Yankees Sweep Scum! Bring On the Deviled Eggs!

Did I enjoy what the Yankees did to the Boston Red Sox these last two nights? Oh, hell, yes!

Failing to win the American League Eastern Division, largely due to long-term injuries to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and 4 of our 5 intended starting pitchers left the Yankees with the 4th seed in the AL Playoffs. But it also gave them all the home games in the AL Wild Card Series.

Which was good, because the opponent was the Red Sox. The Auld Enemy. As they would say in English soccer, that lot -- or, in another phrase from across the pond, The Scum.

On Tuesday night, Cam Schlittler started, and he was brilliant: 6 1/3rd innings, no runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts. He showed that, at least this season, he's the best pitcher in baseball, and I don't want to hear about no Skubal, no Miz, no Ohtani, and certainly no Nolan McLean.

But a performance like that deserves runs. He got them. George Lombard Jr. opened the 2nd with a single. Amed Rosario struck out, but Anthony Volpe singled. Spencer Jones popped up, but Austin Wells singled Lombard home. One-nil to the Pinstripe Boys.

Ben Rice hit a home run in the 5th. It was still only 2-0 when Cam was taken out. But in the bottom of the 7th, Jones singled, Austin Wells singled, Paul Goldschmidt walked to load the bases with nobody out, Rice singled Jones home, and Luis García Jr. grounded into a double play that got Wells home, making it 4-0.

In the bottom of the 8th, Lombard singled, Ryan McMahon walked, Volpe bunted them over, Jones walked, Wells hit a sacrifice fly to score Lombard, Goldschmidt walked to reload the bases, and Rice hit one out. It was a grand salami with Rice, who went 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs.

Paul Blackburn finished the 7th, and allowed  hit in the 8th. John Schreiber pitched a perfect 9th. Yankees 9, Red Sox 0!

To make it even sweeter, Schlittler is from Walpole, Massachusetts, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Boston, near Foxborough; and Rice grew up in Cohasset, about 20 miles southeast, on the way to Cape Cod.

*

Could the Yankees do it again last night? Hell, yeah, they could, and, for the most part, they did. Max Fried started, and was strong, going 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk, with 6 strikeouts.

Given the tendency of ex-Yankees to do well against them, especially pitchers in the postseason, there was concern that Sonny Gray, Schlittler's only serious competitor for this season's AL Cy Young Award, might shut them down.

We, the fans, need not have worried. A Luis García Jr. home run, earning his Pinstripes, in the 4th inning, and another run in the 5th, chased him.

Then came the bottom of the 6th. Up 2-1, and getting tense following Fried losing the shutout on a homer, it started benignly enough. Garrett Crochet, who pitched so well against us in Game 1 of last year's Wild Card series, had been injured most of the season, and Sox manager Chad Tracy chose this moment to let him make his 1st pitching appearance since April 25.

Well, he didn't pitch like he was hurt: He struck Jones out. Except... Adley Rutschman, the power-hitting catcher the Sox acquired from the Baltimore Orioles at the August 3tradling deadline, let it get away. Not since Tommy Henrich vs. Hugh Casey and Mickey Owen in the 1941 World Series had the Yankees benefited so much from a catcher being unable to handle a missed 3rd strike. Except, this time, it was ruled a wild pitch, whereas Casey's pitch (speculated to have been a spitball) was ruled a passed ball, and Owen took the blame for the rest of his life.

Like Henrich, Jones reached 1st safely. Unlike Henrich, Jones tried to steal 2nd -- and got all the way to 3rd, because Rutschman made a throwing error. If this was the "Curse of the Bambino" era Red Sox, this would have gone done in history as "The Adley Rutschman Game." After all, it was still only 2-1 Yankees at this point. It was still very winnable for the Sox.

Soon, it wasn't: Lombard singled Jones home. Jazz Chisholm and Trent Grisham, neither of whom played in Game 1, singled, and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Crochet had pitched to 4 batters, and had gotten exactly zero outs. From April 26 onward, his ERA is infinity.

Garrett Whitlock was brought in to pitch. All season long, we've been ragging on Austin Wells for his poor hitting. In these 2 games, he went 3-for-6 with 4 RBIs. He hit a sacrifice fly that scored Lombard. McMahon grounded to 3rd for the 2nd out, but it was enough to score Chisholm. In what appeared to be Tracy's smartest move of the night, he walked Rice intentionally, loading the bases again, but setting up an inning-ending play at any base. Well, Cody Bellinger said, "End this," and hit a no-doubt-abouter to make it 8-1 Yankees.

Aaron Boone brought Will Warren in to pitch the 7th, and he gave up a home run to make it 8-2. But walks to Chisholm and Grisham, and a single by Wells to score Chisholm, made it 9-2, and that was the final score.

The Yankees outscored the Red Sox, 18-2, and held them to a .117 batting average as a team, as they went 7-for-60 with 18 strikeouts over 18 innings. And while there were worries about a lineup without Judge or Stanton being able to touch the Sox starters -- especially Gray, given the history of pitchers that Brian Cashman has let go performing against the Yankees -- 15 of the Yankees' 18 runs were against the Boston bullpen.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a former Yankee utility man now with the Sox, called it "Uncompetitive. We got boat-raced," adding, "To lose in the Wild Card is unacceptable." Well, IKF, maybe you should've been good enough to stick with the Yankees.

The Red Sox eliminated the Yankees in postseason play in 2004, 2018 and 2021, following the Yankees having done it to them in 1978 (MLB counts that as a regular-season game), 1999 and 2003. But this is now 2 years in a row that we've knocked that lot out.

