Playoff Talk

[We Got The Whole 9]

AI says Stan Hack was the last MLB player to reach base 9 times in any game, back before Ted Williams went to war. 

[mul21]

1 hour ago, gflore34 said:

I'd still take Judge.  Has anyone looked at the numbers he put up?  They make Ohtani' look pedestrian and that's saying something.

Judge wouldn't be taking the mound tonight and that added onto what he does at the plate is the thing that makes him so special.  He does both things at the highest level.

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, mul21 said:

Judge wouldn't be taking the mound tonight and that added onto what he does at the plate is the thing that makes him so special.  He does both things at the highest level.

Of course, I should have clarified, solely with the bat I'd take Judge.

Edited October 28, 2025 by gflore34

[mul21]

6 hours ago, JHBulls said:

Game 3 is yet another good reason why the Manfred man rule is the dumbest rule in baseball in the regular season. Let the game run its course ffs. 

This is just dumb.  As Jason already said, there's zero reason to have a 15-18 inning game in the regular season.  Now, if you wanted to make it so the runner at 2nd base doesn't happen until the 12th inning, I'd be fine with that solution.

[UMFan83]

I’m so annoyed. I lost 2 hours of sleep staying up through the 17th inning before finally giving in and going to sleep only for it to end right after I turned it off plus the Dodgers won. 

Wish Will Smiths bomb in like the 13th or 14th had just gone out lol. Epic game anyways, reminds me of why I love baseball. 

[soccer10k]

2 hours ago, gflore34 said:

Of course, I should have clarified, solely with the bat I'd take Judge.

Pure value, Judge is probably worth more. But if we’re talking who is the more skilled player, it’s Ohtani without question. We’ve never seen a player like him before whereas we’ve seen Aaron Judge before.

[I owned a Suzuki]

2 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

I’m so annoyed. I lost 2 hours of sleep staying up through the 17th inning before finally giving in and going to sleep only for it to end right after I turned it off plus the Dodgers won. 

Wish Will Smiths bomb in like the 13th or 14th had just gone out lol. Epic game anyways, reminds me of why I love baseball. 

I fell asleep and woke up in like the 14th, fell back asleep and woke up to celebrating Dodgers 

[JHBulls]

5 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I'd argue the opposite. The Manfred rule has largely eliminated 18 inning games in the regular season. In the playoffs I think last night was epic, and awesome, and everything playoff baseball should be. But there are more off days built in and the stress on pitching staffs isn't as great. 

I can't speak for everyone, but the last thing I need is a Cubs/Angels game that goes 18 innings in mid-May. They weren't fun. They were long and you were just hoping for them to be over with. 

I'd hate to see the Manfred rule in the playoffs, but I appreciate it helping end games before it becomes a slog in the regular season. 

Yeah, that’s fair. I am not a fun of the rule but can still appreciate that it has merit in ending games much sooner than they otherwise would. But as you said, at least the rule is removed for the playoffs. 

[Sammy Sofa]

[Jason Ross]

11 minutes ago, JHBulls said:

Yeah, that’s fair. I am not a fun of the rule but can still appreciate that it has merit in ending games much sooner than they otherwise would. But as you said, at least the rule is removed for the playoffs. 

Yeah, that where I've come down on it. It feels inherently odd that we are gifting teams runners, but I think between that and a game ending at 12:30pm on a Tuesday night in a stretch of 16 games in 15 days? I'll take the former. 

I'd totally hate this horsefeathers in the playoffs though. Last night was a great moment. 

[soccer10k]

6 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I'd argue the opposite. The Manfred rule has largely eliminated 18 inning games in the regular season. In the playoffs I think last night was epic, and awesome, and everything playoff baseball should be. But there are more off days built in and the stress on pitching staffs isn't as great. 

I can't speak for everyone, but the last thing I need is a Cubs/Angels game that goes 18 innings in mid-May. They weren't fun. They were long and you were just hoping for them to be over with. 

I'd hate to see the Manfred rule in the playoffs, but I appreciate it helping end games before it becomes a slog in the regular season. 

Nobody is forcing you to watch all 18 innings of a random regular season game. You could, say, turn the game off and go to bed and watch the highlights the next day!

They didn’t happen often but they were fun. I remember a decade ago watching John Baker come in to pitch because the Cubs ran out of pitchers, throwing a scoreless inning, then scoring the winning run in the bottom half. Maybe they’re more fun for me because even a late game doesn’t actually go that late on the West Coast (I went to bed by midnight last night)

I would also argue the stress on a pitching staff is likely greater in the playoffs because you can’t just call up a couple relievers to fill innings the next day. Like what happens if either starter gets rocked tonight and only goes 3 innings?

[Jason Ross]

5 minutes ago, soccer10k said:

Nobody is forcing you to watch all 18 innings of a random regular season game. You could, say, turn the game off and go to bed and watch the highlights the next day!

They didn’t happen often but they were fun. I remember a decade ago watching John Baker come in to pitch because the Cubs ran out of pitchers, throwing a scoreless inning, then scoring the winning run in the bottom half. Maybe they’re more fun for me because even a late game doesn’t actually go that late on the West Coast (I went to bed by midnight last night)

I would also argue the stress on a pitching staff is likely greater in the playoffs because you can’t just call up a couple relievers to fill innings the next day. Like what happens if either starter gets rocked tonight and only goes 3 innings?

No one is forcing me, you're right, but it isn't just about fans, it's about players and the like as well. Sometimes these games happen before getaway day - they don't move the time back to accommodate because they can't with travel schedules. 

