Kuzul

My country ’tis of thee….

1. Sweet Land of Liberty

When the sniper started shooting at the Dallas police on that tragic day in July, Torii Hunter was at his home just outside the city, glued to the television, watching the nearby horror in a state of shock.

When NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat and then started kneeling during national anthems as a form of protesting racial inequality, it took Hunter back to his own well-decorated, 19-year career as an All-Star outfielder, hitting just as close to home.

When Baltimore’s Adam Jones and the Yankees’ CC Sabathia both spoke out during the last several days, saying that baseball is “a white man’s game,” it hit even closer to home with Hunter.

“We already have two strikes against us,” Jones told Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, explaining why blacks in baseball have been reluctant to become involved in sports’ recent grass-roots protest movement. “So you might as well not kick yourself out of the game. In football, you can’t kick them out. You need those players. In baseball, they don’t need us.

“Baseball is a white man’s sport.”

Now retired, Hunter answered plenty of questions during his career about the diminishing number of African-American baseball players. He fielded probably more than his share of questions about racism, too. He learned a lot along the way, about both himself and about others.

But all of those questions Hunter answered before disappearing into a life with his children and grandchildren, well, the answers have only gotten more elusive.

These are edgy, angry times in our country. And both the edginess and the anger have reached our games, provoking, at times, uncomfortable silences between family members and uneasy discussions among fans.

I called Hunter on Monday to check in, because over the past two decades, I’ve found him to be one of the most thoughtful, articulate, caring and reasonable players I’ve ever known.

“People think of it as racism,” Hunter told B/R of Jones’ comments, echoed by the Yankees’ CC Sabathia a few days later to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. “It has nothing to do with that. It’s just different cultures. You’ve got Asians, you’ve got Dominicans, you’ve got Cubans—it’s different cultures. [Baseball] is diverse, and that’s good.”

Hunter’s point is that Jones and Sabathia are simply stating the facts: Among MLB players in 2016, only eight percent are African American. In the NBA, that number is 74 percent. In the NFL, it is 68 percent.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a white man’s sport,” Hunter says. “Blacks had our own league: the Negro League. We played this sport before football or anything else. It’s our game.

“I know what they mean, though. You’ve got to understand, baseball is dominated by whites. Half the country is dominated by whites. I always say baseball is life, life is baseball….It is [a white man’s game] today as we speak, but blacks used to love baseball.”

The important point that Jones and Sabathia are making, Hunter says, is this: Because of steadily dwindling numbers, blacks in baseball are in danger of losing their voice.

“It has nothing to do with [racism],” Hunter says. “I can say right now that football and basketball are a black man’s sport because [a greater percentage] of African Americans are playing those.

“It’s less in baseball, so when we take a stance for an injustice or anything else going on in the world, we get scrutinized because we are in the minority in baseball. You have more of a voice in basketball and football.

“In baseball, you can say something crazy, but you might be out of the game. So yeah, guys are afraid.”

Today, Hunter and others see baseball losing African Americans to other sports for many reasons, including the explosion in popularity at the youth level of travel baseball.

“It’s so expensive,” Hunter says. “Just be real. Don’t look at my reality, that I played baseball 19 years and made good money. That’s not reality. CC, Adam Jones, what they make is not reality. What the reality is, is that a lot of African Americans live under the poverty line. Under. How do you live under the poverty line? Why does this happen in America?

“Traveling baseball, it costs $3,000 to $5,000 to play. To get great instruction, you can’t do that [if you are poor].”

Hunter has a unique perspective in that, as he said, his life is not reality for so many of any color: During his 19-year career, he earned roughly $171 million, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Yet, he also has been a firsthand witness to racial tension in our country throughout his life, from growing up in a poor part of Arkansas to a 2012 incident in which the police came to his home in Newport Beach, California, when an alarm accidentally was tripped while he was playing for the Angels.

Hunter was home at the time, watching a movie, when he heard someone trying to open his front door. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by police with their guns drawn.

“It was terrible,” Hunter says. “This is home. This is my house. They walked me upstairs with a gun out to get my license. What if they accidentally shot that thing? Then I’m dead, I got no voice and nobody hears anything.

