Lane Kiffin, an airport tarmac and the long-term impact of college football’s most memorable firing
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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
For as long as there’s been college football, coaches have been getting fired. The annual discussions about who’s on the hot seat is as much a part of the game as a depth chart. But in the history of the sport — perhaps the history of employment — only one man’s termination is universally recalled with just a single word: “Tarmac.”
It’s been 10 years since Lane Kiffin was fired as USC‘s coach, supposedly on the tarmac at LAX. The truth of what happened in the early-morning hours of Sept. 29, 2013, is, like so many things with Kiffin, a bit more complicated.
ESPN spoke to nearly two dozen people who witnessed Kiffin’s tenure at USC, as well as his unlikely second act as one of college football’s most colorful characters and brilliant offensive minds, in an effort to find out what really happened that night and how it changed the rest of his career.
Lane Kiffin, USC head coach 2010-2013
It was a dream job for as long as I can remember to be a major college football coach so you could be somewhere forever, like the Bobby Bowden thing.
Kiffin grew up around the game. His father, Monte, is recognized as one of the great defensive coaches in football history, but Lane’s genius is offense. His first full-time job came with USC in 2001, and he was on the sideline for the Trojans’ rise to the top of college football under Pete Carroll. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005, and two years later, at just 31 years old, was named head coach of the then Oakland Raiders.
Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin after two seasons amid much controversy. Davis held a news conference, complete with an overhead projector, and called Kiffin a “disgrace to the organization.” In 2009, Kiffin was hired as the head coach at Tennessee, and he immediately made waves in the stoic SEC with his brash demeanor and aggressive recruiting style.
At the end of the 2009 season, however, Carroll resigned at USC to take the head-coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks. The Trojans were eager to maintain the Carroll lineage, and set their sights on Kiffin.
Mike Garrett, USC AD, 1993-2010
I thought he was a student of the game, and I thought I had a maven in the works. I asked him to bring his father in, Monte. I thought Lane, offensively, could handle the load on that side of the ball, and Monte would handle the defensive side, and what a combination that would be.
Scott Wolf, USC beat reporter
They never would’ve hired him at SC except he made this pitch to them that he was bringing Monte Kiffin, who they thought was the best defensive coordinator in the country, and Ed Orgeron, who was a beloved figure at SC. That’s how he got the job.
Mike Locksley, Alabama assistant, 2016-2018
The one thing Lane never got credit for was, he’s a good coach. He’s one of the better playcallers I’ve been around. A lot of that gets lost because he had this looming shadow of one of the great D-coordinators and great people in Monte Kiffin, so a lot of people labeled him as the kid who got everything off his last name.
Clay Helton, USC assistant coach/head coach, 2010-2021
You could see how brilliant [Kiffin] was as an offensive mind, and he had a reputation as being an unbelievable recruiter. He already had Coach Orgeron on board, who is one of the best recruiters in football. … [Orgeron] would take me on the road recruiting with him all the time. You’d get in the car with him and he’d give you a Red Bull, a pack of peanuts and a beef jerky. That was your day of rationing, and he went from daylight to dark recruiting everybody — the principal, the counselor, the janitor at the school.
Dan Weber, former USC beat reporter
USC football was about as big as you could possibly be, and the town was L.A. You’d go to practice and Will Ferrell was there all the time. You’d have to fight your way into practice because Snoop Dogg’s bodyguards would be at the gate. I’d park and there’d be Sylvester Stallone in his Mercedes that was like 40-feet long.
Garrett
I loved [Kiffin’s] brashness. I loved the fact he had a lot of confidence. You could call it arrogance, being young and thought he could change the world, but I kind of liked that. I thought it was something that could work to his advantage.
Roy Nwaisser, Trojans super fan “USC Psycho”
When Lane Kiffin came to USC, there was some baggage. He kept moving up despite failures. But USC fans were super excited because he was part of the Pete Carroll coaching tree.
Tim Tessalone, former USC sports information director
I loved Kiff. Did he have his quirks? Certainly did. But he was just kind of an introvert. A lot of people’s perceptions of Kiff came from just that. He had a hard time engaging with people back then.
Wolf
Pat Haden told him not to do anything to get on the ticker at ESPN. That was the advice. He did seem to find ways to have problems.
JK McKay, former USC administrator
He was a young guy, and he was controversial. They said in the papers that I was supposed to keep him off ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Kiffin
I had a very large ego. Kids who are given too much, too early sometimes — you see it in actors all the time. Sometimes you’re not ready for all that. I wasn’t ready at 31 to be the head coach of the Raiders, 32 at Tennessee, 33 or 34 at USC. I wasn’t ready for all that fame and that money. Some of that is my fault. And I think there’s also the factor of being really young, you leave Tennessee so you have part of the country that hates you and is pissed off at you. It’s human nature that there’s some jealousy from guys going, “He’s this age, and he’s got this and he’s got that and got a really attractive wife.” I know there was a lot of that. People want you to fail. That’s America.
People might have been rooting for Kiffin to fail, but the cards were also stacked against him. When he took the job, the Trojans were enmeshed in an NCAA investigation surrounding improper benefits to former running back Reggie Bush. Ultimately, the school was given debilitating sanctions, including a two-year bowl ban, and lost 30 scholarships over a three-year span.
Kiffin
When Pat Haden was hired, he said to me, “I need you to get us through probation. Do not cheat, do not have any violations.” He said, “I know you’re going to lose games, and I know the Coliseum is going to be half-full. … I’m prepared for it. But we need to get off probation.”
Wolf
They used to put out a weekly stat with how many players they had available because they were upset with the NCAA.
Kiffin
Even though no one had ever done it before and been successful, there was a kind of arrogance of, “Oh, we’re USC and it’ll be fine.” But I had a major concern that the numbers were taking their toll.
McKay
My expectations were unreasonably high. With the scholarship restrictions we were under, I just looked this up: A couple years ago a team backed out of a bowl game because they only had 58 players and they felt that was unsafe or unfair. We went years without having 50. I don’t think I understood it at the time.
Despite the sanctions, USC finished the 2011 season 10-2, adding ample hype for 2012. The Trojans opened that year as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. That’s when the wheels came off. USC finished 2012 7-6, including an embarrassing performance in the Sun Bowl vs. Georgia Tech.
Weber
[The Trojans] go to the Sun Bowl. They didn’t want to be there. Lane didn’t want to be there. They had a fight in the locker room afterwards. All these parents that are on the plane with me back from El Paso saying, “Did you hear what happened?” because all their kids had told them these stories. That’s the setup for the next year.
Kevin Graf, USC offensive lineman, 2009-13
The way [2012] ended, I didn’t know if this was a situation I wanted to really come back for. But SC is such a special place to me, and I wasn’t ready to leave it that way. But that [frustration] carried on into spring ball. Spring was a weird situation. And it carried into the season as well.
USC opened the 2013 season 3-1 with an ugly 10-7 loss to Washington State at the Coliseum. Then came a road trip to Arizona State that proved to be one of the most embarrassing losses in recent USC history.
Nwaisser
I don’t think going into 2013 people were expecting a huge turnaround. He was already on a short leash as fans were concerned.
Max Browne, USC quarterback, 2013-16
To think he was not on the hot seat would’ve been naïve.
Helton
As coaches, you’re so ingrained in routine and just getting ready for the next game, it didn’t come into my thought process. We were just trying to get ready each week. I never felt like, “Oh gosh if this happens we may be out of a job.”
Nwaisser
There was a hope, I think, among fans that the end would be coming soon. The “Fire Kiffin” chants had already started.
I have a feeling this won’t be the only time a fire lane is used this way at the Coliseum this year pic.twitter.com/p5rZNC4Qnw
— John Ireland (@LAIreland) September 8, 2013
Kiffin
There’s not many professions that millions of people root for you every Saturday to get fired.
Helton
It was one of those shootout games. We put 40-plus points up, but they put up 60-plus. At that time, if you didn’t bring your “A” game, you’d get your butts beat. And we did not play our best game.
Mike Norvell, Arizona State offensive coordinator, 2012-15
I’ve still got a helmet. Coach [Todd] Graham gave me a helmet because it was the most points they’d ever scored against USC. It was a special night. Our players, that was a big game for our program.
Tessalone
By the end of that season, they had 44 scholarship players available because of NCAA sanctions and injuries. They were working some magic, and Lane really had a plan on how to deal with the limitations that were very severe — way more severe than they should’ve been. But at USC, they don’t take excuses.
Wolf
They decided to fire him — not at the airport. They were in the locker room, Haden, JK McKay and Mark Jackson. They stayed in there after halftime, and they decided in that little locker room to fire him. And they didn’t tell him until they got back to L.A.
Weber
I still remember talking to people in the press box. There’s [USC president C.L.] Max Nikias right behind the bench, and he’s talking to the head of the board of trustees. And you could see him call Pat Haden over, and I’m thinking, “This might not be so good.” And [the conversation] was happening right behind the bench. They weren’t trying to hide it.
Helton
It felt like normal after a loss, after you get your butt kicked. You’re trying to get to the tape as fast as you can to get it fixed for the next week.
Kiffin
Maybe I was naïve, but I was shocked. The whole airport story.
