Alex Rodriguez says baseball taught him to be resilient.
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images
Alex Rodriguez says baseball gave him a "Ph.D. in failing."
He says the teams that win aren't always the ones with the biggest or most talented stars.
He now brings that same resilience to running his investment firm.
Alex Rodriguez says baseball taught him the value of failure.
Speaking on Friday's episode of "The Sebastian Maniscalco Show," Rodriguez said his professional baseball career shaped his approach to managing his business, A-Rod Corp.
"I think the greatest thing that I've learned from sports is to develop thick skin, because baseball specifically is a major sport of failure," Rodriguez said.
The former baseball player said he ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts in the history of the game.
"That means only four people in the history of mankind have failed more than me, right?" Rodriguez said. "I often tell my girls I have a Ph.D. in failing, but I also have a master's in getting back up."
He said the key is to keep coming back and trying again. No matter how many missed hits or strikeouts came before, each new at-bat is a fresh chance, he said.
"That's a real gift, and I think that this generation of young kids lacks that a little bit," Rodriguez said.
He also said success requires a strong work ethic, a team with complementary skills, and the ability to work together toward a shared goal.
Rodriguez then referenced a quote that resonated with him. "Great players often don't win championships. The best teams do, even though they may not have the most talent," he said.
"I'm a big believer in that," he added.
Rodriguez is not alone in seeing setbacks as part of the path to success.
"When you lose a deal or you didn't manage to close the deal, then you dive into it — where did it go wrong?" Burkhardt said. "Failure is something you should embrace when you play sports or when you're building a business to get better."
Conan O'Brien has similarly said that his long career has depended on treating setbacks as a way to reset and look ahead.
"It keeps happening over and over and over again, and then it's just learning to roll with it and say, OK, what's my next opportunity? Reset, recommit, and look for the next opportunity," O'Brien said in a March podcast appearance.
Auf den ersten Blick hat diese Geschichte weder mit Deutschland noch mit Europa besonders viel zu tun. Am 31. Oktober beginnen in Dakar die Olympischen Jugendspiele, zum ersten Mal überhaupt findet damit eine olympische Veranstaltung auf afrikanischem Boden statt. Doch tatsächlich zeigt gerade Dakar ein weiteres Feld der europäischen Konfrontation mit Russland – eines, das mit Sport im eigentlichen Sinne und mit den viel beschworenen Prinzipien des „Fair Play“ inzwischen nur noch wenig zu tun hat.
Russland wird im Senegal mit lediglich 13 jungen Athleten vertreten sein. Immerhin dürfen sie wieder unter der eigenen Flagge antreten, und bei einem Sieg soll auch die russische Hymne erklingen. Nach Jahren der Verbote, neutralen Uniformen und absurden Konstruktionen, bei denen ein Sportler zwar Russe sein durfte, Russland aber möglichst nicht erwähnt werden sollte, sieht das zunächst wie eine Rückkehr zur Normalität aus.
Ist es aber nicht.
Denn diese Rückkehr erfolgt nur teilweise. Der Internationale Olympische Ausschuss hat seine bisherigen Empfehlungen gegenüber russischen Athleten inzwischen weitgehend aufgehoben. Verbindlich sind diese Entscheidungen für die internationalen Sportverbände jedoch nicht. Deshalb entsteht eine ausgesprochen merkwürdige Situation: In einer Sportart treten Russen wieder mit Flagge und Hymne an, in einer anderen bleiben sie „neutral“, in einer dritten dürfen sie weiterhin überhaupt nicht starten.
Mit sportlicher Leistung hat das alles nichts zu tun.
Ein junger Schwimmer, Judoka oder Radfahrer wird damit nicht danach beurteilt, wie schnell er schwimmt, wie gut er kämpft oder wie stark er fährt, sondern danach, welchen politischen Kurs die jeweilige internationale Föderation für richtig hält.
Das nennt sich dann gerne Autonomie des Sports. In Wirklichkeit ist es die institutionalisierte Politisierung des Sports.