“That’s not just one incident. I had many growing up. I’m not angry, though. I got through it.”

So yes, at home in Dallas in July, watching the horror unfold with the sniper, you bet many, many thoughts were threading their way through Hunter’s head.

“I didn’t know what to think,” Hunter says. “Violence on violence creates a war. Nothing gets done…I think everybody in Dallas was shocked, in their homes, keeping up with it, watching the news.

“It’s something you don’t see happen. A sniper shooting cops…all cops are not that way, all blacks are not that way. We need to have more dialogue and understanding. Cops need to know that not all blacks are thugs, militant, aggressive. And more blacks need to understand that all cops are not bad.”

Hunter watches Kaepernick and other athletes protest during the national anthem, and there are some things he agrees with and others that he doesn’t. Like many of the rest of us.

“My dad served in the military in Vietnam, so I would never [not stand for the national anthem]. I would take a stand, but not that way. You would hear my voice; I would say it. I don’t know if that’s really going to do anything.

“But guess what? Kaepernick did it and he stood up for it. And I would never fault a guy for standing up for what he believes in.”

There are those who would prefer athletes just shut up and play. But what about private citizens who protest for a cause they believe in while they work? It’s OK for some citizens in this country to pipe up with their opinions, but not for others? So athletes are just zoo animals and not human beings?

Agree or disagree with Jones, Sabathia, Kaepernick and others, but in this big, messy democracy, if politicians can offer public opinions on sports, and actors and musicians can speak out on politics, why should thoughtful athletes with passionate beliefs be muzzled?

“What they’re doing is powerful,” Hunter says. “That’s a big stance right there. It’s about freedom. I respect them for doing it.

“[The national anthem stance] is not what I would do, but I understand and respect it…They’re trying get a dialogue going. It’s not that they hate America or hate the flag. They just want you to hear them. They want to talk about it and break it down.

“Racism is learned behavior. You’re not born with it. I love America—love it, love it, love it. But [it’s OK] to talk and debate and make a stand.

“And guess what everybody is talking about.”

2. MLB Torpedoes A.J. Preller and the Padres

On the surface, San Diego Padres’ general manager A.J. Preller being slapped with a 30-day suspension without pay over the length of a five-year contract might not seem like that big of a deal.

Symbolically, however, it is a colossally damning statement regarding Preller and the Padres: a public humiliation and repudiation.

Historically, there is precious little precedent for an executive to be censured this drastically.

According to sources within the league office, the closest parallel is way back in 1912, when Philadelphia Phillies owner Horace Fogel was tried in New York on Nov. 26-27 by the National League for making disparaging remarks questioning the integrity and intentions of NL President Thomas Lynch and some of the NL umpires during the 1912 pennant race. Among other things, he called that year’s pennant race “crooked.”

Fogel was found guilty on five of seven counts and banned for life.

Otherwise?

There was another Phillies owner, William Cox, who was banned for life in 1943 by commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Judge Landis for gambling.

There was Cardinals president Sam Breadon, who was suspended for 30 days in 1946 for his part in a dispute with the Mexican League (Jorge Pasquel, the Mexican League president, was bribing American players, and Breadon flew to Mexico to try to take care of the problem himself rather than going through proper channels).

And there was Joseph Creamer, who was a New York Giants’ team doctor who offered umpire Bill Klem $2,500 to ensure a playoff victory in 1908. Creamer was banned for life by the NL.

None of those examples are an exact comparison to Preller’s case, which tells you just how rogue he and the Padres went in deceptive practices regarding their medical records exchanged with other clubs during trade talks this summer.

And even given these other extreme examples, none of them occurred after 1946.

It is at least the third censure for Preller, who was suspended when he was with Texas over scouting practices in Latin America and who was GM last summer when the Padres were fined for holding an illegal workout in Aruba.

3. MVP! MVP! MVP!

Mike Trout? From a last-place American League club?

Believe it. He is making a strong case. The Angels might stink, but Trout remains angelic to watch. And while you can make an MVP case for Houston’s Jose Altuve, Boston’s Mookie Betts, Toronto’s Josh Donaldson and others, Trout remains the single best player in the game today and, from here, should win the award.

