The Baseball Buffet for 9/30/2025

Issue #413

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 187th day of the season didn’t have any games, as we took a one-day breather between the regular season and the postseason. See this article for the 2025 MLB postseason schedule.

Today’s Trivia Question

On Saturday, Michael Busch of the Cubs didn’t hit for the cycle, but in a sense did something better: he hit 2 HR, a triple, and a double. That has happened only 30 times since 1901, by 29 different players. Do you know the only player who did it twice?

League Leaders

Pretty solid final RBI leaderboard this season, with 16 guys with 100+ and three with 125+.

• 132 - PHI Kyle Schwarber - NL Leader

• 126 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 125 - SEA Cal Raleigh - AL Leader

• 118 - SEA Eugenio Suárez

• 114 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 113 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 111 - DET Riley Greene

• 110 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 109 - SFG Rafael Devers

• 105 - NYM Juan Soto

• 103 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 103 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 103 - LAA Taylor Ward

• 102 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 100 - AZ Geraldo Perdomo

• 100 - KCR Salvador Perez

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 September 30…

• 1927: Babe Ruth hits HR number 60. “With the score tied 2-2 in the 8th, Mark Koenig triples and Babe Ruth hits home run number 60 off Tom Zachary for a 4-2 win. In the 9th, Walter Johnson makes his final appearance as a player. He pinch-hits for Zachary and flies out to Ruth. Ruth hits 17 homers in September, the highest month's home run output till Rudy York's 18 in August 1937.”

• 1945: A ninth-inning grand slam HR to clinch the pennant? “Hank Greenberg hits a pennant-winning grand slam on the final day of the season. The Tiger left fielder's 9th-inning bases-full homer beats the Browns, 6-3, clinching the American League flag for Detroit over the second-place Senators.”

• 1972: Roberto Clemente collects his 3,000th and final hit. “Roberto Clemente doubles off the Mets' Jon Matlack to become the eleventh major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. The hit, sadly, will be the Pirate right fielder's last, as he will die in a plane crash on New Year's Eve attempting to bring relief aid to earthquake-stricken Managua, Nicaragua.”

• 1984: Mike Witt throws a perfect game to end the season. “On the final day of the season, Mike Witt uses only 97 pitches to retire 27 consecutive hitters. The Angels' hurler throws the perfect game against the Rangers and beats Charlie Hough on an unearned run, 1-0.”

• 1992: George Brett collects his 3,000th hit. “George Brett of the Royals gets the 3,000th hit of his career, stroking four safeties in Kansas City's 4-0 win over California. Moments later, Brett is picked off base by Tim Fortugno. Rick Reed is the winner, firing the second successive shutout for the Royals.”

• 1995: Albert Belle creates the 50 HR / 50 doubles club. “Cleveland OF Albert Belle socks his 50th home run of the season in the Indians' 3-2 win over the Royals. The home run is Belle's 17th of September, tying Babe Ruth's record for the month. Beginning September 13th, Belle has hit 13 homers in 16 games (he did not play on September 24th), tying Frank Howard's mark set in May, 1968. With today's homer, Belle becomes the first player ever to have 50 homers and 50 doubles in a season.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Robin Roberts (1926)

• Hall of Famer

• 19-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1948-1966, with the majority and best seasons for the Phillies

• A very durable pitcher, led the NL in innings five times, games started six times, and complete games five times

• Led the NL in wins in four consecutive seasons, with a 28-7 record in 1952, and then 23 wins each year from 1953-55

• Seven-time All-Star

• During his six year peak (1950-1955) had a 138-78 (.639) record, 2.93 ERA, and 135 ERA+

• Overall had a 286-245 (.539) record, 3.41 ERA, and 113 ERA+

Kenley Jansen (1987)

• Has thus far had a 16-year major league career as a relief pitcher, mostly with the Dodgers, but the past four years with the Braves, Red Sox, and now Angels in 2025

• Four-time All-Star

• Has had 25+ saves in 13 seasons, including leading the NL with 41 saves in both 2017 and 2022

• Overall has 476 saves, which ranks fourth all-time, and has a 2.57 ERA and 155 ERA+

Johnny Podres (1932)

• Had a 15-year major league career as a left-handed pitcher, spanning from 1953-1969, almost all with the Dodgers

• Was an All-Star in three seasons

• Was World Series MVP in his third season in 1955 after winning two complete game starts with a 1.00 ERA (one game was on his birthday)

• Led the NL with a 2.66 ERA in 1957, and had a career-best 18-5 record in 1961

• Overall had a 148-116 (.561) record, a 3.68 ERA, and 105 ERA+

Carlos Guillén (1975)

• 14-year major league career, spanning from 1998-2011, with the Mariners and Tigers

• Mostly played SS, but with some games at the other three infield positions

• Three-time All-Star, including in 2004 when he hit 20 HR with 97 RBI and a .318 average, and in 2007 when he hit 21 HR with 102 RBI and a .296 average

• Overall had 124 HR, 74 SB, a .285/.355/.443 slash line, and 111 OPS+

Johnny Allen (1904)

• 13-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1932-1944, mostly with Cleveland, and all three New York teams (Yankees, Giants, and Dodgers)

