BOS 3, NYY 1

Let's just say Brady and I don't regret skipping the end of this one at our Yankee-bar local...

Bregman 3
Duran 0
Rafaela 0

Story 2

Bellinger 1

Chisholm 0

Judge 2

Rice 0

Stanton 0

So now the leaderboard is

4: Cameron Second, Brady, Wonsetler 2

3: O'Reilly, Izzo 2

2: The AKs, the Binghams, and Yuhan

And a half-dozen at 1, but once I do the CIN/LAD tally, this will all look different. Buona fortuna to all until our full standings tomorrow morning...

CHC 3, SD 1

Cubbeenies jump out to an early series lead thanks to a couple of prospective Victorini (...as I noted to Cameron on Bluesky earlier, nobody picked PCA and that seems like an obvious Vic). Some points in the mid-afternoon tilt, but none from the usually reliable Machado.

Machado 0
Merrill 2

Busch 1
Hoerner 2

On the board with 2: Cameron Second, AK Dos, Brady, O'Reilly
On the board with 1: Drake 1, Fell 2, Mopsiukas 1, Las Estros, Wonsetler 2, Shotwell 1

Everyone else waiting; as I type this, Judge has picked up a point to shuffle things again, but I'll probably wait until late tonight/tomorrow AM to do a full-day update.

Second NL WC game starts at 9 PM ET. Good luck to all.

DET 2, CLE 1

And so it begins! Not a ton of picks in play in the 1 PM game, but enough to give us a leaderboard...

Kwan 0
Ramirez 1

Carpenter 1
Greene 2

Cameron Second out to an early, teeny lead with 2 points; Drake 1, Fell 2, Mops 1, Wonsetler 2, and The Estros each notch 1; everybody else waiting to get on the board.

See you around sunset ET with a longer update.

BPP 2025: In the words of the great philosopher Pike, "hit it"

Hell yeah, here we go.

Welcome back to the old heads, welcome in to the new kids -- 42 total slates (love that number), our largest group yet. That's a princely $294 to first place, $84 to second place, and $42 to third. 

And somehow, only one duplicate slate in this bunch, so we'll see how that works out for Les Arbour.

Here's the field*.

*I will say this daily, so get used to it: if you see any mistakes, the math isn't mathing, whatever -- let me know. bunting at tomatonation dot com or leave a comment. Might take me a sec in the early going but I will get to it!

Heaviest action is on Big Dumper, unsurprisingly (16 picks), with Kyle Schwarber close behind (14) and Ohtani and Julio Rodríguez right behind him. 

Seattle is the most widely represented (8 different players), although all teams did get picked, which means we won't have to do an amnesty re-pick come the World Series. Lightest action on Cincinnati, I think correctly.

And this is the first year when I felt like I could reeeeally see people trying to read the Victorino tea leaves and pick a Cinderella. (If you're new here, the Shane Victorino "Flyin' Hawaiian" Memorial Award is given to the player nobody picked who's racking dozens of TB. I should tweak the name -- the guy's not dead AFAIK -- but in ten days when we're all like "how did nobody pick Trent Grisham??", well, that right there is a Victorino.) 

We've got a few past Victorini that people clearly vowed never to miss out on again (Rozie)...aaaaand we've got a few past pick leaders that people got burned on last year (all-rise-y).

...This wild rumpus starts in Cleveland at 1:08 PM ET tomorrow, followed by SD/CHC at 3ish, BOS/NYY at 6ish, and the CIN/LAD nightcap at 9ish. Semi-long workday for me, so you may not get the first score update until dinnertime Eastern.

Good luck, all! 

A Tale Of Two Turners

Hello all -- deadline approacheth for picks. Still a bunch of the day left, but since I'm here/thinking about it: if you pick a Turner, please specify the Turner you mean; when I post the spreadsheet, please check to make sure I assigned you the correct Turner. 

(or any other name shared across teams; I don't think there's more than one pertinent Rodríguez, but if you didn't mean Julio, LMK ASAP)

It's been a while since Turners Justin and Trea were both in the playoffs and not everyone marks their picks with teams...your entry email should specify which player I think you meant, but feel free to reach out if it looks wrong/you're not sure!

