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MLB News & Moments You Should Know – 10/2/23

The postseason bracket is set, here we go!

Nate Schwartz
MLB Morning News 10/2/2023

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

The Playoff Bracket is Set!

It’s finally here: the postseason bracket has been set and the playoffs will get underway on Tuesday. All of the teams clinched after yesterday, but today still had some movement as to where everyone ended up in the standings. The biggest one was the Houston Astros clinching the AL West, giving them a first-round bye and relegating the Texas Rangers to the Wild Card round. The Rangers fell to the vengeful Mariners 1-0 and the Astros handled the Diamondbacks 8-1 to give the Astros the division. Both have the same 90-72 record, but the Astros had the tiebreaker. The Astros’ AL West title is their sixth in the last seven seasons.

Get your rest on Monday, as the Wild Card round takes place Tuesday through Thursday for all series. Games began with the Rays hosting the Rangers at 3:08 EST on ABC. In addition to the normally raucous playoff crowds, this postseason might feature more oomph than usual: this is the first time that teams who lost 100+ games within two years made the playoffs (Orioles, Diamondbacks, and Rangers).

 

Lots of Goodbyes

While the heartbreak of missing the postseason is often the dominant sad emotion on the last day of the season, sending off the incoming retirees is an emotional moment across baseball. Yesterday felt like a significant send-off for a handful of players that defined a generation, and here are the most notable:

 

Adam Wainwright

It has been Waino’s weekend in St. Louis, which most notably featured the pitcher performing his original songs in Busch Stadium Saturday night. After a thoughtful pregame ceremony featuring former Cardinals such as Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, Wainwright got one final moment with his second at-bat of the weekend. One of the last decent hitting pitchers (we don’t need to mention the greatness of Ohtani), he hit 10 HR in his career.

The best part of the ceremony was when Wainwright got surprised with a dog, something he promised his kids that he’d get after he retired.

 

Zack Greinke

An arguably even better hitter, Zack Greinke got a huge ovation from Kansas City fans after he exited the game today in what might be his last career game. Greinke has not officially called his career, but the emotions displayed by a usually emotionless player indicated that this might be it.


Greinke threw well, going 5 IP giving up only 1 run to the Yankees.

 

Miguel Cabrera

One of the best hitters of a generation also had a sendoff weekend, with Miguel Cabrera putting a cap on his career. Cabrera will go into the Hall of Fame as one of the all-time great hitters, having won the Triple Crown and being a member of both the 3000 hit and 500 HR clubs. On Saturday, the Tigers honored him by unveiling a 24 statue, made of 3000 baseballs, 500 of which being gold to honor his HR total. That day, his parents also threw out the first pitch.

Today, Cabrera was the DH but came into play first base, which caused Comerica Park to erupt. Fittingly, he got to field a groundball hit his way and beat speedster Steven Kwan to first in a foot race.

 

Brandon Crawford

Another unofficial goodbye, but the Giants made sure to let the fans show their appreciation to Brandon Crawford. Crawford has been the team’s shortstop for the last 13 years, winning World Series titles in 2012 and 2014. He’s a 3-time All-Star and 4-time Gold Glove winner and will likely see his #35 retired by the Giants organization in the future.

 

Joey Votto

The weirdest one of the day: Votto was ejected from the second inning for arguing balls and strikes. Votto already said his goodbye to Cincinnati but was playing in what might be his last game today in St. Louis. After a questionable call against the Reds, Votto got tossed for arguing with the umpire from the dugout.


Hopefully, he isn’t done yet, but he sent a tweet from the dugout apologizing to fans who wanted to see him today.

 

Best Moment From Yesterday

 

George Kirby Honors Tim Wakefield

It was announced today by the Red Sox that former pitcher Tim Wakefield passed away. This is a big loss for the baseball community, as he was adored by teammates, fans, and the Boston community. He was also a phenomenal broadcast in his time. Wakefield was known for his knuckleball, which is now essentially extinct from baseball as a whole.

George Kirby took it upon himself to honor Wakefield, throwing a knuckleball in the first inning of his start.


Kirby has never thrown the pitch at the big-league level, and he confirmed it was to honor Wakefield. Not only did he just throw the pitch to throw it, but he broke it out against one of the best hitters in baseball Corey Seager.

 

Injuries & Transactions

 

New York Mets manager Buck Showalter will not return in 2024.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

Every postseason team’s case for winning the ’23 World Series — MLB.com

Selfless teammate, ‘extraordinary human’ Tim Wakefield passes away — Ian Browne

 

Fantasy Baseball

 

No fantasy news here! I hope everyone’s season went well and that you all can relax and watch the playoffs!

Nate Schwartz

Nate is currently writing for the Going Deep team at Pitcher List. He is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals, devil magic, and Matt Carpenter salsa supporter. You can follow him on Twitter/X/whatever @_nateschwartz. Left-handed pitchers make him happy.

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