When No. 8 Texas Tech takes the field this Saturday against No. 7 BYU (12 p.m. ET, ABC), the on-field action between the two top-10 Big 12 teams may seem familiar, but something will be missing from the game’s opening kickoff aesthetic: tortillas won’t be flying in Jones AT&T Stadium.

The signature sign a Red Raiders football game is taking place has been around since the late 1980s — home or away. It reached its peak during the 1990s and has since become cemented in college football lore.

While meant for Texas Tech fans, even some players have taken part in the tradition.

Most recently, during Colorado‘s 2024 matchup against the Red Raiders in Lubbock, former two-way Heisman Trophy winner and current Jacksonville Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter snagged a tortilla that landed a few inches in front of him on the field seconds before a Texas Tech snap and stuffed it in his pants.

Midgame snack? Perhaps.

But the tradition seems to be over after the Big 12 doubled down on a cancellation.

Here is everything you need to know about Texas Tech’s tortilla tradition.

When and why did the tortilla toss begin?

In the late 1980s, Texas Tech fans would throw the lids of their 44-ounce Cokes onto the field, according to the Lubbock Avalanche Journal. Concessions discontinued the sales of the large sodas, resulting in fans resorting to a cheaper and easily accessible item: tortillas.

One theory traces the tradition back to 1992, when Texas Tech faced then-No. 5 Texas A&M in College Station and an announcer said there was “nothing but Tech football and a tortilla factory in Lubbock,” leading up to the game, prompting fans to toss tortillas in response.

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When did the tortilla toss get banned?

Texas Tech officially announced the change to its game-day fan policy on Oct. 20, stating that objects thrown in Jones AT&T Stadium — name-dropping tortillas specifically — would result in immediate ejection and the prevention of future ticket privileges for the remainder of the season for the fans who commit the act.

The school also directly asked fans not to participate in the tortilla toss “at any point in the game.”

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and head coach Joey McGuire also announced the halt of the game-day tradition in a news conference that same day.

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Why did the tortilla toss get banned?

In August, Big 12 athletic directors voted to penalize teams 15 yards after two warnings for objects being thrown onto the field. It was a 15-1 vote –Texas Tech’s Hocutt being the only AD to vote against the matter.

Hocutt was determined to find a way to keep the tortilla toss tradition alive, writing on social media after the decision: “the rules can change. But our tradition will not.”

Texas Tech then matched up with Kansas on Oct. 11 in Lubbock, where the Red Raiders were assessed two penalties for fans throwing tortillas in a 42-17 win. Following the victory, McGuire embraced Kansas head coach Lance Leipold at midfield, where the two had a heated exchange over the tortillas.

Leipold called out the Big 12 about the issue, saying it was “poorly handled.”

With the Red Raiders off to one of the best starts in school history, Hocutt and McGuire ultimately changed course on the tradition.

“We know that as Red Raiders, no one tells us what to do. We make our own decisions. This situation is on me. I leaned into throwing tortillas at the beginning of the football season. Now I must ask everyone to stop,” Hocutt said.

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How is the tortilla toss ban being enforced?

Texas Tech says that it has installed a number of new surveillance cameras to help with security in Jones AT&T Stadium. It will refer to the cameras to point out violators who throw tortillas — or any other item — which could result in immediate ejection and the loss of future ticket privileges for the remainder of the season.

As for the Red Raiders program, officials will assess a warning before a 15-yard penalty and $100,000 fine is issued.

LUBBOCK, Texas — I have the deal of a lifetime for you. Give me a call, bro.

Minutes after David Bailey entered the transfer portal March 28, Texas Tech general manager James Blanchard sent him that text message. The pass rusher from Stanford didn’t respond. He wasn’t answering calls, either.

Blanchard reached out to Bailey’s agent, who informed him that the coveted transfer was leaning toward going to UCLA. But Blanchard wasn’t giving up that easily. That night, he tried appealing to Bailey with one more text.

David, give me 120 seconds to have a convo with you. If you’re not interested after that, I’ll leave you alone.

Bailey remembers he was hanging out at a friend’s house on a Friday night, back home after recently graduating from Stanford. He took the phone call out of curiosity. Bailey had been at the top of Blanchard’s list of edge rusher targets in December, and the GM was willing to pay whatever he wanted.

Texas Tech wasn’t just talking about going to $2 million. They were ultimately willing to make him the highest-paid defensive player in college football with a deal exceeding $3 million in compensation, sources familiar with the negotiation told ESPN. It’s possible no defender in college football has earned more in the NIL era.

“I took that call,” Bailey said, “and, yeah, everything changed for me.”

Within two days, Bailey was on Texas Tech’s campus for a visit. He still went on trips to Texas and UCLA, trying to gather as much information as he could ahead of a life-changing decision. But in the end, the Red Raiders made an offer he couldn’t refuse.

And just like that, Texas Tech has built what it believed to be the best defensive line in college football. Bailey and Romello Height (Georgia Tech) bringing nonstop pressure off the edge. Lee Hunter (UCF), Skyler Gill-Howard (Northern Illinois) and A.J. Holmes Jr. (Houston) wreaking havoc inside. Five hand-picked players out of the portal who could transform not just their front but their entire defense.

Blanchard knew it when he first spoke with Bailey. “I’m telling you this is going to be the outcome,” he remembers saying. Bailey asked what made him so certain.

“The Big 12 isn’t equipped to deal with this,” Blanchard said.

The Red Raiders invested more than $7 million to secure these newcomers along the defensive line. They’ve been worth every penny for a program chasing its first Big 12 title and now ranks No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings ahead of Saturday’s game with unbeaten BYU (12 p.m. ET, ABC).

Bailey is the national sack leader with 11.5 and well on his way to becoming a first-round pick. He and Height, whom Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire lovingly refers to both as “Velociraptors,” are two of the most destructive pass rushers in the sport. Hunter, their star defensive tackle, is enjoying a career-best year. The Red Raiders have generated an FBS-high 175 pressures through nine games and needed just seven games to surpass their 2024 season sack total.

