The Baseball Buffet for 10/7/2025

Issue #417

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 194th day of the season featured game two for each of the NLDS match-ups:

• LAD 4, PHI 3 - The Dodgers went up 2-0 in this series, led by another strong start by Blake Snell (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K). Jesús Luzardo matched him for six innings, but then allowed two runs and left in the seventh (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The Dodgers scored all four of their runs that inning, and the Phillies plated their first run in the bottom of the eighth. Blake Treinen gave up three hits and two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but then Alex Vesia came in and got two outs, and Roki Sasaki got Trea Turner to ground out to end the game.

• CHC 3, MIL 7 - The Cubs started out strong, with Seiya Suzuki hitting a 3-run HR in the top of the first. But then Andrew Vaughn returned the favor in the bottom of the inning to tie the game up 3-3. William Contreras added a solo HR in the third inning, and Cubs’ starter Shota Imanaga (2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) was replaced by Daniel Palencia who then gave up 3-run HR to Jackson Chourio in the fourth. Meanwhile the Brewers used seven pitchers as part of their bullpen-day approach, including rookie Jacob Misiorowski striking out four in three innings. Abner Uribe struck out three in the ninth to close it out and give Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.

Today’s Trivia Question

Which pitcher had the most successful pickoffs this year? (Hint: He is on one of the teams that is still in the playoffs.)

League Leaders

Batting Average Against is a stat that I only covered once or twice during the season, but here is the final leaderboard for 2025:

• .183 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• .188 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• .193 - MIL Freddy Peralta

• .195 - SDP Nick Pivetta

• .196 - TEX Jacon deGrom

• .199 - PIT Paul Skenes

• .200 - DET Tarik Skubal

• .200 - SEA Bryan Woo

• .201 - HOU Hunter Brown

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 7…

• 1961: Roger Maris continues his epic HR season in the World Series. “At Crosley Field, the New York Yankees' Roger Maris wins Game 3 of the World Series with a 9th-inning home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bob Purkey. The Yankees win, 3-2.”

• 1969: Curt Flood is traded, leading to the court case over the reserve clause. “The St. Louis Cardinals trade outfielder Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in a blockbuster deal involving slugging first baseman Richie Allen. Flood will refuse to report to the Phillies and will take baseball to court over the reserve clause that binds a player perpetually to one team.”

• 1995: Edgar Martinez hits a grand slam with 7 RBI in a playoff game. “Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners hits a tie-breaking grand slam in the 8th inning and drives in seven runs - the most ever in a postseason game to date - leading the Mariners past the New York Yankees, 11-8, and sending the ALDS to a decisive Game 5.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Mookie Betts (1992)

• So far has played 12 years in the majors, six years with the Red Sox, and now six with the Dodgers

• Has mostly been a CF and RF, but then recently has played 2B and SS as well

• Eight-time All-Star, and six-time Gold Glove Award winner in the OF

• Was AL MVP in 2018 after leading the league with a .346 average and 129 runs, to go with 47 doubles, 32 HR, and 30 SB

• Also led his league in runs with 135 in 2019 and 117 in 2022

• Has so far had eight seasons with 20+ HR, with a high of 39 HR in 2023, and had four seasons with 20+ SB early in his career

• Overall so far has 291 HR, 196 SB, a .290/369/.512 slash line, and a 135 OPS+

Chuck Klein (1904)

• Hall of Famer

• 17-year major league career, spanning from 1928-1944, mostly spent as a RF with the Phillies

• Led the NL with a career-high 43 HR in his first full season in 1929

• Led the NL in 1930 with 158 runs and 59 doubles, while also providing 250 hits, 40 HR, 170 RBI, and a .386 average

• Won the NL MVP Award in 1932 after batting .348 and leading the NL with 226 hits, 152 runs, 38 HR and 20 SB

• Came in second in the MVP Award voting in 1933 after winning the NL Triple Crown by leading the league with 28 HR, 120 RBI, and a .368 average, as well as providing 223 hits and 44 doubles

• He benefitted by playing home games in Philadelphia at the notoriously hitter-friendly Baker Bowl. He had an insanely good .395/.448/.705 slash line in 2,601 plate appearances at that park.

• Overall had 300 HR, 1,201 RBI, a .320/.379/.543 slash line, and a 137 OPS+

Evan Longoria (1985)

• Drafted in the first-round (3rd overall) by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006

• Had a 16-year major league career, spanning from 2008-2023, mostly with the Rays, with five years with the Giants and one final year with the Diamondbacks

• Was AL Rookie of the Year in 2008 after batting .272 with 27 HR and 85 RBI

• Hit 20+ HR in ten seasons

• Three-time All-Star, and took home three Gold Glove Awards at 3B

• Overall had 342 HR, 1,159 RBI, a .264/.333/.471 slash line, and a 119 OPS+

Brickyard Kennedy (1867)

• 12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1892-1903, mostly with Brooklyn of the National League

• Won 20+ games four times, with his best overall season coming in 1899 with a 22-9 record, 2.79 ERA, and 139 ERA+

• Was a relatively good batsman for a pitcher, with a .261 average, 51 doubles, and 21 triples in 1,342 plate appearances

• Was nicknamed Brickyard as that was his place of employment during the offseason when still in the minors. Also had the nickname Roaring Bill because of his loud voice and habit of talking a lot.

• Overall had a 187-159 (.540) record, a 3.96 ERA, and a 102 ERA+

In addition to Mookie Betts, other currently active players who were born on October 7 include HOU Jesús Sánchez, MIL Nick Mears, TBR Bob Seymour, DET Alex Cobb, and NYM Justin Hagenman.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have just two games, the third in each of the ALDS matchups (pitching stats shown below are regular season totals):

• SEA vs. DET at 4:08pm ET - The series is tied 1-1, and goes to Detroit now. The Mariners will go with Logan Gilbert (3.44 ERA, 173 K in 131 IP), and the Tigers will counter with Jack Flaherty (4.64 ERA, 188 K in 161IP).

• TOR vs. NYY at 8:08pm ET - This series heads to New York with the Yankees down 2-0 and on the brink of elimination. The pitching matchup involves two veterans, Shane Bieber (3.57 ERA, 37 K in 40.1 IP) and Carlos Rodón (3.09 ERA, 203 K in 195.1 IP).

⚾ Enjoy the games today! ⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Matthew Boyd of the Cubs had 11 pickoffs in 2025, quite a few more than the Yankees’ Max Fried who was second with 7. Jesús Luzardo, Robbie Ray, and Colin Rea tied for third with 6 apiece.

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.

• Each team's top storyline for today's ALDS matchups, by Will Leitch at MLB, 10/6/2025

• 6 crazy stats from an incredible Dodgers-Phillies pitchers' duel, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 10/6/2025

• The 2025 Arizona Fall League Season Opening Day, by Benjamin Chase at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 10/6/2025

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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