Besonders deutlich wird der Widerspruch beim Vergleich mit Israel. Seit Jahren werden russische Sportler für einen Krieg sanktioniert, den sie weder begonnen haben noch beeinflussen können. Israelische Athleten dagegen treten trotz des Krieges im Gazastreifen weiterhin ganz selbstverständlich mit Nationalflagge, Hymne und Mannschaftsbezeichnung auf.
Der IOC erklärt diesen Unterschied formal damit, dass das israelische und das palästinensische Nationale Olympische Komitee die Olympische Charta einhalten. Gleichzeitig betont dieselbe Organisation inzwischen wieder ausdrücklich, dass Athleten grundsätzlich nicht für die Handlungen ihrer Regierungen verantwortlich gemacht werden dürften.
Eine ausgezeichnete Erkenntnis. Nur hätte man sie vielleicht auch schon 2022 auf russische Sportler anwenden können.
Genau darin liegt das eigentliche Problem. Nicht darin, dass israelische Athleten teilnehmen dürfen – selbstverständlich sollen sie teilnehmen. Sondern darin, dass für Russen jahrelang völlig andere Maßstäbe galten.
Entweder trägt ein Athlet Verantwortung für die Politik seines Staates – dann müsste diese Regel für alle gelten. Oder er trägt sie nicht – dann hätte man russische Schwimmer, Turner, Fechter und Jugendliche niemals kollektiv bestrafen dürfen. Eine dritte Variante gibt es eigentlich nicht. Es sei denn, die Regeln werden abhängig davon angewendet, welches Land gerade politisch bestraft werden soll. Und genau danach sieht es aus.
Der Ausschluss Russlands aus weiten Teilen des internationalen Sports war von Anfang an weniger ein sportliches Instrument als eine Form politischer Sanktion. Er sollte Russland isolieren, aus internationalen Strukturen verdrängen und zugleich demonstrieren, dass ein Land, das sich dem westlichen politischen Konsens widersetzt, selbst in Bereichen bestraft werden kann, die mit Außenpolitik überhaupt nichts zu tun haben.
Dass dabei ausgerechnet junge Sportler getroffen wurden, machte die Angelegenheit nur noch grotesker.
Gerade die Jugendspiele in Dakar zeigen nun, wie widersprüchlich das System geworden ist. Einerseits erklärt der IOC plötzlich, insbesondere junge Athleten dürften nicht für Entscheidungen ihrer Regierungen verantwortlich gemacht werden. Andererseits bleiben die Folgen der früheren politischen Entscheidungen bestehen, weil einzelne Verbände weiterhin eigene Restriktionen anwenden können.
So entsteht keine Rückkehr zum Sport, sondern ein Flickenteppich politischer Loyalitätsprüfungen.
Dazu kommt die besondere Behandlung russischer Athleten im Anti-Doping-System. Wer nach längerer Abwesenheit wieder in internationale Wettbewerbe zurückkehrt, muss mehrfach getestet worden sein, russische Anti-Doping-Programme werden zusätzlich international überwacht, und einzelne Verbände können weitere Anforderungen festlegen.
Formal lässt sich das alles mit der Vorgeschichte des russischen Dopingsystems begründen. Praktisch entsteht aber erneut eine zusätzliche Hürde, die ausschließlich eine bestimmte Nationalität betrifft. Auch hier lautet das Problem nicht, dass kontrolliert wird. Dopingkontrollen sind notwendig. Die Frage ist vielmehr, wann Kontrolle aufhört, allgemeine sportliche Regel zu sein, und wann sie zum zusätzlichen politischen Zulassungsinstrument wird.
Parallel dazu verkauft der IOC Dakar 2026 als großes historisches Projekt: die ersten Olympischen Spiele auf afrikanischem Boden, ein Fest der Jugend, Afrikas und der internationalen Verständigung. Schöne Worte.
Die finanziellen und infrastrukturellen Risiken trägt allerdings vor allem Senegal. Sportstätten müssen modernisiert, Infrastruktur geschaffen, Sicherheits- und Organisationskosten übernommen werden. Der IOC erhält dagegen genau das, was eine Organisation seiner Art am dringendsten benötigt: neue Märkte, neue Bilder und den enormen symbolischen Gewinn, erstmals die olympischen Ringe auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent präsentieren zu können.
