[lights 'ON AIR' sign] BPP 2026 is underway

And we're back! Most of the old heads back for the 21st (...!) Bunting's Postseason Pool; a couple of newer names too. 

We've got 39 slates in play this year; that's $273 to first place, $78 to second, $39 to third. My eyes could well have glazed over after the midnight formula-set session, but I don't see any dupes here.

All the slates below*:

*sing it with me if you know the words: let me know about errors/corrections ASAP -- wrong names, arithmetic foul-ups, whatever! might take me a few hours but I'll fix/update whatever it is with all due speed

All postseason teams got at least one pick, although it's just Alvarez for Houston, but he got a fair bit of action. Widest range of picks for a single team is the defending champs, with nine different picks; everyone's trying to guess which Dodger's going to Victorino it in 2026 (including me). 

Heaviest individual-pick action is on Caminero; PCA, Ohtani, Ben Rice, and Turang also very popular. 

Curtains up on the drama at 2 ET with PHI/ATL, when we'll see if the general uneasiness with the Phils' backing into the playoffs reflected in the picks is warranted. Then it's Chisox/Astros at 5 ET, Bosox/Yanks at 8, and Cubs/Dads at 10. (This round is on the NBC/Peacock system; schedule here if you need it.)

Hold onto your butts/good luck!

BPP 2026 rules 'n' regs

Hey all -- we're back! Any questions, hit me up via email, but nothing's changed since last year. I already held my nose and picked ;) so if you want to do the same, feel free; if you want to see what messing with Texas looks like, that's fine. 

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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 -- https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-picture-and-bracket-2026 -- although as of this writing, the bracket still isn't quite locked.)

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 this year is MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 10 (ten) PM ET.  

(I know...it seems to get earlier every year.)


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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, Jackson Chourio and Kyle Schwarber notch 3 points each, Bryce Harper 2, and so on: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/brewers-vs-phillies/2026/09/24/823411/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 really know what's going to "work" until like 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?" Rich "Nobody Beats The" Izzo is your incumbent.


 

HOW TO ENTER

Get me $10 and your picks by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 10 (TEN) PM ET.  bunting@tomatonation.com is my PayPal; sarahdbunting is my Venmo. 9/28 at 10 PM Eastern is the deadline and is not negotiable. If we are neighbors or 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 9/28 at 10 PM ET.

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

Putting the "squee" back in "squeeze bunting"

 ...Yeah, no. It's just been that kind of year? Anyway: helloooooo, welcome back to the 21st (!) BPP!

 A week out from the official start of 2026 postseason play and we still don't have schedule/match-up lock...but you can start thinking about (or even sending!) your picks now if you like.

Deadline for picks and payment this year is Monday, September 28 at 10 PM ET. 

I'll repost rules 'n' regs soon, but nothing has really changed since last year; scroll back to a previous September's posts if you need a refresher. It's still $10; I'm still at bunting at tomatonation dot com; you're still welcome to invite folks if you'd like.

Just leave the key under the Mets gnome

All righty, friends -- everyone I don't live on the same block as has gotten paid. Congratulations again to our wise winners, and thanks again to everyone for playing this year! Can't wait to see you guys again in 10.75 months.

xo, SDB

https://springtrainingcountdown.com/#sthash.xCweR48x.dpbs 

LAD 5, TOR 4 (11); Dodgers are world champs...again

One of the pleasures of this time of year is watching "civilians" realize how great baseball is -- how dramatic, how communal, grand and goofy. I got to do it last night, in a pro-Jays "pod," texting frantically with one hand and turning newbies' hats inside out with the other, and it didn't go our way...but man, what a month we've had. 

G., plaintively, as the Dodgers rushed onto the field: "Now what do we do?"

Welp, if you're me, you walk down to the corner to root on the runners in the marathon, and then you dust off the Carolina gear and over-invest in college hoops until the days get longer.

But first, you review some points and you pay some people, so let's do it.

Betts 0
Freeman 1
Hernandez T 0
Ohtani 2
Pages 0

Bichette 5
Guerrero Jr. 2
Kirk 2
Schneider 0
Springer 3

MVP of the 2025 BPP is 100 percent Vladdy. Fifty-eight total bases. LVP...I don't know, it seems uncharitable to hang it on a guy who's not getting at-bats, but then, Pages didn't get at-bats because he...wasn't hitting, so. You could hang it on Betts for the expectation gap, I guess, but then again, the Dodgers won. idk.

And the Shane Victorino Honorary Flyin' Hawaiian Award for best performance by an unpicked player goes to Ernie Clement. Vlad Jr. had the most TB in the post; Ohtani had the second most; Clement was not far behind him with 41.

And for the last time, here's the money:

168 Izzo
129 Bauer Snoozical
126 Quinn 2 and Mopsiukas 1

A tie for third still makes those slate a little money; nice to see a mix of old and new BPPers finish in the top. (Need a refresher on the payouts since the playoffs started like five years ago? That's here.)

Eeeeeverybody else after the jump...

LAD 3, TOR 1

One of the weird things about watching the postseason as a middle-aged lady is the weird protective feelings that develop for certain "kids" -- specific to this World Series, last night I was like, "I want the Jays to win but I don't want them to do it off Sasaki," who has a birthday on Monday but still won't be old enough to rent a car.

Well, they didn't do either thing so we're getting max Classic this year. Love that for us!

A little thin on the ground, the points, which I don't love, but I also felt relieved for Mookie -- it was only the one, but it was THE one.

Betts 1
Freeman 0
Hernandez T 0
Ohtani 2
Pages 0

Bichette 1
Guerrero Jr. 2
Kirk 0
Schneider 0
Springer 2

As noted in a previous update, this is now a fight for second and third. The same five slates have been crabs-in-a-barreling for a week now, and going into the last game of 2025, here's where they are:

160 Izzo
126 Bauer Snoozical
124 Quinn 2

122 Mectomy and Mopsiukas 1
120 MArbour 1

From my perspective, it's nice to see this mix of new players and old heads, with the defending BPP champ in the mix too. 

Everyone else after the jump!

TOR 6, LAD 1

The Dodgers look a little tight mentally, making some yips-y mistakes out there. Not to take anything away from the kid, though. What a great story. Yesavage has made like three times as many postseason starts in the majors as regular ones or something? Love it.

Dodgers pickers, less so; not a terribly point-ish evening, although everyone look out, Quinn 2's makin' a run! 

Bichette 1
Guerrero 4
Kirk 1
Schneider 4
Springer 0

Betts 0
Freeman 0
Hernandez, T 2
Ohtani 0
Pages 0

Definitely cross-check these numbers -- my spreadsheet basically ran out of road; the tweak worked AFAIK, but if something looks off, leave a comment! -- but here's the money going into the last travel day:

154 Izzo
123 Bauer Snoozical
122 Quinn 2

119 Mectomy
118 MArbour 1 and Mopsiukas 1
112 Dunn 2

Betts is kind of a problem for non-Izzo slates that want to compete. It doesn't seem like he's having that terrible a postseason, until you remember that he has one more TB than a guy on the Cubs who hasn't touched a bat in weeks.

Everyone else after the jump!