Now, BYU and “College GameDay” come to town in the Red Raiders’ most anticipated and consequential home game since they stunned Texas in 2008. Texas Tech assembled the most talented defensive line this program has seen — and spent all those millions — for moments like these.

“Ever since we walked in the building, I told Lee, ‘Man, this team is going to be special. We’re going to go a long way. This team is going to go far,'” Height said. “Lee was like, ‘We’re going to see.’ But now we all see.”

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ROMELLO HEIGHT DOESN’T hesitate to explain why he picked Texas Tech last December.

“I’m not shy to tell you about this NIL,” he said. “It’s all over the internet now.”

Height said he made $250,000 last year at Georgia Tech. His agent was seeking a raise to $500,000 ahead of Height’s senior season, a number he felt was fair market value, but was rebuffed. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound outside linebacker had a good year for the Yellow Jackets after transferring from USC, totalling a team-high 29 pressures off the edge, but finished with only 2.5 sacks. Height insists he wasn’t looking to leave.

“They were like, ‘Nah, we overpaid him already,'” Height said. “So, my agent was like, ‘All right, we’re going to go get overpaid somewhere else.'”

Height was a big priority for Blanchard. He had watched tape of 50 other defensive ends and outside linebackers, and felt strongly that Height had all the traits he was looking for as the top pass rusher available in the December portal period. Blanchard wasn’t concerned about the lack of sack production. The way he sees it, sacks are 1% of the equation, and Height does the other 99% of his job at a high level, consistently forcing QBs to move off their spot.

“People were trying to say it was other guys, but Romello was the best one,” Blanchard said. “Y’all don’t know what y’all are looking at.”

His value in Texas Tech’s estimation: $1.5 million.

“Super jaw-dropping,” Height said.

The Red Raiders made the decision even easier for Height when they signed Hunter. The two were close friends from playing together at Auburn in 2021 and eager to reunite.

Hunter, the massive 6-foot-4, 330-pound defensive tackle from UCF whom teammates nicknamed “The Fridge,” entered the portal after coach Guz Malzahn left to become the OC at Florida State. Hunter had a lot of loyalty to Malzahn, who had recruited him since he was a high school freshman, and felt ready for a fresh start.

He lined up visits to Texas Tech followed by Texas, but committed during his trip to Lubbock. While he felt at home on the visit, he credits his mother for encouraging his decision. He said she has always been good at reading people and their “energy and vibe,” and she was totally won over by the warmth and authenticity of McGuire.

“When your mama keeps telling you something, you got to go with it, you know?” Hunter said. “Probably one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”

The next morning, Hunter and Blanchard were at breakfast, and Texas kept calling.

“He said, ‘Don’t worry, Blanch, I gave my word, we good,'” Blanchard said.

Hunter flew to DFW International Airport on his way home to Mobile, Alabama. He said Longhorn coaches were waiting for him at the airport, in a last-ditch effort to get him on a flight to Austin.

“Me and my mom didn’t have much time to talk because we had like 10 minutes to get to the next gate,” Hunter said. “We kept walking. I got on a plane and went to Alabama and came back a Red Raider.”

Texas Tech paired him with two more key defensive tackles in Gill-Howard from Northern Illinois and Holmes from Houston. Many coaches were hesitant to pursue Gill-Howard based on his size (he was listed at 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds), lack of starting experience and concerns he might not perform at the Power 4 level.

Blanchard had stumbled upon him during the scouting process and trusted what he saw on tape, a disruptive player on a top-25 defense who played well against Notre Dame. He felt comfortable taking a chance on Holmes, a 16-game starter who had just played for new Red Raiders defensive coordinator Shiel Wood at Houston. Wood believed he hadn’t come close to reaching his ceiling.

All four of those moves might’ve been more than enough for Texas Tech as it aspired to build the top portal recruiting class in college football. But then, in the middle of spring practice, Bailey hit the portal after Stanford fired coach Troy Taylor.

It wasn’t hard for Blanchard to sell him to Wood. The defensive coordinator said Bailey was a “two-clipper.”

“You watch two clips and say, ‘Yeah, I like him. Absolutely,'” Wood said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘If there’s a possibility of getting this guy to come here and y’all think you can make that happen, please do so. We’ll find a spot for him to play.'”

Height was a big fan of that idea, too. McGuire needed a little more convincing.

“We’re halfway through the spring, and Romello is just unblockable,” McGuire said. “I go, ‘You’re telling me he’s better than him?'”

As they watched Bailey’s Stanford film together, McGuire knew he was a “no-brainer” evaluation just like Height and Hunter. But did Tech really need him? Blanchard kept talking him up and explaining how they could get Bailey enrolled immediately for spring practice. Then, Blanchard brought up the defending Super Bowl champs.

“What would the Eagles do? They’d take another defensive lineman.”

Bailey arrived in Lubbock in time to go through the Red Raiders’ final spring practices. As he watched Height, Hunter and Gill-Howard compete in one-on-ones, Bailey was blown away.

“I’ve never seen a D-line like this,” he said. “I’ve seen some high-caliber skill players. But a D-line like this? This is different.”

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BAILEY CAME TO Texas Tech to finally win some football games.

He hasn’t seen anything close to this, enduring three consecutive 3-9 seasons at Stanford. He was underutilized last year, playing 20 to 30 snaps a game and special teams for much of the season. What he sought most in the portal — more than the money — was a team that would play as much as possible.

“I’m playing free and I’m playing fast,” he said, “because I know I got guys around me.”

Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech’s All-America senior linebacker, keeps coming back to the word “unreal” as he attempts to describe what the Red Raiders have put together on defense.

“I’ve never played football like this,” Rodriguez said. “It’s all 11 people on the field flying around and doing their job and executing at a high level. It makes football so simple and so easy. I’ve never had this much fun playing football ever.”