Auch das gehört inzwischen zum modernen Olympismus: Risiken werden lokalisiert, der internationale Reputationsgewinn wird globalisiert.
Und gleichzeitig spricht man weiter von Frieden, Völkerverständigung und politischer Neutralität. Vielleicht liegt gerade darin die größte Ironie. Der Sport sollte eigentlich einer der letzten Räume sein, in denen ein Mensch nicht als Bürger eines „richtigen“ oder „falschen“ Staates betrachtet wird, sondern schlicht als Athlet. Genau deshalb existiert überhaupt die Idee des Fair Play.
Doch im Verhältnis zu Russland wurde dieser Grundsatz jahrelang außer Kraft gesetzt. Nicht weil dadurch ein Krieg beendet worden wäre. Nicht weil ein russischer Judoka Einfluss auf Entscheidungen im Kreml hätte. Nicht weil ein 17-jähriger Schwimmer die russische Außenpolitik bestimmen könnte. Sondern weil Russland bestraft werden sollte.
Und besonders in Europa wurde diese Bestrafung längst zu einem politischen Selbstzweck. Russland muss ausgeschlossen, isoliert und sanktioniert werden – selbst dort, wo der Zusammenhang zwischen Sanktion und angeblichem Ziel vollkommen verschwunden ist.
Wenn dieselben Prinzipien bei anderen Kriegen plötzlich nicht mehr gelten, bleibt am Ende nur eine Erklärung übrig: Es geht nicht um universelle Regeln. Es geht darum, gegen wen sie angewendet werden.
Spätestens dort endet Fair Play und beginnt Politik. Oder, präziser gesagt: blanke Russophobie im Sportdress.
El Barça no tiene término medio desde la llegada de Hansi Flick en 2024. A una serie de 11 victorias consecutivas, nueve de Liga —una cifra récord— y dos en la Champions desde que se inició la temporada, han seguido dos derrotas, una en cada torneo, en la Copa de Europa en París y en el Camp Nou frente al Madrid. Los azulgrana tienen alergia al empate si se tiene en cuenta que solo contabilizan 10 en 130 partidos, siete en el ejercicio 2024-2025 y tres en el 2025-2026, una circunstancia a valorar porque perdió contra el PSG por 4-2 después de igualar el partido (2-2) en el minuto 80 y cedió por 1-2 ante el equipo de Mourinho con un segundo gol de Mbappe al contrataque en el minuto 86 cuando el marcador era de 1-1.
Namibia look to clinch the series against Ireland in the fourth ODI, with the visitors needing a win to force a decider. Check the match time and streaming details.
Timmy Chang, Hawai’i’s current head coach, became the NCAA’s all-time passing yards leader under the tutelage of Jones. He said "words can’t express the sorrow" he feels learning of his old coach’s passing.
"Coach Jones was a father figure, a mentor, and a visionary who revolutionized the game," Chang said in a statement, per ESPN. "He believed in a young kid from Hawai’i and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to run his offense. And his impact didn’t stop when my playing days ended. He guided me every step of the way as I transitioned into coaching, always making time to share his wisdom and support me when I took over this program.
"He put Hawai'i football on the map and showed us all what was possible. We lost a true legend today, but I will spend the rest of my career trying to honor his legacy, his passion for this university and the Aloha he shared with everyone he touched. My deepest condolences go out to his 'ohana and all those who he impacted."
After playing college ball at Hawai’i, Portland State and Oregon, Jones signed as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons, whom he spent four seasons with, backing up quarterback Steve Bartkowski. He started five games in his NFL career, winning just one.
Jones’ coaching career began right after his playing days were over. He eventually worked his way to become the Falcons’ head coach from 1994-96, and he would be named the interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1998.
He had an opportunity to remain in place, but he decided to head back to Hawai’i to become its head coach. Jones led the Rainbow Warriors to conference titles in 1999 and 2007, the latter season being a historic one.
Hawai’i began the season 12-0 and made the school’s first-ever BCS bowl game (Sugar Bowl).