He was leading the AL in on-base percentage through Tuesday night’s games (.438) and ranked among the AL’s top five in batting (.318), runs scored (113) and steals (26). He also led the AL with a 10.0 WAR (per Baseball-Reference.com), out-distancing Betts (8.9).

The only negative on Trout’s resume is that he is not pushing his team into the playoffs. Though, truth be told, a combination of Babe Ruth and Roberto Clemente couldn’t push these Angels into October.

But he remains the best overall player in the game in so many ways, highlighted by this outstanding slide:

4. This is No San Diego Padres Stunt

While the real Padres were busted for cheating, the fake Padres are about to make history by employing the first female player in MLB history.

OK, stretch your imagination: This is for the new Fox television show called Pitch, debuting Thursday night, in which the “beautiful, tough, gifted athlete” Ginny Baker (played by Kylie Bunbury) becomes the first woman to play Major League Baseball.

Some of the series was filmed at Petco Park in San Diego, and former major leaguers Gregg Olson, Chad Kreuter and C.J. Nitkowski are working as consultants. Olson, who pitched for nine clubs over 14 seasons, is working with Bunbury to make sure she throws properly. Kreuter, who caught for seven different clubs over his 16-year career, is working with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who plays catcher/love interest Mike Lawson, on catching etiquette.

Nitkowski, who pitched for eight big league clubs over his 10-year career, is consulting with the large lineup of writers.

“Mostly being available for text messages, phone calls—is this believable, would this really happen?” says Nitkowski, who today is an analyst for Fox Sports and MLB Network Radio. “Answering questions from executive producers and writers. Throwing stuff out, giving them ideas here and there.”

The show premiered at the West Los Angeles Little League fields, where the original “Bad News Bears” was filmed. Early reviews from the critics have been favorable.

The most valuable advice Nitkowski has offered so far?

“I think making sure they don’t go down the wrong path with some language that some people might perceive as corny,” he says. “You’re making sure that when a TV person says something, the average fan might think it’s OK, but it might be something that others might think is said only in TV or in the movies. I remember thinking ‘That’s too TV-ish, let’s go further here.'”

An early scene, for example, revolves around the catcher and pitcher going over scouting reports, and some of the original script dialogue wasn’t in authentic baseball language. So Nitkowski suggested ways to say what needed to be said.

The baseball players/consultants also have a cameo or two in the show. Nitkowski is not awaiting an Emmy nomination.

“Probably not,” he says, chuckling. I was in 42 (the Jackie Robinson film) and got no nods for that, and I’m pretty sure that streak will continue.

“It’s such a stretch, the first time I played a baseball player, and now I’m playing a baseball player-turned-broadcaster. My range has really been tested.”

5. Breaking It Down

File away some of these interesting numbers for the playoffs:

6. Weekly Power Rankings

1. Chicago Cubs: More powerful than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet.

2. Brian Dozier: The most home runs by a Twins player since Harmon Killebrew. Somewhere, Kent Hrbek is belching in delight.

3. Clayton Kershaw: He’s back and more scary than Jack Nicholson in The Shining, too.

4. Madison Bumgarner-Yasiel Puig: They go at it for a second time in three seasons in Los Angeles on Monday night. Can we just schedule a winter charity bout and be done with it?

5. The Emmys: In the latest example of it’s pointless to compare today’s ratings to those of the past, “TV’s biggest night” hits an all-time low in the television ratings. What is this, the World Series?

7. Giants Bullpen Creates Its Own WikiLeaks

When Javier Lopez, Hunter Strickland and the Giants coughed up San Francisco’s carefully built 1-0 lead in a key game in Dodger Stadium on Monday night and lost 2-1, it probably was the death knell for them in the NL West.

Question is, can they hang onto a wild-card slot?

There are many reasons why the Giants have fallen from owning the best record in the majors at the All-Star break to nearly playing themselves out of the playoffs—chief among them a disappointing bullpen:

The Giants lead the majors with 29 blown saves.

Their 57.97 save percentage ranks 27th in the majors. Only the Angels (56.82 percent), Twins (53.49 percent) and Reds (52.08 percent) rank lower.