And in the playoffs, you have more flexibility with a pitching staff. First, you don't ever play more than 3 games in a row without an offday and you have multiple off days usually leading into a playoff series. While teams are running 12/13 total in their pitching staff, only three are really being tasked with going 3-4+ innings. So even if someone gets rocked, you really weren't expecting him to go 6. When you go 18, though, it's a lot easier to find innings; the Cubs carried Colin Rea, Michael Soroka, and Aaron Civale who could all go 4+. In a regular season game, two of these guys either aren't on the staff or are tabbed as the starters tomorrow or the next day. They also routinely play 6+ games in a row, or these long stretches where they may have a single off day over the course of 15-17 days.

You might like it, that's fine. But I think the game is better to not play needless marathons midseason. I don't miss silly 16 inning midyear games at all. And I think they're mostly nostalgia, more than anything. 

Last night was really cool! But I think they're best left for the playoffs. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Lets not forget that Ohtani also had the only 50/50 season ever. The value he provides is completely across the board. It's nuts.

[Brian707]

The Manfred man is annoying but necessary in the regular season like 3 on 3 Hockey in the regular season.

Extra inning playoff baseball and sudden death OT in hockey that can go 3 or 4 OT is awesome.

I am glad that Game 7 in 2016 only went to the 10th inning. If that game went 18 I probably would have died

Edited October 28, 2025 by Brian707

[BigSlick]

Shohei Ohtani reached base 9 times in one game? thats horsefeathers crazy dudes

 

we haven't seen horsefeathers like that since Barry Bonds in '04

[Derwood]

6 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Shohei Ohtani reached base 9 times in one game? thats horsefeathers crazy dudes

 

we haven't seen horsefeathers like that since Barry Bonds in '04

4 of the 9 were intentional walks, one was a regular walk. 

[ILMindState]

15 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Shohei Ohtani reached base 9 times in one game? thats horsefeathers crazy dudes

 

we haven't seen horsefeathers like that since Barry Bonds in '04

Ohtani's highest wRC+ for a season is 180. Barry Bonds hit higher than 180 6 times. He hit over 200 wRC+ 4 years in a row!

[CubinNY]

I saw something but I don't know if it's true. The singer for the national anthem last night is the same one for the last (and only other) 18-inning game in the WS.

 

That is an amazing coincidence, if true. 

[JHBulls]

I wonder if Shohei Ohtani getting 0 hits for the rest of the World Series is a bet type? Toronto’s manager has said they are going to intentionally walk him the rest of the series. That’s respect.

Edited October 28, 2025 by JHBulls

[Neuby]

Bieber looking like the starter the Cubs needed to add at the deadline.

[JHBulls]

10 minutes ago, Neuby said:

Bieber looking like the starter the Cubs needed to add at the deadline.

But how else would we wet ourselves with excitement over all our A ball prospects if they start getting traded away. 

[muntjack]

6 hours ago, ILMindState said:

Ohtani's highest wRC+ for a season is 180. Barry Bonds hit higher than 180 6 times. He hit over 200 wRC+ 4 years in a row!

Shohei Ohtani is a pitcher. 

[JHBulls]

I feel like the Jays need to win tomorrow to really be confident of winning the series. 2-2 and 2 of 3 in Toronto is an advantage, but I think they lose that advantage if they lose tomorrow. Can’t see LA not winning at least one in Toronto. 

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, JHBulls said:

But how else would we wet ourselves with excitement over all our A ball prospects if they start getting traded away. 

"Who needs prospects?" is a weird takeaway from watching this Blue Jays squad

[soccer10k]

12 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

No one is forcing me, you're right, but it isn't just about fans, it's about players and the like as well. Sometimes these games happen before getaway day - they don't move the time back to accommodate because they can't with travel schedules. 

And in the playoffs, you have more flexibility with a pitching staff. First, you don't ever play more than 3 games in a row without an offday and you have multiple off days usually leading into a playoff series. While teams are running 12/13 total in their pitching staff, only three are really being tasked with going 3-4+ innings. So even if someone gets rocked, you really weren't expecting him to go 6. When you go 18, though, it's a lot easier to find innings; the Cubs carried Colin Rea, Michael Soroka, and Aaron Civale who could all go 4+. In a regular season game, two of these guys either aren't on the staff or are tabbed as the starters tomorrow or the next day. They also routinely play 6+ games in a row, or these long stretches where they may have a single off day over the course of 15-17 days.

You might like it, that's fine. But I think the game is better to not play needless marathons midseason. I don't miss silly 16 inning midyear games at all. And I think they're mostly nostalgia, more than anything. 

Last night was really cool! But I think they're best left for the playoffs. 

Not worried about the players. This isn't basketball, soccer, football or hockey. They stand around most of the time anyway. They're fine playing 15 innings and then playing a day game (if need be) the next day.

Yes, in some situations it could be more taxing in the regular season. But again, you have a AAA team to call guys up from if need be in the regular season. You don't have that luxury in the playoffs. On average, it's going to be more taxing in the playoffs.

You're also solving a problem that doesn't really exist. Games longer than 12 innings:

The 2019 Cubs played games that went 13, 15 and 15.
The 2018 Cubs played games that went 13, 14, 14 and 17.
The 2017 Cubs played games that went 13 and 18.
The 2016 Cubs played games that went 13, 13, 13, 13 and 15.
The 2015 Cubs played games that went 13 and 13
The 2014 Cubs played games that went 13, 13, 13, 16 and 16.
The 2013 Cubs played games that went 13, 13, 14 and 15.
The 2012 Cubs played one 13 inning game.

So the Cubs played 11 games that went into the 14th inning in 8 years.

It's really not that big of a deal and you're making it sound like teams play 15+ inning games every couple weeks. Call up a AAA SP and a RP and you're good to go. It's fine.