"The 2007 season and making the Sugar Bowl, that went over what anybody ever thought was possible," Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, a former Rainbow Warriors player and assistant coach, said in a statement. "I was on the field for the game [against] the University of Washington. We were down 21 points, not once but twice, and still came back to win against a very formidable opponent. That kind of coaching and who he was was very, very special. He leaves an incredible legacy here. June was very special, we will miss him, but his legacy will live on."
The Milwaukee Brewers' first World Series title meant the world to their loyal fans, and would have meant the world to the late, beloved broadcaster Bob Uecker.
Uecker was the Brewers’ radio broadcaster for 54 seasons, from 1971 to 2024, and became a Brewers legend. He died at age 90 in January 2025. Brewers captain Christian Yelich was particularly close to Uecker and offered a touching tribute after the team’s World Series victory.
"He’s smiling, man. I really wish he could have been here to see this," Yelich said. "It would have meant everything to him, but like we said a bunch, he’s been with us a lot. We keep him close to our hearts."
"He said, ‘Look, I helped you against the Padres and I messed with the Dodgers a little bit and then you came here and you’re on your own because we had a doubleheader and they actually let me catch the last three innings of the game.’"
Murphy was referring to the broadcaster’s time as a player, when Uecker was a catcher in the big leagues for six seasons, from 1962 to 1967.
"But you did it for the city, you did it for the state, and you boys ought to be awfully proud to know that you’re the first ever Milwaukee Brewer team to be World Champions."
Mac Jones may be able to deliver a strike with a 300-pound defensive lineman about to hit him, but the Pro Bowler can’t handle seafood. Or coffee.
Jones, 28, is single and was asked about his biggest dating red flags. Claire Kittle, wife of San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle, answered for him.
"You don’t eat seafood!" Kittle said during an episode of "The Kittle Things." "Oh, and you don’t drink coffee. That one might be worse."
"Yeah. I’d say that those are probably my two biggest ones," Jones said on "The Kittle Things."
The 49ers backup quarterback joked that he would ask for the kids’ menu at a seafood restaurant. Jones said he has recently gotten back into the dating game and offered some advice for anyone interested.
Claire praised Jones for maintaining a positive attitude during difficult stretches of the season, such as when the team deals with injuries or consecutive losses.
The 49ers have certainly dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, but they have managed to overcome them and are 6-1 and atop the NFC West. With starting quarterback Brock Purdy healthy, Jones has appeared in just one game this season, entering after the 49ers had already put the game out of reach.
Victor Wembanyama is unquestionably one of basketball's brightest young stars. In his third NBA season, he led the San Antonio Spurs to the Finals.
San Antonio ultimately lost the series to the New York Knicks in five games. Wembanyama earned several individual honors, including his first Defensive Player of the Year award and All-NBA selection.
The French-born Spurs forward opened the 2026-27 season under enormous expectations. The 7-foot-4 star was a preseason favorite to win the NBA MVP award, while San Antonio entered the season as an odds-on favorite to win the championship.
The postseason also marked a notable shift in how the public viewed Wembanyama. Once a widely beloved sports figure, he was increasingly cast by some as a villain.
A series of on-court incidents fueled claims that Wembanyama had become a "dirty" player. One of those situations surfaced in the Western Conference semifinals, when his elbow made contact with then-Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid.
During the Finals, many Knicks fans grew furious at times over Wembanyama’s defense against Jalen Brunson.
Once viewed as a conquering hero, Wembanyama was quickly cast as a New York sports villain. But he insisted the criticism does not faze him.
"No, it didn't because I'm not paying attention to this ... during the Finals. I don't think any player on either team really is," Wembanyama told "60 Minutes" when asked about his portrayal as a villain in a clip released Thursday ahead of Sunday’s full sit-down interview.
Although Wembanyama said he tunes out much of the noise, he does not appear eager to let the villain label stick. He added that last season’s playoff run taught him where to draw the line between playing with a competitive edge and going a step farther than he should, acknowledging that he crossed it at times.
"It showed my limits more than anything else. Going out there, you need to play basketball. You don't need to beat the s--- out of people. [laughs] If you wanna win, at least," Wembanyama said while reflecting on the lessons he learned from last season’s playoff run.
Wembanyama also drew public attention before some Finals games began. He was seen standing with his arms crossed during the U.S. national anthem before Game 1, but reportedly was not on the court for the anthems before Games 3 and 4.
