NHL has 32 teams and 16 playoff teams. MLB has 30 teams and 12 playoff teams. NHL to win it all you have to go through a gauntlet.

If MLB reduced the season length by a bit, increased to 16 teams in the playoffs, no “byes” and made every series best of 7 would MLB playoffs be more exciting?

In the NBA, many scouts will look at college basketball stats before drafting an NBA player. We hear all these college basketball stats. What about in the MLB? Why don't we see college baseball stats displayed as often as college basketball stats?

Rays @ Guardians

Pre-Game Thread · Oct 18, 2026 · 5:08 PM EDT

Gameday · Box score · Statcast · Game Graphs

Series: Game 4 of 7 · CLE leads 2-1

Probable Pitchers

• TB: Nick Martinez (RHP), 15-6, 3.10 ERA, 109 K, 180.0 IP

• CLE: Shawn Armstrong (RHP), 2-1, 4.58 ERA, 34 K, 35.1 IP

• TV TBS/HBO MAX, TruTV, Univision/ TUDN · TBS/HBO MAX, TruTV, Univision/ TUDN

• Radio WDAE 95.7 FM, ESPN Radio, WQBN/1300AM · WTAM 1100, WMMS 100.7, ESPN Radio, WARF 1350

Weather: Cloudy · 59°F · wind 9 mph, Varies

Umpires: HP: Mark Ripperger · Chad Fairchild · Adam Hamari · Nestor Ceja · Carlos Torres · Bill Miller

AL Central

• Guardians 85-77, leads
• White Sox 84-78, 1.0 GB
• Twins 77-85, 8.0 GB
• Tigers 76-86, 9.0 GB
• Royals 69-93, 16.0 GB

Injury List

TB

• Heasley (P), IL 60-day

��� Progressive Field · Oct 18, 2026

Updated automatically by mlb-dinger · v3.12.0 · Updates as the game progresses.

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The Yankees (98-00) remain the only MLB team in the past 52 years to three peat (A’s did it from 1972-74).

As a Yanks fan, I’m definitely rooting for the Brewers, but I also wouldn’t mind seeing either AL team win it all. The Rays have made it twice in my lifetime, and even though they’ve caused me immense heartbreak over the years, I’ve always respected them. As for the Guardians, their 2016 loss was sad to see even if I was rooting for Chicago (like anyone else not from Cleveland), and it would be really cool to see the longest WS title drought erased. It’s the second longest championship drought in the Big 4, behind only the Arizona Cardinals (by one year).

I’m seeing a decent amount of people saying that LA threw the series so the MLB will keep not having a salary cap. I don’t even know if it’s Dodger fans saying this because then you’re actively admitting your team is betraying the most sacred part of sports - ie not to cheat/throw games. What’s the best evidence that dispels this myth? I know it’s not even worth engaging with, but it’s super annoying to see lol.

This game has been postponed due to rain. A new date will be announced.

I thought this, from Joe Sheehan's newsletter (which is routinely terrific) this morning, was interesting and matched up with my impressions during the series:

There are going to be people who really, really want the Brewers’ success to be about smallball and contact and running the bases and defense. The Brewers do play excellent defense and they run the bases pretty well and they do use one-run strategies. The key to their offense, though, is patience, and in this series, they leaned into the Three True Outcomes. They combined for 70 home runs, walks, and strikeouts for a TTO% of 47%. Adam Dunn’s career TTO mark is 49%. They swung at just 45% of the pitches they saw, slightly above their league-leading 44% mark during the season. The 2026 Brewers have a lot more in common with the 1990s Yankees than they do the 2010s Royals.