Tessalone
I had no idea what was going down until I walked onto the plane. I was one of the last guys, and Pat pulled me aside and said, “Hey, we need to talk. We’re going to make a change.” So now my mind starts spinning.
Browne
I remember sitting toward the front of the plane. Lane always sits in the very back. I remember him walking up to the front, and I remember thinking, “Hey that’s weird.”
Kiffin
I sat in the back with the players. Pat Haden sat up front in first class. I got a message saying Pat wants to see you after [we land]. I’m certainly not thinking that I’m getting fired. I remember walking up there because I was going to ask him, “Hey, can we just talk on the plane?” I walked up and Pat was sleeping, and his wife, Cindy, looked at me and started crying.
The charter plane landed at LAX around 3 a.m. local time. What happened from there became part of college football lore — the moment the most reviled head coach in the country got pulled off the team bus so he could be fired on an airport tarmac. Only, that’s not exactly how it went down.
Kiffin
I don’t see [Haden] when I get off [the plane], so I get on the bus. JK McKay stops the bus and grabs me and brings me in. I said to him I was going back to sleep in the office because it’s 3 in the morning and I’m getting ready for work the next day.
Rick Carr, USC head of athletics security
For road games, I would drive over to [Kiffin’s] house on Fridays, pick him up, and drive his car over to the airport. Lane had told me before we got off the plane, “Just take my car home because I’m going to spend the weekend at the office.” I was walking from the plane past the buses, and Pat Haden stops me and says, “Where’s Lane?” I said, “He was going back to the office. He’s staying there.” And he says, “Well, bring his car around.”
Wolf
Steve Lopes was an administrator. He literally gets in front of a bus and stops the bus as it’s leaving the parking lot.
Tessalone
Obviously, lots of side stories came out about [Kiffin] getting yanked off the bus.
Browne
That whole bus story, the one that got a bunch of pub, as a player, it was not a drama-filled bus ride.
Wolf
[Kiffin] had this briefcase he used to take with him, and he left it on the bus because he thought he was going to talk to those guys for like 10 minutes and get back on the bus. He went to this little building, and they sent the bus to USC. He had to get someone to get his briefcase and bring it back to his house because he never went back to USC.
Carr
For complete transparency, it was not the tarmac. It was an office in the terminal.
Weber
Lane has developed a sense of humor, but he always used to talk to us about what the storyline was. I think Lane realized tarmac sounded better. He didn’t get fired on the tarmac. There was like a small building where the charter jets would pull up to. But it always sounded better, and Lane was smart enough to realize, “I’m going to go with tarmac.”
Tessalone
It’s a charter company. They have a little building there on the south side of the airport. They go into the building and have a conversation that lasts quite a while. It was very surreal for me, just sitting there waiting for a while, sitting on a couch in this tiny little terminal.
Kiffin
I even said to him, “OK, what’s the use of changing now? Even if you want to fire me, let me just finish with these players and coach the rest of the year.” Actually, I think I had him turned to not firing me because I’m reminding him we don’t have 30 scholarship players. He walks out. And he’s like, “Yeah, I get it, maybe we jumped the gun on this.” So he walks out and makes a call, and he comes back in and says, “No, I can’t take this back.”
Carr
Pat walks out, and Lane’s still sitting there. Pat takes a lap around the patio area and walks back in. Comes back out and does another lap. At that point, I see our sports information guy and our CFO, and they’re off in the corner of the parking lot, and I said to myself, “Wait a minute, he’s getting whacked.” It was like when Joe Pesci walks into the room in “Goodfellas.”
Kiffin
You get that dream job, and I say, you lose it and have it taken away. The reason I say it that way is, when you get fired, you lose your job, and you look at it and say, “I should’ve done it this way or that way. I should’ve hired different.” Whatever it was. It’s all the things you look at vs. saying, “I got screwed over.” In this case, I could’ve done things much better, but I also got it taken away for things that weren’t my fault because there were 30 scholarships lost and a two-year bowl ban. We lost recruits because they couldn’t play on TV. We lost current players because the juniors and seniors could transfer. But that was all forgotten. We’re playing with 30 less scholarships, losing at Arizona State but 3-2 [in 2013], 28-15 overall. Not 0-6 or whatever. Coaches with full rosters of 85 scholarship players, you don’t usually get fired at 3-2.
Garrett
[Haden’s] war was with me. Getting rid of Lane was a way to say I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was lucky with Pete Carroll. Lane was really a byproduct of all that. If [Haden] got rid of Lane, it reflected on me.
ESPN contacted former USC athletic director Pat Haden, former interim coach Ed Orgeron, and former university president Max Nikias. All declined to comment for this story.
Carr
Lane gets in the car and the first thing he says is, “I’m sorry that took so long. I didn’t mean to keep you.”
Tessalone
Lane lived in Manhattan Beach at the time. I lived in Redondo Beach, which was two beaches south of that. It was 3 in the morning, something like that. I told Lane, “Hey, I’ll follow you home.” So there’s Kiff, going down the deserted Pacific Coast Highway, and he turns off, and I kept going down to Redondo. And I got in after 3 in the morning thinking, OK, I have to write a press release that Lane Kiffin’s been fired.
Nwaisser
I remember getting up, it was still dark, and I saw the news on my phone, and I basically had a little minicelebration in our hotel room in Arizona.
Kiffin
It’s 5 a.m. The sun’s getting ready to come up. I’m sitting in the backyard, and I said to my wife, “When I go to bed, I don’t want to wake up.” She’s got a little more perspective, and she said, “You have three children upstairs. Don’t ever say that again.”
When news trickled out about Kiffin’s departure — and the details of how it happened — the story transcended college football and became a pop culture moment.
Nwaisser
Getting fired on the tarmac, the memes kind of make themselves. It was funny and it was sad. It sucked to be a USC fan and have all this happen to us but I don’t think a lot of people were sad to see Kiffin go.
Weber
I’m driving back from Tempe listening to ESPN Radio. The guy’s on, and he sounded half-asleep. And he says, “There’s some rumblings about USC.” I pull over, and I’m sitting there on I-10 with my laptop out trying to write the story. There wasn’t anybody you could call in the middle of the night.
Tessalone
I’d never written a press release at 4 a.m. I remember opening up Twitter, and it’s 7 a.m. on the East Coast, and you could just see the story traveling from the East Coast to the midwest to the West Coast as all these media people start waking up.
Kiffin
If you get fired at the end of the year, you have this disaster, and you have to deal with it, and then you get a new job. You’re in the media with 20 other coaches getting fired. When you get fired in Week 5 in L.A., you’re the story.
Wolf
I was live tweeting this from my hotel room at like 4 in the morning. I’d talked to some people who were on the bus, so I broke that story about the tarmac. I got savaged by people who say I was making it up. Now everybody talks about it — especially him.
Pat Chun, FAU athletic director, 2012-2017
The brand value of USC and Lane Kiffin and social media and it’s a perfect storm of awkward circumstances to separate a coach from his job.
Wolf
And now every time someone doesn’t like a coach, “They need to tarmac him.”
In the aftermath of Kiffin’s dismissal, USC still had games to play, and the Trojans turned to Orgeron to lead the program the rest of the way — or, at least long enough for them to hire someone else.
Browne
We got a text first thing Sunday morning that there’s a team meeting. At that point, you knew the writing was on the wall.
Graf
We were all somewhat relieved because we weren’t living up to what we needed to, and we felt like Lane — I don’t know if he was trying to pin players against each other, but we all felt like it was in our interests to continue on without him. Let’s start clean, have Coach O come in and lead, and you saw quite a switch.
Browne
When Coach Orgeron came in, it was an injection of personality and energy into our locker room. He was getting us fast-food trucks on Wednesday and Thursday. We started going to movies the night before the game. Trying to lighten the air for a team that had a ton of pressure. It was much more fun.
Helton
That whole season, to be honest, is one of my favorite seasons. You always get to see who you are when adversity hits … that group of men, saying our job is to go do our job and not look for the next job.
Tessalone
Ed was incredibly popular with our players and our fans. When he took over — he’s just this larger-than-life personality. He’d done a great job during his time at SC and got the team going. They had the big upset over Stanford at home. I think everybody kind of thought he’d get a shot.
Pat Haden, former USC athletic director, in 2013
I counted them actually. I had 136 pro-Coach O emails today. Those were just emails. That doesn’t count the tweets, letters and phone calls. In my day, they sent ’em by carrier pigeon. Now, I get ’em four or five ways.
USC rebounded after Kiffin’s termination and finished the regular season 9-4, but lost to both Notre Dame and UCLA. Orgeron felt he’d earned the job full time. USC felt differently. On Dec. 2, two days after the Trojans’ final home game, Steve Sarkisian, who’d worked with Kiffin as an assistant under Carroll, was named the new head coach. Orgeron was not pleased, and USC still had a bowl game to play.
Wolf
You had the tarmac incident and two months later Ed Orgeron is storming off campus in his SUV because he didn’t get the job. And nobody sees him again because he was so mad.
With Sarkisian in the press box, and none of the remaining coaches certain they’d have a job the next day, Helton’s staff led a surprising upset of Fresno State 45-20 for USC’s 10th win in a season in which the team had four different head coaches.
