobu Yamamoto just did so this year. Sandy Koufax of course did so as well… twice:

• 1965: Sandy Koufax, games 5 and 7 in the World Series

• 1963: Sandy Koufax, games 1 and 4 in the World Series

And if you go back to the franchise’s time in Brooklyn—and notably when complete games by pitchers were far more common—there are these four others:

• 1956: Sal Maglie, games 1 and 5 in the World Series (he lost game 5, up against Don Larsen’s perfect game!)

• 1955: Johnny Podres, games 3 and 7 in the World Series

• 1941: Whit Wyatt, games 2 and 5 in the World Series

• 1920: Sherry Smith, games 3 and 6 in the World Series

Now for today’s trivia question… yesterday I noted that Steve Carlton was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards. Who are the other three pitchers since Carlton to take home four or more Cy Young Awards?

Trivia answers are at the bottom of each newsletter.

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 27…

• 1965: The Cardinals trade Bill White, Dick Groat... and Bob Uecker. "The St. Louis Cardinals trade two of their mainstays, sending 1B Bill White and SS Dick Groat to the Philadelphia Phillies for OF Alex Johnson, P Art Mahaffey and C Pat Corrales. St. Louis also throws in C Bob Uecker."

• 1985: Led by Bret Saberhagen, the Royals win their first World Series championship. "The Kansas City Royals become only the sixth team in major league history to rally from a three-games-to-one deficit to win the World Series. Bret Saberhagen pitches a five-hit, 11-0 shutout over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 and is named Series MVP."

• 1986: The Mets win the World Series over the Red Sox. "At Shea Stadium, the New York Mets win the World Series with an 8-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 7. The Mets rally from a 3-0 deficit to win behind home runs by Ray Knight and Darryl Strawberry. Knight is named Series MVP."

• 1991: The Twins win the World Series, capping an epic turnaround season. “In a Game 7 that rivals any in World Series history, the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins go scoreless through nine innings. Lonnie Smith is decoyed into pausing at second base to keep him from scoring the winner for Atlanta in the 8th. Gene Larkin's single over a drawn-in outfield in the 10th is the difference in the first extra-inning Game 7 in 67 years, as Minnesota is crowned World Champion. Jack Morris, who pitches the ten-inning, 1-0 shutout, is named MVP. Both Atlanta and Minnesota had finished last in their respective divisions in 1990.”

• 2002: The Angels win their first World Series championship. “In the team's 42nd season, the Angels finally win a World Series title by beating the Giants, 4-1, in Game 7 at Edison Field. Garret Anderson's three-run double provides enough offense for pitcher John Lackey to become the first rookie to win a seventh game since 1909 when Babe Adams accomplished the feat for the Pirates. Troy Glaus is named Series MVP.”

• 2004: The Red Sox sweep the Cardinals to finally win another World Series. “Under the moon's reddish tint caused by a lunar eclipse, the Boston Red Sox exorcise 86 years of agonizing losses by winning their first World Series since 1918. In one of the most dominating Fall Classic performances, Boston, who never trailed during the four games, blank the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0, to complete the sweep. Johnny Damon hits a home run on the fourth pitch of the game, pitcher Derek Lowe makes it stand up and Manny Ramirez, who batted .412 (7 for 17) with a home run and four RBIs, is named Boston's first World Series MVP.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Ralph Kiner (1922)

• Hall of Famer

• 10-year major league career, spanning from 1946-1955, mostly as a LF with the Pirates

• After three years in the minors, Kiner served in the Military in 1944-1945, before making his major league debut in 1946

• Led the NL in HR in seven consecutive seasons, with highs of 51 HR in 1947 and then 54 HR in 1949 when he also led the league with 127 RBI

• Six-time All-Star

• Had six seasons with both 100+ RBI and 100+ runs

• Was walked often, with 100+ BB in six seasons, and leading the NL three times with a high of 137 BB in 1951

• Overall had 369 HR, 1,015 RBI, a .279/.398/.548 slash line, and a 149 OPS+

• He also served as an announcer for the New York Mets from the team's inception in 1962 until 2013. His traditional home run call—"It is gone, goodbye," was a signature phrase in baseball.

Brad Radke (1972)

• 12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1995-2006, all with the Minnesota Twins

• Posted a 20-10 record, a 3.87 ERA, and a career-high 174 strikeouts in 1997, coming in third in the AL Cy Young Award voting

• A consistent workhorse, he won between 11-15 games in nine seasons

• Overall had a 148-139 record, a 4.22 ERA, and a 113 ERA+

Pete Vuckovich (1952)

• 11-year major league career, spanning from 1975-1986

• After pitching well for three seasons for the Cardinals, was traded after the 1980 season along with Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons to the Milwaukee Brewers for David Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano and Lary Sorensen

• Led the AL in wins with a 14-4 record in the strike-shortened 1981 season, then won the AL Cy Young Award in 1982 after going 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA

• Unfortunately, shoulder injuries limited his playing time and success thereafter, and he retired after the 1986 season

• Overall had a 93-69 (.574) record, a 3.66 ERA, and a 104 ERA+

Bip Roberts (1963)

• 12-year major league career, spanning from 1986-1998, with seven seasons for the Padres and the remainder spread across five different clubs

• Very versatile in the field, playing significantly at 2B, 3B, and the OF

• Had 20+ SB in seven consecutive seasons, including highs of 46 SB in 1990 and 44 SB in 1992, his one All-Star season

• Overall had 264 SB, a .294 average, and a .358 OBP

Martín Prado (1983)

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 2006-2019, mostly with the Braves and Marlins

• Was a versatile and good defender, playing a mix of 3B, 2B, and LF

• Had a little pop, with 10+ HR in six seasons, including his one All-Star campaign in 2010 when he hit .307 with 15 HR, 66 RBI, 40 doubles, and 100 runs

• Overall had 100 HR, a .287/.335/.412 slash line, and a 103 OPS+

Patsy Dougherty (1876)

• 10-year major league career as a LF, spanning from 1902-1911, playing for the Boston Americans, New York Highlanders, and Chicago White Sox

• Hit .342 with 20 SB as a rookie, and then led the AL in 1903 with 195 hits and 107 runs, while batting .331 with 35 SB

• Had 20+ SB seven times, including leading the AL with a career-high 47 SB in 1908

• Overall had 261 SB, a .284/.346/.360 slash line, and a 117 OPS+

Currently active players who were born on October 27 include SDP Bryce Johnson and MIA Tyler Phillips.

Today’s Matchup

Tonight we have game three of the 2025 World Series, which is tied 1-1:

• TOR vs. LAD, 8:00pm ET - The Blue Jays will look to the experience of 41-year old Max Scherzer, who has pitched 148.2 innings over 31 postseason appearances. The Dodgers will counter with Tyler Glasnow, who has a 0.68 ERA and 18 K in 13.2 IP across 3 games and 2 starts so far this postseason.

⚾ I hope you enjoy the game today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

In addition to Steve Carlton’s four Cy Young Awards, the three pitchers who have that many or more are Roger Clemens (7), Randy Johnson (5), and Greg Maddux (4).

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.

• Blue Jays-Dodgers World Series Game 3 FAQ (8 ET, FOX), at MLB, 10/26/2025

• With Fall Classic knotted up, 3 things to watch for in Game 3, by Will Leitch at MLB, 10/26/2025

• 'Forever linked,' Scherzer and Kershaw reflect on storied careers, by Anthony Castrovince, 10/26/2025

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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