Which player would you have rather? You can only choose one.
Player A: 794 G, 3629 PA, .301/.374/.519 (137 OPS+), 139 HR, 470 RBI, 4 ASG, 4 Gold Glove Awards, 4 Silver Sluggers, MVP, World Series title.
Player B: 737 G, 3307 PA, .278/.363/.505 (140 OPS+), 152 HR, 443 RBI, 4 ASG, 2 Gold Glove Awards, 4 Silver Sluggers, 3 World Series titles.
There’s no wrong choice here.
Player A is Mookie Betts during his six years with the Boston Red Sox.
Player B is Mookie Betts during his six years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With seven years remaining on his contract with LA, it seems fairly safe to assume that Betts’ Hall of Fame plaque will eventually have a Dodgers logo on it.
Only one player that Boston received in trading Betts is still in the organization (Connor Wong), and he is in danger of losing his job as the team’s backup catcher.
Blue Jays relievers make classy gesture
The Dodgers played the World Series without one of their key left-hander relievers in Alex Vesia. The team announced only that Vesia and his wife were “navigating a deeply personal family matter” without providing any further details. Vesia and his wife were expecting their first child and had been publicly documenting the pregnancy on social media.
Many of the Dodgers players have written Vesia’s jersey number on their gear during the series. In a rare and surprising show of support, all four Blue Jays relievers who pitched in Game 6 — Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty, Seranthony Dominguez, and Chris Bassitt — had written Vesia’s No. “51” on the side of their hats.
The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by the Dodgers (via The Canadian Press):
“For those guys to do that, it’s incredible. They’re trying to win a World Series, but they understand that life is bigger than baseball, and baseball is just a game. For them to do that with the stakes — where we’re at with the stakes, hat’s off to them, and I want them to know that we appreciate them.
“Regardless of what happens, we appreciate what they did.”
World Series notes
There were several records set and notable firsts in this year’s World Series, many of them by Blue Jays players despite losing the series:
Jays infielders Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. both set the mark for the most hits in a single postseason with 30. Randy Arozarena had the old mark of 29 with the Rays in 2020.
Clement also set a postseason record with 10 multi-hit games and a franchise record with hits in 13 consecutive postseason games.
Outfielder Addison Barger tied a World Series record with six multi-hit games (last done by Yordan Alvarez with the Astros in 2023).
Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning of Game 1 was the first in WS history.
Catcher Alejandro Kirk’s two-run homer in that same sixth inning was the first home run by a Mexico-born player in WS history.
Right-hander Trey Yesavage set a rookie record with 12 strikeouts in Game 5. Just twelve pitchers have struck out a dozen or more hitters in a WS game. Yesavage was the first without allowing any walks. He also became just the third pitcher to strike out all nine hitters in the opposing lineup (Bob Gibson, 1968 Game 1; Randy Johnson, 2001 Game 2).
Right-hander Max Scherzer became the oldest pitcher (41 years, 97 days) to start a WS Game 7. He’s also just the fourth pitcher ever to start multiple WS Game 7s (Bob Gibson, Lew Burdette, and Don Larsen).
Right-hander Louis Varland appeared in 15 (out of 18) postseason games, setting a new record. Paul Assenmacher (1997 Indians) and Brandon Morrow (2017 Dodgers) held the old mark at 14.
Toronto scored 105 runs during the postseason, a new high. The 2002 Angels and 2020 Dodgers had the old mark at 101.
Elsewhere, around the sport …
Right-hander Gerrit Cole has resumed throwing off a mound, per a video he posted to his Instagram on Saturday. The 35-year-old is recovering from Tommy John surgery and could return to the Yankees’ rotation in May or June.
Two Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) teams, Aguilas Cibaenas and the Gigantes del Cibao, were scheduled to play a three-game series at New York’s Citi Field from November 7-9. Those games have been canceled due to lower-than-anticipated ticket sales (likely a combination of Hurricane Melissa wiping out a week’s worth of games and increased immigration concerns). This marks the second year in a row that the LIDOM has tried and failed to hold games in New York City (efforts to hold games at Yankee Stadium in November 2024 fell through over costs to use the stadium).
Lumbar degenerative disc disease has limited Kris Bryant to just 170 games in the four seasons since he signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Rockies. Bryant has hit .244/.324/.370 (84 OPS+) in 712 PA (including just 41 this past season) during that stretch, with 17 HR and 61 RBI. The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders spoke with Bryant and provided a somewhat ambiguous update: Bryant is still dealing with daily discomfort and pain, there are no signs that he’ll be able to play again next season, but he’s still not considering retirement just yet. Bryant still has three years and $78 million remaining on his deal.