Graf
No one knew what we were going through, and so it bonded the team closer. We were in a bad spot, and to turn it around and make it as fun as he did and to win 10 games under four different coaches — other teams would fold, but it almost brought us together as kind of a brotherhood.
Helton
It kind of put an exclamation point on a year that when a group of men rally together and support each other, great things can happen.
Graf
As wild a year as that was, the closeness the team was able to have, the way we finished it off, I’m glad I left SC with a win.
Rece Davis, play-by-play voice for the 2013 Las Vegas Bowl
Tee [Martin] and the offensive coaches were in the booth next to us. As soon as the game was over, he held up a sign that said, “Will coach for food.” It was the proverbial gallows humor.
Sarkisian, too, was ultimately fired midway through the 2015 season. Helton again stepped in as interim and, perhaps aware of the mistake in letting Orgeron walk in 2013, USC ultimately kept Helton on full time. His tenure was marked by more disgruntled fans, a 46-24 overall record, and just one top-10 finish. Helton was fired two games into the 2021 season.
Weber
From August to December [2013], they had four coaches. They’re the only program who’s fired two coaches in the middle of the season two years apart.
Kiffin
You get far enough removed where then you don’t care. Right after I left, it’s human nature [to root against USC]. It’s the ego involved. We think everyone’s comparing, which they aren’t.
Garrett
Haden didn’t know what the hell he was doing. So the place got worse, morale got bad. There’s no question in my mind if he gave Lane the time and the support and didn’t think of him as a Mike Garrett selection, Lane would’ve been successful.
Kiffin
I didn’t do well. [My wife] said, “Utilize this time with your kids and family.” I just sat around and felt sorry for myself and watched football games all the time.
I needed a job. I didn’t have balance. My job defined me. My job was my higher power. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to exist without my job.
Kiffin found salvation in the most unlikely of places — at Alabama, with staid, stoic, understated coach Nick Saban. The results on the field were incredible, with Kiffin reimagining the old-school Alabama offense as an up-tempo attack that brought the Tide in line with the modern game. Off the field, however, the Saban-Kiffin dynamic was … complicated.
Kiffin
[Saban] and [agent] Jimmy Sexton called me when I was [an assistant] at USC, we’d won the [2005] Orange Bowl. Offers me the offensive coordinator job [with the Miami Dolphins]. He’d watched us in the Orange Bowl. We’d just smoked Oklahoma. I didn’t go. Then he gets the Alabama job [in 2007]. After I was fired, he said, “Hey come out here and watch practice.” I did. I spent 10 days out there, got to know him a little bit, and the offensive coordinator job opened up a month later and he called me.
Weber
When Lane left L.A., he sold his house to Vince Vaughn, the actor. You’ve got to have a pretty good house if you’re able to sell it to Vince Vaughn.
Kiffin
That is accurate, yes. [Vaughn] was on “College GameDay.” He picked Alabama and not us. I thought maybe he’d say, “Well, I bought Lane Kiffin’s house, so I better pick them.”
Locksley
Lane and Coach [Saban] are probably more similar than they are different in terms of football. Lane’s a social media darling. That side is different. Coach is more reserved, more conservative. But if you spend enough time with Lane, they’re both high, high, high intelligence levels, great problem-solvers, tremendous ability to communicate. Now, the social media, the outside-the-box stuff that Lane does, that’s obviously different.
Kiffin
Two polar opposite people. The one common theme is ultracompetitive, but outside of that, very different people. Especially back then.
It had its ups and downs. If I were to redo it perfectly, I say you should get a two-day seminar from someone — like a previous offensive coordinator — I would have done it better if I’d had a 48-hour seminar with McElwain or something to explain how it works.
When you say, “Hey, Coach, what do you think about this?” and I think that’s just normal conversation. He’s interpreting it as I’m questioning the process. Because you sit in the staff meetings and nobody talks. I remember looking at Kirby [Smart] or Billy Napier and thinking, “Does anybody say anything but ‘Yes, sir?'” Coach could walk in and say, “This week we’re going to play with 10 players,” and everyone would say, “Yes, sir, great idea.”
But I take all the blame for that there was friction at first. The production worked. But communication and relationship didn’t. I take blame for that because it’s not his job to change. It’s my job to change.
For Kiffin, the on-field success did help him find closure on his exit at USC. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Alabama won a national title with Kiffin calling the plays. It came almost 10 years to the day after the Trojans’ historic loss to Texas in the national championship game, when Kiffin had notoriously left Reggie Bush on the sideline in the game’s critical, final moments.
Then came Alabama’s 2016 season opener against a familiar adversary: USC.
Locksley
That was actually my first game I was at Bama for [as an offensive analyst]. Going into the game, knowing the situation of Lane and USC and being fired on the tarmac, infamously he’d put something at the top of the call sheet that we all had — either the date or the time that he was fired.
Kiffin
It was the time.
Locksley
I remember in the middle of the game, we were winning pretty handily, and anybody who’s worked for Coach [Saban] knows he’s a class act when it comes to that stuff. He made the decision — when he tells you to take the air out of the ball, as he likes to say, that means slow things down. We don’t need to try to score. Keep the clock moving.
Well, Lane missed that conversation on the headset, and threw a Sluggo touchdown to Gehrig Dieter, and I can remember Coach on the headset saying, “Hey man, does it make you feel any better that you’re doing this? Does it get you your job back?”
And I can remember Lane saying, ‘No, it doesn’t, but it sure feels good.’
And Coach went off on him after that.
After the game, Kiffin posted a photo of his son with the game ball and the hashtag: “3:14AM-LAX.“
Post game w the game ball!!! #3:14AM-LAX pic.twitter.com/cxQkJ89254
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 4, 2016
Tessalone
We were talking one time and he goes, “You know my nickname when I was a kid, right?” I said no. He goes, “It was ‘Helicopter.’ Because when I was a kid, I would walk into a room and just stir everything up.”
Davis
Someday, when they write an epitaph for Lane Kiffin, it’s going to be, “He couldn’t help himself.”
Kiffin’s relationship with Saban ultimately blew up after the College Football Playoff semifinal in Atlanta. Kiffin had already accepted the head-coaching job at FAU, and Saban was supposedly concerned that his offensive coordinator already had one foot out the door. Kiffin and Alabama parted ways just a week before the national championship game. He was replaced, again, with Steve Sarkisian.
Nick Saban, Alabama head coach, in 2017
This wasn’t an easy decision, and we appreciate the way Lane handled this in terms of doing what is best for our team. At the end of the day, both of us wanted to put our players in the best position to be successful.
Kiffin
I think a lot of times, I was a jerk. Maybe stubborn is the better word. Just to remember, this is his program. If he says to wear pink underwear, you wear pink underwear. I was so used to the open communication thing, I really struggled with that transition.
Locksley
When I think of Lane, I think of the California cool kid. Being at Alabama really emphasized the importance of structure and having processes and building a program. You can see the role that Coach played — not just in Lane but in a lot of us that came through that program that Coach Saban has built.
Kiffin
Probably not a day goes by where there’s not something that I say [that’s] something he says or think of something [Saban] says. He’s kind of like a parent. I was raised by my dad and had, like, two stepdads in Pete Carroll and Nick Saban. You can still hear those voices. That happens to me a lot. Coach doesn’t pick up the phone and go, “Hey, man. What are you doing? Just driving home and going fishing.” That doesn’t happen. But a lot of times, out of nowhere, I’ll just [text], “Thanks again.”
It was at FAU where Kiffin finally found a fresh start. For the first time in his career, he was at a place that didn’t have national title aspirations. He was building, rather than inheriting, a program.
Chun
He was so well-prepared in his interview. He addressed all the Twitter rumors about himself, very upfront. But it was a very thoughtful, engaging presentation on him as a head football coach, the lessons he learned on his very unique journey and where that put him at in that moment and why he was prepared to be a head coach again.
Kiffin
After we won to go to a bowl game, they bowled in the locker room. I’d never been anywhere that celebrated six wins. And it was so cool because it was on a smaller stage where people were enjoying it — not for what it gives you, but for the enjoyment of the game. And you were giving players something they hadn’t had before. You’re supposed to start that way — Urban [Meyer] at Bowling Green, Saban at Toledo. You’re supposed to start down and work up. You’re not supposed to get your first job at 31 in the NFL and then Tennessee and USC.
Jon Gordon, author and motivational speaker
I’d never liked him. Never liked his public persona, and I didn’t expect to like him. But I went to visit him and I actually liked him a lot. He was beginning the process of wanting to make a change.
Kiffin
I saw a podcast the other day on the rapper Macklemore, and he’s talking about, he’s winning the Grammy. He’s on stage. He’s got everything. And he’s not fulfilled. And later, he’s in rehab. He’s making coffee in the morning for people. He’s serving others. And he says, “I felt more fulfilled doing that than when I was on stage.” I feel like I can relate to that. I can tell people, there are trophies and wins and new contracts and things. I’m not saying they’re not great, but that’s not true fulfillment.
I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago.
