Pre-postseason
To the most beautiful moment in life! Better than the deed! Better than the memory! The moment of anticipation!
As baseball fans, we hope every year for meaningful games in September. Here in Toronto, we got exactly that. Of course, the only thing better than meaningful September baseball is meaningful October baseball!
As the regular season concludes tonight, the Blue Jays ready themselves for their wild card matchup with the Mariners. It’s a welcoming back on multiple levels — the Mariners are in the postseason after the longest drought (at the time) in the four major sports (it’s the Sacramento Kings now), playoff baseball returns to the dome for the first time since 2016, and less importantly, the unvaccinated Robbie Ray is headed to Canada for the first time this season.
The team is rounding into form at just the right time. After what started looking like a down year for Bo Bichette, and for all the knocks against his aggressive plate approach, he’s about to lead the AL in hits for the second season in a row. Other guys who started the season slow due to injury (Teoscar Hernández, Danny Jansen) or otherwise (Matt Chapman, Whit Merrifield) are heating up. And the front end of the starting rotation has been steady down the stretch.
Obviously anything can happen in a short series, but there’s a lot to be optimistic about. We can’t wait to watch it unfold with a full, rabid crowd under the dome with the roof closed.
— JY
#jonathanwhoberdeau
Of the 20 NFL players who scored (not passed for) 105+ total touchdowns, only seven played their entire careers with one franchise. Name five of them.
Only two NHL players have had +/- of over 105 in a single season. Both players were born in the same province, both accomplished the feat in the same decade, and are both in the Hall of Fame. Who are they?
As of the writing of this question (i.e., when he still had 61 homers), presumptive AL MVP Aaron Judge had 10.5 bWAR, tops among position players. What former MVP is the only active position player to have achieved a higher bWAR?
Six NBA players have averaged 10.5+ assists/game in 4+ seasons, name the two players on that list who are not in the Hall of Fame.
Answers from last week’s issue
Ten pitchers in MLB history have recorded 28+ saves in 9+ different seasons. Name the three pitchers who spent the majority of their careers playing for a California-based team. (For this question, “majority” means more seasons playing for that team than all other seasons combined.)
Trevor Hoffman (Padres, 14x), Kenley Jansen (Dodgers, 9x), Troy Percival (Angels, 9x) are the only closers who accomplished this feat 9+ times and played mostly for Californian teams. Dennis Eckersley also did it 9x, but he only spent nine of his 24 seasons in Oakland.
Ten goaltenders in NHL history have recorded 28+ wins in 9+ different seasons. Only two of them are one-club players. Both had their numbers retired by their respective clubs within a month of each other, and they are from bordering countries. Who are they?
Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers, Sweden) and Pekka Rinne (Predators, Finland) both had their numbers retired in early 2022.
The #28 is not commonly worn in basketball, but two players did it for their entire 12-year NBA careers. Both were centres who were drafted 28th overall. One was involved in two different trades for members of the 1992 Dream Team, and the other is ranked fifth all-time in games played by a French-born player. Who are they?
Andrew Lang (traded for Charles Barkley and Christian Laettner) and Ian Mahinmi (who will likely get passed by Rudy Gobert this year) are the (very tall) droids we were looking for.
What player, born Robert Earl Moore, wore #28 for most of his NFL career, making four Pro Bowls? Eight years after retiring from handegg, he signed a two-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers as part of a springboard to a new career, playing two minutes in a preseason game and sinking his only field goal attempt.
Ahmad Rashad signed a two-day deal as a promotion for the weekly basketball show Inside NBA Stuff.
#postscript
RIP Jets legends Marvin Powell and Jim Sweeney.
Many thanks to Jonathan Huberdeau for being named his name and to you for being named your name, unless your name is Jacob Runyan or Chase Cominsky, who tried to cheat their way to a fishing tournament championship in the dumbest way possible. (Also it is not lost on us that the tournament organizer’s name is Fischer.)
Until next week, be the Ezequiel Carrera you wish to see in the world.
— DJ/JY