Where there are winners, there are losers; however, not all losers are created equal, as some teams feature players who single-handedly cost them the game. These players are favorably called bobbleheads.
During last year’s World Series, sportscaster Joe Davis said, “You deliver this time of year, you can rewrite your whole story, as long as you’ve got the bat in your hands,” a statement which rings as true as its opposite.
You can just as easily rewrite that story by not delivering this time of year, as long as you’ve got the bat or ball in your hands. Since it’s once again that time of year, as the World Series is set to be a showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays — with game one on Friday, Oct. 24 — there’s no better time to highlight the bobbleheads who got us here.
Cincinnati Reds: pitcher Hunter Greene
Growing up in Los Angeles for a lot of people means a childhood of loving the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Hunter Greene was no different.
When Greene arrived in Los Angeles for the Wild Card series and had a moment with the mound, you wouldn’t fault a Cincinnati Reds fan for expecting great things from their young ace in his playoff debut against his hometown team.
What you certainly shouldn’t have expected was for him to match his worst start of the regular season, as his horrific performance in Game One of the Wild Card matched his season worst performance against the Orioles, as on both nights Greene went three innings, allowed five earned runs while walking two batters, being taken deep three times, and collecting four strikeouts on both nights.
Not a great playoff debut, but the young ace seems to think he’ll be back to MLB’s yearly dance in a future fall, and he doesn’t think it will go this badly next time.
Philadelphia Phillies: pitcher Orion Kerkering
Usually when a reliever costs their team the game, it’s because of a bad pitch, or maybe a controversial managerial decision is at play. If you want to blame the manager, you could argue his two worst moments in this National League Division Series came as a result of Phillies Manager Rob Thomson ignoring the fact that 47% of runners he inherited this season came around to score. This includes giving up what ended up being a huge two-run single for insurance in Game Two, as well as his now infamous walk off throw away to end Game Four as well as the Phillies season.
This just goes to show that he wasn’t exactly the best firefighter reliever this season. He could not have displayed that better than when the ice cold Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages hit a fairly routine ground right to him on the mound, only for him to throw it wide of home, when a routine throw to first would have ended the inning. It becomes especially egregious when you realize Pages wasn’t even half way up the first base line.
You can blame the manager all you want, but at the end of the day, the players need to make routine plays when they can.
Enjoy what you’re reading?
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Milwaukee Brewers: The Offense
For the whole season, the Milwaukee Brewers were the best team in the league. That’s why they had the number one overall seed in the National League, and that home field advantage. Throughout the year, they were a top three team in runs scored and batting average. So a series against a powerful Dodgers team that they swept in the regular season 6-0 had the makings of an epic one.
It was only epic for the Dodgers pitching, as they held these mighty Brewers to just one run per game, with multiple gems from the Dodgers starters like Blake Snell, who only allowed one base runner whom he picked off through eight innings of work. The game ended in a 2-1 win for the Dodgers. Yoshinobu Yamamoto would follow this opening act with a complete game.
Jackson Chourio took him deep to start the game, but Yamamoto bounced back in a big way shutting the Brewers down the rest of the way.
Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani’s excellent performances on the mound almost seemed pedestrian in comparison.
We can rave all day about the Dodgers pitching, but the Brewer’s lack of offensive production is laughable. Star left fielder Christian Yelich hasn’t knocked in a run in October since the Brewers played the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS.
This was the third worst postseason performance ever in terms of on-base plus slugging, and a new worst ever in terms of batting average as they were only batting .118 as a team.
From being the best team in baseball to going out like this must have been sad to see for Brewers fans.
New York Yankees: pitcher Max Fried
Going into the 2025 season, Max Fried was the big free agent signing in the Bronx, especially following the loss of Juan Soto to their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets. During the regular season, he did not disappoint, pitching to a 2.86 ERA and winning 19 games on the mound; but just like everyone else here, he didn’t deliver when it mattered most.
The Yankees found themselves down a game in the American League Division Series, but Fried had been the stopper for them all year long. He had 1.82 ERA in his 16 starts following losses this season. But no one really cares what you do in the summer if you can’t deliver in the fall.
He would not keep up that pattern though, as he would deliver his worst performance of the year in his biggest game of the year, giving up seven earned runs in three innings of work.
Seattle Mariners: pitcher Eduard Bazardo
Eduard Bazardo, much like the other pitchers mentioned, had a great regular season; in fact, he had one of the highest left-on-base percentages in the league, a truth that everyone who blames manager Dan Wilson seems to be leaving out. He had statistically been their best at putting out fires previous pitchers started all year long.
They asked him to put out one more fire after Bryan Woo got into a jam. Bazardo couldn’t do it, as Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer sent one high and deep to left field as he — and everyone with any ties to the Mariners, from the executives, to the players, to the fans — watched the ball and their season go, as the Blue Jays would win both the series and the game 4-3.
Marley Herndon is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @Dailylobo