Trends constantly change throughout the sport’s history. Starting pitchers were once workhorses, starting 40+ games a season and routinely pitching on shorter rest than today’s standards. Complete games were a regular occurrence, not a rarity to be celebrated.
The game has evolved. Today, especially, managers are much quicker to pull a starter before he gets into trouble - or even before facing a lineup for a third time in many cases - and analytics play a crucial role in in-game decisions.
Logan Webb is trying to change that trend single-handedly.
The San Francisco Giants right-hander led the majors in innings pitched this season, with 207.0 IP. Webb also led all of baseball last season (204.2 IP) and the year before (216.0). He’s the first pitcher to lead all of baseball for three years in a row since Liván Hernández did so from 2003-05.
The last American League pitcher to lead the majors for three straight seasons was Jim Palmer from 1976-78.
Greg Maddux (1991-95) and Robin Roberts (1951-55) each led the National League in innings pitched for a record five straight seasons, but neither led the major leagues for more than three in a row. Webb could be the first if he can repeat the feat next season.
Typical Juan Soto
Juan Soto’s start to his Mets tenure didn’t go well. Through May 31, Soto was batting just .231/.357/.413 with nine homers and seven steals.
From June 1 through the end of the season, Soto was a completely different player. He hit .282/.417/.588 with 34 home runs and 31 stolen bases.
After two months of struggles, with media and writers openly wondering if the record-setting contract he had signed was a mistake, Soto proved to have a “typical Juan Soto season” when all was said and done. The 26-year-old finished the year with a .263/.396/.525 (160 OPS+) line with 43 homers, 105 RBI, a league-leading 127 walks, and a career-high 38 steals (which tied the NL lead with Oneil Cruz). His 6.2 bWAR is fifth among National League hitters.
More words
Kenley Jansen, a one-time minor league catcher with the Dodgers, isn’t ready to hang up his cleats and hopes to chase 500 career saves.
The Athletics unveiled a new alternate uniform for next season, which finally recognizes their temporary home in Sacramento.
Germán Marquez joins group of rare Rockies starters
Colorado Rockies right-hander Germán Marquez made his 200th career start for the club on Friday. Marquez gave up six runs on five hits, including two homers, over 4.1 IP against the Giants. He collected his 16th loss on the season, just one shy of the MLB lead (held by teammate Kyle Freeland).
Marquez finished the year 3-16 (his last win came in mid-June) with a 6.70 ERA (73 ERA+) over 126.1 IP.
The outing likely marked the end of Marquez’s career in Colorado, but he also became just the fourth pitcher in the club’s history to start 200 games.
An international amateur signing by the Rays in 2011, Marquez was traded to Colorado along with Jake McGee in January 2016. He’d debut with the Rockies later that season and has been a mainstay in their starting rotation since (aside from missing most of the 2023-24 seasons to injury).
Marquez has a 68-72 record and 4.67 ERA (105 ERA+) over his 10 years in Colorado. He was an All-Star in 2021 and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2018 after hitting .300/.300/.350 over 65 PA. While the 2025 season was supremely disappointing for Marquez (and the Rockies as a whole), he won’t turn 31 until February and should still see interest somewhere on the free agent market.
Freeland, who has one more season under contract in Colorado, has started 231 games for the franchise, more than any other player in Rockies history.
Aaron Cook (206) and Jorge De La Rosa (200) also made 200 starts for the team.
MLB attendance grows for the third straight year
Even with two teams playing their games in minor league stadiums and an always-widening gap between big market and small market teams, MLB attendance figures rose for a third straight season. This is the first time the league has seen a three-year increase since 2005-07.
MLB attendance totaled 71.4 million this year, representing an increase of just 0.09% from 2025.
The Dodgers drew a franchise-record 4.01 million this season, leading the majors for the 12th straight year. The Rays (785,750) and A’s (768,464) ranked 29th and 30th, respectively.
The total attendance figure includes the record-setting 91,032 fans at August’s Speedway Classic.
Could the Giants steal Tony Vitello from Tennessee?
It’s rare for college baseball coaches — no matter how successful they might be — to move directly to the pro coaching ranks. The transition is not always a smooth one.
Minnesota reached into the collegiate ranks to hire Wes Johnson to be their pitching coach before the 2018 season. Johnson had served in a similar role with the University of Arkansas, where he became known for his use of biomechanical analytics to help pitchers increase velocity and strikeout rates. Midway through the 2022 season, Johnson abruptly resigned from his role with the Twins to become the pitching coach at LSU. He simply preferred the collegiate game.
After serving as an assistant coach with several programs, the University of Tennessee hired Tony Vitello to be its head coach in 2018. Since then, he’s become one of the biggest names in the college coaching ranks.
Vitello has led the Volunteers to a 341-131 record (including 125-85 in SEC play). The Vols have won two SEC regular-season titles, reached three College World Series tournaments, and won the National Championship in 2024. Several of his former players have already reached the majors, including Garrett Crochet, Ben Joyce, Chase Dollander, and Christian Moore.
Vitello reportedly may be a candidate for the manager job in San Francisco, according to reports from The Athletic’s Andrew Baggerly. He and president of baseball operations Buster Posey may have already met about the job.
While there’s no certainty Vitello would leave Tennessee — I suspect he’s paid quite well there — the possibility is still interesting.