The Baseball Buffet for 10/9/2025

Issue #419

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 196th day of the season featured four games, one for each ALDS and NLDS:

• SEA 3, DET 9 - Casey Mize struck out 6 in a short 3-inning start (3 IP, 2 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). The Mariners scored the first three runs of the game, but then the Tigers finally got to Seattle starter Bryce Miller in the bottom of the fifth and tied the game up 3-3. They then scored four in the sixth, powered by a solo HR from Riley Greene and a 2-run HR by Javier Báez. Gleyber Torres hit a solo HR in the seventh, while Troy Melton and Will Vest pitched four scoreless relief innings to force a game five.

• MIL 3, CHC 4 - The Brewers, up two games to none, scored a run right away in the top of the first when Sal Frelick hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Christian Yelich. But the Cubs came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame, beginning with Michael Busch hitting a leadoff HR. Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester continued to struggle, and couldn’t get through the inning (0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). The Brewers scored one in the fourth, Jake Bauers hit a solo HR in the seventh, and five relievers pitched scoreless baseball for over eight innings. But the damage was done, and Brad Keller secured a four-out save to close it out.

• TOR 5, NYY 2 - The mighty Yankees fell to the Blue Jays for a third time, ending their season. Toronto scored in the first inning when hot-hitting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled and drove home George Springer. Ryan McMahon tied the game with a solo HR in the bottom of the third, and then the Jays went up by one again in the fifth. They added three more across the seventh and eighth innings, including a key 2-run single by Nathan Lukes. Toronto’s bullpen-day strategy worked, as they kept bringing in fresh arms with no one throwing two innings or more. Their eighth and final pitcher, closer Jeff Hoffman, allowed one run in the bottom of the ninth, but then secured a four-out save to end it.

• PHI 8, LAD 2 - Aaron Nola struck out three over two innings, but then Ranger Suárez relieved him. He immediately gave up a HR to Tommy Edman in the bottom of the third, but then settled in and did well over five innings (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Meanwhile, Yoshinobu Yamamoto wasn’t as effective as he usually is (4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), including giving up a HR to NL HR-leader Kyle Schwarber in the fourth. Up 3-1, the Phillies scored five runs in the eighth off Clayton Kershaw who really struggled giving up six hits and three walks (2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K). Schwarber hit a second HR as part of that barrage, and J.T. Realmuto hit a solo HR as well. Orion Kerkering pitched a scoreless eighth, and then with an 8-1 lead, Taijuan Walker allowed one Dodger run to cross before Tanner Banks came in to secure the final out.

Today’s Trivia Question

Cal Raleigh’s 60 homers this year demolished the record for HR by a player who is primarily a catcher. While only about half that many, can you name the three other guys who are primarily catchers who hit 30+ HR this year?

League Leaders

I’ve been covering other statistics since the last day of the regular season, but here is the final HR leaderboard. We were one HR away (for Eugenio Suárez) from having five guys with 50+ HR for the first time ever.

• 60 - SEA Cal Raleigh - AL Leader

• 56 - PHI Kyle Schwarber - NL Leader

• 55 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 53 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 49 - SEA Eugenio Suárez

• 45 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 43 - NYM Juan Soto

• 38 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 37 - LAA Jo Adell

• 36 - DET Riley Greene

• 36 - ATH Nick Kurtz

• 36 - LAA Taylor Ward

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 9…

• 1916: Babe Ruth throws 14 innings in the longest World Series game to date. “Babe Ruth outpitches Sherry Smith of the Brooklyn Robins as the Boston Red Sox win the longest World Series game, 2-1, in 14 innings. The number of innings will be matched in 2005, and annihilated by Game 3 of the 2018 World Series which goes 18 innings and lasts over seven hours.”

• 1919: The end of the infamous “Black Sox” World Series. “Chicago White Sox starter Lefty Williams gets just one man out in the 1st inning and the Cincinnati Reds go on to a 10-5 victory. Cincinnati wins the best-of-nine World Series in eight games. A year after the Series ends, the White Sox will become the "Black Sox", and eight players will be barred from baseball for taking part in throwing the Series, including Williams who was allegedly threatened before the game to make sure the outcome is no longer in doubt after the 1st inning.”