He has not publicly explained why he stood with his arms crossed before Game 1 on June 3. Wembanyama has played in all five of San Antonio’s regular-season games this season, averaging 25 points per game.
Imagine a place where people are twice as likely to say something negative about you as something positive. A place where they feel free to insult you in ways they would never attempt in person. A place where they are incentivized, sometimes financially, for saying things about you that are untrue.
Social media is that place.
Online hate has received renewed attention in recent weeks. Most notably, ESPN commentator Pat McAfee cited online remarks, lies, and death threats when explaining why he felt unsafe at a Utah college campus last week. He said people frequently tell him they want to "Kirk" him, a reference to the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk.
OutKick founder Clay Travis has described receiving similar messages almost every day. McAfee and Travis are not alone. Anyone with a public platform or a controversial opinion has likely faced an online barrage of abuse, often more than once.
In my experience, negative comments outnumber positive ones by an even wider margin than the nearly two-to-one ratio University of Minnesota researchers found.
The mental health consequences are not only measurable but notable.
In a 2025 experiment involving 128 adults, participants exposed to negative social media comments recorded anxiety scores of 2.42, compared with 1.77 among those who saw neutral comments and 1.55 among those who saw positive comments. Their pleasant mood scores also fell to 2.37, compared with 3.05 after neutral comments and 3.25 after positive comments.
Translation: their moods were tied to what people say to them and about them online.
A separate meta-analysis found that adolescents who experienced cyberbullying had 2.73 times the odds of developing depression as those who had not.
The numbers are concerning. Social media hostility can cause serious distress, from children and teenagers to professional athletes and public figures.
Jesse Morse, M.D., built an X following of more than 200,000 people by providing injury analysis on NFL players. His account generated enough engagement to qualify for monetization. Last week, he said he had "retired" from the role because of the relentless negativity.
"My reputation is not worth it. I get so much hate. It’s just not worth it anymore," Morse wrote.
Maybe it is not worth it. That is for you to decide.
But the people spreading the hate are not worth it. They are not worth acknowledging. They are mere strangers to you.
Think about the logic of allowing someone who does not know you to determine your mood. If someone criticized a movie but admitted they had watched only a few seconds, you would dismiss the review immediately. You wouldn't give credibility to someone judging an entire film from an incomplete sample.
Social media criticism is often no different. People are far more complex than films. And yet, most users who insult you are responding to a single post, comment or moment. They are judging your character based on one short scene.
Their opinion is not credible. It only becomes so if you decide to make it credible.
Social media also distorts public opinion. Studies show that negative content is overrepresented because it attracts more engagement and spreads more widely. In return, positive reactions are quieter and less visible. The online response is not a representative sample of the real world.
In previous generations, most people had no idea what strangers thought of them. Strangers had no way to announce their opinions directly.
Now they do.
That is the only thing that has changed.
Their opinions have not become more informed, accurate or important simply because technology can deliver them to your phone.
So stop treating them as if they have.
Do not let people who do not know you define you. Do not let the most unreasonable and uninformed people defeat you.
Ignore them. Turn off your mentions. Restrict replies. Disable public comments. Delete social media, if you wish. The moment you stop giving strangers access to your attention, you render them powerless.
Unless a troll is a direct threat to what matters most in your life — friends, family, career, health, safety — they should have no place in your mind.
Tap the kegs and break out the bratwurst, the Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions! Milwaukee is the smallest market in the major leagues. But this year, the Brewers dominated the regular season, and then rolled through the playoffs with ruthless efficiency. To break it all down, Stephanie Sy spoke with Jason Gay, a sports columnist at The Wall Street Journal.
The Milwaukee Brewers are 2026 World Series champions, bringing home the organization's first ever title. For the franchise and their fans, it was the culmination of years of quality scouting, drafting, international signings, player development, and remarkably successful trades.
It was also a near-perfect example of what it takes to win a championship in baseball.
While William Contreras won World Series MVP, voters had plenty of options to choose from on the Milwaukee roster. Jackson Chourio became the first player since Babe Ruth, yes, literally Babe Ruth, to have 10 hits in the first four games of a World Series. Cooper Pratt, a light-hitting, defense-first shortstop, set a rookie record with hits in six straight at bats from game four to game five.