Santiago Casilla is tied for the MLB lead with nine blown saves. Strickland (five), Cory Gearrin (four) and Will Smith (four), who started the season in Milwaukee, can be found on the leaderboard, too.

It is not even close to the bullpen that manager Bruce Bochy had when the Giants won it all in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

And it is why their even-year magic is about to come to an end in 2016.

8. Chatter

• How about this: Anthony Rizzo has become only the second Cubs lefty to rack up at least 30 homers and 100 RBI in multiple seasons, following in the footsteps of Hall of Famer Billy Williams, who did it in 1965, 1970 and 1972.

• Yes, Max Scherzer will be vital to the Washington Nationals’ hopes in October, but the most important man on Dusty Baker’s staff will be Tanner Roark. With Stephen Strasburg’s effectiveness questionable given his elbow issues, Roark has to pitch well. So far, he’s been up to the challenge: He claimed the top spot with nine starts this summer in which he’s pitched seven or more scoreless innings. Next is the Cubs’ Jake Arrietta with seven.

• Washington’s Trea Turner scorched the Braves over the weekend with eight hits in 12 at-bats. Great line from Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers to B/R’s Danny Knobler, in case you missed it:

It’s tough to be back there catching with him hitting. You really start to question if you know what you’re doing. But you know what? To this point, he really presents no weaknesses—at least, none that anybody has found yet, us included.

As Danny notes, the Braves swear Turner Field is not named for him. Nevertheless, with Turner on deck to star for the Nationals over the next few seasons, maybe it’s a good thing Atlanta is leaving Turner Field for new digs next season.

• And so it goes: When Jason Heyward homered for the Cubs Monday night, Cincinnati’s pitchers set an MLB record by allowing 242 home runs. The previous mark was 241 set by the 1996 Detroit Tigers.

• You’ve got until Thursday to enter a cool charity contest sponsored by the Giants’ Jake Peavy: The “too grateful to be hateful” pitcher has launched a “Grateful for San Francisco” campaign that will give the winner and a guest the chance to attend the Giants’ final regular-season game Oct. 2 against the Dodgers and watch from a suite with basketball legend Bill Walton and former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. Details in this video and here.

• Prayers for Padres infielder Yangervis Solarte and his family after Solarte’s wife, Yuliett, died of cancer on Saturday. So, so sad.

• Purely personal: I just want to wish all the best to Marly Rivera, the talented journalist and longtime friend, who has been named as a co-host of ESPN’s new Spanish language talk show entitled Nacion ESPN.

9. Streets of Oakland

Noted (and cool! Feel free to start humming Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family”):

9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week 

This one goes out to the beleaguered Giants’ bullpen:

“She fired up my old hot rod
“Ran it in the pond
“Put sugar in my John Deere
“I can’t even mow my lawn
“And I got nobody to blame but me
“She built her a bonfire
“With my old six string
“Took all my good whiskey
“And poured it down the drain
“And I got nobody to blame but me
“I got nobody to blame but me

— Chris Stapleton, “Nobody to Blame”

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes obtained first-hand, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After getting started at first base, it’s time for the B/R MLB 300 to backtrack 90 feet to check in with the guys behind the dish.

Due to the position’s relative lack of star power, our list of the top catchers for 2016 features only 20 names. And despite Gary Sanchez’s best efforts, many of them are complicit in the position’s low offensive standards. As a counter to that, our scoring system acknowledges that catcher is by far the most important defensive position:

• Hitting: 25 points
• Power: 30 points
• Baserunning: 5 points
• Defense: 40 points

This is the same scoring pattern used in the first three iterations of the MLB 300, but there is one major difference. Rather than use the events of 2016 to project for 2017, this year the focus is strictly on 2016. Think of these rankings as year-end report cards.

For more on how the scoring and rankings work, read ahead. 

Begin Slideshow

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto was forced to exit Tuesday night’s start against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a groin injury. 

Continue for updates.

Latest on Cueto’s Timeline for Return

Thursday, Sept. 22

Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reported Cueto will try to play catch Friday and isn’t ruled out for Sunday’s start.

Cueto Among League’s Best in Rebound Season

Cueto, 30, signed with the Giants in the offseason after going 11-13 with a 3.44 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and 176 strikeouts for the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals—with whom he won the World Series title in 2015. He struggled in his short stay in the American League, however, posting a 4.76 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 13 regular-season starts.