It wasn’t fun for Texas Tech’s offense in practices this offseason.

Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said there were a few days when his unit couldn’t get a first down. After Texas Tech’s second spring scrimmage, he overheard tackle Howard Sampson lamenting to Blanchard, “Man, I don’t know, we’re going to suck on offense.” McGuire reminded a frustrated Clay McGuire, Tech’s offensive line coach, that it wasn’t a fair fight for the No. 2 offensive line in practice because Texas Tech’s No. 2 defensive line was made up of last year’s starters.

“Mello and David were running so fast around the edge, beating the tackle so bad, that they were running into each other before they hit the quarterback,” Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton said.

“I’m telling him to slow down, bro!” Height said with a laugh. “It takes me three seconds. It takes him 1½ seconds.”

Any concerns about how these highly paid free agents might be welcomed by this new team were squashed from the start. Morton said the newcomers didn’t act like mercenaries “just trying to get money.” They fit right in far better than most would expect in the increasingly transactional portal era.

“They’ve connected so well with this team that it really does feel like Lee Hunter and Romello Height have been here their entire career,” McGuire said. “I hope they feel that way, that they feel at home.”

McGuire and Blanchard did their homework on these transfers, calling their former coaches to find out everything they needed to know. The process of identifying the right players for Texas Tech went far beyond the tape and included input from a sports analytics firm — as well as from the folks cutting the checks.

Blanchard kept billionaire boosters Cody Campbell and John Sellers involved in the portal process from start to finish, getting together for countless meetings and videoconference sessions where they’d watch film and discuss targets and what it would cost to go get them. Campbell would even queue up film on his tablet to break down at home.

“That was a lot of fun, to be honest with you,” Campbell said.

Campbell, Texas Tech’s board chairman, was a starting offensive lineman for the Red Raiders during his playing days and tends to keep his eyes affixed on the line of scrimmage during games. As exciting as it was to piece together a highly touted portal class, Campbell’s objective from the start was winning in the trenches.

Once Bailey was on board, Campbell was confident they’d assembled the best defensive line in Texas Tech history. That’s what he’s seeing every Saturday.

“They didn’t miss on anybody,” Campbell said. “It helps a lot with keeping donors happy whenever they see that return on investment.”

Blanchard has a theory about guys such as Bailey and Hunter and why they’ve proven to be ideal fits, something he picked up as a scout with the Carolina Panthers in 2020: He likes the best players on losing teams.

All they’ve ever done during their careers is go above and beyond to help make up for the talent around them. They’re used to having to strain, sacrifice and do more for their team to be competitive.

“Let’s put them in an environment where now they’ve got dudes around them,” Blanchard said, “and let’s see what happens.”

As the Red Raiders made their way through the tunnel into Jones AT&T Stadium to a sold-out crowd for a Saturday night kickoff against Kansas earlier this season, Hunter ran beside Height and let out a roar.

“I looked up,” Hunter remembers, “and I said, ‘This is what the f— we signed up for!'”

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IT’S A RACE to the quarterback every time Texas Tech’s defensive line gets an opportunity to rush the passer.

“Nobody’s looking at each other,” Height said. “We’re looking at the ball. It’s time to go get it. It’s money time.”

Against Kansas State on Saturday, Bailey burst past the Wildcats’ right tackle on a third down and crashed into quarterback Avery Johnson within 2.2 seconds. In the fourth quarter, Height hunted him down from behind for a sack and forced fumble that Tech linebacker John Curry scooped up for a score.

After a long afternoon of hard hits, scrambles and incompletions in a 43-20 defeat, Johnson was asked if Texas Tech’s D-line was as good as advertised.

“Uh, yeah, I would say so,” Johnson said. “That’s probably the best defense I’ve faced in my three years in college.”

Texas Tech has built a top-five scoring defense thanks to an overwhelming amount of pressure up front.

The Red Raiders have generated 175 pass rush pressures this season, according to ESPN Research, despite blitzing only 20% of the time. Bailey (46) and Height (37) rank first and third, respectively, in edge pressures this season, and Holmes ranks fourth in defensive tackle pressures (18) since stepping in for Gill-Howard, who’s sidelined after undergoing surgery for an ankle injury last month. Together, they’ve already broken Texas Tech’s single-game record with nine sacks against Kansas.

“It’s a tremendous advantage when you can get pressure with four, and that’s what we’re able to do,” Wood said. “We’re able to affect the quarterback with rushing four guys on first, second and third down. It changes the complexion of the game when you can do that.”

From Day 1, though, Wood preached to his players that they had to earn the right to rush the passer. If they wanted to be a championship defense, he said, they had to stop the run. The Red Raiders have the No. 1 run defense in the country, holding six of nine opponents under 100 rushing yards, and have an FBS-high 16 forced fumbles.

But ask anyone in the program why they’re elite against the run and they point to Hunter. He’s doing the dirty work, taking on two or three linemen and creating clear gaps and easy plays for Rodriguez and the linebackers.

“I know I’m going to get two,” Hunter said. “If two people are on me, my linebackers can eat. My brothers can eat. As long as everybody around me is eating and we’re winning, I’m happy.”

Another critical byproduct of the dominance up front: Texas Tech has the most improved pass defense in the country, allowing 111 fewer passing yards per game than a year ago. Tie it all together, like Wood has with sharp in-game adjustments and a variety of creative alignments, and you get a defense that makes game-changing plays and has helped create 88 points off turnovers.

“It’s not easy to get something built and up and running at a high level in Year 1,” Wood said, “We’re sitting here because of the great effort that our players have put in.”

Blanchard knew if he got the right players up front, Tech could overwhelm its conference foes. Over the past decade, the Big 12 has produced two offensive linemen selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Both came from Oklahoma, now in the SEC. The first big test came in the Big 12 opener at Utah, against two potential first-round tackles in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu and an offensive line that Utah’s Kyle Whittingham called the best he has ever coached.

