MLB: SEPTEMBER IN REVIEW

The regular season is in the books and it’s time for playoff baseball! This month was the crescendo of a fantastic and record breaking 6 month campaign. The month closed with all the playoff spots secured, but seeding is still up in the air on the final day of the season. Attendance and viewership were up tremendously across the league and we were all witnesses to history. As wonderful as this season and final month were, we did lose a legend when Baltimore Oriole icon Brooks Robinson passed away on September 26th. He was a tremendous human who could play flawless baseball, highlighted by his 16 Gold Gloves at the “Hot Corner”. It was poetic that the Orioles not only captured the AL East, but the top seed in the American League this season.

September allowed Ronald Acuna Jr to cement his MVP status and create his own exclusive 40/70 club. The Braves as a franchise also made history by becoming the only NL Team to Hit 300 plus home runs in a season and only 1 of 3 MLB clubs to do it. The record for most team home runs in a season was set in 2019 by the Twins when they crushed 307. Freddie Freeman also made history by becoming the first MLB 1st Baseman in history to collect 200 hits, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season. There were a lot of major accomplishments in September, but we also saw some historic careers come to an end with Terry Francona managing his final game along with Miguel Cabrera and Adam Wainwright playing their final games. There are also rumors floating that Zach Grienke and Joey Votto might call it a career as well. These are sad departures because they have been tremendous assets to their teams and the game of baseball as a whole. A few other notable items from the month focus on the NL Central where the Pirates produced the largest comeback in franchise history and they date back to 1892. The Pirates were down 9-0 to the Reds entering the 6th inning and emerged victorious 13-12 on September 23rd. The Brewers flirted with history when they took a no- hitter into the 11th inning against the Yankees, but the Bronx Bombers broke it up and eventually walked it off with the miracle win on September 10th. Speaking of the Yankees, the 2023 season is the first time in 30 years where the postseason will not include the Yankees, Red Sox or Cardinals. This season provided us with a ton of teams not living up to expectations, highlighted by the Mets, Padres, Yankees and White Sox. It also saw the Giants fall short and fire their Manager Gabe Kapler. The season has been tremendous and October 1st will decide the wild card matchups as well as the American League west crown.

Stats reflect all games through September 30th

AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH:

• MARCUS SEMIEN — TEXAS RANGERS
• 38 HITS, 23 RUNS SCORED, 9 HOME RUNS, 8 DOUBLES, 19 RBI’S, 1 STOLEN BASE, 12 WALKS, BATTING AVERAGE OF .292 AND OPS OF .972

NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH:

• RONALD ACUNA JR — ATLANTA BRAVES
• 36 HITS, 29 RUNS SCORED, 11 HOME RUNS, 4 DOUBLES, 1 TRIPLE, 23 RBI’S, 1 SAC FLY, 11 STOLEN BASES, 10 WALKS, .343 BATTING AVERAGE AND OPS OF 1.121

AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH:

• GERRIT COLE — NEW YORK YANKEES
• 35 IP, 3 WINS, 1 COMPLETE GAME, 1 SHUTOUT, 4 EARNED RUNS ALLOWED, 3 WALKS, 34 STRIKEOUTS, ERA OF 1.03, WHIP OF 0.69 AND K/9 OF 8.74

NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH:

• BRANDON WOODRUFF — MILWAUKEE BREWERS
• 27 IP, 2 WINS, 1 COMPLETE GAME, 5 EARNED RUNS ALLOWED, 5 WALKS, 25 STRIKEOUTS, 1.67 ERA, WHIP OF 0.81 AND K/9 OF 8.33

MLB SEASON AWARD PREDICTIONS:

AL MVP: SHOHEI OHTANI — LA ANGELS

• 151 Hits, 102 Runs, 26 Doubles, 8 Triples, 44 Home Runs, 95 RBI’s, 91 Walks, 20 Stolen Bases, .304 Batting Average, .412 OBP, .654 Slug % and 1.066 OPS
• 23 Starts, 10-5 Record, ERA of 3.14, WHIP of 1.06, 132 Innings Pitched, 167 Strikeouts, 55 Walks, 85 Hits Allowed, 46 Earned Runs Allowed and K per 9 of 11.4

NL MVP: RONALD ACUNA JR — ATLANTA BRAVES

• ONLY 40/70 PLAYER IN HISTORY
• 217 HITS, 149 RUNS SCORED, 35 DOUBLES, 4 TRIPLES, 41 HOME RUNS, 106 RBI’S, 3 SAC FLYS, 73 STOLEN BASES, 80 WALKS, BATTING AVERAGE OF .338 AND OPS OF 1.014

AL CY YOUNG: GERRIT COLE — NEW YORK YANKEES

• 209 IP, 15 WINS, 2 COMPLETE GAMES, 222 STRIKEOUTS, 61 EARNED RUNS ALLOWED, 48 WALKS ALLOWED, ERA OF 2.63, WHIP OF 0.98 AND 9.56

NL CY YOUNG: BLAKE SNELL — SAN DIEGO PADRES

• LOGAN WEBB (GIANTS), ZAC GALLEN (DIAMONDBACKS) AND SPENCER STRIDER (BRAVES) ALL MADE A STRONG PUSH
• 180 IP, 14 WINS, 234 STRIKEOUTS, 45 EARNED RUNS ALLOWED, 99 WALKS ALLOWED, ERA OF 2.25, WHIP OF 1.19 AND K/9 OF 11.70

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: GUNNAR HENDERSON — BALTIMORE ORIOLES

• 143 HITS, 100 RUNS SCORED, 29 DOUBLES, 9 TRIPLES, 28 HOME RUNS, 82 RBI’S, 3 SAC FLYS, 10 STOLEN BASES, 55 WALKS, BATTING AVERAGE OF .257 AND OPS OF .817

NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: CORBIN CARROLL — ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

• 161 HITS, 116 RUNS SCORED, 30 DOUBLES, 10 TRIPLES, 25 HOME RUNS, 76 RBI’S, 4 SAC FLYS, 54 STOLEN BASES, 57 WALKS, BATTING AVERAGE OF .285 AND OPS OF .868

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: BRANDON HYDE — BALTIMORE ORIOLES

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: CRAIG COUNSELL — MILWAUKEE BREWERS

MLB POSTSEASON PICTURE:

• WILD CARD ROUND IS A BEST OF 3 SERIES AND ALL GAMES AT THE BETTER SEED
• DIVISIONAL ROUND IS A BEST OF 5 SERIES AND IT’S A 2-2-1 FORMAT WITH THE BETTER SEED GETTING GAMES 1,2 & 5 AT HOME
• THE WILD CARD GAMES ARE PLAYED OCTOBER 3RD THRU 5TH
• THE DIVISIONAL ROUND GAMES BEGIN ON OCTOBER 7TH

NL PLAYOFF TEAMS:

• TOP SEED: ATLANTA BRAVES
• LOS ANGELES DODGERS
• MILWAUKEE BREWERS
• PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
• ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
• MIAMI MARLINS

AL PLAYOFF TEAMS:

• TOP SEED: BALTIMORE ORIOLES
• TEXAS RANGERS
• MINNESOTA TWINS
• TAMPA BAY RAYS
• HOUSTON ASTROS
• TORONTO BLUE JAYS

NL WILD CARD MATCHUPS: (as of September 30th)

• TBD AT MILWAUKEE BREWERS
• TBD AT PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

AL WILD CARD MATCHUPS: (as of September 30th)

• TBD AT TAMPA BAY RAYS
• TBD AT MINNESOTA TWINS

Tune into my MLB Postseason Preview article as I walk you through the rounds and how I think they’ll play out!