The Giants were banking on a return to the National League rejuvenating Cueto, who established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball in his seven-and-a-half seasons with the Reds. In 2014, he was an All-Star and finished as a runner-up in Cy Young voting.

He also went 2-1 in the 2015 postseason, including a complete-game, two-hit, one-run victory over the New York Mets in Game 2 of the World Series.

He’s 17-5 this season with a 2.79 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 187 strikeouts in 212.2 innings pitched.

In San Francisco, Cueto joined an excellent rotation that includes Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Cain, while the team acquired Matt Moore at the trade deadline. The Giants—watching as the Mets reached the World Series behind the trio of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard—felt that upgrading the rotation was a priority in the offseason.

But despite that impressive depth, the Giants will hope Cueto is able to return in time for his next start with the team fighting for its life in a wild-card race that figures to come down to the wire. 

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Sometime soon, Jose Fernandez will be an ex-Miami Marlin.

At the latest, it’ll happen in the 2018-19 offseason, when Fernandez is set to hit the open market. The Marlins aren’t entirely averse to handing out mega contracts (see: Stanton, Giancarlo), but someone with deeper pockets will almost surely outbid them for Fernandez’s services.

Unless, that is, Miami unloads its young ace first.

After a winter stuffed with trade rumors, Fernandez has returned to the pinnacle of MLB excellence. He twirled eight shutout innings Tuesday in a 1-0 win over the Washington Nationals, fanning 12 and scattering three hits.

He now ranks second in the game in strikeouts (253) and owns a 2.86 ERA in 182.1 innings. Two years and a few months removed from Tommy John surgery, he’s put doubts about his health and durability to rest.

And at age 24, his prime is yet to come.

He is, in short, the type of franchise-altering talent prospect-rich contenders drool over. A prize among prizes. A whale-size hunk of trade bait.

The Marlins have their heads above water at 76-75 and are clinging to the fringes of the National League wild-card picture, so shipping a star player isn’t on their radar right now.

But Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe recently stoked the speculative coals:

There’s more buzz that the Marlins will listen to offers for Fernandez this offseason. Fernandez has long been the apple of the eye of a lot of big-market teams that wouldn’t mind writing that extension check. The Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees and Cubs for sure would all be in line. Right now, it doesn’t appear there will be any extension talks early this offseason between Miami and Fernandez’s agent, Scott Boras, if at all.

The upcoming free-agent class is underwhelming, to put it diplomatically, particularly in the starting- pitching department. If Fernandez is shopped, an epic bidding war is inevitable.

The Yankees have ample pieces to dangle from their restocked farm system. The Marlins could ask for seemingly untouchable names such as catcher Gary Sanchez, but New York may have enough other chips (Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo, Luis Severino) to get something done.

The other clubs Cafardo name-dropped are likewise flush with trade capital. The Dodgers could offer prize arm such as Jose De Leon or Julio Urias. The Red Sox aren’t going to move Yoan Moncada, but they have other high-upside bats, including Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers.

And they wouldn’t be the only ones to at least put loafer to Goodyear. Every executive worth his mahogany desk would have to pick up the phone.

Fernandez has a checkered relationship with Miami’s front office, as Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller detailed in December.

Around that time, when asked about reports that he’d rejected the Marlins’ attempts to lock him up long term, Fernandez only said, “I’m not allowed to comment on it,” per Walter Villa for the Miami Herald.

This season has been relatively dysfunction-free under new skipper Don Mattingly, even with problems like Dee Gordon’s performance-enhancing drugs suspension. Fernandez is back in peak form. And the Fish have life behind a solid, youthful core that includes the outfield trio of Stanton, Christian Yelich and All-Star Marcell Ozuna.

It’s possible to imagine them keeping Fernandez, adding a few reinforcements and going for it in 2017.

Last winter, their trade demands were reportedly ludicrous.

“If we gave them what they wanted, we wouldn’t have one young pitcher left in our organization,” an unnamed Dodgers official told Peter Gammons in December.