• 1966: The Orioles sweep the Dodgers and set record with 33 consecutive scoreless. “In the World Series, Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles wraps up a brilliant pitching display, and a World Championship, with a four-hit 1-0 victory. Frank Robinson's home run off Don Drysdale gives Baltimore a surprising sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The 33 consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Baltimore sets a World Series record.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Joe Sewell (1898)

• Hall of Famer

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 1920-1933, mostly with the Cleveland Indians, and his final three seasons with the New York Yankees

• High average hitter with a career-high .353 mark in 1923

• Good defensive SS early in his career, and then switched to 3B later on

• Led the AL with 45 doubles in 1924, but didn't have much power with only 49 HR in 8,333 plate appearances

• In the modern-era (since 1901), he was the all-time most difficult hitter to strikeout with 62.6 AB per strikeout for his career, and only four seasons of 10+ strikeouts

• Overall had 1,141 runs, a .312/.391/.413 slash line, and a 109 OPS+

Rube Marquard (1886)

• Hall of Famer

• 18-year major league career, spanning from 1908-1925, mostly with New York, Brooklyn, and Boston in the National League

• For the Giants he went 24-7 with a 2.50 ERA and NL-leading 237 strikeouts in 1911

• Was also 26-11 with a 2.57 ERA in 1912, and 23-10 with a 2.50 ERA in 1913

• Later for Brooklyn he was 13-6 with a 1.58 ERA in 1916, and 19-12 with a 2.55 ERA in 1917

• Overall had a 201-177 (.532) record, 3.08 ERA, and 103 ERA+

Joe Pepitone (1940)

• 12-year major league career, spanning from 1962-1973, mostly with the Yankees and Cubs

• Three-time All-Star, and three-time Gold Glove Award winner at 1B

• Five seasons with 25+ HR

• Overall had 219 HR, a .258/.301/.432 slash line, and a 105 OPS+

Brian Downing (1950)

• 20-year major league career, spanning from 1973-1992, mostly with the White Sox and Angels

• Began as a catcher, but later shifted to LF and ultimately DH

• Was an All-Star in 1979 when he primarily was a catcher and hit .326 with 87 runs and 75 RBI

• Developed more power in his 30s, with six seasons of 20+ HR, including a high of 29 HR in 1987 when he also had 110 runs, a .400 OBP, and an AL-leading 106 walks

• Overall had 275 HR, 1,188 runs, 1,073 RBI, a .267/.370/.425 slash line, and a 122 OPS+

Starling Marte (1988)

• So far has played 14 seasons in the majors, starting out with the Pirates for eight years, then saw time with the Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Athletics before joining the Mets for the past four years

• Has good speed with 20+ SB in nine seasons, including a high of 47 SB in 2016 and 2021

• Some power, with 15+ HR in four seasons

• Two-time All-Star, and won two Gold Glove Awards in the OF early in his career

• Overall so far has 163 HR, 361 SB (active leader), a .285/.342/.440 slash line, and a 114 OPS+

Brian Roberts (1977)

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 2001-2014, mostly as a 2B with the Baltimore Orioles

• Two-time All-Star

• Had 50+ doubles three times, including an AL-leading 50 doubles in 2004 and 56 in 2009

• Had 20+ SB seven times, including a career high and AL-leading 50 SB in 2007

• Scored 100+ runs four times

• Overall had 285 SB, a .276/.347/.409 slash line, and a 101 OPS+

Freddie Patek (1944)

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 1968-1981, starting with the Pirates but with nine seasons for the Royals

• Three-time All-Star

• Eight consecutive seasons with 30+ SB, including a career high and AL-leading 53 SB in 1977

• Led the AL with 11 triples in 1971 but was a generally light hitter with only 41 HR in 6,247 plate appearances

• Overall had 385 SB and a .242 batting average

Branch Russell (1895)

• 11-year major league career in the Negro Leagues from 1922-1932

• High-average hitter with a career high .334 mark in 1930

• Played RF primarily, but was versatile and also spent time at 2B, 3B, and SS

• Overall had a .309/.391/.465 slash line and a 128 OPS+

In addition to Starling Marte, other currently active players who were born on October 9 include COL Victor Vodnik, WAS Clayton Beeter, and WAS Jake Eder.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have two game-4 NLDS games (pitching stats shown below are regular season totals):

• PHI vs. LAD at 6:08pm ET - The Phillies have their best pitcher of 2025 going in Cristopher Sánchez (2.50 ERA, 212 K in 202 IP), and he did well against the Dodgers in game one, striking out 8 in 5.2 innings. The Dodgers will counter with Tyler Glasnow (3.19 ERA, 106 K in 90.1 IP), making his second appearance, but first start, of this postseason.

• MIL at CHC at 9:08pm ET - The Cubs took game three at home, and hope to do so again to force a game five back in Milwaukee on Saturday. As of the time of this writing, the starting pitchers for this contest haven’t been announced.

⚾ Enjoy the games today! ⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Besides Cal Raleigh with his amazing 60 HR, these three guys who are primarily catchers each had 30+ HR in 2025:

• 31 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 31 - ATH Shea Langeliers

• 30 - KCR Salvador Perez

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.

• Key storylines for today's two pivotal NLDS Game 4s, by Will Leitch at MLB, 10/9/2025

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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