Snake Bytes: 10/17 - October Baseball

Around The MLB

Tied ALDS Set to Return to Bronx (FanGraphs)

Cole had diminished fastball velocity but carried the Yankees on his back to New York for an all-or-nothing fifth game between the evil empire of the East and the Guardians. Naylor had a stupid homerun celebration and if I were Cole I would have punched him in the face.

Dodgers “Expected” To Retain Dave Roberts As Manager (MLB Trade Rumors)

The decision to remove Tyler Anderson after five shutout innings in Game 4 loomed large after the Padres took the lead in a five-run seventh inning, and it joined a rather lengthy list of bullpen decisions that have backfired on Roberts in the postseason.

A wild Division Series weekend showed off the best of October baseball (ESPN)

Baseball really is a funny game, right? It sends us on rides for which the blueprint need only be a win-expectancy chart, in which calmness cedes to commotion in an instant — up and down, revolting one minute and life-affirming the next. It is the best, and then it is the worst, and maybe again the best, and that’s the fun of it. We never know what it’s going to be, which is precisely what keeps us coming back for more.

Across The Pacific

Japan Series (Japan)

The Japanese version of the World Series will be a test between Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes. Yakult beat Hanshin Tigers on their way to a second consecutive Japan Series, while the Buffaloes eliminated the SoftBank Hawks.

Hanshin to allow Fujinami to move to MLB (Japan)

Fujinami has reached triple digits on occasion and is is 57-54 over his 10 years in NPB with a 3.41 ERA.

Hawks ace Senga to test MLB free agent market (Japan)

Senga, who turned pro in 2011 with the Hawks on a non-roster developmental contract, has a career record of 87-44 with one save and a 2.59 ERA.

MLB announces scholarship to support young Korean baseball players (South Korea)

The MLB will begin providing scholarships for up-and-coming baseball players in Korea, marking the first time the top baseball league has established a scholarship program outside of the United States.

Major League Baseball is also returning to Korea in November to play four games against a team of KBO players. The MLB World Tour Korea stop will mark the first time official games organized by the MLB have been played in Korea in 100 years, since the 1922 Asian Tour that included stops in China, Japan and Korea, which at the time was occupied by Japanese colonial forces.