Three years after being hired at FAU, Kiffin landed another Power 5 job — back in the SEC at Ole Miss. He’s still a lightning rod for public scrutiny, but he has shown he has a sense of humor about most of it, publicly tweaking Saban routinely, interacting with fans and critics alike on social media, and finding something approaching a sense of peace with his place in the college football universe.
Weber
He had a lot of learning experiences.
Browne
I remember the criticism around him, some people would champion the point that he was not great with the media, and he wasn’t personable, and you fast forward a decade and he’s maybe the most personable, real coach out there.
He’s set a standard for what it means to be a coach in the social media era.
Helton
To take a step back and it really jumps you three steps forward. I’m just so happy for him to see the maturity and really the peace that he has. He’s still innovative.
Graf
Looking at Lane now, he has a lot of fun. He talks s—. He has fun with his players. If he was more like that during his SC days, things may have panned out different.
McKay
I’m sorry for what happened to Lane at SC, but I think things happen for a reason, and he’s moved on and is a hell of a football coach.
Kiffin
I think people go their whole life without being glad that bad things happen. They hold anger and resentment — toward the people, the AD, the fans. They don’t ever let that go. And it only hurts them. It didn’t hurt USC if I was mad at them. So, I let that go. And I’m glad I’ve had this experience.
A week into the 2025 MLB season, we created our annual MLB Rank list of the top 100 players in baseball to answer the question: Who will be the best player in 2025?
More than four months later, we asked 17 ESPN MLB experts to give their ranking of the top 50 players in the sport this season. We averaged those lists to create our first MLB Rank in-season update — giving us a chance not only to take a look at who has excelled this season, but also see what we got right (and wrong) on our initial top-100 player ranking.
Our list features the MVPs and Cy Young Award winners you’d expect, as well as the budding young megastars who have broken out this season and could dominate MLB for many years. However, because we asked voters to rank players based on their overall impact on the 2025 season — combining what they’ve done with what we expect them to do the rest of the way — you won’t see notable names such as Mookie Betts, Yordan Alvarez or Ronald Acuña Jr. on this list.
So, who’s No. 1? Where does the best player on your team rank? And how different does this top 50 look compared with our top 100 at the beginning of the season? To go with our updated ranking, 10 of our voters also broke down what each player has done and what to expect over the final months of the season.
More: Snubs, surprises and more
Jump to team’s top-ranked player:
American League
ATH | BAL | BOS | CLE
DET | HOU | KC | MIN
NYY | SEA | TEX | TOR
(No top 50 players: CHW, LAA, TB)
National League
ARI | CHC | CIN | LAD
MIA | NYM | PHI
PIT | SD | SF | WSH
(No top 50 players: ATL, COL, MIL, STL)
What he has done so far: Judge has followed his historic 2024 season with another historically productive campaign that has him on a path toward his second straight American League MVP and third in four seasons. The Yankees captain, despite a relative “slump” since the beginning of June, leads the majors in wRC+ and batting average by comfortable margins, and is within striking distance in home runs and RBIs as he seeks to become the AL’s second Triple Crown winner since 1967. He’s still the best hitter in the world.
What to expect from here: The Yankees go as Judge goes, and a recent flexor strain produced a scare for a club suddenly fighting for a playoff spot. Judge returned after the minimum 10 days on the injured list, but he’s limited to DH for the time being. While the flexor strain impacts his throwing far more than his hitting, it also affects his ability to grip a bat. He should win AL MVP as long as he stays on the field, but that’s not a guarantee for the remainder of the season. — Jorge Castillo
What he has done so far: Two-way Ohtani has (almost) been fully unlocked. His second year with the Dodgers has seen him put together another dominant offensive season, the type that might merit the National League MVP Award. But now he’s shining on the mound, too. The Dodgers took their time with Ohtani’s pitching progression, and have him stretched out to four innings at the moment. He’s coming off a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, and yet he is as effective now as ever.
What to expect from here: The expectation is that Ohtani will start games in October. The question facing the Dodgers is how much they stretch him out. They want his arm, of course, but they’re also conscious about taxing him to where it affects his offense — or worse, leads to another injury. We’ve already seen Ohtani take a major step back with stolen bases. That was expected. But for as good as Ohtani can be — and already is — as a pitcher, he’s even more important as a catalyst atop the Dodgers’ lineup. So, they’ll tread carefully. — Alden Gonzalez
What he has done so far: After winning the Cy Young Award last season, Skubal has gotten better in 2025: higher strikeout rate, lower walk rate, lower batting average allowed and pitching slightly deeper into games. His SO-BB% is one of the highest of all time. He doesn’t have the AL Cy Young locked up, given the strong competition, but the consensus view is he’s the top starter in the majors.
What to expect from here: With Cleveland drawing closer in the division, it will be interesting to see if the Tigers push Skubal a little harder. He has made six starts on four days of rest this season, but since the All-Star break, he has gone eight days, five days, six days and five days between starts. You want to keep him strong for the postseason, but you need to get there first. — David Schoenfield
What he has done so far: Break records. Become the physical and spiritual leader of an ascendant Mariners team. Play all but three of the Mariners’ 119 games, a seeming impossibility for a modern catcher. Bang a major-league-leading 45 home runs, fitting for a Home Run Derby champion. The defense is still elite, too: He has one of the five most dangerous arms and is a top-10 framer. More impressive than all the numbers, narrative and MVP talk is that he has gotten a nation of people to refer to him as the Big Dumper with a straight face.
What to expect from here: Other records could fall. Four more home runs and he beats Salvador Perez’s single-season mark for catchers. Another 11 will tie Ken Griffey Jr.’s Mariners record of 56. Perhaps the AL mark of 62 by Judge is out of reach, but it’s impossible to say with the sort of heaters Raleigh has gone on multiple times this season. With the thump that surrounds him in Seattle’s lineup, he doesn’t have quite the same onus to carry the Mariners. But if there’s a big at-bat, there’s only one person they want to take it. — Jeff Passan
What he has done so far: Witt hasn’t been as special as he was in 2024, but he has still been great. Few players can match his elite skill set, from bat speed to foot speed to defensive range and arm strength. If teams had to redraft the majors from scratch, Witt might be the first player off the board. It has all been on full display in 2025.
What to expect from here: A big finish. Witt hasn’t had one of the extended torrid stretches that he has enjoyed the past two seasons, though he has had some hot streaks. Lately, his plate discipline — the one remaining weak spot — has ticked up, which could portend a surge for a player hoping to carry his club back to the playoffs, and one who is uniquely suited for such a project. — Bradford Doolittle
What he has done so far: Continuing the best start to a pitching career MLB has seen in a long time. Arguably ever. Among qualified starters, he throws harder than everyone (98.4 mph average fastball), has the lowest ERA of anyone (1.94), a strikeout rate in the 87th percentile, walks hitters less frequently than three-quarters of his peers and is pretty damn great at everything. This is the most exciting start to a career since Shohei Ohtani.
What to expect from here: More of the same, right? Why would you think any differently? That Skenes is also doing this with the Pirates, receiving 2.9 runs per game, which ranks 118th out of 127 pitchers who have made at least 14 starts, according to Baseball-Reference — only reinforces his dominance when one run can be the difference between a win and a loss. His record is 7-8. No starter has won the National League Cy Young with a record of .500 or below. Will Skenes become the first? — Passan
What he has done so far: Despite some struggles against left-handed pitching, Crow-Armstrong is high on the list thanks to a rare combination of power, speed and defense — especially at the all-important position of center field. It’s why he ranks third in baseball in wins above replacement, even though his on-base percentage is just under .300. His ability to hit pitches outside the strike zone for damage was a signature part of his game for most of the first half. And one reason he’s a top-10 player.
What to expect from here: It would be hard for Crow-Armstrong to repeat his first half, when he hit 21 home runs in about nine weeks, so expect great glove work the rest of the way, a bunch of stolen bases and the more occasional home run — at least compared with his previous pace. The good news is he has been more selective at the plate lately, seeing his on-base percentage creep up thanks to laying off some pitches he was swinging at previously. He probably won’t improve that much against lefties before next season, but he’s still dangerous: Seven of his 27 home runs have come against left-handed pitching. — Jesse Rogers
What he has done so far: Ramirez has been his same ol’ MVP-caliber self, though his Guardians might miss the playoffs for the fourth time in the past 10 seasons. He sports the ninth-most WAR (4.9) and is the only hitter to rank among the top 20 in batting average, home runs and stolen bases. Ramirez is a 20/20 player for the seventh consecutive nonshortened season, tied for the fourth-longest streak in history.
What to expect from here: The Guardians have shaved 9½ games off their AL Central standings deficit in the past month and are again in striking distance of a wild-card spot. His veteran leadership plays a huge part in their October prospects (and, with it, his gaining MVP votes). He has a legitimate chance at his first .300 batting average since 2017, as well as a second straight 30/40 season. — Tristan Cockcroft
What he has done so far: One of baseball’s true aces, Wheeler leads the majors in strikeouts, is eighth in ERA and third in WHIP. He remains an NL Cy Young hopeful, though he might have to settle for another second-place finish (he has two already).