Brice Turang hit .316, below average hitter David Hamilton crushed what looked like a huge home run in game four. Aaron Ashby went 5.2 innings with no runs, just one hit allowed and nine strikeouts. Abner Uribe allowed just two hits in 5 innings. Jacob Misiorowski allowed only one run in 10.2 innings, winning game one and the clinching game five. Robert Gasser was equally unhittable, with just one run allowed in his game three start. A start so incredible that it was the first of its type by a left-handed pitcher since legendary Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax.
The whole team was World Series MVP. The whole team was NLCS MVP, and NLDS MVP too. Milwaukee went 11-2 in the postseason against the San Diego Padres, the hottest team in baseball in the second half, the star-studded 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers, and the 98-win Tampa Bay Rays, who tore through the American League. They won eight straight games in the playoffs. Their two losses came by a combined two runs, and their one World Series loss was on a walk-off in the 12th inning after they blew a 3-2 lead.
It's not a stretch to say it's one of the most dominant stretches of playoff baseball in the history of the sport. And it's why we can make the argument that the Milwaukee Brewers broke Major League Baseball. It's not supposed to be this easy, and it rarely is, even for some of the most expensive, talented rosters we've ever seen.
The 2024 Dodgers, with Shohei Ohtani coming off the first 50-50 season in history and a long list of other stars, were down 2-1 in the NLDS to the Padres before coming back to win. It took them six games to beat the Mets in the NLCS. They very nearly lost the clinching game five of the World Series, falling behind 5-0 to the Yankees before the New York defense went on a comical run of errors and mental mistakes. In 2025, they were down to their final two outs in game seven of the series against Toronto, until Miguel Rojas hit a miraculous game-tying homer.
Milwaukee? They never trailed in a series, or even came close. They had a 2-0 lead in the NLDS, a 4-0 lead in the NLCS, and a 3-0 lead in the World Series. It's remarkable.
Which raises the question, how did they do it? What was their philosophy and approach in October? The real answer, boring as it might be, they didn't do anything. Baseball happened.
That's not to say that the Brewers don't have good players or didn't have good results. Misiorowski is going to win the Cy Young Award at 24-years-old, and looks set to dominate the league for years to come. Christian Yelich is a former MVP, multiple-time Silver Slugger Award winner and borderline candidate for the Hall of Fame. William Contreras has been a top-three catcher in baseball for several years. Garrett Mitchell is a former first round pick and top prospect, as is Brice Turang. Jackson Chourio is already a star at 22.
The big secret the Brewers discovered? Have your players get hot at the right time, have a few bounces go your way, rely on some of your less talented players to hit perfectly timed home runs, and sit back and watch as your bullpen goes from very good to almost literally untouchable.
Every year, the greater baseball world looks to find some sort of meaning or blueprint from the team that wins the World Series. In 2024 and 2025, the Dodgers "proved" that you can just guarantee a title by spending money, even though the Mets and Yankees haven't won in decades. In 2023, the Rangers showed you need a veteran manager like Bruce Bochy, and that home runs, Texas hit eight in five games, are how you win in October. Very smart analysts have pointed to quality bullpens, big midseason trades, drafting and development, free agency, dominant starting rotations, home runs, or making contact and putting the ball in play. The reality? You need all of those, and you can't predict which ones you'll actually get when it matters.
Not once in these discussions does anyone acknowledge that the different paths taken by different teams demonstrate that there is no one way to win a championship. And that the disparate approaches to roster construction show that what actually matters is a combination of timing, randomness, luck, and talent. Because there has to be meaning and lessons and broad conclusions to draw from every outcome, the baseball world picks a reason and explanation, then quietly discards it when next year's team does the opposite.
Here are a few examples of why looking for meaning in playoff baseball is pointless. "Clutch" hitting is frequently praised as meaningful and predictive. Some players just have the "clutch" gene, the received baseball wisdom goes. So let's look at superstar shorstop Corey Seager as an example. Seager had an astonishing run in the 2020 playoffs, hitting. 328 with eight home runs and 20 runs batted in, winning NLCS and World Series MVP. One of the best postseasons ever. Clutch hitter, right?