*

Elsewhere in the Playoffs, the Red Sox South, the Chicken Fried Cheats, the Houston Astros, got swept by the Chicago White Sox; the San Diego Padres eliminated the Chicago Cubs; and the Philadelphia Phillies pushed the Atlanta Braves to a Game 3.

So: Did I enjoy what the Yankees did to the Boston Red Sox these last two nights? Oh, hell, yes!

Is that enough to make this a successful season? Oh, hell, no!

Bring on the Tampa Bay Deviled Eggs! Or, as comedian and Yankee Fan Vic DiBitetto said, "Bring on Tampon Bay!"

October 1, 1956: The Silver Age of Comics Begins

October 1, 1956, 70 years ago: Showcase Comics #4 is published, featuring the debut of a new version of an established superhero, the Flash. This is considered to be the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books.

The Golden Age of Comics had ended 2 years earlier, with the publication of Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Fredric Wertham, which resulted in the creation of the Comics Code Authority, designed to reduce the amount of violence and sexual innuendo (intended or perceived) in comic books. Sales tanked, so new heroes, and new versions of old heroes, were created.

The original version of the Flash was Jay Garrick, a college student in Keystone City, who inhaled "heavy water vapors," and gained super-speed as a result. The new version, introduced in Showcase #4, was Barry Allen, a "police scientist" in Central City, the kind of character who would later be represented by the likes of Gary Dourdan's Warrick Brown on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Pauley Perrette's Abby Sciuto on NCIS.

In other words, he  was old enough to have gotten his doctorate, and had been helping to solve crimes even before he got his powers. That happened when a lightning bolt crashed through the window of his lab, electrifying some chemicals, knocking them over, and dousing him in them.

The success of the new Flash led to a new version of Green Lantern in 1959, and a new version of the Atom in 1961. Also in 1961, DC would bring their old and new versions of heroes together with the story "The Flash of Two Worlds," introducing the concept of the multiverse, with the new versions on Earth-One and the old ones on Earth-Two; and Marvel Comics began their "Marvel Universe" with Fantastic Four #1.

In 1971, the Silver Age of Comics gave way to the Bronze Age, marked by the challenging of the Comics Code Authority with drug stories, first Spider-Man's "Green Goblin Reborn!" and then, a few weeks later, by the Green Lantern and Green Arrow story "Snowbirds Don't Fly." Comics became darker, even world-weary.

October 1, 1956 was a Monday. Theresa May, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 2016 to 2019, was born.

Deserve's Got Everything to Do With It: 2026 Baseball Edition

Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman): "I don't deserve this! To die like this!"

Will Munny (Clint Eastwood): "Deserve's got nothing to do with it!"

-- Unforgiven, 1992, directed by Eastwood

As I occasionally (but not annually) do, I am ranking Playoff teams by how much they, and their fanbases, deserve to win a World Championship. And I am casting baseball bias aside, so the Yankees won't be 1st.

Did I say I'm casting baseball bias aside? Not completely:

12. Boston Red Sox, American League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Boston is a liberal city. Massachusetts is a liberal State. New England is a liberal region. Fenway Park is historic. And Adley Rutschman and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are decent guys.

Don't Deserve At All Because: They're the Boston Red Sox. They cheat. Even before they started cheating, they were scum. And now, they have Aroldis Chapman. Fuck 'em!

11. Los Angeles Dodgers, National League Western Division Champions

May Deserve Because: Los Angeles is a liberal city in a Blue State. It deserves a break for what it's gone through in this calendar year, from the awful wildfires to Trump sending troops in to intimidate and agents in to illegally arrest. Dodger Stadium is a nice ballpark with a lot of history. Their players seem to be good guys. Magic Johnson is the main owner.

Don't Deserve At All Because: They won it all the last 2 years, and also just 6 seasons ago. Their manager, Dave Roberts, was a 2004 Red Sock. I'm sick of hearing about Shohei Ohtani. He's not better than Babe Ruth. And while current management had nothing to do with it, the Treason of '57 must never be forgotten or forgiven.

10. Houston Astros, American League Western Division Champions

May Deserve Because: I can't think of a single reason.

May Not Deserve Because: They cheat. And they still have Jose Altuve. Their last title was only 4 years ago. Also, they're from Texas. Finally, an 81-81 team doesn't deserve to be in the postseason.

9. Tampa Bay Rays, American League Eastern Division Champions

May Deserve Because: They haven't won a World Series in their 29 seasons of play. And... that's about it.

May Not Deserve Because: They're in Florida. The St. Petersburg side of Tampa Bay is a lot more conservative than the Tampa side. Tropicana Field is a stupid stadium with artificial turf. And their fans don't even show up for a winning team: The Rays averaged only 17,468 fans per game this season, 28th out of 30 teams. Only the other Florida team, the Miami Marlins, and the Sacramento Athletics, did worse -- and the Marlins were 80-82, while the A's were 64-98 and playing in a minor-league ballpark in a metro area that they plan to abandon after 1 more season. The Rays went 98-64, and still couldn't outdraw either of those teams. Don't tell me the stadium is in a bad location: The Yankees used to draw 2 million a year to the South Bronx, when it was the urban hellhole of America.

8. Atlanta Braves, National League Eastern Division Champions

May Deserve Because: Atlanta is a liberal city. If the Braves were going to leave downtown (or sort-of-downtown) Atlanta, then they did it the right way, creating a full destination, not just a ballpark. And Truist Park looks like it has all the options, even if it is named for a bank. (Two, in fact: For its 1st 2 seasons, it was SunTrust Bank.) Ronald Acuña Jr. is a great talent and a good guy, and while he's already won a title (with the 2021 Braves), Matt Olson and Mike Yastrzemski haven't. Indeed, Yaz the Younger might be able to win the title that his grandfather Carl never could in 23 seasons in Boston.