What to expect from here: Normally, we would say expect greatness, but Wheeler’s recent struggles — he’s 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA, seven HRs and five HBPs in his past five starts — must concern the Phillies, especially when his slump has come with recent diminished fastball velocity, likely due to shoulder stiffness that pushed his weekend start back a few days. The Phillies boast rotation depth. They might need it in a surprising way. — Eric Karabell
What he has done so far: If Skubal doesn’t win the AL Cy Young Award this year, Crochet will. He has been what the Red Sox had hoped for when they moved aggressively to trade for him last winter. Imagine how different the baseball landscape would look to the Orioles, who had the prospect power to win the Crochet bidding last winter, if they had landed an ace.
What to expect from here: Crochet, three years removed from Tommy John surgery, is just 26 years old and locked into the long-term deal (six years, $170 million) he signed with the Red Sox this past spring. Boston has its No. 1 starter for the foreseeable future. — Buster Olney
What he has done so far: Tucker had about as steady a first half of the season as you’ll find. One minor slump didn’t impact his ability to start his first All-Star Game, and his combination of speed, power and defense has come in handy playing in Wrigley Field, where the weather is ever-changing. Players need to adjust their game, and Tucker found plenty of ways to reach base over the first three months of the season. It’s why he ranks around the top 10 in WAR and why the Cubs are in the playoff hunt.
What to expect from here: Tucker has struggled for most of July and August. He’s fouling balls off that he should be hitting hard and swinging and missing more often than usual. He’s also hitting too many ground balls — though some have been smoked right at the infielder. Tucker is too good for this to continue. Expect a hot finish to his season — and his free agent year. The foul balls are a sign he’s close to breaking out. — Rogers
What he has done so far: Soto’s first season in Queens, as the player with the most lucrative deal in baseball history, has been underwhelming relative to expectations after his slow start.
Though still one of the most productive hitters in the majors, his numbers across the board — batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS+ and wRC+ among them — have regressed from his MVP-level platform campaign with the Yankees in 2024. Still, he should’ve been an All-Star, and nearly every player would gladly take this as a “down” year.
What to expect from here: Soto has historically peaked in the second half with better power production, so the safe bet is a return to elite form down the stretch after a torrid June and average July. The Mets’ offense, sputtering for long stretches this season, could use it as New York looks to hold on to a playoff spot. — Castillo
What he has done so far: Tatis hasn’t reached his offensive heights from before his injury and suspension, but his off-the-charts defensive metrics have helped him to one of the highest WAR totals in the NL (he leads all right fielders with 16 defensive runs saved). He has already drawn a career high in walks, giving him a high OBP, while also cutting down on his strikeouts.
What to expect from here: Tatis stormed out of the gate in April, hitting .345 with eight home runs, but then scuffled in May and June before picking it up again in July, when he hit .308 with a .438 OBP. The Padres don’t hit a lot of home runs, and to secure a playoff position, they might need the power Tatis provided earlier in the season. — Schoenfield
14. Kyle Schwarber, DH, Philadelphia Phillies
What he has done so far: Schwarbombs are once again the norm in Philadelphia as one of the game’s most prolific power hitters of his era already has 42 home runs. Does Schwarber ever hit one that isn’t a no-doubter? And though he strikes out a lot, he also takes his walks. It’s why he can fit anywhere in a lineup. His top-20 ranking in WAR as a designated hitter is impressive. He has been the offensive MVP of the first-place Phillies.
What to expect from here: With his on-base percentage trending toward a career high, Schwarber’s production might be the easiest to predict: more home runs and more walks. If he’s challenged, it’s leaving the park. If not, he’ll jog to first instead of around the bases. The playoffs are when he really shines, as he has done it all throughout his career in every situation. No moment is too big for Schwarber, so expect Schwarbombs to rain down when Philly needs them most. — Rogers
What he has done so far: De La Cruz’s second full season as a major leaguer has been a step forward in nearly every offensive category. He’s getting on base more and striking out significantly less while providing a similar slugging output. He’s stealing fewer bases, but he’s also getting caught less while supplying the highest baserunning value in the sport. The metrics suggest he has regressed defensively at shortstop, but De La Cruz, still just 23 years old, remains on a superstar track for an organization battling for a postseason ticket.
What to expect from here: De La Cruz fell off down the stretch in 2024, his first full major league season, so the final six weeks will be a test. A strong July — he slashed .305/.389/.442 with seven steals in 25 games — suggests 2025 could be different. Perhaps a playoff race will bring out his best. — Castillo
16. Will Smith, C, Los Angeles Dodgers
What he has done so far: Smith was already one of the game’s best catchers, but now, at age 30, he is in the midst of his best offensive season, setting career highs in batting average and on-base percentage while on track to reach 20 home runs for the fourth time in five years. He’s making better swing decisions, but he has also held up strong one year after his numbers cratered in the second half. A big reason is probably the presence of rookie Dalton Rushing, who is allowing Smith to squeeze in more rest days each week.
What to expect from here: The Dodgers haven’t been playing all that great since the start of July. Their lead over San Diego has shrunk because of it, and they have six games against the Padres coming in the next couple of weeks. Expect Smith to play a lot more during the stretch run of the season. With Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and others slumping to varying degrees this year, the Dodgers need Smith’s bat in the middle of their lineup as often as possible. — Gonzalez
What he has done so far: If Machado never played another game, he would have already done enough to be elected into the Hall of Fame: a seven-time All-Star, two Gold Glove Awards, more than 2,000 hits and he’s closing in on 400 homers.
What to expect from here: He just turned 33 years old, so he’s still in the prime of his career, with an adjusted OPS of 135 this season. The Padres got close to reaching the World Series in 2024 and have a shot again this year, and Machado has demonstrated a knack for thriving on the big stage. — Olney
What he has done so far: Carroll is in the conversation for the most dynamic player in baseball. (His MLB-leading 14 triples don’t hurt the case.) He’s good at pretty much everything. He hits for power. He’s the best baserunner in the big leagues. He uses his speed to catch up to everything in the outfield — and, as if he has heard the criticism about his arm, is throwing 3 mph faster this year. Carroll has a touch of that prime Mike Trout ability to acknowledge a weakness and fix it the next season. Bit by bit, Carroll keeps getting better. And considering how good he is, that’s saying something.
What to expect from here: Carroll has evolved. Long respected for his willingness not to chase, he now goes after out-of-zone pitches — and clearly with good results, as his numbers show. His strikeout rate spiked to 21% in the second half last year, when he shook off a bad first half and finished with aplomb, and this year, he’s striking out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances. Carroll is continuously trying to find that balance between patience and aggressiveness at the plate, and when he does — the old Trout skill — watch out. — Passan
What he has done so far: Over the past two seasons, Sanchez’s sinker velocity has spiked 3.2 mph, which has made his slider firmer. It also has enhanced the effectiveness of his changeup, which is now the third-best pitch in the majors in terms of run value, per Baseball Savant. In 2025, he has 11 wins with a 2.36 ERA, good for fourth best in the majors, and a 1.08 WHIP.
What to expect from here: He’s the fourth-best pitcher by WAR over the past two seasons combined, so you can expect him to stay on the current track he’s on — asserting himself as one of the best pitchers in the game when it matters, down the stretch and into the playoffs this fall. — Kiley McDaniel
20. Ketel Marte, 2B, Arizona Diamondbacks
What he has done so far: As well as he is regarded, Marte remains a bit underrated, especially for someone who has continued to be one of baseball’s best all-around hitters even after turning 30 years old. Marte had a career OPS+ of 114 through his age-29 season. Now 31, Marte has been at a 154 OPS+ since reaching an age when middle infielders are supposed to hit their downside. He has been doing it long enough for Arizona that he’s now third on the Diamondbacks’ career WAR leaderboard.
What to expect from here: Marte has to focus on finishing strong. He has had a tough year — he was taunted by a fan about his late mother in Chicago and his home was burglarized during the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks don’t seem likely to make the playoffs, but Marte has a chance to earn a few down-ballot MVP votes once again. — Doolittle
What he has done so far: Perhaps we should have expected this from a shortstop who won a World Series MVP as a rookie. Peña is a high-caliber defensive shortstop with some of the fastest wheels in the game. He’s hitting like a star this year, too, and even if some of it is driven by the eighth-best average on balls in play (.354) among 201 players with at least 300 plate appearances, who cares? In that same cohort, only 34 players strike out at a lower rate than Peña — and just three have a higher slugging percentage than his .484.
What to expect from here: The BABIP suggests a regression is in store, particularly considering Peña has not hit the ball hard compared with his statistical peers. Even if his season evens out, he is still one of the five best-performing shortstops in baseball. But what if this offensive breakout isn’t an anomaly? What if the combination of consistent contact and barrel-to-ball ability makes for a good hitter? Peña has both right now, and he’s batting 44 points higher than his career average coming into the season. Which version he really is will help determine whether he’s very good or great. — Passan
What he has done so far: In some ways, it has been another frustrating season for J-Rod, as his offensive numbers have, once again, failed to match what he did in his first two seasons in 2022 and ’23. But he has also played a superlative center field, he plays every day, he might still finish with a 30/30 season and he’s about to reach 5.0 WAR for the third time in his career.