Which is true generally. Something looks wrong, email/comment!

Okay, see you late-night with the board.

Rules/FAQ for 2025

 Hello friends and fans of baseball (and money),

Welcome (back) to Bunting's Postseason Baseball Pool -- the postseason pool for everyone! You don't need to know a lot about baseball; you just have to know who's in the playoffs, and how to count. And that last one is optional, now that I think about it.

The set-up and instructions for entry appear below. No substantive changes since last year, but if you're new or have any questions, LMK.

For an overview of previous years' action, feel free to browse around the BPP blog, http://buntingspostseasonpool.blogspot.com. (You'll also find a postseason overview here, although as of this writing we still don't have a finalized bracket: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-picture-and-bracket-2025)

Think I left someone off the dist list? Forward at will; the more the merrier! (Don't want to play this year? You'll fall off this dist list next week.)

Deadline for picks/payment is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 10 (ten) PM ET.  

(Yeah, it snuck up on me too.) (Also: it's the 20th BPP! What a time to be alive.)


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THE SCORING

It works like this: you pick four (4) position players; points come from total bases.

single, e.g. = 1 pt.
double = 2 pts.
triple = 3 pts., etc.


For example, in the game linked here, Kyle Schwarber notches 11 points: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/marlins-vs-phillies/2025/09/24/776201/final/box

 

THE MONEY

Entry is $10 a pop. PayPal it to bunting at tomatonation dot com (or Venmo/sarahdbunting).

Winner takes 70 percent of the pot; second place takes 20 percent; third place takes 10 percent. In the event of a tie, the money will be divided evenly between/among players with the same point totals.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

"Do my players all have to be on the same team as each other?"  No.

"CAN all my players be on the same team as each other?" Yes.

"Can I duplicate other people's picks?" Yes. (You won't see everyone else's picks until all the picks are in anyway.)

"Can I play a half slate for half the money?" No. Too complicated.

"Can I play more than one slate?" You can play two (2) slates max. Your slates must be different from each other. Each slate is $10.

"Can I pick my slate early and just risk it re: the wild-cards/byes?" Yes, you can turn in your picks now if you like. 

"But...you don't think I should." Real talk: I don't know. This is quite literally why they play the games; short serieses behave strangely, and we don't know what's going to "work" until Halloween, usually, so go with your gut.   

"What if everybody's out by the World Series?" This is, historically, unlikely; should it occur, everyone will receive one (1) amnesty pick, with previous points carrying. ...We'll jump off that bridge if we get to it.

"How am I supposed to keep track of all these stats?" You aren't; I do that. Do feel free to check my work, though! (I use MLB.com's box scores.)

"Can I forward this to my friend/loved one/co-worker?" Please do! If they've got the ten bucks, they're welcome to play. 

"Who won last year?" Michael A. is your incumbent, angling for a triple crown.


 

HOW TO ENTER

Give me $10 and your picks by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 10 (TEN) PM ET.  bunting@tomatonation.com is my PayPal; sarahdbunting is my Venmo. 9/29 at 10 PM is the deadline and is not negotiable. If we are related by blood or marriage, you may hand me a sawbuck. Everyone else needs to use PayPal or some other electronic means. 

When you send your pool money, I will send you an email confirming your picks and receipt of the money. I'll also post the points breakdown on the blog on a daily basis (or as close as possible to that); once again, that's here: http://buntingspostseasonpool.blogspot.com/.

You must pay to enter; you are not entered until you get an email from me saying so; you may not enter late. $10 by 9/29 at 10 PM ET.

Have fun! Questions/edits/human frailties, email me.

Sarah 

Last (regular-season) ups

Hello again! [holds up phone with Europe blasting] It's the final countdown to the MLB postseason...and the 20th (!!) BPP. Welcome back, hope everyone's good/has access to meditation apps.

Rules 'n' regs email will go out shortly, but no real changes since last year -- though things get underway on the earlier side in 2025, and with very little settled as of this writing. (Your deadline is probably September 30 at 10 AM ET but watch your email/this space.)

That said, we DO have enough information to make picks, technically -- check here for an updated bracket -- and you're certainly welcome to send those, and to let friends/frenemies know about the BPP.