“That week, everybody was hyping us up, saying, ‘Y’all are going to kill them,'” Height said. “I didn’t hear David say a word about killing them that whole week. I dang sure didn’t say a word about killing them. We have a humble mindset going into every game, knowing we just got to do our job.”

The results? Texas Tech’s defense got 19 pressures and forced six three-and-outs and four turnovers in a 34-10 rout.

“I never would’ve believed it if you would’ve said we would lose the line of scrimmage,” Whittingham said afterward. “Never would’ve believed that in a million years. But we did.”

Bailey is performing like a first-rounder and is the No. 12 pick in Jordan Reid’s latest 2026 mock draft. Hunter is Mel Kiper’s third-ranked defensive tackle prospect, and Height is his No. 5 outside linebacker. All three have significantly boosted their draft status at Texas Tech. And that proof of concept is making it even easier for Blanchard to assemble next year’s defensive line.

Texas Tech has landed commitments from LaDamion Guyton, ESPN’s No. 1 outside linebacker in the 2026 class, and top-ranked 2027 defensive tackle Jalen Brewster. And through his daily conversations with agents, Blanchard already knows which potential transfers he wants for 2026.

“We say it all the time now,” McGuire said. “I was literally just saying to him, ‘Blanch, just go get the D-linemen and O-linemen.'”

Texas Tech’s defense used to be a punchline in the Big 12, the second worst among all Power 5 programs in scoring defense over the past decade. Not anymore. The Red Raiders will keep spending and keep bringing blue-chip big men to Lubbock. That’s what it takes to contend with the best and do what has never been done in program history.

“We told Joey to spend what it takes,” Campbell said. “We were willing to do it to be in this position we’re in now.

“We got our money’s worth.”

The MLB wild-card era began in 1995 with an iconic series that ended with an iconic photo: Ken Griffey Jr. peeking out from a pile of Seattle Mariners teammates with a smile as big as Mount Rainier after scoring the winning run in the American League Division Series.

Thirty years later, the 2025 season ended with another iconic series and photo: Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the middle of a swarm of his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates, his expression a mix of joy and exhaustion after his legendary performance in winning the final two games of the World Series.

Since the expanded playoffs began — initially eight teams, then 10 and now 12 — there have been 1,097 postseason games. The New York Yankees have played in the most games (232) and have the most wins (131) and championships (five). The Pittsburgh Pirates have played the fewest games (eight) and have the fewest wins (three). Sixteen of the 30 franchises have won the World Series in that span, and another seven have played in one.

Let’s celebrate the past 30 years of playoff baseball by handing out awards and superlatives as we look back at the greatest October players, the games we won’t forget, the moments that make us cry tears of joy — and tears of anguish — and more.

The all-time wild-card era team

October legends were once made in one moment or one series. With more rounds and more games, October greatness is now accumulated over many moments and series. Here’s the All-October team from the past 30 years, considering results only since 1995.

C: Yadier Molina (.273/.326/.357, 4 HR, 36 RBIs, 104 G, 2 rings)

Catcher was the hardest position to fill as nobody stands out as a lock. Jorge Posada leads in home runs (11) and RBIs (42) and played in six World Series, although he didn’t hit particularly well in them (.211). Molina can’t match Posada’s power but did hit .328/.395/.403 in four World Series.

1B: Albert Pujols (.319/.422/.572, 19 HR, 54 RBIs, 88 G, 2 rings)

Prime Pujols was on another level. He hit .500 with four home runs in the 2004 National League Championship Series and his home run off Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS finally landed three weeks ago. Pujols hit .478 in the 2011 NLCS and followed that up with a three-homer game in the World Series. He had more walks than strikeouts in his postseason career.

2B: Jose Altuve (.271/.337/.505, 27 HR, 56 RBIs, 105 G, 2 rings)

An easy choice at second base, although with an asterisk if you wish. Altuve’s home/road splits in the postseason from 2017 to 2019: 1.154 OPS at home, .705 on the road. His name is all over the all-time playoff leaderboard, however, including ranking second in home runs and runs scored. His 21 runs in the 2021 postseason are tied for the most in a single postseason.

3B: Pablo Sandoval (.338/.386/.535, 6 HR, 20 RBIs, 42 G, 3 rings)

Chipper Jones, Justin Turner and Alex Bregman merit consideration based on more games played, but Sandoval made a huge impact in his three postseasons with the San Francisco Giants. He was the World Series MVP in their sweep in 2012 thanks to a three-homer game and then hit .429 in the 2014 World Series.

SS: Derek Jeter (.308/.374/.465, 20 HR, 61 RBIs, 158 G, 5 rings)

Corey Seager is a two-time World Series MVP, but Jeter’s volume, overall productivity and five rings earn him the nod here. In basically a full season of postseason play — 158 total career games — Jeter finished with 200 hits, 111 runs and an .838 OPS that was higher than his career mark in the regular season. He was World Series MVP in 2000, when he hit .409 in a five-game win over the New York Mets.

LF: Manny Ramirez (.285/.394/.544, 29 HR, 78 RBIs, 111 G, 2 rings)

The all-time leader in postseason home runs, Ramirez appeared in 11 different postseasons with Cleveland, the Boston Red Sox and the Dodgers, homering in 17 of the 23 series he played in. Amazingly, the Red Sox beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS even though Ramirez didn’t drive in a run, but he then won World Series MVP in Boston’s four-game sweep of St. Louis.

CF: Bernie Williams (.275/.371/.480, 22 HR, 80 RBIs, 121 G, 4 rings)

Always the underappreciated star on the Yankees teams that won four titles in five years from 1996 to 2000, Williams is the all-time postseason leader in RBIs, although his best work came in the LCS rather than the World Series.

RF: Lance Berkman (.317/.417/.532, 9 HR, 41 RBIs, 52 G, 1 ring)

Berkman was a longtime star with the Houston Astros and then had one final blast of glory with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, when he helped them win the World Series. He hit .423 in that World Series and .410 in the two total he played in.

