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Wow, what a night of playoff baseball. Simply stunning.
In truth, this is where the stars become legends.
We had two of those type moments Tuesday. It will take some more stacking to truly galvanize that narrative for each, but, man, what theatrics.
Let’s start in the Bronx, where the Yankees faced a 6-3 deficit mired in an 0-2 series hole to Toronto.
Aaron Judge strolls to the plate with the knowledge of his postseason struggles and the New York-sized pressure of the moment.
A weak foul ball. A smoking 100-mph heater for a swing-and-miss.
And boom. B-O-O-M. A 400-plus-footer off the top of the foul pole for a game-tying, three-run homer. Madness. (Side question: Why is not called the fair pole? Spy?)
How about this list of postseason homers in a career as a Yankees slugger:
> Bernie Williams 22
> Derek Jeter 20
> Giancarlo Stanton 18
> Mickey Mantle 18
And now Aaron Judge with 17.
Which Way Wednesday trivia: Without looking it up — talking to you Spy — Williams’ total is third in MLB history; which two players have more than 22 career postseason homers? Answer in the this and that.
What a game, and if the Yankees can get to the Series, it’s potentially a career redirecting moment for future Hall of Famer Aaron Judge.
Yes, Judge is destined for Cooperstown, but before this October his postseason numbers were dreadful, especially for a franchise like the Yankees, who have dozens of titles and embraced Mr. October and Mr. November, for Pete Incaviglia’s sake.
He entered the 2025 playoffs hitting all of .205.
Does the moment change the series? Does it change the postseason shadow on one of the best hitters of his generation?
Not sure, but it surely reminds all of us about the magic of the ‘er’ months.
Elsewhere in postseason posturing
Not sure the magical run of the Big Dumper has been covered enough.
Cal Raleigh and Judge are the runaway choices for AL MVP.
Raleigh hit 60 homers — a record for a catcher and a switch-hitter in a single season — and knocked in 125 runs as Seattle is one win from making the ALCS for the first time since 2001.
Side question: That Seattle team had Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey and A-Rod in their primes, and the fact it is the only MLB team to never make the World Series is staggering, right?
Raleigh’s arrival was mind-blowing, considering his previous four big-league seasons featured averages of .180, .211, .232 and .220, and he had 93 career home runs in those years combined.
Now, he’s a cross between Kelly Leak and Mickey Mantle.
With some Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez mixed in.
Because Raleigh’s postseason moment last night in Detroit was straight from “The Sandlot” when Benny told Smalls to hold up his glove and hit him a fly ball that landed squarely in his glove.
Check the video of the chill-bump dinger from the Dumper, who hit a 391-foot homer that bounced in the bullpen and landed in the glove of Jameson Turner.
Turner, on an off-day, traveled from Seattle to Detroit and found a ticket in the outfield wearing a shirt that read “DUMP 61 HERE.”
And Raleigh did.
After catching the ball, Turner took his T-shirt off to reveal “DUMP 62 HERE” version.
The ‘er’ months. Am I right?
Rules people
We have our daily rules — Quote “Bull Durham” when you can (“I love winning. I bleeping love winning. It’s, like, better than losing), link Paschall on college football and Hargis on high school football whenever you can — they add structure.
We also have big-picture rules that are more like theories. The QB rookie contract rule. The dance with your best rule. The “if a line looks too good to be true, it almost always is” rule.
One of them is the Ben Wallace rule. Ben Wallace with the Detroit Pistons was a severely limited offensive player who was a rebounding machine and a defensive menace. On his rookie deal, his elite skills on the backboard and guarding everyone from 2s to 5s, made him insanely undervalued. When he left for Cleveland in free agency he got a monster bag, and then his offensive struggles made everyone instantly flip to Wallace being “overpaid” even though he was the same player with the Cavs as he was with the Pistons.
Arch Manning is becoming the hype version of this in real time.
Manning was amazingly overhyped through the offseason, even getting Tim Tebow comps from Finebaum and all-time status from many more.
Now, as Texas sputters, the narrative has completely flipped, and to be fair, both the preseason love and the midseason vitriol are completely over the top.
Worse, they are unfair and untrue.
Manning has not been Texas’s problem, especially in that loss to Florida.
It’s been a ghastly offensive line.
Manning has 16 total TDs (11 passing and five rushing) in five games and has completed 60% of his throws.
Certainly not Tebow-like numbers, but also nowhere close to a showing that landed this from The Athletic:
“Many people are having a bad year in college football, but Arch Manning is having one of the worst. The quarterback has gone from preseason Heisman Trophy favorite and projected No. 1 NFL Draft pick to a man synonymous with failure.”
Yikes, “a man synonymous with failure?” Really?
This and that
— Wednesday trivia: Manny Ramirez hit 29 career playoff homers and Jose Altuve has 27 homers in the postseason. How’d you do?
— The Bad Bunny Super Bowl appearance continues to flame up the Right and even showed what tremendous acumen House Speaker Mike Johnson has in terms of pop culture. Johnson called Bunny’s halftime concert a “terrible idea” and suggested someone with “a broader audience” be the headliner. Johnson even suggested Lee Greenwood. Oy vey.
— Monster SEC Saturday this week, friends. Although I will be coaching third at a softball park near you, Bradley County folks.
— More portal changes for college football. There will be one window Jan. 2-16 with some leeway for teams in the final rounds of the college football playoff. Also, instead of opening the window after a coach leaves or is fired, the new coach portal will be a 15-day opening that starts five days after a new coach is named or hired. Here’s more.
— Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon was fined $100K for a sideline incident with a player during the Cardinals’ inexplicable loss to the Titans Sunday.
— Man, Bill Belichick’s tenure at UNC is hard to believe. Now come reports an assistant coach has been suspended for giving players extra benefits that are against the rules.
— Rules folks. Here’s Paschall on the Vols’ high-flying offense that is still looking for more.
Today’s questions
Which Way Wednesday will continue this way:
Which would be a tougher life as a sports fan, being a die-hard Mariners fan, a Lions fan or a Clippers fan? Which other pro teams deserve consideration?
Which coach will be the next to be out of a job, Luke Fickel or Bill Belichick?
Which artist has a broader audience, Lee Greenwood or Bad Bunny? Which has a bigger following at, say, Alexian?
Which way would you go if you had a vote for AL MVP, the Judge or the Dumper?
Answer some WWWs; ask some WWWs.
As for today, Oct. 8, let’s review.
On this day in 1818, padded gloves were used in boxing for the first time. Maybe on the short list for best rule changes ever, no? Spy how did that change impact your short but successful career in the ring?
Matt Damon is 55 today.
What’s Matt Damon’s Rushmore? Go.