The Baseball Buffet for 10/30/2025

Issue #440

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 218th day of the season featured game 5 of the 2025 World Series:

TOR 6, LAD 1 - Davis Schneider hit a HR on the first pitch of the game, and then two pitches later Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went back-to-back with another HR. Not an easy thing to do against Blake Snell, who then settled in for several innings, giving up a third run in the fourth before running into trouble in the seventh (6.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 7 K).

The star of game 5, however, was 22-year old rookie Trey Yesavage who struck out 12 in 7 innings, while only allowing three hits with zero walks. His 12 strikeouts are a record for a rookie in the World Series. Yesavage started the year at single-A, having been the Blue Jays first-round (20th overall) draft pick out of East Carolina University in 2024—and now he’s dominating on the biggest baseball stage against a tough Dodgers’ lineup.

Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless eighth, and with a looming day off today, the Jays didn’t take any chances and brought in closer Jeff Hoffman who pitched a scoreless ninth to wrap up the win.

Today’s Trivia Question

Trey Yesavage’s 12 strikeouts yesterday were very impressive, especially since he is a rookie. In fact, he is the only pitcher to ever record 12 strikeouts with zero walks in a World Series game. But his 12 K are not the highest strikeout total in a World Series game. Can you name the pitcher who once struck out 17 in nine innings in a WS game? He also once struck out 13 in a World Series game (different year). Bonus points if you can also name any of the other three pitchers with 13+ strikeouts in a World Series game.

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 30…

• 1911: Former pitching star Clark Griffith begins his long leadership tenure with the Senators. “Clark Griffith is named manager of the Washington Senators, beginning a stand in the nation's capital as manager, then owner, that will last until his death in 1955.”

• 1963: Sandy Koufax adds MVP Award to his Cy Young Award. “Sandy Koufax wins again. The Dodgers pitcher, who finished with 25 victories and 11 shutouts, outpolls Cardinals shortstop Dick Groat, 237 to 190, for the National League MVP Award. Six days ago, Koufax unanimously won the Cy Young Award.”

• 1984: Willie Hernandez becomes third reliever to win the AL Cy Young Award. “Willie Hernandez of the Detroit Tigers wins the 1984 American League Cy Young Award, edging fellow reliever Dan Quisenberry of the Kansas City Royals. Hernandez posted a 9-3 record with 32 saves and a 1.92 ERA. Hernandez becomes only the third reliever to win the award. In 1977, Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees became the first relief pitcher to do so in the American League, and Mike Marshall had done so in the National League in 1974.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Ed Delahanty (1867)

• Hall of Famer

• 16-year major league career, spanning from 1888-1903, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies

• Mostly played LF, with some time at CF and 1B

• Was one of the best hitters of his era, leading the NL with 19 HR and 146 RBI in 1893, and 13 HR and 126 RBI in 1895

• Led the NL in doubles five times, including with a career-high 55 in 1899, when he also led the league with 238 hits, 137 RBI, and a .410 average. Took home a second batting title in his second to last season in 1902 with a .376 mark.

• Had 25+ SB eleven times, including leading the NL with a career-high 58 SB in 1898

• Was the oldest (and by far the best player) of five brothers to play in the major leagues

• Overall had 2,597 hits, 1,600 runs, 1,466 RBI, 456 SB, a .346/.411/.505 slash line, and a 152 OPS+

Bill Terry (1898)

• Hall of Famer

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 1923-1936, all with the New York Giants

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

• Had modest power, with three seasons of 20+ HR, but led the NL with 20 triples in 1931

• Is the last NL player to have a .400+ batting average when he hit .401 in 1930 with a league-leading 254 hits (tied for third most ever in a single season)

• Was good defensively as a 1B, often leading or amongst the leaders in a range of defensive stats

• Received down-ballot MVP votes in eight seasons

• Overall had 154 HR, a .341/.393/.506 slash line, and a 136 OPS+

Leon Day (1916)

• Hall of Famer

• 10-year major league career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1934-1946

• Started pitching in the Negro National League in his late teens, and went on to be an All-Star in six seasons

• After missing two years to military service in WW II, in 1946 he led his league in wins with a 13-2 record to go with a 2.39 ERA

• According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, overall in the majors he had a 50-22 (.694) record, 3.58 ERA, and 129 ERA+

• Also a capable hitter, in some seasons he played more games at 2B or CF than as a pitcher. Overall he had a .313/.361/.422 slash line and a 115 OPS+.