May Not Deserve Because: While Atlanta is a liberal city, Georgia is a conservative State. It went for Biden in 2020, and has 2 Democratic Senators, but went for Trump in 2016 and 2024, and hasn't elected a Democrat as Governor since Roy Barnes in 1998. Yes, the 1st 2 digits are a 19. And they did move out of the city to the northwestern suburbs. They didn't say they did it to get away from the city's black people, but they did say they went where the heart of their fan base was. Some heart. They have Chris Sale, who already has a tainted ring with the Red Sox. And, as I said, they won the title only 5 years ago.

7. New York Yankees, American League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: It would make a lot of people I know happy, since I only live only 47 miles away. They have Aaron Judge (though he's injured at the moment), Giancarlo Stanton (ditto), Gerrit Cole, and many other deserving players. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, the new Yankee Stadium is a fantastic ballpark, and there are easier ones to hit home runs in. And it's New York, the greatest city in the world.

May Not Deserve Because: A drought of 17 seasons might seem like an eternity to Yankee fans, but to most others, it's not so bad. And many Yankee fans, including yours truly, can become insufferable when our team is defending World Champions. The players deserve it a lot more than many of the fans do.

6. San Diego Padres, National League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: They have never won a World Series in 58 years of trying. The city's last baseball team that went as far as the Pennant was in the Pacific Coast League, the 1967 Padres. Petco Park is a nice ballpark. And their fans deserve it after the tease of last season. It would also make Emma Stone happy.

May Not Deserve Because: San Diego is one of the most conservative cities in the country. The Padres still insist upon foisting the occasional horrible uniform on us. Fernando Tatís Jr. is a known cheater, Manny Machado is a rotten guy, and Xander Bogaerts doesn't need another ring. And their fans are acting like Met Fans West: Talking a lot of trash, especially to the nearby more successful team (the Dodgers), without the sufficient results.

5. Chicago Cubs, National League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Chicago is a great liberal city, practically making Illinois a Blue State all by itself. Wrigley Field is a great and legendary ballpark. And for all their suffering, Cub fans deserve more than 1 World Championship in a century.

May Not Deserve Because: They won just 10 years ago. That's not a drought, unless you're a Yankee Fan. And there's no obvious player on the team that hasn't won a title and really deserves to. They're a good team, but they're not an especially interesting one. If they won another Pennant, and even another World Series, it would be nice, but it wouldn't be the wonderful story that it was in 2016.

4. Philadelphia Phillies, National League Wild Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Philadelphia is a great city. It's a liberal city. Pennsylvania is a Blue State. Citizens Bank Park is a great ballpark. It's been 18 years since they last won it all, with a complete turnover of players. It would make a few people I know happy, since I only live only 64 miles away.

May Not Deserve Because: Their fans have been known to be a bit rough. A 18-year drought isn't that bad: And Bryce Harper is generally considered to not be a good guy.

3. Chicago White Sox, American League Wild-Card Berth

May Deserve Because: Chicago is a great city, a liberal city in a Blue State. Rate Field isn't the awful stadium people say it is: It's pretty good. While the Pale Hose last won the World Series, or a Pennant, just 21 years ago, that's their only Pennant in 77 years and their only title in 109 years. And they suffered through a 121-loss season just 2 years ago. For what the team has done in just those 2 years, and for what their fans have lived through, still in the shadow of the Cubs, they deserve to win.

May Not Deserve Because: Team owner Jerry Reinsdorf remains a jerk at age 90, and now he wants another new ballpark, when the one he has is only 35 years old. And there is, as yet, no compelling player on the White Sox, one that makes us say, "He deserves a ring." The only player on the team who has one is Andrew Benintendi, and that came with the 2018 Red Sox, so it's tainted, and I can't root for him, even if he was a Yankee in between.

2. Cleveland Guardians, American League Central Division Champions

May Deserve Because: They haven't won a World Series in 78 years. Progressive Field is a really good ballpark. They willingly got rid of a bigoted team name. Cleveland is a liberal city. It would make Drew Carey happy.

May Not Deserve Because: They held that bigoted team name for 107 years. They have no obvious individual player to root for, unless you want to count José Ramírez. Ohio is a Red State.

1. Milwaukee Brewers, National League Central Division Champions

May Deserve Because: Milwaukee is a liberal city. The Brewers have never won a World Series, and the city hasn't won one in 69 years, since the 1957 Braves. Christian Yelich is a terrific player in his 13th season, and deserves a ring. And they'd be doing it in memory of Bob Uecker.

May Not Deserve Because: American Family Field is more of an airplane hangar than a ballpark. Other than that, there's not much reason. It's not as if Bud Selig still owns the team.

There you have it: The team in the 2026 Major League Baseball Playoffs most deserving of winning the World Series is the Milwaukee Brewers.

September 29, 1946: The Rams Debut & Desegregate the NFL

Kenny Washington

September 29, 1946, 80 years ago: The Rams, who played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945, play their 1st home game in Los Angeles, making them the city's 1st real major league sports team. (Previous pro football teams had "Los Angeles" as their name, but their leagues could hardly be called "major.") The defending NFL Champions lose to the Philadelphia Eagles, 25-14.

This game is even more significant than the city's debut on the major league stage, because it is the NFL debut for halfback Kenny Washington and end Woody Strode, both of whom had played for UCLA at the Rams' new home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. They became the 1st black players in the NFL in 13 years, ending the color bar.