What to expect from here: Rodriguez is a renowned second-half hitter (his career OPS in August and September is over .900 compared with .654 in April), and he’s showing signs of heating up once again. The Mariners would love to see him replicate what he did last September, when he hit .328 with 22 RBIs. History says that might happen. — Schoenfield
What he has done so far: Brown has been extremely steady this season, highlighted by his first seven starts, when he pitched six innings or more in each of them. Other than a couple of blips, there hasn’t been much drop-off in his game, as Brown ranks in the top 10 in ERA and strikeouts for the first-place Astros. Batters are hitting just .156 off a fastball that averages nearly 97 mph. He gives up just 6.2 hits per nine innings, best in the league.
What to expect from here: Brown is already off to a good start this month, so there’s no reason to believe he can’t finish strong. He threw 170 innings last season, plus another 5⅔ innings in the postseason, so he’s conditioned for whatever comes next. If he hasn’t replaced Framber Valdez as the Astros’ No.1 pitcher, then he’s no worse than 1-A. The pair gives Houston a lethal 1-2 combo for the postseason, when Brown should be as dominant as he has been all year. Expect an October gem or two from him. — Rogers
What he has done so far: The Blue Jays, once again, failed to land premium free agents last offseason, and there was uncertainty about whether they could lock down their homegrown superstar. They ultimately did, lavishing Guerrero with a 14-year, $500 million extension in early April. And since then, they’ve seen a team shine around him. The Blue Jays have surged to the top of the American League East, and Guerrero has produced like one would expect while at the center of it.
What to expect from here: Last year, Guerrero turned around a lackluster season and finished sixth in MVP voting with a dominant last 4½ months. This year, he has incrementally gotten better each month. Now, with the Blue Jays looking to stave off the Tigers and Astros and others to nail down a first-round bye, they need Guerrero to be at his best. For whatever reason, Guerrero’s production in September is his worst of any month (career .267/.337/.456 slash line). That needs to change this year. — Gonzalez
What he has already done so far: It’s not a given that a team gets high-end production from a player on a megadeal, but that’s what has happened for the Mets with Lindor. He is nearly halfway through that 10-year, $341 million contract he signed in 2022 and remains a preeminent shortstop.
What to expect from here: Lindor is in exceptional condition, and even if there’s a time in the distant future when the Mets want to move him off shortstop, his transition will likely be very smooth. He has missed more than 20 games in a season only once. And soon, he’ll be closing in on 2,000 career hits and 300 career homers. — Olney
What he’s done so far: Buxton has recaptured some of the oomph in his bat that he lost in 2023-24, driving in a career-best 60 runs behind 24 home runs this season while sporting his best hard hit rate (55.3%). But perhaps most importantly, he has remained on the Twins’ active roster for more than 70% of their games. His 4.0 WAR is already tied for his third-best single-season number, and he has 85th percentile-or-better Statcast xwOBA, sprint speed and defensive outs above average.
What to expect from here: After remaining in Minnesota beyond the trade deadline, reportedly by his choice, Buxton is the centerpiece of a gutted Twins roster. He’s on the mend from a rib cartilage injury, and he might set personal bests in home runs and perhaps steal 20-plus bases for the first time since 2017. But with the Twins already looking ahead to 2026, they won’t push him any more than necessary over the last months of the season. — Cockcroft
What he has done so far: Yamamoto took the mound in Game 2 of the World Series last fall, in the wake of a rookie season tarnished by a prolonged stint on the injured list, and dominated the Yankees through 6⅓ innings. That start, Yamamoto later said, gave him confidence about how he could perform in the major leagues. He has followed that with a 2025 campaign in which he is in the running for the NL Cy Young Award, showing why he became coveted enough out of Japan to sign the largest deal by a starting pitcher.
What to expect from here: In a season that has seen them, once again, suffer a litany of injuries to their pitching staff — most notably to fellow frontline starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow — the Dodgers have kept Yamamoto’s innings manageable, even though he has taken every turn through the rotation. They hope this not only keeps Yamamoto’s right arm healthy but that it puts him at his best for the stretch run. He’s trending toward being the Dodgers’ Game 1 starter in October. He’s the logical choice. — Gonzalez
28. Framber Valdez, SP, Houston Astros
What he has done so far: The reliable lefty remains a picture of consistency, pacing toward his best season yet in WAR and having won more games than home runs permitted. Valdez is fourth in innings and is one of two pitchers (Nick Lodolo is the other) with more than one complete game (Bob Gibson would mock the current state of pitching).
What to expect from here: The Astros will continue to depend heavily on the top of their rotation, especially Valdez. He has won 10 of 11 decisions, and he boasts a 1.65 ERA in home games. His next outing should come at home this weekend. — Karabell
What he has done so far: The Marlins’ shocking turnaround this season has been largely fueled by Stowers’ emergence as one of the best hitters in baseball.
The 27-year-old outfielder has been consistently elite, peaking with a blistering July in which he compiled a 1.269 OPS with 10 home runs. He made his first All-Star team and should receive down-ballot MVP votes. He’s a cornerstone for a franchise with a bright future. It all happened suddenly, but it looks to be for real.
What to expect from here: Stowers’ underlying numbers strongly suggest this is not a fluke. His Baseball Savant page is filled with red. He ranks in the 97th percentile in barrel rate, 92nd percentile in hard-hit rate, 93rd percentile in xwOBA and 89th percentile in bat speed. He strikes out a bunch — his strikeout and whiff rates are in the 8th and 4th percentiles, respectively — but he hits the ball hard often, and that is a rock-solid formula for steady success. — Castillo
30. Max Fried, SP, New York Yankees
What he has done so far: Fried was dominant through June, posting a 1.92 ERA in 108 innings across 17 starts to pitch himself into the AL Cy Young conversation. It was the ace-level performance the Yankees needed to offset the losses of Gerrit Cole for the season and Luis Gil for the first half. But Fried hasn’t been the same pitcher since the start of July. The All-Star left-hander recorded a 5.54 ERA in five July starts, allowing at least three runs in each outing, and he surrendered four runs over five innings in each of his first two games in August.
What to expect from here: A blister on Fried’s left index finger ended his start against the Cubs on July 12 after three innings. He avoided the IL, but it’s impossible to ignore the issue coinciding with his regression. It’s an issue Fried has dealt with — and overcome — in the past. Whether he returns to his previous form remains to be seen. — Castillo
What he has done so far: Henderson burst onto the scene in 2023 and 2024 and has posted the third-most shortstop WAR since then, behind only Bobby Witt Jr. and Francisco Lindor. Henderson, 24, has 3.7 WAR this season, as he’s hitting .284 — a higher average than he finished with last season — with a .464 slugging percentage.
What to expect from here: He has established himself as one of the best infielders in the game, even if his 2024 numbers look like an outlier season. However, I expect his numbers to tick up in the last month-plus of the 2025 season. — McDaniel
32. Trea Turner, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
What he has done so far: It has been a representative age-32 season for Turner, though his power numbers are down. But because he has never had a lot of walks, he has been more reliant on batting average. Luckily, he’s one of baseball’s top hitters for average, and he remains an offensive force for one of baseball’s top attacks.
What to expect from here: Turner has lost a bit of bat speed over the past couple of years, and the decline in isolated power might be who he is. He hasn’t homered since June. But Turner remains an exceptional athlete and a key part of the Phillies’ push for a title as a star-level player who helps his team all across the stat sheet. — Doolittle
33. Bryce Harper, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies
What he has done so far: A couple of ailments kept Harper out of the lineup long enough this season that his counting stats aren’t lofty, but he’s as dangerous as ever when it matters most, as evidenced by his .379 OBP and .866 OPS with runners in scoring position. Pitchers still fear him as he possesses one of the most violent swings in the sport. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.68) is his lowest since 2021 and one of the lowest of his career. His game screams winning.
What to expect from here: Harper understands what’s in front of him: another chance at a ring — perhaps the last with this group of Phillies. Expect a big finish during which he helps his team to a division title and then does what he always does in the postseason: hit critical home runs. Harper has a career 1.016 OPS in the playoffs. Another great October could cement him as one of the better postseason performers of his era — if he isn’t already. — Rogers
What he has done so far: Kurtz was somewhat unexpected as the No. 4 pick in last summer’s draft, with Jac Caglianone still on the board. They’re both now in the big leagues ahead of schedule, but Kurtz’s 3.4 WAR vs. Cags’ minus-1.3 WAR isn’t what anyone expected, on either count. He had a dominant July in which he slashed .395/.480/.953 with a whopping 1.433 OPS.
What to expect from here: Kurtz has the fifth-best bat speed in the league, so he’s a legitimate All-Star-level player, but I expect his 1.012 OPS to come down a bit, as he has been quite lucky on ball-in-play outcomes. — McDaniel
35. Joe Ryan, SP, Minnesota Twins
What he has already done so far: Contenders looking for a starting pitcher really hoped that the Twins would consider swapping the right-hander in July. But even during a massive makeover, Minnesota kept Ryan, who has become one of the most reliable starters in the game with a sub-3.00 ERA and a sturdy six innings just about every start.