OF: George Springer (.271/.346/.534, 23 HR, 48 RBIs, 83 G, 1 ring)

Let’s give a fourth outfield spot to Springer, the 2017 World Series MVP who ranks third in playoff home runs and first in championship win probability added. In three World Series, he has hit .351/.444/.727 with seven home runs in 19 games.

UT: Enrique Hernández (.272/.339/.486, 16 HR, 42 RBIs, 103 G, 3 rings)

No player has stepped up his game in the playoffs like Hernández, who has a .707 career OPS in the regular season compared with .826 in the postseason. He has both a three-homer game in the playoffs (2017 NLCS) and a game with four extra-base hits (2021 ALDS), and his double play to end Game 6 of the 2025 World Series was a defensive play for the ages.

DH: David Ortiz (.289/.404/.543, 17 HR, 61 RBIs, 85 G, 3 rings)

Has anyone delivered as many clutch hits as Big Papi? His postseason legend began with his back-to-back walk-off hits in extra innings for the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS and then was cemented with his World Series performance in 2013, when he hit .688/.760/1.188. The Cardinals finally just quit pitching to him, intentionally walking him three times in Game 6.

SP: Curt Schilling (10-1, 2.12 ERA, 15 GS, 102 IP, 92 SO, 3 rings)

Schilling had an all-time great postseason with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, throwing three straight complete games to begin the playoffs and winning co-MVP honors in the World Series. He had the infamous “Bloody Sock” start in the 2004 ALCS, but everyone forgets his next start: one run in six innings in Game 2 of the World Series as the Red Sox went on to snap the curse.

SP: Madison Bumgarner (8-3, 2.11 ERA, 14 GS, 102 IP, 87 SO, 3 rings)

He had his legendary postseason run in 2014, but check out Bumgarner’s career record in the World Series: 4-0, one save (his five innings to close out Game 7 in 2014), with one run and only 14 hits allowed in 36 innings.

SP: Jon Lester (9-7, 2.51 ERA, 22 GS, 154 IP, 133 SO, 3 rings)

Lester won two rings with the Red Sox and one with the Chicago Cubs, going 4-1 with a 1.77 ERA in six career World Series appearances.

SP: Andy Pettitte (19-11, 3.81 ERA, 44 GS, 276 IP, 183 SO, 5 rings)

He had some clunkers along the way, but Pettitte makes it here based on volume — most starts, most wins, most innings pitched — and some huge wins along the way, including 8⅓ scoreless innings in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series (when the series was tied), another scoreless start in the 1998 World Series and four wins in the 2009 postseason.

SP: Chris Carpenter (10-4, 3.00 ERA, 18 GS, 108 IP, 68 SO, 2 rings)

Carpenter had one of the great clutch postseasons in 2011, outdueling Roy Halladay with a 1-0 shutout in Game 5 of the NLDS and then starting three times in the World Series and winning twice, including Game 7 on three days of rest.

RP: Mariano Rivera (8-1, 0.70 ERA, 42 SV, 141 IP, 110 SO, 5 rings)

Rivera was so untouchable — he allowed just 13 runs and 11 earned runs in 141 innings — that he might be regarded as the postseason MVP of the entire wild-card era. He allowed just two home runs, and in his 42 saves, he allowed a total of just four runs. In an era of one-inning closers, 31 of his saves were more than one inning, including 14 of two innings.

Best single-season postseasons

We just saw Yamamoto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. post huge results this past October. Let’s see if either cracks the top five.

Top five hitters

1. David Freese, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals (.397/.465/.794, 5 HR, 21 RBIs)

Freese has been a reluctant hero, even declining an invitation to join the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2023, saying he wasn’t “deserving” of the honor. But what a postseason he had: His 21 RBIs are the second most in one postseason, and he was the NLCS and World Series MVP in 2011, hitting a two-out, two-run triple in the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series to send the game into extra innings and then delivering the walk-off home run in the 11th. In Game 7, he hit a game-tying two-run double as the Cardinals went on to win.

2. Barry Bonds, 2002 San Francisco Giants (.356/.581/.978, 8 HR 16 RBIs)

Bonds had famously struggled in the postseason during his career, but he was unstoppable in 2002 as the Giants reached Game 7 of the World Series — drawing an incredible 27 walks (13 intentional) along the way. His home run off Troy Percival in Game 2, an estimated 485 feet, might be the longest in World Series history.

3. David Ortiz, 2004 Boston Red Sox (.400/.515/.764, 5 HR, 19 RBIs)

Ortiz had his heroics with those walk-off hits in the ALCS and added a two-run homer in the first inning of Game 7. He then got the Red Sox going in the World Series with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning of Game 1 as the Red Sox went on to a four-game sweep.

4. Randy Arozarena, 2020 Tampa Bay Rays (.377/.442/.831, 10 HR, 14 RBIs)

The Rays played 20 postseason games and Arozarena homered in half of them. He homered three times in the ALDS, four times in the ALCS and three more times in the World Series, although the Rays lost in six games.

5. Carlos Beltran, 2004 Houston Astros (.435/.536/1.022, 8 HR, 14 RBI)

The Astros lost in the NLCS, but Beltran’s performance must be included. For two weeks, he played baseball as well as anyone has ever played it, bashing eight home runs in 12 games, scoring 21 runs (tied for the most in one postseason), stealing six bases and making several spectacular plays in center field.

Honorable mentions: Scott Spiezio, 2002 Anaheim Angels (19 RBIs); Alex Rodriguez, 2009 New York Yankees (.365, 18 RBIs); Corey Seager, 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers (NLCS and World Series MVP); Adolis Garcia, 2023 Texas Rangers (record 22 RBIs); Ernie Clement, 2025 Toronto Blue Jays (.411, record 30 hits); Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2025 Toronto Blue Jays (.397, 8 HR)

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Top five pitchers

1. Madison Bumgarner, 2014 San Francisco Giants (4-1, 1.03 ERA, 52⅔ IP, 28 H, 45 SO)

Bumgarner pitched a shutout in the wild-card game, allowed one run in Game 1 of the World Series, pitched another shutout in Game 5 and then pitched five scoreless innings to close out Game 7 (when he was oddly credited with a save instead of the win).

