One of the reflective joys of the postseason comes in the echoes and reverberations, the links to the past that are constructed, seemingly, on the fly. Something happens in the present, or a series of somethings, and almost instantly, moments and performances and names from the past – often having […]
In 2001, Randy Johnson – author of 21 regular season wins, an MLB-best 2.49 ERA and a universe-vibrating 372 strikeouts – had the chance to continue his otherworldliness into the postseason. Chance received, challenge accepted, opportunity knocked outta the park. In six appearances that October and early November, the southpaw […]
The victims of the first-ever perfect game in World Series history, the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers had little time to regroup and recharge in their return to the diamond just a day later: a must-win Game 6 at Ebbets Field. A Duke Snider single in the first eliminated any concern about […]
It’s October 10, 1948. A reported 86,288 fans are on needles and pins at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to see if the Indians can clinch the franchise’s first World Series title since 1920. The incomparable Bob Feller gets the start for Cleveland, a shot at redemption after losing Game 1 to […]
For Yankees fans of a certain age, the name Edgar Martínez probably produces a host of emotions – none very good. The name might conjure teeth gnashing, it might inspire cold sweats, it very well could induce jagged breathing and even a few tears. To a baseball fan without any […]
There are 185 instances of a postseason batter – perhaps surrounded by bunting, perhaps hearing extra jeers or cheers from a crowd feeling the intensity, perhaps extra-energized by the heightened tension that seems to come with every delivery from mound to dish – generating at least two home runs in […]
Entering 2025, the postseason account books showed 67 players who drove in at least 14 runs through their first 18 games, with Lou Gehrig and Adolis García tied for the most, 22. A second focus revealed a much smaller collection to have scored at least 17 runs through their first […]
In the very first postseason contest in Major League Baseball’s Modern Era – Game 1 of the 1903 World Series – Pittsburgh’s Deacon Phillippe baffled Boston’s batters and silenced the partisans at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds with a 10-strikeout, no-walk display. This established introduction – reach double-digits in K’s […]
One week ago, Dodgers southpaw Clayton Kershaw layered in another rewrite to his work-in-progress Hall of Fame plaque – one more victory to expand his difference between career wins and losses to a plus 120; five more strikeouts to creep within a dozen punchouts of an even 3,000; yet another […]
Since Dave Roberts started steering the Dodgers in 2016, the club owns the Majors’ best overall winning percentage at .628. For all this says about the franchise’s sustained brilliance, the team has – in the aggregate – needed a little bit of runway to soar. Over this 10-season stretch, Los […]