Woody Strode

Marion Motley and Bill Willis of the Cleveland Browns were doing the same in the All-America Football Conference that Autumn, so pro football had "four Jackie Robinsons," a few months before baseball had one. (Robinson had also played football at UCLA, and ran in the same backfield as Washington in 1939 and '40. In between UCLA and the Rams, Washington had played for the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League.)

Washington played 3 seasons in the NFL before knee injuries forced him to retire at age 30. He worked for the Los Angeles Police Department, and when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, he became a scout for them. His son Kenny Jr. played in their farm system.

But Kenny Sr. battled ill health, and died in 1971, only 52 years old. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, UCLA retired his Number 13, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission inducted him into the stadium's Court of Honor.

Strode only played the one season with the Rams, then went to Canada, helping the Calgary Stampeders win their 1st Grey Cup in 1948. He became a professional wrestler and an actor, notable for his role as the Ethiopian gladiator Draba in the 1960 film Spartacus. He seemed to specialize in Westerns, and his last role, filmed just prior to his death in 1994, showed him as an old man watching Sharon Stone walk into town in The Quick and the Dead.

Motley was born in Leesburg, Georgia, but grew up outside Cleveland in Canton, Ohio -- birthplace of the NFL, and eventually the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Willis was from Columbus, the State capital and the seat of The Ohio State University. They both helped the Browns dominate the AAFC winning its title all 4 years, before coming into the NFL and winning their title in 1950, beating the Rams in a classic NFL Championship Game. (By that point, both Washington and Strode were out of football.)

Motley, who had played at the University of Nevada, where his Number 41 was retired, remained with the Browns until 1953, and last played with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955. With the Browns, he wore 76 and then 36. He was frustrated by his attempts to gain a coaching job, and worked in various capacities.

Marion Motley

Willis had his Number 99 retired by Ohio State, whom he'd helped win the 1942 National Championship. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He also remained with the Browns through 1953, usually wearing Number 30. He worked with the City of Cleveland Department of Recreation.

Bill Willis

He and Motley were both elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Paul Zimmerman, the Sports Illustrated pro football expert known as Dr. Z, called Motley the greatest player he'd ever seen. Motley died in 1999. Willis, the last survivor of the 4, lived until 2007.

Canadian professional football also integrated in 1946 -- but might have done so earlier. It has been suggested that Robert "Stonewall" Jackson, a player for the Regina Roughriders (now the Saskatchewan Roughriders) in 1930, was black. But he may have been passing as white.

The first player to be signed by a Canadian football team that knew he was black was Herb Trawick, with the 1946 Montreal Alouettes. He was a two-way lineman from Pittsburgh, who attended what's now named Kentucky State University, an HBCU in the State capital of Frankfort.

Herb Trawick

He played 12 seasons with the Als, made 7 CFL All-Star teams, helped them win the Grey Cup in 1949, had his Number 56 retired and was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He lived until 1985.

2026 MLB Regular Season Wrap-Up

Major League Baseball's regular season is over. Some of the developments:

* The Yankees finished 93-68, 4 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division.

Since Divisional Play began in 1969, 93 is the average number of wins necessary to win the AL East -- that is, the average number of wins by the teams finishing 2nd is 92, so it usually takes 93 to win it. This time, 93 wasn't enough.

There's no point in providing details for the Yanks' last 6 games of the regular season, especially since they only played 5: The nor'easter that hit, well, the Northeastern U.S. this weekend not only led the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles to move Saturday's game, and the ceremony honoring new Hall-of-Famer CC Sabathia up to Friday, making for a doubleheader, but flat-out canceled yesterday's game, since it had no effect on the standings.

* ABS, the Automatic Ball-Strike System, allowing a batter to challenge an umpire's ball-or-strike call, was a phenomenal success. The Yankees could have used it a lot over the years, especially since Aaron Judge and his strike-zone-the-size-of-The-Bronx arrived.

I am convinced that ABS resulted in the Yankees keeping enough rallies going to win at least 5 games this year that they would have lost last year. It may even have ended enough opposing rallies to win them a couple. 

I know some people hate instant replay review, because it messes with the flow of whatever sport they're watching, and makes the game longer. I don't care: Getting the calls right matters more than your passion does. Getting the win you deserve, no matter how long it takes, is better than losing an exciting game.

* The Yankees will host a best-2-out-of-3 AL Wild Card Series against the Auld Enemy, the despised Boston Red Sox.

The good news: We go into it with only 2 significant injuries, none of them to our desired pitchers. The bad news: Those injuries are to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, 2 men with a combined total of 842 career home runs (Judge 386, Stanton 456). Without those bats in our lineup, it's going to be a lot more difficult to beat the arch-rivals in a postseason series, as we did last year.

* For the Rays, it is their 10th postseason appearance in their 29 seasons, including 5 Division titles and 2 Pennants. That's pretty good. But they still haven't won a World Series, which is bad; or found the support of their local fans, which is very bad; and still play in Tropicana Field -- and so we go from the good to the bad to the ugly.

* The Cleveland Guardians won the AL Central for the 3rd straight season, for the 7th time in the last 11 years. The team previously known as the Cleveland Indians had only finished 1st 9 times in their 1st 115 seasons.

* The Houston Astros finished dead even at 81-81, but that was enough to win the AL West, by 1 game over their rivals, the Texas Rangers. Thus do the Chicken Fried Cheats become the team with the worst record ever to win a Division in MLB.

The previous record was set by the 1973 Mets, 82-79. The Rangers were under .500, but still leading the AL West, when the Strike of '94 hit, but that wasn't a full season, so it doesn't count.

* The Chicago White Sox won the 3rd and last AL Wild Card berth, with an 84-78 record. Last year, they were 60-102; the year before, 41-121 to set an AL record for losses. Improving by 19 or 24 games is really good; to do them both in back-to-back seasons is remarkable.

