Everything Sports, Explained
Yes. MLB teams are allowed to change their postseason roster between playoff rounds. Before every round — the Wild Card Series, Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series — a team submits a new 26-man postseason roster. That means a player who is left off the roster for one round can be added for … Read more
The MLB Wild Card Series is the opening round of baseball’s postseason, and its format makes it one of the fastest and most unforgiving rounds of the playoffs. Each Wild Card Series is a best-of-three: the first team to win two games advances to the Division Series, while the losing team is eliminated. Unlike most … Read more
When two Major League Baseball teams finish the regular season with identical records, they no longer play an extra game to decide who reaches the postseason. Since MLB expanded the playoffs in 2022, ties involving division championships, Wild Card berths and postseason seeding have been settled using a series of mathematical tiebreakers. The first — … Read more
Major League Baseball is exploring one of its most unusual special-event games yet: playing a regular-season game inside a United States national park. MLB has approached the federal government about whether such a game would be possible, with Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming emerging as a potential location. National Park Service officials have reportedly … Read more
Justin Verlander has thrown the final pitch of one of the greatest pitching careers of the modern era. The 43-year-old Detroit Tigers right-hander made his final MLB start on September 26, 2026, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park. Despite having gone nearly six months without pitching in a major-league game because of hip and … Read more
Yes. New York Yankees rookie George Lombard Jr.’s spectacular jumping maneuver around Tampa Bay Rays catcher Liam Hicks was legal under Major League Baseball’s baserunning rules. During the Yankees’ 6-4 comeback victory over Tampa Bay on September 24, 2026, Lombard appeared certain to be tagged out at home after a pitch bounced to the backstop … Read more
Lucas Spence is a 23-year-old Houston Astros outfielder who went from an undrafted college player to the center of the American League West race with one of the most unusual three-home-run games in MLB history. Spence hit the first three home runs of his major-league career in Houston’s 7-5 victory over the Athletics on September … Read more
Elly De La Cruz has officially joined Major League Baseball’s 30-30 club. The Cincinnati Reds shortstop recorded his 30th stolen base of the 2026 season against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 25, giving him at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season for the first time in his career. … Read more
The Chicago White Sox completed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in MLB history in 2026, clinching a playoff berth just one year after finishing 60-102 and two years after setting the modern-era record with 121 losses. Chicago beat the Kansas City Royals 9-1 on September 24 to secure its first postseason appearance since 2021. … Read more
Shohei Ohtani is back in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup, but fans should not expect to see him on the mound during the 2026 playoffs. The Dodgers activated Ohtani from the injured list on September 23 after he spent two weeks recovering from lingering problems with his left knee and right biceps. He returned as … Read more