• After four years in the minors, made a splash with the Yankees as a rookie in 1932 with a 17-4 record and 3.70 ERA

• Was 20-10 with a 3.44 ERA in 1936, and then 15-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 1937

• Overall had a 142-75 (.654) record, a 3.75 ERA, and a 113 ERA+

Nap Rucker (1884)

• 10-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1907-1916, all with Brooklyn

• Born George Napolean Rucker, he went by Nap for short

• Had a 22-18 record and 2.71 ERA in 1911, and an inverse 18-22 record but a better 2.21 ERA in 1912

• Overall had an even 134-134 record, 2.42 ERA, and 119 ERA+

In addition to Kenley Jansen, currently active players who were born on September 30 include PHI Jesús Luzardo, LAA Sam Bachman, and SEA Trent Thornton.

Today’s Matchups

All four Wild Card Series get going today, with each being up to three games, if necessary. Today’s matchups are:

• DET vs. CLE at 1:08pm ET - Great fun here, given the epic rise of the Guardians to take the AL Central from the Tigers. Tarik Skubal (2.21 ERA, 241 K in 195.1 IP) has a 1.47 ERA in his last seven games,, and is up against Gavin Williams (3.06 ERA, 173 K in 167.2 IP) who also ended the season strong with a 2.04 ERA in his last seven games. Cleveland was 8-5 vs. the Tigers this year—but the two teams are amazingly an even 1,166-1,166 (with 12 ties) against each other dating back to 1901.

• SDP vs. CHC at 3:08pm ET - Two division second-place finishers face off, with Nick Pivetta (2.87 ERA, 190 K in 181.2 IP) versus Matthew Boyd (3.21 ERA, 154 K in 179.2 IP). The two teams only faced each other six times in 2025, each winning two of three at home (but those games were early in the year). Of note, they faced each other in the postseason in 1984, when the Padres won the NLCS in five games.

• BOS vs. NYY at 6:08pm ET - The biggest rivalry series in baseball starts with each team’s aces in Garrett Crochet (2.59 ERA, 255 K in 205.1 IP), who led the majors in strikeouts this year, and Max Fried (2.86 ERA, 189 K in 195.1 IP), who ended strong with a 1.55 ERA in his last seven games. Boston was 9-4 vs. the Yankees this year.

• CIN vs. LAD at 9:08pm ET - The team that was the last to make the playoffs (CIN) takes on the team that was supposed to dominate the field (LAD). Game one features two high-strikeout pitchers in Hunter Greene (2.76 ERA, 132 K in 107.2 IP) and Blake Snell (2.35 ERA, 72 K in 61.1 IP). The Dodgers won five of six games against the Reds this year, outscoring them 30-15.

HR Watch

Predicting who might hit a HR on any given day is a challenge. But here are a few to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• LAD Andy Pages, small sample but is 3-5 with 3 HR vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• CHC Justin Turner, small sample but is 5-8 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• BOS Trevor Story, 4-16 with 2 HR and a double vs. NYY Max Fried

• NYY Aaron Judge, only 3-15 but with 2 HR vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

Hits Watch

In addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others who have done well against their opposing SP today:

• NYY Amed Rosario, small sample but is 6-9 with a HR and a double vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

• SDP Manny Machado, 5-13 with 2 doubles vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• BOS Alex Bregman, 5-13 with a HR vs. NYY Max Fried

Who might struggle today?

Betting against any given player to not get a hit is tough, as guys in the starting lineup get at least one hit in a game more often than not. That said, here are some guys who clearly have struggled against their opposing SP today:

• CLE David Fry, 2-17 with 8 K vs. DET Tarik Skubal

• CLE Gabriel Arias, 0-11 with 7 K vs. DET Tarik Skubal

• DET Spencer Torkelson, 1-10 with 6 K vs. CLE Gavin Williams

• DET Zach McKinstry, 1-12 with 5 K vs. CLE Gavin Williams

• BOS Jarren Duran, 0-10 with 5 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 2-15 with 5 K vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The only player to have two games in which he hit 2 HR, a triple, and a double was Joe DiMaggio, who accomplished it 11 years apart, in 1937 and in 1948. Lots of Hall of Famers have are amongst the 29 players who have had such a game, including Hank Aaron, George Bret, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Gil Hodges, Travis Jackson, Ralph Kiner, Johnny Mize, Larry Walker, and Carl Yastrzemski. Some other stars include Carlos Beltrán, Ryan Howard, Roger Maris, and Gary Sheffield. But there are some lesser known guys on the list too, such as Chet Laabs, Ed Lennox, Ben Paschal, Daryl Spencer, and others. And Busch was actually the second player to have such a game in 2025, as Jake Meyers of the Astros also did on May 3rd, against the White Sox.

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.

• Here's how each of the 12 teams left could win it all, at MLB, 9/29/2025

• Wrapping up the regular season, by Joe Posnanski at Joe Blogs, 9/29/2025

• The 2025 Triple-A All-Stars and award winners, by Rob Terranova at MLB, 9/27/2025

• Giants, Twins, Rangers join teams in search of new managers, at MLB, 9/30/2025

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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