In 2016 and 2017, he went a combined 18 for 82. Then in the 2019 postseason went 3-20 with two singles and no homers. In 2021, Seager was 9-48, a .188 batting average. In 2023, he was once again a force of nature for Texas, hitting .318 with six homers. So is Seager the clutch playoff force from 2020 and 2023, or the hopeless, unclutch, "moment is too big" failure from 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021?
Therein lies the problem. Corey Seager is an elite hitter, but even the best hitters go through hot and cold streaks. Pitchers go through hot and cold streaks. They can't pick and choose when those streaks happen, because if they could, they'd all pick to be hot in October. Derek Jeter hit .235 in the 1998 playoffs, .226 in the 2001 playoffs, .245 in 2004, .176 in 2007, and .250 in 2010 and 2011. He also had plenty of very good results in other years. That's baseball.
Aaron Ashby quite literally had the greatest October by a relief pitcher in baseball history. Next year, he could be the worst pitcher on the team in the NLDS. That's baseball. Robert Gasser could be horrible next season after his dominance in this year's playoffs. That's baseball. Look at last year's Toronto Blue Jays.
Ernie Clement, literally Ernie Clement, set the record for most hits in a single postseason with an incredible 30 in 73 at bats. In 2026, he was 20% worse than league average offensively, cost his team 14 runs compared to an average hitter, and had a .285 on base percentage. In the 2025 playoffs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a .356 batting average on balls in play. Addison Barger was .422, Ernie Clement was .420, and George Springer .319. Predictably, the Blue Jays scored a lot of runs in October.
In 2026, Guerrero had a .288 BABIP, Springer was .282, Clement .272, and Barger was .063 in his few games before he got hurt. Toronto finished in last place and missed the playoffs. That is also baseball. There's no predictive value from the tournament, because players do not magically become different in October. There's just a typical distribution of outcomes, particularly among good teams, that sometimes goes your way and sometimes doesn't.
None of this means the Brewers didn't deserve to win, or weren't a good team. They absolutely did, and they absolutely are. They deserve an immense amount of credit for identifying players in the draft or international markets, as well as in trades and free agency, that they thought they could improve or would fit specific needs. But looking for some sort of explanation or path for your favorite team to follow is insane. Because while you need good players to win, you can't predict how they'll perform over a few weeks of small sample sizes. It's just...baseball. Enjoy it when your team wins, celebrate it, and understand that the inherent variability of it ensures it can't ever be broken.
The Kansas City Chiefs brought in Justin Tucker amid Harrison Butker’s struggles, but special teams coordinator Dave Toub made it clear who the starting kicker is.
Butker has struggled this season, making just 11 of 16 field-goal attempts, with four of his misses coming over his last four games. Amid those woes, the team brought in Tucker to provide competition, but Toub remained steadfast in his support of Butker.
"Butker is our kicker," Toub told reporters on Thursday. "We’re trying to improve, we’re trying to get Butker right. That’s what this whole thing is about."
Toub said Butker has performed well in practice this week despite windy conditions and Tucker’s presence.
"He went 10-for-10 yesterday with Tucker standing right there," Toub said. "And he went 10-for-10. On a windy day, it was 28-mile-an-hour gusts yesterday, and he went 10-for-10. And I thought right before out to practice, I was going, ‘This poor bastard,’ I mean, it’s 28-mile-an-hour gusts and he’s got to go out there and try to — and he did it. He went 10-for-10, so that’s a good thing. So we’re going to keep working it."
The Chiefs worked out Ben Sauls, Harrison Mevis and Tucker, and Toub was asked why the team chose the former Baltimore Ravens kicker.
"Because (Justin Tucker) he is a good kicker. And I've heard he's been out making the rounds, and we talk. All the special teams coaches talk. He had four workouts before we brought—we were his fifth workout, tryout. And the word was that he was hitting the ball great, and I wanted to see it. I always thought he was a great kicker, and those two guys right now, Harrison and him, they idolized each other in the league when they were kicking together. He was out there, he did his 10-game suspension, so he was available, we brought him in," Toub said.