2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers (5-1, 1.45 ERA, 37⅓ IP, 23 H, 33 SO)

Yamamoto didn’t have the volume of Bumgarner, but he became the first pitcher with back-to-back complete games in the postseason since 2001, and then he won both Games 6 and 7 of the World Series, getting eight outs in Game 7 — in the most tension-filled moments imaginable — after throwing 96 pitches the night before.

3. Curt Schilling, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks (4-0, 1.12 ERA, 48⅓ IP, 25 H, 56 SO)

In six starts, Schilling tossed three complete games, held batters to a .150 average and had a 56-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing just three home runs … in the middle of the steroid era. He ended up with two no-decisions in his three World Series starts but shared MVP honors with the next pitcher on the list.

4. Randy Johnson, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks (5-1, 1.52 ERA, 41.1 IP, 25 H, 47 SO)

Johnson lost his first start of the 2001 NLDS — and, remarkably, that was his seventh consecutive losing decision in the playoffs going back to the 1995 ALCS with Seattle. Then, he turned it on: a three-hit shutout in Game 1 of the NLCS, two runs in seven innings in Game 5, another three-hit shutout in World Series Game 2, then a win in Game 6. Like Yamamoto, he came on in relief in Game 7 and got the win when Arizona walked it off in the bottom of the ninth.

5. Stephen Strasburg, 2019 Washington Nationals (5-0, 1.98 ERA, 36.1 IP, 30 H, 47 SO)

Strasburg got the win in the wild-card game with three innings of scoreless relief, had two double-digit strikeout games leading into the World Series, and then twice beat a mighty Astros team in the Fall Classic, allowing just four runs in 14⅓ innings. Like Chris Carpenter in 2011, it would be the last good baseball Strasburg ever pitched: He would go on to win just one more game in his career.

Honorable mentions: Josh Beckett, 2003 Florida Marlins (two shutouts, including the World Series clincher) and 2007 Boston Red Sox (four starts, four wins, 1.20 ERA); Kenny Rogers, 2006 Detroit Tigers (three starts, no runs allowed in 23 innings); Cliff Lee, 2009 Philadelphia Phillies (4-0, 1.56 ERA); Nathan Eovaldi, 2023 Texas Rangers (5-0, 2.95 ERA)

Best single-game performances

As you probably well know, this past postseason was pretty spectacular. Here are the top five single-game performances of the past 30 years, focusing more on gameplay than clutch moments. Of course, 2025 tops this list.

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2025 NLCS Game 4

No player had ever hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters in the same game — not even in the regular season. Ohtani did it in a game for the ages: 3-for-3 with three home runs and then six scoreless innings on the mound with 10 strikeouts. The best player of all time? He was in this game.

2. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2025 World Series Game 3

Yes, Ohtani lands the top two spots. Only three players had ever reached base nine times in a regular-season game, and only one of those did it in nine plate appearances. In the 18-inning marathon that was Game 3, Ohtani went 4-for-4 with two home runs and two doubles (making him one of just seven players with four extra-base hits in a postseason game) and five walks. Nine times up, nine times on base. Absolutely incredible.

3. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies, 2010 NLDS Game 1

Halladay spun the second no-hitter in postseason history following Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Against the Cincinnati Reds, Halladay fanned eight, walked one, threw 104 pitches and threw first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 28 batters he faced. Only a two-out walk in the fifth inning to Jay Bruce on a 3-2 pitch prevented him from matching Larsen.

4. Roger Clemens, New York Yankees, 2000 ALCS Game 4

In the first inning, Clemens threw a 97 mph fastball under the jaw of Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez, sending A-Rod spiraling into the dirt. Then Clemens threw the next pitch in a similar location. Game over. Clemens fired a one-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts, the only hit an Al Martin double in the seventh that tipped off the glove of Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez. Clemens’ game score of 98 is the highest of the wild-card era and the 15 strikeouts tied with three others for second most behind Kevin Brown’s 16 for the San Diego Padres in the 1998 NLDS.

5. Edgar Martinez, Seattle Mariners, 1995 ALDS Game 4

Five players share the record for most RBIs in a single game in the wild-card era with seven, but Martinez’s were the most dramatic. The Mariners were down 5-0 in the third inning when he hit a three-run home run. The game was tied in the eighth when he blew the roof off the Kingdome with a grand slam against Yankees closer John Wetteland. The Mariners were alive in the series — and Martinez would deliver an even bigger moment in Game 5.

Greatest games and series

OK, it’s impossible to pick the greatest games — it almost seems a little silly to even try. After all, emotion is part of the equation, and emotions are tied to each fan’s favorite team. However, courtesy of my ESPN colleague Paul Hembekides, there is a more objective way to look at this. After the Dodgers’ win in Game 7, Hembekides noted that Game 7 had nine plays that swung the win probability by at least 15% — the most ever in a World Series Game 7.

That’s a pretty good way to look at what makes a game great — multiple nail-biting, game-changing plays. A 15% threshold is actually pretty high for a “big” play; many games don’t have any plays of that magnitude. Of course, a game can be memorable based on one or two great moments, and a low-scoring game can be full of tension. But we relied on that 15% threshold for this list of the greatest games in each round.

Best wild-card game/series: 2014 ALWC (Royals 9, A’s 8 in 12 innings)

Back when it was still just a one-game showdown, this one was crazy: The A’s led 7-3, but Bob Melvin left in a tiring Jon Lester too long and the Kansas City Royals tied it with three in the eighth and one in the ninth (after the Athletics had left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth). The Royals had already burned through their good relievers by the 10th inning, so it took September call-up Brandon Finnegan to take them to the 12th. He finally allowed a run, but the Royals scored twice to win it.