* It wasn't all good news for the Pale Hose: Colson Montgomery set a new single-season MLB record with 224 strikeouts, breaking the record of 223 set by Mark Reynolds with the 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks. 

* Did I mention the Mets? For the 2nd year in a row, they spent over $300 million and missed the Playoffs. They spent $351 million, and finished in last place, 5th in the National League Eastern Division, at 74-88.

The Mets had a lot of injuries, including to keep players, you say? With what they spent, they should have been able to playen capable of making enough of a difference to reach the Playoffs, anyway. You know, like the Yankees did. Instead, they finished 20 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the Division, and 14 games out of the last NL Wild Card slot.

* The Philadelphia Phillies nearly added to their history of infamous collapses. They needed to win 1 of their last 5 games to win a Wild Cadd berth. They lost the 1st 4. If they lost their regular-season finale, and the Arizona Diamondbacks won theirs, they would have blown it.

But they won it, and made the Playoffs for the 5th straight season. To put that in perspective: In their previous 139 seasons, they only made it 14 times.

* The NL's Divisions were won by the Braves, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the 2-time defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

* In addition to the Phillies, NL Wild Card berths were won by the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres.

* If MLB had promotion and relegation like most soccer leagues (but not our own MLS), the Mets, the defending AL Champion Toronto Blue Jays, the Kansas City Royals, the Los Angeles Angels, the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies would be relegated to Class AAA ball.

* And Justin Verlander has retired, at age 43, with a 266-159 record and 3,560 strikeouts. Not yet having decided on retirement is his former Detroit Tigers and Mets teammate Max Scherzer, 42, who has a 225-126 record and 3,557 strikeouts.

Presuming neither of them is revealed to have bet on baseball, and (this might keep them out, then again, it might not) neither of them is revealed to have used performance-enhancing drugs, both of them will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Playoffs start tomorrow. Here are the starting times and projected pitching matchups for the Yankees and The Scum:

* Tomorrow, Game 1: Cam Schlittler vs. Payton Tolle.

* Wednesday, Game 2: Max Fried vs. ex-Yankee Sonny Gray.

* Thursday, Game 3, if necessary: Gerrit Cole vs. Ranger Suarez.

All games will be on NBC (not Fox, thank you, Commissioner Rob Manfred), with the broadcasts starting at 8:00 PM.

Come on you Pinstripes!

September 28, 1976: Stevie Wonder Releases "Songs In the Key of Life"

September 28, 1976, 50 years ago: Stevie Wonder releases Songs In the Key of Life, on the Motown subsidiary Tamla Records. It is usually considered his greatest album.

And that's saying something. Since releasing The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, under the name "Little Stevie Wonder" at the age of 12 -- he was born in 1950 with the name Stevland Hardaway Judkins, but his legal name is Stevland Morris, for his mother's family -- with the Motown-billed nickname of "The 12-Year-Old Genius," he had a bunch of hit singles through the 1960s, and then moved on to making great albums, once he and Marvin Gaye were finally able to talk Motown boss Berry Gordy Jr. into letting them write and sing about social issues.

He released Where I'm Coming From in 1971, Music of My Mind and Talking Book in 1972, Innervisions (the title reflective of the fact that Stevie is blind) in 1973, and Fulfillingness' First Finale in 1974. The last 2 each won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

He wanted his next album to be a masterpiece, and he took his time to get it right. For 1975, the Grammy for Album of the Year went to Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon. Accepting the award, Simon thanked a few people, adding, "I'd also like to thank Stevie Wonder, for not releasing an album this year." The line got more applause than laughter.

Through early 1976, Stevie would arrive in the recording studio wearing a T-shirt saying, "IT'S ALMOST FINISHED!" When Songs In the Key of Life was finished, it was everything he hoped it would be. The singles "I Wish" and "Sir Duke" hit Number 1 in early 1977. The latter was a tribute to jazz legends, name-checking, in order, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong (using his nickname, Satchmo), Duke Ellington ("the king of all, Sir Duke") and Ella Fitzgerald. It began with a line that could have been Stevie's motto: "Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand."

On February 2, 1975, while the album was in progress, Stevie's 1st child was born, a daughter named Aisha Morris. Her mother was Yolanda Simmons, a secretary at Motown. Stevie said of Aisha, "She was the one thing that I needed in my life and in my music for a long time." For her, Stevie wrote "Isn't She Lovely?", put her baby voice on the recording, and put the song on the album, and it also became a hit single.

As Simon seemed to be predicting, Songs In the Key of Life, like its 2 immediate predecessors, won the Grammy for Album of the Year. In total, Stevie has won 22 Grammys. Stevie, Simon, Frank Sinatra and Taylor Swift are the only people to have won the Grammy for Album of the Year as lead artist 3 times, but Stevie is the only one to do it 3 albums in a row.

While he was one of the most productive performers of the 1960s, '70s and '80s, and continues to perform into the 2020s, his last 3 albums of new material have been the soundtrack to the film Jungle Fever in 1991, Conversation Peace in 1995, and A Time to Love in 2005.

It seems unfair to have expected Stevie Wonder to keep up the pace he set between the ages of 12 and 37 -- 23 albums in 25 years -- but, like his contemporary and fellow keyboard (and harmonica) player Billy Joel, he seems content with being just a touring act in the back half of his life. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

His awards also include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Michigan Walk of Fame in the State Capital of Lansing, a Messenger of Peace award from the United Nations, and an Academy Award for his 1984 Number 1 hit "I Just Called to Say I Love You," due to its inclusion in the film The Woman in Red, for which he wrote all the songs.