But the dearth of top-shelf free agents this winter, coupled with Fernandez’s 2016 performance and two remaining years of club control, means his stock may never be higher.

The Marlins can demand and land a king’s ransom. The allure will be strong. In other words: Enjoy him while you can, South Beach faithful.

Fernandez deserves many labels: All-Star, stud, rotation anchor. Soon, we may need to add ex-Marlin to the list.

All statistics accurate as of Tuesday and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Brandon Crawford has developed into one of Major League Baseball’s best all-around shortstops in recent years, but the San Francisco Giants may be without their star middle infielder after he suffered a finger injury during Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  

Continue for updates.

Crawford Out vs. Padres

Friday, Sept. 23 

The Giants announced Crawford will not be in the starting lineup against San Diego on Friday.

Crawford’s Bat Essential to Giants Lineup

The 29-year-old veteran is currently hitting .267/.333/.423 with 12 home runs and 80 RBI, and he also provides Gold Glove-caliber defense in support of his pitchers.

Crawford has been in the league since 2011, but it wasn’t until 2014 that he truly started to break out. He hit .246 with 10 home runs and 69 RBI while helping the Giants win their third World Series title in five years.

That momentum carried over into 2015, as Crawford had the best statistical season of his career, setting personal marks with a .256 batting average, 21 home runs, 84 RBI and 65 runs scored. Crawford was also named to the All-Star team for the first time and took home both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

Crawford was rewarded for his spectacular season in a big way, as the Giants signed him to a six-year, $75 million contract extension.

Crawford has dealt with a few nagging injuries over the course of his career, missing an average of 15 games per season from 2012 through 2015, and the Giants are hopeful that his current ailment is nothing bigger than that.

The Giants are a team capable of battling through adversity and remaining in the race even when they lose players, and they’ll have to draw on their winning experience to ensure that is the case.

Crawford’s value to San Francisco is tough to measure, but there is no question that his presence will be missed both at the plate and in the field.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is nursing a sore left knee that will keep him out for at least one game. 

Continue for updates.

Pedroia Out vs. Orioles

Tuesday, Sept. 20

WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford relayed the update. 

The fan favorite and franchise icon is one of the most productive and consistent hitters in the lineup nearly every season. Boston is a more dangerous team when the four-time All-Star, former American League MVP (2008) and former American League Rookie of the Year (2007) is playing on an everyday basis.

This season, he’s batting .325/.384/.452 with 13 home runs and 67 RBI over the course of 650 plate appearances.  

Pedroia dealt with injuries during the 2015 season and appeared in only 93 games. It was the first time since 2010 that the second baseman failed to play in at least 135 contests, but he did hit .291 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI when he was healthy.

With Brock Holt away from the Red Sox for two days due to a death in the family, per Bradford, Marco Hernandez will draw the start at second base in Pedroia’s absence. 

According to ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber, Hernandez will bat ninth.  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

MLB‘s 162-game regular season might not prove enough to set the playoff picture.

In order to manufacture more drama, MLB instituted a second wild-card spot and one-game matchup for entry into the division series. The initiative has paid dividends this season, when 10 teams remain five or fewer games from one of those spots.

As cruel as it seems to bookend sports’ longest season with an elimination playoff game, things could delve into further chaos if the season ends in any ties. Some teams may have to play a winner-take-all matchup for a chance at another winner-take-all game.

The close wild-card pictures create some dizzying possibilities. With a tight American League East battle also containing wild-card implications, season stalemates would produce utter madness.

Sit down. Take a deep breath. Actually, maybe grab a drink first. Some of these confusing scenarios should require a prerequisite course. With help from MLB.com, let’s explain some possible tiebreakers.

Begin Slideshow

The Atlanta Braves tried fastballs and changeups, sliders and cutters, in and out, up and down.

Whatever they threw, wherever they threw it, Trea Turner hit it. It got to be a little ridiculous—so ridiculous that when Turner came to the plate for the Washington Nationals on Saturday, Don Sutton called him “George Herman Ruth Turner” on Braves radio.

Turner had a big weekend at Turner Field—not named for him, the Braves insist. But Turner is having big weekends and big weeks everywhere, and it’s about time everyone realizes that while baseball is flooded with young stars, Turner is one of the best.

