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The Baseball Buffet for 11/15/2025
Now Taking the Field's daily buffet of baseball goodness!
Tom Stone
November 15, 2025
Issue #456
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! ⚾
No big news yesterday, so I’ll take this opportunity to remind everyone of the important offseason activities coming up next week:
11/18: Qualifying offer decisions. Players must accept or reject any such offers by 4pm on this date.
11/18: Deadline to file reserve lists, i.e., deadline for teams to add eligible minor leaguers to their 40-man rosters, thereby protecting them from the Rule 5 draft.
11/18-11/20: Owners meetings in New York
11/21: Non-tender deadline, which is when teams need to offer their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players a contract for 2026. Those not offered a contract are considered non-tendered, and become free agents.
Today’s Trivia Question
Considering Aaron Judge’s 2025 season again, it was only the third time that someone hit 50+ HR and won his league’s batting title. Can you name the other two players to accomplish this?
Trivia answers are at the bottom of each newsletter.
2026 Team Wall Calendars!
Its that time of year… I know wall or desk calendars aren’t for everyone, but as a kid in the 1980s it was a tradition in my house to get a new calendar for the new year. And most years, my theme was baseball.
Turner Sports produces attractive 12×12” Team Wall Calendars. I think they produce them for all 30 MLB teams, but I could only find some teams available at Amazon. Looks like Calendars.com has a broader selection, but here are the ones I found at Amazon:
Again, those are the teams I could find at Amazon so far. Other teams seem to be available at Calendars.com.
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 November 15…
1886: The first major league trade. “In the first major league trade ever, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the American Association deal rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400 to the St. Louis Browns for outfielder Hugh Nicol.”
1961: Roger Maris edges Mickey Mantle for his second MVP Award. “For the second consecutive year, New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris is named American League Most Valuable Player. The new single-season home run record holder with 61 edges his teammate Mickey Mantle by four points, 202-198. Jim Gentile of the Baltimore Orioles finishes third with 157 points.”
1967: Yaz wins the AL MVP after winning the triple crown. “Future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox is the overwhelming selection as American League MVP. He receives all but one first-place vote in the balloting, the other vote going to Minnesota's Cesar Tovar. Yastrzemski, who led the AL in batting average (.327), home runs (44) and RBI (121), will be the last major leaguer to win the Triple Crown in the 20th Century.”
1978: Dave Parker wins the NL MVP Award over Steve Garvey. “Pirates outfielder Dave Parker wins the National League Most Valuable Player Award, 320-194, over Dodgers first baseman Steve Garvey. Parker had 30 home runs with 117 RBI and league-leading figures in batting average (.334), slugging percentage (.585), and total bases (340).
1989: Bret Saberhagen wins his second AL Cy Young Award. “Bret Saberhagen of the Kansas City Royals becomes the fourth pitcher ever to win the American League Cy Young Award twice, getting 27 of a possible 28 first-place votes for his 23 wins, 2.16 ERA season. Previously, he won the award in the 1985 season.”
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Trevor Story (1992)
So far has had a 10-year major league career, first with the Rockies and then the past four years for the Red Sox
Had 27 HR and a .272 average as a rookie in 2016
Two-time All-Star with 37 HR and a .291 average in 2018 and 35 HR and a .294 average in 2019
After three seasons of poorer performance and extended time missed due to injuries, came back strong in 2025 with 25 HR, 91 runs, 96 RBI, and a career-high 31 SB
Has been a good defensive SS, often amongst league leaders in various fielding stats
Overall so far has 204 HR, 160 SB, a .265/.329/.490 slash line, and a 108 OPS+
Gus Bell (1928)
15-year major league career, spanning from 1950-1964, mostly with the Reds, Pirates, and Braves
Four-time All-Star
Had 25+ HR three times and 100+ RBI four times
Played a mix of CF and RF
Overall had 206 HR, 942 RBI, a .281/.330/.445 slash line, and a 103 OPS+
In addition to Trevor Story, other currently active players who were born on November 15 include TEX Wyatt Langford, LAD Emmet Sheehan, and Owen Miller (free agent).
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of the new features I’m starting up during the offseason is a baseball-related quote of the day. These will include quotes by players or managers that are insightful or funny, and interesting quotes from others about the game itself. I’ll try to mix it up over time.
Today I’ll go with three about hard work in baseball:
"If you’re not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he’ll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson
"A winner is somebody who goes out there every day and exhausts himself trying to get something accomplished." - Joe Torre
"If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game." -Rickey Henderson
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Today’s Trivia Answer
Before Aaron Judge in 2025, only two players had hit 50+ HR in a year when they also won their league’s batting title:
1956 - Mickey Mantle won the triple crown with 52 HR, 130 RBI, and a .353 average
1938 - Jimmie Foxx hit 50 HR with a .349 average
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.
1 free agent each team could re-sign this winter, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 11/14/2025
These are the Top 5 free-agent starting pitchers, by Travis Sawchik at MLB, 11/14/2025
Decorated stars return from injuries, add Comeback Player of Year to trophy case, by Jared Greenspan, 11/13/2025
Here are the 2025 Arizona Fall League award winners, by Joe Trezza at MLB, 11/14/2025
Five Almost HOF Catchers you remember watching, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 11/14/2025
New York Mets: Six Steps to Rebuild for 2026, by Alen Settle at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 11/14/2025
This Braves-Mets Trade Could Help Both Clubs, by Dan Schlossberg at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 11/14/2025
See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!
How did you like this edition of Now Taking the Field? |
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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