Best LDS game/series: 1995 ALDS Game 5 (Mariners 6, Yankees 5)/1995 ALDS

We mentioned it at the start of this piece: the Mariners — in their first postseason appearance — against the Yankees, who were back in the playoffs for the first time since 1981. The Yankees won the opener 9-6, overcoming two Ken Griffey Jr. home runs off David Cone, followed by Game 2 in 15 innings. Both teams scored in the 12th (another Griffey home run) before the Yankees finally won on Jim Leyritz’s walk-off home run.

The series shifted to Seattle and the Mariners won Game 3 behind Randy Johnson and then Game 4 on Edgar Martinez’s eighth-inning grand slam. Then came the epic Game 5, with the Mariners literally trying to save baseball in Seattle, as there were threats to move the team. The Mariners trailed 4-2 in the eighth when Griffey homered again off Cone and then tied it on a bases-loaded walk. Johnson came on in the ninth and escaped a two-on, nobody-out jam. The Yankees broke through in the 11th. But in the bottom of the inning, Seattle’s Joey Cora beat out a bunt single (Yankees fans screamed that he was out of the baseline), Griffey singled and then Martinez delivered “The Double,” as it’s called in Seattle, to score Cora for the tying run and Griffey for the winning run. The Mariners got their new ballpark — in Seattle.

Best LCS game/series: 2003 ALCS Game 7 (Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 in 11 innings)/2004 ALCS

The life-and-death battles between the Yankees and Red Sox in 2003 and 2004 generated at least four documentaries, a dozen or so books and enough YouTube highlights to keep you busy for days. The best game was Game 7 in 2003: The Red Sox knocked out Roger Clemens early, blew a 4-0 lead when Pedro Martinez was left in too long and then the Yankees won on Aaron Boone’s walk-off home run in the 11th, leaving both Yankees manager Joe Torre and Red Sox fans in tears. The 2004 ALCS, meanwhile, had to be mythology: There’s no way it really unfolded the way it did — with Boston overcoming a 3-0 series deficit to advance to the World Series.

Best World Series game/series: 2025 Game 7/2025 World Series

There are, I would argue, six games worthy of best World Series game:

• 2001 Game 7: The Diamondbacks beat the Yankees and the invincible Mariano Rivera with two runs in the bottom of the ninth (four plays of 15% WPA).

• 2011 Game 6: The David Freese game mentioned above, when the Cardinals beat the Rangers 10-9 in 11 innings in a crazy back-and-forth contest (10 plays of 15% WPA).

• 2016 Game 7: The Cubs finally break the curse and win the World Series — and it took 10 innings for them to do it (four plays of 15% WPA).

• 2017 Game 5: The Astros beat the Dodgers 13-12 in 10 innings after the Dodgers had scored three in the ninth to tie it (10 plays of 15% WPA).

• 2025 Game 3: An 18-inning game that was definitely not boring (10 plays of 15% WPA).

• 2025 Game 7: This game had everything (nine plays of 15% WPA).

The Cardinals-Rangers game has a strong argument — except it wasn’t Game 7. The Cubs game was certainly thrilling, but it was also sloppy and lacked as many big moments. The answer for best game — and World Series — has to be the one we just watched: It was baseball at its absolute best, with defining moments on defense, huge home runs, heroic performances and role players hitting game-tying home runs two outs away from defeat. It was a World Series that finally turned on how big a lead a runner got off third base.

Controversial decisions

We can’t review this era without a quick list of controversial managerial decisions — moves, in other words, that didn’t work out. Yes, it’s easy to second-guess after the fact. But most of these decisions were second-guessed at the moment. We’ll somehow limit this to just 10.

1. Grady Little leaves in Pedro Martinez (2003 ALCS Game 7)

Martinez was still great in 2003, but everyone knew his numbers declined the more pitches he threw in a game, especially after reaching 100. Everyone, apparently, except his manager, who left him in to throw 123 pitches and blow a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning. The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 — after firing Little and hiring Terry Francona.

2. Kevin Cash takes out Blake Snell (2020 World Series Game 6)

Snell had allowed just one hit through five innings, but with the Rays nursing a 1-0 lead, Cash took him out after he allowed a one-out single in the sixth. Overused reliever Nick Anderson quickly squandered the lead as the Dodgers clinched the World Series. “We were all kind of excited that Snell was out of the game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

3. Buck Showalter doesn’t use Zack Britton (2016 AL wild-card game)

Britton wasn’t just the best reliever in the majors in 2016, he also had one of the greatest relief seasons ever with 47 saves and a 0.54 ERA. The Baltimore Orioles would lose the wild-card game to the Blue Jays in 11 innings — with Britton somehow never even getting into the game.

4. Showalter leaves David Cone in to throw 147 pitches (1995 ALDS Game 5)

Poor Buck. The Yankees led 4-2 in the eighth when Griffey homered. With two outs, the Mariners loaded the bases with two walks and a single. Still, Showalter left Cone in. “He will go down with his best,” says announcer Brent Musburger. On his 147th pitch, Cone walked Doug Strange on a 3-2 slider that wasn’t close. The Mariners won in 11 innings — and Joe Torre replaced Showalter as Yankees manager for the following season.

5. Aaron Boone brings in Nestor Cortes (2024 World Series Game 1)

Cortes hadn’t pitched in more than a month when Boone brought in the lefty in the highest of high-leverage situations: Game 1 of the World Series, bottom of the 10th, two runners on, one out, Yankees leading 3-2, Shohei Ohtani at the plate. Cortes got Ohtani on a foul popout, but the runners advanced when left fielder Alex Verdugo tumbled into the stands making the catch. Boone issued an intentional walk to Mookie Betts, loading the bases for Freddie Freeman, who slammed a first-pitch fastball for one of the most dramatic home runs in World Series history.