The Braves sure know it, after eight hits in 12 at-bats, including five for extra bases. That’s eight hits, seven runs and three stolen bases—all in three days.

“It’s tough to be back there catching with him hitting,” Braves catcher Tyler Flowers said Monday. “You really start to question if you know what you’re doing. But you know what, to this point, he really presents no weaknesses—at least none that anyone has found yet, us included.”

Turner was supposed to be good. He was a first-round draft pick and a top-five prospect, according to Baseball America. In spring training, the only question was how soon he would take over as the Nationals’ starting shortstop.

He still hasn’t, because Danny Espinosa has played better than many expected. The Nationals brought Turner to the major leagues as a second baseman and center fielder weeks before his 23rd birthday. He’s now established as their leadoff man and center fielder.

He’s become one of the best young players in the game, and he’s doing it playing center field, a position he barely played in the minor leagues.

Not that you’d know it.

“I saw him play shortstop in Triple-A, and I’ve seen him play second base and center field here, and he plays them all well,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s a baseball player. You could put him at first base, and he’d look like a first baseman. He could probably pitch if you needed him to.”

The Braves can’t stop talking about Turner, because he never stopped hitting against them.

His 1.424 OPS in 13 games was the fourth-highest anyone has had against a Braves team (minimum 50 plate appearances)—in Boston, Milwaukee or Atlanta. Only Willie Stargell (1.742 in 1971), Jason Thompson (1.460 in 1982) and Carlos Beltran (1.451 in 2006) were ahead of Turner, according to research done through Baseball-Reference.com’s play index.

Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby (1.406 in 1923) and Frank Robinson (1.389 in 1962) were just behind him.

So yeah, he’s been good. And not just against the Braves, either.

Because the Nationals didn’t call him up for good until July, Turner won’t qualify for the National League batting title. But if you count everyone with 200 or more plate appearances, his .355 batting average entering play Monday was the best in the major leagues. His .967 OPS ranked fourth, behind David Ortiz (1.029), Daniel Murphy (.991) and Mike Trout (.990).

“They told me he was an impact player,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. “I was told that by Delino DeShields, who had him in the [Arizona] Fall League. You don’t hear that very often. He is an impact player, especially at the top of the order. He causes mistakes.”

It would be easy to say the Nationals made a mistake when they kept Turner in Triple-A for the first three months of the season, but they’re going to win the National League East anyway. He was there when they needed him, when Ben Revere and Michael Taylor had flopped atop the batting order and the Nationals needed someone else to lead off and play center field.

It didn’t matter that Turner was a middle infielder, a shortstop who had played some second base. Espinosa was doing fine at short, and Murphy was set at second, so Turner went and played where he was needed.

People who knew him weren’t surprised he could adapt, and they weren’t surprised he could handle playing for a first-place team in the big leagues. What they didn’t expect was the power.

Turner never hit more than eight home runs in any of his three college seasons at North Carolina State. He came to the plate 821 times in his first two minor league seasons and hit 13.

He didn’t homer in his first 76 major league plate appearances this season, either. Now he has 11.

“His hands are lightning,” Snitker said. “He’s a wiry, strong kid. He’s like a throwback.”

Yeah, he’s strong. When Turner hit a walk-off home run Sept. 9—his second homer of the game—MLB.com’s Statcast estimated it traveled 440 feet, with an exit velocity of 106.7 mph.

And that wasn’t even against the Braves.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

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It doesn’t seem possible, but there are only two weeks left in the 2016 MLB regular season.

While playoff races remain the focus around the baseball universe, the races for each of the game’s individual awards, with one exception, are heating up as well. We’ve had a handful of new additions to the field in some cases, some subtractions in others and shuffling among those who remain in contention.

While statistics remain the driving force in calculating the odds on the pages that follow, both gut feeling and past voting trends played a part as well.

How are the races shaping up with time running out for contenders to make a move? Let’s take a look.

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Hey, not sure if you’ve heard, but Tim Tebow is a baseball player now. Or, at least, he’s trying to be.

The 29-year-old former NFL quarterback agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Mets and had his first workout with their instructional league team Monday.

