The Buzz — Tuesday, October 20

Freddy Peralta

The take Peralta ALCS MVP after Game 6, Rays to WS vs Brewers

The MVP trophy was earned, not gifted. Across three ALCS appearances — two starts and a relief outing — Peralta gave up one run in 12 innings, a 0.75 ERA built on six scoreless in Game 2 and two key relief outs in Game 4. The clincher was the capper: 5 1/3 innings, one run, a 7-3 win that sent Tampa Bay to the World Series.

What makes the arc worth tracing is where he was in August. The Mets traded him with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts, a starter who had lost his footing. The Rays got a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts, an AL Pitcher of the Month, and now a series MVP. He faces Milwaukee next — the organization he spent his first eight major-league seasons with, the city he says gave him his opportunity. He said it is time to compete. The stage is built for exactly that.

Freddy Peralta cards on eBay →(paid link)

Randy Arozarena

The take Arozarena at Rays ALCS, Caminero does his celebration pose

The cameras found Arozarena in the second row behind home plate, and Caminero found him too. The rookie's two-run homer off Cade Smith made it 5-1 in the seventh, and during a trot that lasted 38.66 seconds — the second-slowest under Statcast tracking since 2015 — he pointed at Arozarena and crossed his arms in the pose the man made famous in the 2020 postseason. Caminero said it came naturally, that he just saw him and did it. That is a torch passing in real time, whether either of them called it that or not.

Randy Arozarena cards on eBay →(paid link)

Aaron Boone

The take Boone kept as Yankees skipper after another ALDS exit

Across nine seasons, Boone's Yankees are 790-565 — a .583 winning percentage, three AL East titles, eight playoff appearances in nine years. The Yankees have been good every year he has managed them except one.

The frustration is that good is the ceiling the record keeps pointing to. One World Series appearance, a loss to the Dodgers in 2024, and no championship to show for any of it. The 2026 team won 93 games, swept the Red Sox, then got swept by the Rays. Sources confirmed Boone will manage 2027 — the final year of a two-year, $10.5 million extension — and the club has not commented publicly. He is not a new hire. He is the same manager on the same contract, and the organization decided that was better than the alternative.

Aaron Boone cards on eBay →(paid link)

Tyler Glasnow

The take Glasnow at Trop supporting old Rays in ALCS clincher

Glasnow's own October ended days earlier — 4 earned runs in 4.1 innings in NLCS Game 4, the Dodgers swept out 4-0. So he sat in the stands at Tropicana Field to watch the Rays clinch. He spent six seasons in Tampa Bay and was on the 2020 World Series team. This is a former Ray coming home, not a celebrity drop-in. The 3.53 ERA in 13 starts says he can still pitch. The 5.00 postseason mark says he did not when it mattered.

Tyler Glasnow cards on eBay →(paid link)

William Contreras

The take Brewers catcher starring in NLCS, key in WS preview

The NLCS numbers are the headline, but the regular season is the foundation. Contreras led all major-league catchers in innings behind the plate for a third straight year over 1,000 innings, drove in 89 runs as a catcher to break Ted Simmons' Brewers record, and hit .270 with 18 home runs and 94 RBIs. The .758 OPS is not a star line. The workload is.

Then October came and the bat caught up to the volume. In NLCS Game 2 against the Dodgers, Contreras went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs — a tying single in the first, a tying solo homer in the fifth, a go-ahead single in the sixth. He became the fourth player ever to deliver three game-tying or go-ahead hits in a single postseason game. Through the NLCS his line reads .367 with a 1.157 OPS, and the Brewers swept the Dodgers to reach the World Series for the first time since 1982.

Bradford Doolittle's World Series preview for ESPN named Contreras as the one player most crucial to Milwaukee's chances — the driving force, the most intense competitor. A catcher who leads the league in innings, breaks a club RBI record, and then posts a 1.157 OPS in October is exactly the player a preview should build around. They brought the right catcher to this series.

William Contreras cards on eBay →(paid link)