Stevie is currently married for the 3rd time, and has 9 children, with 5 different mothers. His daughter Aisha Morris has sung with him on recordings and tours, and his son Kailand Morris has drummed for him. 

September 28, 1951: A Big Day for Allie Reynolds and Norm Van Brocklin

September 28, 1951, 75 years ago: A sweep of a doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium means that the New York Yankees will clinch the American League Pennant.

They win the 1st game 8-0, as Allie Reynolds pitches his 2nd no-hitter of his career -- and his 2nd of the season, having blanked the Cleveland Indians on July 12. He is backed by home runs by Joe Collins and Gene Woodling.

The part-Cherokee fireballer known as the Superchief was the 1st AL pitcher to throw 2 no-hitters in a season. The only other major league pitchers to do it, through 2026: Johnny Vander Meer of the 1938 Cincinnati Reds (the only back-to-back no-hitters in MLB history), Virgil Trucks of the 1952 Detroit Tigers (one of them against the Yankees), Roy Halladay of the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies (one a perfect game, the other in the Playoffs), and Max Scherzer of the 2015 Washington Nationals.

The last out Allie needed for the 2nd no-hitter was Ted Williams, often called "the greatest hitter who ever lived." Allie got the Splendid Splinter to pop up in foul territory, but catcher Yogi Berra dropped it. Yogi goes to the mound to apologize, but Allie says, "Don't worry, Yogi, we'll get him again." He was right: He induced another pop-up, but Yogi caught this one.

The nightcap was not as spectacular, but no less effective: A Pennant-clinching 11-3 win. Vic Raschi was the winning pitcher, backed by a home run by Joe DiMaggio, the 361st of his career -- and, as it turned out, his last in regular-season play. He would hit 1 more in the upcoming World Series, and then retire.

Also that day, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. With the New York Giants not scheduled, this drops the Dodgers, who had been 13 1/2 games ahead of the Giants on August 11, into a tie for 1st place in the National League.

The season will end with them tied, forcing a Playoff. And if you don't know how that turned out, you're too young to know baseball history, and/or you're not the kind of person who would normally be reading this blog.

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But this was a big day in sports for another reason. There was also a team named the New York Yankees in the NFL. This was not a good day for them.

It was a very good day for Norm Van Brocklin. The quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams passed for 554 yards, an NFL record -- and it still is. The Rams won, 54-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

A 25-year-old native of Walnut Creek, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, he excelled at the University of Oregon. From 1949 to 1952, he alternated with Bob Waterfield as the Rams' starting quarterback. But, despite having led the Rams, then in Cleveland, to the 1945 NFL Championship, and becoming one of the NFL's earliest "golden boy" players, Waterfield never had a day like this.

Van Brocklin, nicknamed "Van" and "the Dutch Master," threw 41 passes, completing 27 of them. He threw for 2 interceptions, but also 5 touchdowns. Four of them, ranging from 1 to 47 yards, were to Elroy Hirsch, the receiver known as "Crazy Legs" for his speed. The other was to Verda Thomas Smith, known as V.T. or "Vitamin" Smith. Van Brocklin also ran 1 yard for a touchdown.

Although end Tom Fears, who with Waterfield was one of the NFL's earliest great passing combinations, did not catch any touchdown passes in the game, he caught 7 passes for a game-leading 162 yards, and his longest, 54 yards, was longer than any of Hirsch's. Fears also kicked 6 extra points.

The Rams had lost the NFL Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1949, and lost it to the Cleveland Browns in 1950. In 1951, they went on to beat the Browns in the Championship Game. Van Brocklin, Waterfield, Hirsch and Fears would all be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So would defensive end Andy Robustelli, although that was mainly for his later play for the New York Giants. So would head coach Joe Stydahar, although that was for his performance as a two-way tackle for the 1940s Chicago Bears.

Not in the Hall of Fame, but should be, were the Rams' top 2 rushers, both among the NFL's earliest black stars: Paul "Tank" Younger and "Deacon" Dan Towler. Another running back on the '51 Rams, in the College Football Hall but not the Pro Football Hall, since his Army service and a knee injury meant that he only played 2 NFL seasons, was 1946 Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis.

Van Brocklin would become the Rams' sole starter in 1953, after Waterfield's retirement. In 1958, he was traded to the Eagles. In 1960, in his last game before retiring, he led them to victory in the NFL Championship Game. Until Super Bowl 50 in 2016, Van Brocklin was the only quarterback ever to coach 2 different franchises to the NFL Championship. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady * have since joined him in that distinction.

In 1961, Van Brocklin was named the 1st head coach of the expansion Minnesota Vikings. In 1968, he became the 2nd head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Like many great players, he was not nearly as good as a coach. He died in 1983, after years of battling brain cancer. At one point, he addressed surgery he'd had: "It was a brain transplant. They gave me a sportswriter's brain, to make sure I got one that hadn't been used."

The previous record for passing yards in a game was 468 yards, by Johnny Lujack of the Chicago Bears, against the crosstown Chicago Cardinals on December 11, 1949. The fact that these marks of 468 and 554 yards were set in the early days of the NFL, when the only superstar quarterbacks yet seen were Sammy Baugh of the Washington Redskins and Sid Luckman, Lujack's predecessor with the Bears, is less surprising than the fact that, 75 years later, Van Brocklin's 554 still stands.

Through September 28, 2026, there have been 27 occurrences of a quarterback passing for 500 or more yards in a regular-season NFL game. The 2nd time didn't happen until October 28, 1962, when Y.A. Tittle passed for 505 yards for the Giants against the Washington Redskins. It's been done by 24 different players, including 3 times by Ben Roethlisberger and twice by Drew Brees.