Jim Perry (1935)

• 17-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1959-1975, mostly with the Indians and Twins

• Came in second in the AL Rookie of the Year vote in 1959 after going 12-10 with a 2.65 ERA, then led the AL in wins the following year with a 18-10 record

• Three-time All-Star, including in 1970 when he led the AL in wins with a 24-12 record and posted a 3.04 to win the AL Cy Young Award

• Older brother of Hall of Fame pitch Gaylord Perry

• Overall had a 215-174 (.553) record, a 3.45 ERA, and a 106 ERA+

Joe Adcock (1927)

• 17-year major league career as a 1B and LF, spanning from 1950-1966, starting with three years for the Reds, then ten with the Braves, and his last four with the Indians and Angels

• Was only an All-Star in one season, but received down-ballot MVP consideration four times

• Had 20+ HR seven times, and 100+ RBI twice

• Overall had 336 HR, 1,122 RBI, a .277/.337/.485 slash line, and a 124 OPS+

Danny Tartabull (1962)

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 1984-1997, mostly as a RF and DH with the Royals, Yankees, and Mariners

• Had 25+ HR six times, and 100+ RBI four times, including in his one All-Star campaign in 1991 when he had 31 HR, 100 RBI, and a .316 average

• Son of José Tartabull, who played in the majors from 1962-1970

• Overall had 262 HR, 925 RBI, a .273/.368/.496 slash line, and a 133 OPS+

Mickey Rivers (1948)

• 15-year major league career, spanning from 1970-1984, as a CF for the Angels, Yankees, and Rangers

• Led the AL with 11 triples in 1974 and 13 triples in 1975

• Had 20+ SB five times, including leading the AL with 70 in 1975

• Was an All-Star the following year when he had 43 SB and a career high 95 runs

• Overall had 267 SB, a .295/.327/.397 slash line, and a 106 OPS+

Jim Ray Hart (1941)

• 12-year major league career, spanning from 1963-1974, mostly as a 3B and LF for the San Francisco Giants

• Came in second in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in 1964 after hitting 31 HR with 81 RBI and a .286 average

• Had five consecutive seasons with 20+ HR, including his one All-Star campaign in 1966 when he had 33 HR and 93 RBI

• Overall had 170 HR, a .278/.345/.467 slash line, and a 127 OPS+

Buck Freeman (1871)

• 11-year major league career, spanning from 1891-1912, playing briefly for Washington in the American Association in 1891, then spending many years in the minors before playing primarily for the Boston Americans

• Mostly a RF and 1B, he had a lot of power for his time period, leading the NL with 25 HR in 1899, and the AL with 13 HR in 1903.

• Also had 15+ triples five times, including 25 in 1899, 20 in 1903, and 19 in both 1902 and 1904.

• Overall had 131 triples, 92 SB, a .293/.346/.462 slash line, and a 132 OPS+

Currently active players who were born on October 30 include DET Wenceel Pérez and SDP Yuki Matsui.

Today’s Matchup

No game today as the Blue Jays and Dodgers have a travel and rest day as the World Series returns to Toronto for Game 6 on Friday, with the Jays now leading 3-2.

⚾ I hope you enjoyed the newsletter today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Bob Gibson has the record for the most strikeouts in a World Series game. Here are the five times that a pitcher has recorded 13+ strikeouts:

• 17 - Bob Gibson, Cardinals, Game 1 in 1968

• 15 - Sandy Koufax, Dodgers, Game 1 in 1963

• 14 - Carl Erskine, Dodgers, Game 3 in 1953

• 13 - Howard Ehmke, Athletics, Game 1 in 1929

• 13 - Bob Gibson, Cardinals, Game 5 in 1964

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.

• Astounding facts from Yesavage's historic World Series performance, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 10/30/2025

• 3 takeaways from Blue Jays' big win and what to expect in Game 6, by AJ Cassavell and Martín Gallegos at MLB, 10/30/2025

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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