Toub said he put the kickers through a "grueling workout" that included a "30 kick," extra points, seven attempts from beyond 50 yards and one from 60 yards. Tucker made every kick with exceptional accuracy.
"Not only did he make them, he was accurate. 60 percent of his kicks were inside of a six-foot cylinder in the middle of the uprights. Somebody that's struggling as a kicker is not able to put the ball with that kind of accuracy," Toub said. "So, he was off the charts good. That's the reason why we signed him to the practice squad."
Tucker served a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after 16 female massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior during sessions between 2012 and 2016, according to reporting by The Baltimore Banner in January 2025.
On Feb. 16 of last year, the same outlet reported that seven more women had come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Tucker. The longtime Ravens kicker denied the allegations in a statement to OutKick.
"I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider," he said. "These claims are simply not true."
"I can assure whoever is reading this that I have never intended to disrespect anyone, cross any boundary, or make anyone feel uncomfortable in any way whatsoever."
While Toub said Butker is still the team’s kicker, that could change if his struggles continue. Toub described Butker’s missed 45-yard field goal in the team’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks as a "bad miss."
"You’ve got to make the kicks," Toub said. "The short kicks — that’s considered a short kick — you’ve got to make those in situations where it’s a tight game like that. It was an issue in that game, for sure."
The Chiefs next game is against the Denver Broncos at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
With the Indianapolis Colts already beginning their fire sale, NFL trade deadline speculation swirls around running back Jonathan Taylor.
Will the Colts let their biggest offensive weapon go to accumulate my draft stock?
Taylor was asked about the rumors, and for one, he has not requested a trade. He has reaffirmed his desire to stay, but also understands that’s not his call at the end of the day.
Business is business in the NFL, and he understands that.
"I haven’t heard anything," he said on Thursday, per FOX59’s Mike Chappell. "I can’t control that, obviously. Like you guys know, I’m proud to wear the horseshoe, proud to be here. Similar to Quenton [Nelson] and [DeForest Buckner], they were proud to wear the horseshoe, they were proud to be here. But obviously, circumstances may cause otherwise. Hopefully that day may not come, but I can’t control that."
The Colts initiated a blockbuster to kick off the trade deadline period, sending Nelson, an All-Pro guard, to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and 2028 fifth-round pick on Tuesday.
Then, fellow All-Pro DeForest Buckner, who is also a three-time Pro Bowler, reunited with the San Francisco 49ers, the team that took him seventh overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, after the Colts traded him for a 2027 fourth-round pick later on Tuesday.
Since then, wide receiver Josh Downs has reportedly requested a trade from Indianapolis. And this all comes after owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired GM Chris Ballard on Oct. 19 following a 10-year stint with the team that went 72-82-1 under his roster construction.
So, it’s hard to focus on the weekly grind when those trade rumors are flying around with other players, but Taylor, despite him being atop team’s list if available, is trying his best to block it out.
"The only thing that I can control is rallying these guys in the locker room, helping us put together a great plan and executing a great plan for Jacksonville because it's a division game and they're licking their chops right now. They think they're going to kick us while we're down and that has to be the point of emphasis," he added.
Irsay-Gordon reportedly does not want to move Taylor, who signed a two-year, $44 million contract extension in August. But we’ve already seen players, who signed extensions get dealt, with the Tennessee Titans reaching a blockbuster deal with the Chicago Bears on Thursday despite inking a three-year, $105.8 million deal that made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league back in June.
The Colts also landed New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner this time last year after he signed an extension. So, anything is in the cards, especially when there’s a lot of time left for teams to consider trades before the deadline on Nov. 10.
Meanwhile, head coach Shane Steichen will continue to prepare his club. He was asked if Taylor had asked for a trade.
"Those are hypothetical things right now," he responded. "I know there’s stuff floating around there, but JT’s on our football team."
If the Colts are indeed willing to trade Taylor for the right package, a team would be getting one of the best at his position in the NFL. The 27-year-old has rushed for at least 1,100 yards in four of his six NFL campaigns, and he’s on pace for another after rushing for 587 yards with eight touchdowns through seven games.
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