The 2nd-best performance has been 527 yards, and it's been done twice: By Warren Moon, for the Houston Oilers against the Kansas City Chiefs, on December 16, 1990; and by Matt Schaub, for the Houston Texans against the Jacksonville Jaguars, on November 18, 2012.

But nobody else has done 554, or even 528. Not Tittle, Otto Graham, Bobby Layne, Johnny Unitas, or Van Brocklin himself, or any other star quarterback of the 1950s. Not Unitas, Bart Starr, Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Namath or any of the other "mad bombers" in the freewheeling, pass-happy American Football League, or any other quarterback in the 1960s. Not Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach, Bob Griese, Terry Bradshaw, Ken Stabler, or any other 1970s quarterback.

Not Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Dan Marino, John Elway, Phil Simms, or any other 1980s passer. Not Elway, Troy Aikman, Brett Favre, or any other 1990s quarterback. Not any 21st Century quarterback, whether they used Spygates, deflated footballs, the name Manning, or anything else.

Van Brocklin's 554 passing yards in one game isn't like old-time baseball records, such as Cy Young's 511 career wins or Walter Johnson's 113 career shutouts, where changes in rules and styles have made it harder to pursue the record. If anything, the rules and styles should have made it easier to break this record.

After all, Van Brocklin finished with 23,611 career passing yards. At the time, that was a record. As of this writing, the record is 85,193, held by Brady. That's 3.6 times the record that Van Brocklin set. Until Namath in 1967, no pro quarterback had passed for 4,000 yards in a season. That record is now 5,477, by Peyton Manning in 2013.

But most passing yards in a game? Logic would dictate that a record set in the Truman Administration, a time when pro football trailed not only baseball and college football, but boxing and horse racing as America's most popular sport, would have been far surpassed by now. And yet, no one has come within 23 yards of it.

September 27, 1946: CHARGE!

Tommy Walker

September 27, 1946, 80 years ago: The familiar sports sound of, "Da da da DAT da DAH! Charge!" makes its debut.

Thomas Luttgen Walker was born on November 8, 1922 in Milwaukee. This Tommy Walker is not the character from The Who's rock opera Tommy. But this one also has a musical legacy, connected to sports.

Both a placekicker on the University of Southern California football team and a trumpeter in the school's marching band, he wrote a fanfare that he said was a combination of cavalry charge calls and "The Call to the Post" at horse races.

After playing it, "Da da da DAT da DAH!" he would yell, "Trojan warriors, charge!" That night, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC opened their season by beating Washington State, 13-7. Eventually, the "Trojan warriors" part was dropped, and it is now universally known as "Charge!"

Walker later became the director of events at nearby Disneyland, produced the Opening Ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, and died in 1986, shortly after producing the TV broadcast of the Centennial celebrations for the Statue of Liberty.

A New York Yankees legend said that Eddie Layton invented "Charge!" when he debuted as Yankee Stadium organist in 1967. He didn't, and never claimed he did. But, at that time, he did invent the rhythm that gets played there before "Charge!": "DUN dun dun dun DUN dun dun dun... " Mike Burke, then president of the Yankees, heard the fans clapping along with it, and told him to make it a regular thing. He did, and began following it with "Charge!" He remained at the Stadium organ until 2003, and died a year later.

Eddie Layton

Sports Illustrated cleared the matter up in a 1990 article, showing that it was Tommy Walker who created "Charge!"

Bill Giles, 1934-2026

Who is Mr. Phillies? Maybe it was Richie Ashburn, Hall of Fame player and beloved broadcaster. But Bill Giles oversaw the best years the franchise ever had -- and the years that replaced them as such.

William Yale Giles was born on September 7, 1934 in Rochester, New York, where his father, Warren Giles, was general manager of the Class AAA Rochester Red Wings. He grew up in Cincinnati, while his father was GM of the Cincinnati Reds.

Bill, naturally, was hired to work in the Reds' front office, and did so until he followed his father's successor as GM, Gabe Paul, to be part of the founding staff of the team now known as the Houston Astros in 1962. In Houston, Bill served as traveling secretary, then as publicity director, and then promotions director, including promoting the team's new home in 1965, the Astrodome, as "The Eighth Wonder of the World."

In 1969, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies as vice president of business operations. It was he who hired Astros broadcaster Harry Kalas away, starting in 1971, when the Phillies opened the new Veterans Stadium. With team owner Bob Carpenter giving his son Ruly Carpenter the keys to the kingdom, Ruly allowed vice president Bill Giles, general manager Paul Owens, and farm director, later manager, Dallas Green, from 1976 to 1983, 8 seasons, the Phillies made the Playoffs 6 times, won 2 National League Pennants, and won the 1980 World Series. Giles also created the Phillie Phanatic, baseball's most popular mascot, who debuted early in the 1978 season.

In 1981, the Carpenter family sold the Phillies to a group that included Giles and John Middleton. The Phillies won the Pennant again in 1983. They tailed off, but were rebuilt into Pennant winners again in 1993. In 1997, Giles was named Chairman, and he held that title until his retirement in 2015. This included the building of Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004.

When the Phillies lost the World Series in 1993, it was to the Toronto Blue Jays, whose general manager was Pat Gillick. In 2006, Giles hired Gillick to be Phillies GM. He built a team that won 5 straight NL East titles, 2 Pennants, and the 2008 World Series.