As he tries to refine his game on the diamond, he’s also out stumping for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which honors college football players who do upstanding things off the field. 

We caught up with him, however, to talk baseball—including which current big leaguers he admires, which areas of his game he needs to improve and how he responds to the doubters.

Bleacher Report: There was talk about you signing with the Colorado Rockies, and you’ve got fans in Denver. There was also talk about the Atlanta Braves, which seemed like a fit given your success in the SEC. What made you choose the Mets and that New York market instead?

Tim Tebow: It was more about the people than anything else. It was my relationship and talks with [general manager Sandy] Alderson, and their plans for me as a baseball player and as a person. I just felt like it was a great fit. It was something I was excited about, and we got along really well. I appreciated their interest in me [and] their plans to progress me. … I just felt most comfortable in my communications with them.

B/R: Have you spoken with any members of the current Mets team? Have any players reached out to you?

TT: They have. I’ve communicated with a couple of them.                    

B/R: Can you give any specifics on who or what they said?

TT: I’d rather not. It’s just some of them reached out to say congrats and glad to have me in the organization and stuff like that. It was really nice; it was definitely something they didn’t have to do, but I appreciate them doing it.

B/R: Which areas of your game do you feel need the most improvement, and what have scouts or evaluators identified as your biggest weaknesses?

TT: I feel like I want to improve in every area of the game. Just getting out there and playing the game, practicing with teams and seeing live pitching. I’ve been training for a little while now, but it’ll be a bit different when I get into the team mode.

B/R: Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson are the most famous examples of guys who’ve played football and baseball professionally. Have you spoken to either of them, or anyone else with similar experience, to get advice?

TT: I haven’t spoken to anybody that’s made the transition, but I’ve spoken to a lot of guys that have been in the sport of baseball and gotten a lot of advice. But I would look forward in the future to getting advice from guys that have gone back and forth.

B/R: Is there a current MLB player you most resemble, or someone you want to model your game after?

TT: Oh, man, that’s a good question. I would say I don’t even know yet. I think the next couple of weeks in instructional ball will help me figure [that] out. Getting to work with Gary Sheffield some. Obviously he was a great one for so long. We have a little different style; I’m more of a wider stance with a still bat, and he was more movement with his bat. But the way he was able to throw his hands and be quick through the zone and be able to have such a smooth swing, that’s something I would love to be able to work on.

B/R: Give me your top MLB players right now, as someone who follows the sport. Who do you like to watch?

TT: Oh, gosh. Bryce Harper is someone who plays the game with a lot of passion and energy. I’ve been watching David Ortiz hit bombs for so long; he’s always super fun to watch. [Yoenis] Cespedes is a really talented player. … One of the things I love most about the game are the one-on-one battles with someone like [Noah] Syndergaard, so I’d say him as well.

B/R: What would be your walk-up song and why?

TT: That’s hilarious. … I honestly have no idea. You just want it to be authentic and original. That’s a tough call. I guess I’m gonna have to start thinking about it for real.

B/R: You could always put your iPod on shuffle and pick the first song.

TT: [Laughs] I don’t know if that’ll work.

B/R: I’m sure you’ve heard the criticism, people saying this is just a publicity stunt or that no one would have signed you if your name weren’t Tim Tebow. How do you respond to that?

TT: The good thing is, I don’t have to respond. They’re entitled to their opinion, but I’m also entitled to be able to go after my dream. And I’m so thankful to live in a country where that is the case. There will always be people that aren’t going to agree with you or why you’re doing it, but at the end of the day, I don’t have to live my life based on how other people want me to live my life. I don’t have to make choices that other people want me to make. I get to go after what’s in my heart. My encouragement to younger people who read this is to go after what’s in their heart. … 

This isn’t a publicity stunt, and it’s definitely not for money. This is a pay cut for me to do this. I understand how hard this is and that a lot of people think it’s impossible. But [I am] passionate about the game of baseball. I love it, and I want to pursue it. Are you going to let the fear of failure or not making it get in the way of that? For me, failure is not going after it and letting the chips fall where they may. I want to be someone who goes all out and pursues what I love.

Jacob Shafer is a national columnist for Bleacher Report. You can find him in Twitter form here.

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