What to expect from here: Ryan will have four-plus years of service time after this season, so unless the Twins’ ownership gives him a long-term deal, you’ll see his name in trade rumors again this winter and next summer. And, once again, you will hear about contenders pestering his team for the chance to sign him. — Olney
What he has done so far: Seager ranks second among qualified shortstops with a .359 wOBA, and his 17 home runs ranks in the top 10 for shortstops despite missing 33 games, mostly because of a hamstring injury in May. The Rangers have struggled on offense, with Seager their lone hitter with an OPS better than .727 (he’s at .847).
What to expect from here: Seager must finish strong to reach 30 home runs for the fourth consecutive season (despite averaging only 131 games the first three years), which is possible, as he enjoyed several double-digit home run months in 2024. The two-time World Series MVP (once with the Rangers in 2023) can thrive again and carry this beleaguered offense back to October. — Karabell
What he has done so far: Suarez is a throwback slugger, a guy whose best skill is his ability to regularly hit baseballs really hard. He’s not much of a defender at third base and can’t really run, so he just hits home runs, which is a pretty good consolation prize. He has 37 this season and is now back with Seattle, which, at one time, sent him to the Diamondbacks. The Mariners got him back at the trade deadline to bat behind the dominant top of their lineup, which will allow Suarez to find one of his hot streaks and use it to carry the team.
What to expect from here: Even at his best, Suarez hasn’t been anyone’s idea of a consistent hitter. He can lapse into deep funks and emerge as a world-beater. That’s how the swing works for mashers like Suarez. He doesn’t walk, and he strikes out too much. Almost nobody swings and misses more. But when he’s seeing the ball well and the swing is right, it’s majestic, the kind of swing that, from the No. 5 hole, can drive in a lot of baserunners. That is why the Mariners traded for Suarez: He is one of the best at the most important thing to do in the game. — Passan
What he has done so far: Mr. Consistency is on track for a typical Logan Webb season, which means making every start and perhaps leading the NL in innings for the third straight season. Though his ERA is right in line with his career numbers, he has significantly increased his strikeout rate. Signed for three more seasons, he remains the anchor of not just the pitching staff, but the team. That contract looks like one of the best deals in the game.
What to expect from here: The Giants’ playoff hopes are slim, but they’ll have to depend on Webb and Robbie Ray and hope somebody else in the rotation steps up to have any chance of getting in. Webb had a couple of bad starts in July, twice giving up six runs, before reeling off back-to-back strong starts against the Pirates. He then gave up four runs against the Padres. So, let’s see what continues to happen against better lineups. — Schoenfield
What he has done so far: At age 35, Eovaldi is enjoying the most outstanding season of his 15-year MLB career. He has 4.0 WAR, and if not for his monthlong stint on the IL in June, he’d have the requisite innings to lead the majors in ERA. Before giving up five runs to the Diamondbacks on Monday, Eovaldi had a 0.47 ERA since the beginning of July, helping keep the Rangers within striking distance of a wild-card spot.
What to expect from here: If the Rangers are to rally their way back into the wild-card race, they’ll need Eovaldi and his filthy splitter to remain healthy to form one of baseball’s best one-two starter duos alongside Jacob deGrom. Eovaldi’s ratios are sure to regress, considering he has the sixth-widest ERA/FIP divide among pitchers who have worked at least as many innings as him, but he should remain one of the league’s better — and most underrated — starters. — Cockcroft
What he has done so far: Through the season’s first two months, Freeman performed like one of the best players in the game. For most of the next two months, he lost his swing, displayed no power and navigated through a prodigious slump. Now, he’s back to hitting. The key, Freeman said, was getting into his front side. At this rate, despite the roller coaster, his numbers will look about as good as they always do.
What to expect from here: Freeman is in his age-35 season, with the DH spot unavailable to him on the Dodgers. He also hates taking days off. So, the Dodgers will hope Freeman can hold up over the stretch run. They need him at his best in October, but also, they need his best now. The Dodgers are in a tight division race. And they need Freeman to continue to hit like he has in August (.361 batting average and three home runs in the first 10 games), not like he did in July (.253 batting average and one home run in 24 games). — Gonzalez
41. Jacob deGrom, SP, Texas Rangers
What he has done so far: After starting nine games over his first two Rangers seasons from 2023 to 2024, deGrom has made 23 starts in 2025, his most since 2019. Perhaps reducing his fastball velocity (to 97.5 mph) and strikeout rate has allowed him to stay healthy. He is among the top pitchers in the majors with 10 wins, a 2.86 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, but he has thrown 100 pitches in a start only once.
What to expect from here: Texas leads MLB in rotation ERA, and a healthy deGrom is critical to team success. The Rangers are aware of the durability issues, and the 37-year-old has thrown 100 pitches in a start only once, in May. — Karabell
42. Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets
What he has done so far: Playing on a two-year contract with an opt-out after this season, Alonso has rebounded significantly at the plate, with his 146 OPS+ tied for his second-best single-season number and his 93 RBIs the third most in baseball. Statcast reflects a significant jump in his contact quality, as his barrel and hard hit rates, as well as his average exit velocity, are personal bests.
What to expect from here: As should be expected from a three true outcomes-style slugger, Alonso’s 2025 has been streaky. He registered a .920-plus OPS in April, June and August; his OPS dipped below .700 in May and July. Which version of Alonso the Mets get from this point on will determine whether they win the NL East or advance to October as a wild card, but either way, he’s aligning himself nicely for another crack at a free agent payday this winter. — Cockcroft
43. Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
What he has done so far: For a month, Bichette’s 2024 slump seemed to carry over. Then, it didn’t. He didn’t homer until May 3, but he has hit 16 since then in returning to his pre-2024 form. His days as a 20-plus-steals guy appear to be over, but his aggressive, bat-on-ball approach has Bichette on track to lead the AL in hits for the third time and pushed his average back over .300.
What to expect from here: A soft MVP push? Bichette won’t win, but the deeper we get into the season, the hotter he seems to get — and he’s doing this for a Blue Jays team in great position to win the AL East. After a robust .941 OPS in June, Bichette is at 1.094 in August. What will September look like? — Doolittle
What he has done so far: Perdomo was long admired as a prospect because of his well-rounded skill set that lacked only power. This season has been his breakout, as his in-game power has ticked up to fringe-average while the rest of his profile is above average-to-plus — the makings of a perennial All-Star.
What to expect from here: He’s already at 3.7 WAR — the highest total of his five-year career. I think this season might look like a career year going forward, but I’d expect 3- or 4-win seasons soon. — McDaniel
What he has done so far: The 22-year-old made the All-Star team in his first full season in the majors and arguably deserved to start after hitting .278/.381/.534 at the break with 24 home runs. It looked like he might get to 40 home runs, but the strikeouts have piled up in big numbers since then, and Wood has been one of the worst hitters in the majors the past three weeks.
What to expect from here: Can he make the necessary adjustments to get back on track? He has above-average plate discipline with a 66th percentile chase rate, so that helps, and he has crushed fastballs. But he has struggled big time against breaking balls and off-speed pitches, hitting under .200 against those offerings. These are typical issues for a young player, and he has time to figure things out and return to being one of the most exciting hitters in the game. — Schoenfield
46. George Springer, RF, Toronto Blue Jays
What he has done so far: Springer’s OPS progression for his first four seasons with Toronto went .907, .814, .732 and .674, the last of those declining figures coming in his age-34 season in 2024. If you thought Springer’s best days were behind him, you would have been justified. Instead, he has enjoyed a resurgent campaign, pushing his OPS near .900 and matching his counting numbers for last season by early August.
What to expect from here: Whatever Springer figured out, his game has truly turned back the clock. While keeping his strikeout rate steady, he has increased his walk rate by a third while somehow coaxing another 2.5 mph out of his average exit velocity. His increasing tendency to hit too many balls on the ground has vanished, and he’s getting the ball in the air as much as ever. Meet the new Springer … who looks like vintage Springer. — Doolittle
What he has done so far: Boyd’s first full season after Tommy John surgery in 2023 has gone superbly, as he has won a career-best 11 games, has an ERA (2.45) more than two runs below his career number (4.53) and made his first All-Star team. He only seems to be getting better, with five scoreless starts of at least five innings in his past eight outings, during which his fastball has averaged an elevated 93.5 mph.
What to expect from here: It remains to be seen how Boyd will hold up, considering he didn’t exceed 88 professional innings in any of the previous five seasons, though he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Nevertheless, the Cubs are considering moving to a six-man rotation once Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad return, helping lighten the load on Boyd, who is a critical part of their quest to advance deep into October. — Cockcroft
What he has done so far: The heights of his 2019 NL MVP season are likely in the rearview for good, but Bellinger has remade himself as a hitter with an above-average contact rate and in-game power. He has the third-best batting average of the Yankees’ regular starters and has 20 home runs and 66 RBIs.
What to expect from here: He’s now 30 years old and playing mostly corner outfield, on pace for a 4-win season. Given his age and trajectory, I wouldn’t expect him to move up this list or eclipse 4.0 WAR again, but I think he has multiple years left as an above-average regular. — McDaniel
What he has already done so far: In his first foray into free agency, Bregman bet heavily on himself by taking what is effectively a one-year deal with the Red Sox because he can opt out after this season. And that bet figures to pay off this winter, with Bregman generating his highest slugging percentage (.541) since 2019 and his highest batting average ever; he could hit .300 for the first time in his career.
