MLB News & Moments You Should Know - Oct 5

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

Bravo, Braves

The NL East was over in May but nobody told Atlanta because, well:

fine, I’ll do it myself pic.twitter.com/J86ahnuvcK

— Blooper (@BlooperBraves) October 5, 2022

This team ❤️#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/VIFqeQ4xbx

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 5, 2022

Atlanta beat Miami 2-1 to clinch the NL East for the fifth time in a row and lock in the entire postseason field. They were 10.5 games back in the division at one point after quite the rough start to the season, which sounds kind of like a familiar narrative, hmmmm. Check out their Division Win odds graph from FanGraphs:

Well, I guess one difference this year is that the Braves will go into the NLDS with at least 101 wins rather than the 88 they had in 2021, as they ran down the Mets with an incredible sustained stretch of scorching hot play, and a season full of incredible rookie performances from no less than three different players. Who saw Spencer Strider stepping into that SP role and running away to NL RoY favorite with it? Not that Michael Harris II exactly slouched in his 136 wRC+, 4.8 fWAR rookie campaign either. And then there’s Vaughn Grissom who only played 40 games but has already set himself up for an intriguing future down at Truist.

And with the final division settled, the Wild Card round starts Friday, folks:

62 For 99

Well, Aaron Judge finally did it.

Remember where you were when #AaronJudge made history. 6️⃣2️⃣ #AllRise pic.twitter.com/w4kbDJf5ZC

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2022

Judge now sits alone atop the AL single-season home run record list with 62, breaking the record set in 1961 by Roger Maris, and he did it with a usual Judgian Blast, to quote the inimitable John Sterling.

Aaron Judge vs Jesus Tinoco#RepBX

Home Run 💣

Exit velo: 100.2 mph
Launch angle: 35 deg
Proj. distance: 391 ft

No doubt about that one 🔒
That's a dinger in all 30 MLB ballparks

NYY (1) @ TEX (0)
🔺 1st pic.twitter.com/7PkY1HdAwW

— Would it dong? (@would_it_dong) October 5, 2022

With the record settled and the Yankees having already been the AL East champs for a week now, it seems likely that Judge sits today for the final game of the season, which means his 2022 regular season ends with a batting line of .311/.425/.686, good for a 207 wRC+ and 211 OPS+. He played at least average defense in CF (only 1 OAA, but his 2 OAA overall in the OF is still good enough to be in the 78th percentile) which combined with his utter offensive dominance means he leads all of baseball with 11.5 fWAR and 10.7 bWAR. By fWAR and wRC+ that’s one of the 20 best seasons ever, and top-five since 1975. He becomes one of only four players to hit 62+ home runs in a single season, and it’s truly amazing to think about how many of these all-time seasons we’ve gotten the opportunity to see in our lifetimes. Aaron Judge rules, he’s very good at baseball, what an incredible season. (Check out the Ben Clemens article below in the “Articles You Should Read” section for some more historical context.)

Move Over Ohtani

There’s a new two-way player in town doing things we haven’t seen in decades. Well, technically, I guess. Seattle played a doubleheader against Detroit yesterday and since they also have their playoff situation ironed out, they let catcher Luis Torrens pitch in the 10th inning of the first game. He gave up one run, but then the M’s then managed to walk it off against Gregory Soto, giving Torrens the W and this little footnote:

Luis Torrens is the first AL player with a walk-off hit & a pitching win in the same season since Chubby Dean for 1942 Cleveland. Torrens is the first in MLB since Brent Mayne for the 2000 Rockies.

— Alex Mayer (@alexmayer34) October 5, 2022

But he also started at catcher in the second game (which the M’s won 9-6) making him the first player to pitch in the first game of a doubleheader, and then catch in the second game since 1904, when Sam Mertzer of the Chicago White Stockings did it. Truly we live in the era of the superhuman uberathlete, if Judge wasn’t proof enough.

First Of Many

Judge hit number 62, but two rookies hit number 1 last night.

First, it was Oswald Peraza for the Yankees:

Peraza Power 💪 pic.twitter.com/sq0fSDEa24

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 4, 2022

Then later on it was Francisco Álvarez for the Mets (who also happened to pick up his first MLB hit at the same time, casually):

FRANCISCO ÁLVAREZ’S FIRST MLB HIT IS A 439-FOOT HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/4DZDJVLPni

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 5, 2022

I’m no prospect expert and you can’t see it, but I’m currently holding an envelope to my forehead and inside is a note that says “This won’t be their last round-tripper” so feel free to hold me to that one.

Best Moments From Yesterday

Boo, Braves

Yeah yeah yeah you won the NL East, Atlanta, but at what cost?! AT WHAT COST?!

The wait is over!

In game 161, the Braves have their first sacrifice bunt of the season pic.twitter.com/23P0fO7uOa

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 4, 2022

I am an unabashed bunt hater, if one was going to bunt I think they should simply, instead, hit a dinger. But don’t just take it from me, take it from my friend Vinnie, modestly invested baseball fan, who heard this little piece of game 161 trivia and immediately said, with disgust, “Why would you ever bunt?!”

smh, Atlanta, smh

Bark Outta The Park

Sure in Texas you got a historic homer, but you got a historically fun homer in Queens last night, off the bat of Francisco Lindor:

A DOG CAUGHT A HOME RUN BALL 🚨 pic.twitter.com/qK8ZLadA48

— Brian (@byysports) October 5, 2022

It was Bark At The Park night for several teams on Tuesday, but I think this is the only canine in attendance who went home with such an august souvenir.

Miguel Andújarrrrrrrrrr

I’m bringing back your Moment Of Baseball Zen here for my final installment of the 2022 season because I still love Miguel Andújar and I will miss him and just look at this adorable face, won’t you?!