With the Commissioner's Trophy after the 2008 World Series

Giles had owned about 20 percent of the Phillies' stock, but sold his shares in 2013. As his father did from 1951 to 1969, he served as President of the National League starting in 2001. By that point, though the offices of both Leagues' Presidents were pretty much ceremonial only, with their main duty being the delivery of the trophy for winning the Pennant to the winning team's owner. In the case of the NL, Bill Giles handed the Warren Giles Trophy to, among others, his Phillies cohort David Montgomery 3 times: 2008, 2009 and 2022.

With the trophy named for his father

Bill and his wife, the former Nancy Kirwin, had 3 children: Mike, Joe and Chris; and 8 grandchildren. Nancy died in 2020 -- not from COVID. Bill Giles died this past Friday, September 25, 2026, at the age of 92.

September 26, 1876: The 1st National League Pennant

September 26, 1876, 150 years ago: The Chicago White Stockings beat the Hartford Dark Blues, 7-6 at the 23rd Street Grounds in Chicago. This clinches the Pennant in the National League, in its 1st season of operation.

William Hulbert, the founder of the NL, was the team's owner. Al Spalding, though only 25 years old when the season began, was the manager, and pitched 61 of their 66 games. Cal McVey, one of the 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the 1st openly professional team, pitched 11.

The catcher was James "Deacon" White. Adrian Constantine Anson was the 3rd baseman, and the team captain, so he was nicknamed "Cap." He would eventually move to 1st base, which McVey played when he wasn't pitching. Charles Roscoe "Ross" Barnes played 2nd base, hit the 1st National League home run, and won the 1st NL batting title with a .429 average. John Peters was the shortstop. The outfield was John Glenn in left, Paul Hines in center, and Bob Addy in right. Fred Andrus and Oscar Bielaski were backups.

The NL standings ended up as follows:

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Stockings	52	14	.788	—	25‍–‍6	27‍–‍8
Hartford Dark Blues	47	21	.691	6	23‍–‍9	24‍–‍12
St. Louis Brown Stockings	45	19	.703	6	24‍–‍6	21‍–‍13
Boston Red Caps	39	31	.557	15	19‍–‍17	20‍–‍14
Louisville Grays	30	36	.455	22	15‍–‍16	15‍–‍20
New York Mutuals	21	35	.375	26	13‍–‍20	8‍–‍15
Philadelphia Athletics	14	45	.237	34½	10‍–‍24	4‍–‍21
Cincinnati Reds	9	56	.138	42½	6‍–‍24	3‍–‍32

What happened to these teams? Only two still exist. In 1903, the former White Stockings became the Chicago Cubs. In 1912, the former Red Caps became the Boston Braves; in 1953, the Milwaukee Braves; in 1966, the Atlanta Braves. There would later be teams named the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Browns, but they were not holdovers from 1876.

The 23rd Street Grounds, also known as 23rd Street Park and the State Street Grounds, was built after the White Stockings' previous home, the Union Base-Ball Grounds, was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. It was bordered by 23rd, State, 24th and Dearborn Streets. They played there from 1872 to 1877. 

23rd Street Grounds

Hulbert, Spalding, Anson and White have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. White was the last survivor of the 1876 White Stockings, living until 1939. Hulbert, Spalding and Anson were elected to the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.

Bob Pettit, 1932-2026

News flash for kids: The history of the NBA did not begin with LeBron James. News flash for Generation X: It didn't begin with Michael Jordan, or with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. News flash for Baby Boomers: It didn't begin with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, either.

Before any of them, there was Bob Pettit. It didn't begin with him, either, but he was one of the earliest great NBA players.

Robert Lee Pettit Jr. was born on December 12, 1932 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was cut from the varsity basketball team at Baton Rouge High School as a freshman, and again as a sophomore. He played in a church league, and then grew 5 inches in a year, reaching 6-foot-7. He made All-City as a junior, and led the school to a State Championship as a senior.

Other notable graduates of Baton Rouge High: Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Taylor, Baseball player Dalton Jones, singers Jimmy Clanton and Johnny Rivers, and Governor Bobby Jindal.

Pettit stayed in town, and attended Louisiana State University, leading the Southeastern Conference in scoring all 3 years he was on the varsity. Upon his graduation in 1954, the school retired his Number 50, making him the 1st LSU athlete so honored in any sport.

He was drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks, and moved with them to St. Louis in 1955. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1955. In 1956, he led the league in scoring and rebounding, and led it in scoring again in 1959. He was named Most Valuable Player both times.

He helped the Hawks reach the NBA Finals in 1957, '58, '60 and '61, and his 50-point performance in Game 6 led them to the Championship in 1958. It remains the only time the Hawks franchise, which moved to Atlanta in 1968, has ever won the title. It hasn't even been to the Finals since 1961. Despite an ABA team in the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons, St. Louis has never had an NBA team again.

Pettit was named to 11 All-Star Games, and was named the Game's MVP 4 times. He was the 1st player to score over 20,000 points, although before he retired in 1965, Chamberlain surpassed him as the league's all-time leading scorer. He was named to the NBA's 25th, 35th, 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. He, Russell, Bob Cousy and George Mikan were the only men named to all 4 of those teams. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970, and the Hawks retired his Number 9.

During his playing career, he was listed as 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds. In a 1991 interview for Sports Illustrated, he said that if he played in the current era, with its weight training, he might have been a solid block of 270 pounds, and be a power forward on the same level as the man then considered the best at the position, his fellow LSU grad Karl Malone. Given that Chamberlain said that Pettit gave him trouble, I believed him.

After retiring from basketball, Pettit worked in the banking industry in Baton Rouge, and then founded a financial consulting company. He and his wife, Carole, had 3 children and 11 grandchildren. He died this past Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana, at the age of 93.

His death leaves Cliff Hagan as the last surviving member of the 1958 NBA Champion St. Louis Hawks.