What to expect from here: He’s 31 years old and there are no signs that his peak years are waning, so it figures that Bregman will see significant offers again this winter. The Red Sox have loved having him, and you’d assume there will be conversations about a long-term deal, but he continues to be a really nice potential fit on paper for the Tigers, as well. — Olney
50. Matt Chapman, 3B, San Francisco Giants
What he has done so far: Chapman is enjoying another typical season for him, with above-average offense (thanks to his power and walk rate) and excellent third base defense. He missed most of June because of a hand injury, but then he produced a reasonable .739 OPS in July.
What to expect from here: Chapman might still play in 140 games for the seventh consecutive full season, reach 27 home runs for the fifth time and earn his third consecutive Gold Glove (and sixth overall). He produced an .888 OPS last September. He can do it again for a franchise seeking its first postseason berth since 2021. — Karabell
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Greg Wyshynski
FIVE YEARS AGO, the Hockey Diversity Alliance was a group chat among several NHL players of color, discussing civil rights issues and the obstacles that have prevented equality within the sport they love.
On Saturday at Canoe Landing Park in Toronto, the HDA is scheduled to host its Summer Fest, a grassroots event for over 2,200 people. They’ll come from diverse communities and different economic circumstances. They’ll meet NHL players and sports celebrities. They’ll also be further exposed to hockey, which has been at the heart of the HDA’s mission.
“We just want to continue to show off the amazing work that we’re doing,” said Akim Aliu, a former player for the Calgary Flames and a founding member of the HDA. “None of us gain anything from this personally, financially, or in any type of way. It’s just the families and communities that continue to blossom and grow through our program. And that’s something that, I think, the world should see.”
Wayne Simmonds, who played 15 seasons in the NHL and is a founding member of the HDA, called this weekend’s Summer Fest “a wonderful culmination of the last five years of all the work that we’ve been putting in [at the HDA].”
“Obviously, it was a struggle at the start for us, trying to gain traction and everything like that,” he said. “But I think we’ve really been able to sink our teeth into the grassroots level, and that’s kind of where we really wanted to start.”
The HDA-branded event will have ball hockey, food and a carnival for kids.
The eight NHL-affiliated players behind the HDA are scheduled to attend: Aliu, Simmonds, Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri, New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Dumba and retired NHL players Chris Stewart, Joel Ward and Trevor Daley.
Also expected to attend are former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has a long history with the HDA. Kaepernick shares representation with Aliu, and participated in a series of videoconference calls with the founding members before the initiative launched.
“He’s someone that we leaned on at the start,” Simmonds said of Kaepernick, now a civil rights activist. “It was good to pick his mind on how his battle went and how he went through it. He said if we were going to do this, obviously we had to stick together no matter what.”
THE HDA WAS FOUNDED in June 2020 during a period of civil unrest in the U.S. after the murder of George Floyd. What started as a text thread among a group of current and former players soon became a first-of-its-kind coalition, with Aliu and Evander Kane — now with the Vancouver Canucks and no longer affiliated with the HDA — as its co-leads.
Those six current and former NHL players announced their intentions in an introductory letter. They wanted to “eradicate racism and intolerance” in hockey.
“Although we will be independent of the NHL, we are hopeful that we will work productively with the league to accomplish these important changes. We believe in the importance of accountability in developing inclusivity and diversity for all involved in our sport, including fans and the league office,” the statement partially read.
The organization had a presence during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, which were held in the “hub cities” of Toronto and Edmonton because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NHL acknowledged the nationwide protests by displaying “We Skate For Black Lives” ads on video screens around the rink.
Defenseman Matt Dumba, a founding member of the HDA who was playing for the Minnesota Wild during the 2020 playoffs, opened the NHL’s Western Conference postseason with a heartfelt speech against racial injustice before taking a knee during the U.S. national anthem. He was wearing an HDA sweatshirt.
The HDA pushed hard to effect change in its early months. In August 2020, it published an eight-point pledge that it wanted the NHL to sign, with requests ranging from hiring targets for hockey-related personnel to funding for grassroots initiatives.
After months of negotiations, the HDA announced it would “operate separate and independent” of the NHL, which created its own Player Inclusion Coalition to confront the issues of inequality.
“The first route for us was trying to partner with the league, but we didn’t really see eye to eye on some of the subjects,” Simmonds said.
Within months of its founding, there were debates about the HDA’s motivations and effectiveness. Aliu said the most rewarding part of the past five years was feeling the temperature getting turned down around the HDA’s existence.
“There was controversy. There was blowback and pushback. You can see where we are now,” Aliu said. “When you’re on a ride of a lifetime like this for something that’s so much bigger than us … to see how timid we were on Day 1 to even be associated with this organization, to now being so proud and rocking apparel. We’re just being super proud of what we’ve built and what we continue to do.”
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE for the HDA in the past five years?
“That’s unfortunately an easy question to answer,” Aliu replied.
He said there was robust corporate support in North America for the HDA at the start, but that support has waned.
“That just means that we have to turn kids away because we have a waiting list to get into our programs,” Aliu said. “We’d like to continue to expand, but obviously this is a difficult sport to expand without money.”
Despite those headwinds, the HDA is having some of the most substantive impact in its history.
“We’re flourishing, and I think that’s because we’ve shown who we are and what we are. I think our character has shined brightly,” Aliu said. “Folks that were haters against us now largely see that we’re in it for the right reasons. They’ve seen the impact that we’ve had on kids, on families, on youth as a whole.”
A focus on the grassroots has always been at the heart of the HDA’s mission. Its introductory statement in 2020 included a passage that read: “We will promote diversity at all levels of the game through community outreach and engagement with youth. We will endeavor to make the game more affordable and accessible.”
Simmonds said that after the HDA’s early clashes with the NHL and the coalition’s critics, a renewed focus was on grassroots efforts.
“We realized that everything starts at the beginning. If you can affect change right from the start, then you save yourself more trouble going down the line,” he said.
The HDA’s first successful youth hockey program was in the greater Toronto area in 2022: free hockey clinics for children between 6 and 15 years old from diverse communities. The HDA has run clinics for the past three years.
Its early pilot programs had around 220 young athletes. Aliu estimates that the HDA has 1,500 young players involved in its programs “playing hockey completely free of cost,” with programs running 22 to 26 weeks.
“The numbers speak for themselves. About 45 to 50 of those players have moved on to play mainstream competitive hockey as well,” Kadri told ESPN. “These are kids growing more of a passion for the sport. The initial obstacle was just the introduction to hockey, and that’s what we’ve provided.”
The HDA supports programs in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal and Halifax, and is launching one in Vancouver. Aliu said there have been conversations about launching one in Chicago as well. The HDA said it has an 80% retention rate in its programs.
Aliu said that though the HDA is dedicated to promoting “people of color, because I think they’ve been largely overlooked for a very, very long time,” the organization is focused on breaking down all barriers to entry for young disadvantaged players — especially economic ones.
“We just wanted to help kids that couldn’t afford to play hockey,” Aliu said. “Our programs have 40% girls. Our programs have 30% white kids in them. White kids can be poor, Black kids can be poor, brown kids can be poor, Asian kids can be poor and not be able to access the game of hockey because of how financially demanding it is.”
Kadri said his most rewarding experience with the HDA was hearing from families that have gone through the program.
“I’ve had people tell me that the HDA has helped their kids make friends because of the camaraderie aspect of playing a sport they love,” he said. “Just seeing the excitement on the parents’ faces when they’re telling us these stories, you kind of have a realization of, ‘OK, this is why we’re doing this.'”
WHAT DOES THE HDA want to accomplish in the next five years?
“We’re just trying to bring hockey to the world. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” Simmonds said. “We’re trying to take a game that we love but that’s had some problems — and our game does have problems and everybody knows it — and expand the game. The more we can expand the game, the better we can make the game.”
Aliu acknowledges that “a lot is out of our control” when it comes to the HDA’s future.
“All we can do is continue to push, continue to grow, continue to look for financial opportunities,” he said. “That’s really what it boils down to: People wanting to support a cause to help communities that have been largely overlooked.”
Could some of that support come from the NHL? There’s no relationship between the league, the Player Inclusion Coalition and the Hockey Diversity Alliance.
Aliu acknowledged it was a “pipe dream” to have the HDA and NHL become partners one day, but believes their objectives can be aligned.
“We’re tapping into a ton of different demographics. It’ll grow viewership, it’ll grow talent, it’ll grow all the things that they care about,” he said. “The hockey establishment is huge for us. If we’re doing this together, I think we can get to a place where everybody feels welcome and safe in that space.”
Kadri, who’s entering his 16th NHL season, said he has never experienced any friction with the league about his role in the HDA. He believes both organizations have common objectives and that a partnership isn’t impossible.
“Even though we might do it in different ways, I think the end goal is very similar,” Kadri said. “One of these days, it might come to fruition, but as of right now, we are completely independent. And what a long way we’ve come.”
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