6. Bob Brenly brings Byung-Hyun Kim back in (2001 World Series Game 5)

Brenly is the only manager here who went on to win the World Series in the year in question, but it didn’t look like that would be the case after the Diamondbacks lost Game 5 to go down in the series. In Game 4, Kim allowed the game-tying two-run home run in the ninth and then the game-losing home run to Derek Jeter in the 10th — while throwing 61 pitches. But he was back out there in Game 5 for some reason and served up another game-tying two-run homer in the ninth to Scott Brosius. The image of Kim crouching on the mound lives on, one of the ultimate pictures of World Series devastation.

7. Terry Collins leaves in Matt Harvey (2015 World Series Game 5)

The Mets were leading 2-0 heading into the ninth, trying to stay alive in the World Series against the Royals. Harvey had a four-hit shutout going and had thrown 101 pitches. Collins told Harvey his night was done, but Harvey lobbied to remain in the game. Collins left him in. The Royals scored twice and then won in 12 innings.

8. Joe Torre moves Alex Rodriguez down to eighth in the lineup (2006 ALDS Game 4)

After getting shut out in Game 3 of the ALDS, Torre moved his cleanup hitter down in the lineup — all the way to eighth, which the New York press made a big deal of. A-Rod was 1-for-11 in the series and 4-for-his-last-38 with no RBIs in the postseason going back to Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS. He went 0-for-3 in Game 4 and the Yankees were eliminated. A-Rod would finally break out of his postseason funk in 2009, when he hit .365 with six home runs to lead the Yankees to the World Series title.

9. John Schneider’s pinch-running decisions (2025 World Series)

Let’s just say all these moves failed to work for Toronto in spectacular fashion.

10. A.J. Hinch takes out Zack Greinke — and doesn’t use Gerrit Cole (2019 World Series Game 7)

The Astros were leading 2-0 when Greinke served up a home run to Anthony Rendon in the seventh inning, just the second hit he had allowed to the Nationals. Pitching carefully to Juan Soto, Greinke walked him, but he was still at just 80 pitches. Hinch brought in Will Harris to face Howie Kendrick, who hit a two-run, go-ahead home run. The Nationals tacked on three more runs over the final two innings. Cole started warming up on his own, but Hinch would go on to say he was going to use Cole only to start an inning and with a lead.

Five absolutely bonkers moments

If you’re not familiar with these, go check the hard-to-believe highlights on YouTube.

1. Roger Clemens throws the broken bat shard at Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series.

2. Pedro Martinez throws 72-year-old Yankees coach Don Zimmer to the ground during the Red Sox-Yankees brawl in the 2003 ALCS.

3. Midges attack Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain in the 2007 ALDS as he blows a 1-0 lead with a walk and two wild pitches.

4. The Bartman Game: The Cubs implode in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, allowing eight runs to blow a 3-0 lead after Cubs fan Steve Bartman interferes with Moises Alou’s attempt to catch a foul ball.

5. A.J. Pierzynski reaches first base after striking out in Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS. After the Angels won Game 1, the White Sox were tied 1-1 in the ninth inning of Game 2. Chicago’s Pierzynski struck out on a low pitch that Angels catcher Josh Paul appeared to catch cleanly and ran to first base as Paul tossed the ball back to the mound and headed to the dugout. In those pre-replay days, the umpires said Paul trapped the ball and Pierzynski was safe. Pinch runner Pablo Ozuna stole second and scored on a game-winning double, and the White Sox went on to win the World Series.

Finally: The unsung heroes

The beauty of baseball: Anyone might be the hero. Here are five non-stars who stepped up when their teams needed them the most in October:

1. Jeremy Affeldt, 2010/2012/2014 San Francisco Giants

The secret ingredient to the Giants’ three titles in five years: the bullpen, which had a 2.42 ERA over three postseasons. And nobody was better than Affeldt, who allowed just two runs in 26 innings, including 2⅓ scoreless innings in Game 7 in 2014 ahead of Madison Bumgarner’s five scoreless innings.

2. Will Klein, 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers

This one is fresh in our memories, but Klein’s 72-pitch, four-inning relief outing in Game 3 will go down as one of the most amazing relief appearances in World Series history. It’s not just that Klein was the last pitcher on the staff — an obscure reliever added to the roster due to extenuating circumstances — but the number of pitches he threw. Other relievers have thrown more pitches in a game, but all except one were starters working in long relief or mop-up duty in blowouts. (The only other pure reliever to throw more pitches was Jeff Nelson of the Mariners, who threw 79 in Game 4 of that 1995 ALDS.)

3. Curtis Leskanic, 2004 Boston Red Sox

When the Red Sox stayed alive in Game 4 against the Yankees, everyone remembers Dave Roberts’ steal and David Ortiz’s home run, but only the most diehard of Red Sox fans remember Leskanic got the win. He came on with the bases loaded in the 11th and induced Bernie Williams to fly to center. He then pitched a scoreless 12th and got the win. It was the final game he pitched in the majors.

4. Tony Womack, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks

Everyone remembers the final highlight, but Luis Gonzalez’s broken-bat blooper doesn’t happen if Womack doesn’t first hit a broken-bat game-tying double (and Mark Grace got the rally going with a leadoff single).

5. Mike Montgomery, 2016 Chicago Cubs

With the Cubs looking to end their 108-year World Series curse, manager Joe Maddon went into Game 7 looking to use three pitchers: Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman. But when the game went into extra innings, he needed a fourth pitcher. Carl Edwards Jr. got two outs in the 10th but then allowed a run, so Maddon called upon a fifth pitcher with the tying run on base.

Twenty Hall of Famers have thrown the final pitch of a World Series. Sometimes the final pitch comes from a less famous pitcher: Josh Sborz for the Rangers in 2023 or Jason Motte for the Cardinals in 2011. And the biggest out in Cubs history went to Montgomery, who faced one batter and induced Michael Martinez to ground out to Kris Bryant at third base. It was Montgomery’s first career save in the majors.