Sports
MLB Third Basemen Don’t Hit for Power Anymore: Epidemic on Display During MLB Playoffs Game 1
On a night when the baseball playoffs put fans to sleep—literally in Atlanta, where their beloved Braves played until almost 11 p.m. and still never scored—we search for run-producing answers.
Start the postseason basically five minutes after the regular season ends, and thus make it difficult for ace pitchers to be ready for Game 1?
Uh, we’ve got Cole Ragans and Michael King on Line 1… that didn’t work.
So we ask: What did the good old days of baseball playoffs have that we’re missing today?
Well, that’s easy. They had George Brett, Brooks Robinson, Paul Molitor, David Wright, Miguel Cabrera and Chipper Jones manning the same position at which their franchises trotted out Maikel Garcia, Ramon Urias, Joey Ortiz, Matt Vientos, Matt Vierling and Gio Urshela on Tuesday.
Whatever happened to Mike Schmidt, Adrian Beltre and Alex Rodriguez? Later this week, we’ll find out they’ve turned into Alec Bohm, Max Muncy and Jazz Chisholm, Jr.
We’re just 27 outs into the baseball games that really matter, so hasty conclusions are a dime a dozen. But what we saw Tuesday is something that’s been trending for years:
Apparently power-hitting third basemen have become punters.
Hey, don’t discount the notion.
Legend has it that when Vince Lombardi visited the California home of his former ballboy, Bud Levitas, almost 60 years ago, the legendary coach saw his pal’s grandson tossing a baseball with a friend out front of the house.
“You want to be a professional athlete someday?” Lombardi asked.
“Yes, sir,” 5-year-old Bobby Melvin proudly responded.
“Then you should learn to punt a football.”
Melvin kicked a few spirals, but found it boring. So he became a major-league catcher and now serves as manager of the San Francisco Giants.
If history were to repeat itself today, with Melvin doing the visiting and the late Lombardi’s great, great grandson not recognizing the famous skipper, here’s how the conversation likely would unfold.
“You want to be a professional athlete someday?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then learn how to play third base.”
The baseball playoffs opened with eight teams fielding eight third basemen. Free tickets to the Mike Schmidt Museum to anyone who could name even six of them.
Two looked familiar: Alex Bregman and Manny Machado.
Then there were uniforms inscribed Vierling, Garcia, Urias, Vientos, Ortiz and Urshela.
As a group, third basemen went 7-for-27 in their playoff openers. That’s not terrible (.259).
But this is: one extra-base hit (a double), one walk, three runs and three RBIs.
Take away Vientos—the Mets have an old-school third baseman and they scored eight runs; imagine that—and you have a bunch of guys who should have been pinch-hit for, as one (Urias) was with the game on the line in the ninth.
Pete Rose is rolling over in his grave… and he’s not even buried yet.
To be honest: not a whole lot was expected. Garcia and Ortiz batted last. Urias hit seventh and Urshela was slotted eighth.
While the corporate minds of baseball try to figure out how baseball turned into soccer, the answer stared them in the face Tuesday.
Third baseman can’t hit anymore.
It’s shocking, and it’s an epidemic.
How powerless has this position gotten?
The leading home run hitter among third basemen on 11 different teams hit fewer than 10 this season. And not just on the White Sox.
The Yankees, whose A-Rod once hit 52 homers as a third baseman in 2007, barely reached the threshold. They were led by Chisholm’s 10.
Tyler Nevin, whose dad Phil had 41 homers as a third baseman for the Padres in 2001, led the A’s with four.
The Nationals sent 619 third basemen to the plate this season. They combined for seven homers, no one with more than three.
Schmidt once hit four IN ONE GAME. So did Graig Nettles and Bob Horner.
As a whole, National League third basemen hit .243 with 294 homers this season. That was better than their American League counterparts, who hit .241 with 274 homers.
I guess we should blame Fernando Tatis.
In 1999, he was one of six third basemen who hit 30 or more homers and one of 10 who hit .299 or better.
On Jan. 2 that year, Fernando had a son. He named him Junior… and sent him out to play shortstop.
NL third basemen hit 391 homers in 1999. In the next decade, they failed to reach even 350 three different times, then six more times in the 2010’s.
In the AL, third basemen hit .265 or better seven times in the decade of the 00’s, then just once in the 10’s.
The A-Rod era had turned into B-Inge error.
And post-pandemic… Well, we caught a good glimpse of it Tuesday. NL third baseman have hit 350 or more homers once. AL third basemen have yet to hit .265 or better.
In 2021, NL third basemen hit 357 homers with a .249 average. This year: 294 and .243.
That year in the AL, third basemen hit 311 homers with a .248 average. This year: 274 and .241.
Move over, Mario Mendoza. A .201 average with 3.3 home runs has become a third baseman’s Carter Kieboom Line.
Five guys with 100 or more plate appearances as a third baseman landed below the Kieboom Line this season. Throw in another 11 if you lower the minimum plate appearances to 50.
Has there ever been a guy with a more misleading name?
Maybe that’s why baseball’s brass is so confused.
Sports
Travelers to be part of PGA Tour’s Championship Series
Jun 26, 2026; Cromwell, Connecticut, USA; Travelers Championship logo at the 1st hole during the second round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Dufour-Imagn Images The Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour’s annual stop outside Hartford, Conn., is the first tournament to be formally named to the tour’s upcoming Championship Series.
In 2028 the tour is introducing a two-tiered schedule, with paths called the Championship Series and the Challenger Series. The Championship Series will be reserved for the sport’s top players and feature up to 24 events.
Those 24 include The Players Championship and the four majors, though those aren’t operated by the PGA Tour and have their own criteria for qualifying.
As the series is an evolution of the current set of “signature events,” it was expected that the most prestigious events on the calendar would be selected for the Championship Series.
The Travelers has been a signature event every year since the format was introduced in 2023. The PGA Tour has been coming to Hartford since 1952 and to TPC River Highlands since 1984.
“This partnership with Travelers and with the PGA Tour has taken the tournament to incredible new heights,” Travelers tournament director Nathan Grube said in a release. “We’re proud of the Travelers Championship, the economic impact it makes on our community and the state of Connecticut, and the hundreds of local charities that continue to benefit financially.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Caitlin Clark-led Fever aim to stymie Storm
Jul 25, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Team Spoon guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts in the second half against Team Coop during the 2026 WNBA All Star Game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Caitlin Clark had quite the weekend at the WNBA All-Star Game.
She met former President Barack Obama, unveiled her new line of basketballs and scored 17 points to help Team Spoon defeat Team Coop 129-122 Saturday in Chicago.
Clark and the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Fever (17-10), who are riding a three-game winning streak, return from the All-Star break with a game Tuesday in Seattle (6-23), which has lost six in a row and is in last place.
“I’m excited this weekend is packed with a lot of stuff. I never want to take (All-Star weekend) for granted,” said Clark, who missed the All-Star Game as a rookie last season because of an injury.
“Any time you get to put on a uniform and play an All-Star Game is really special. It’s really a unique experience for myself as I never really got to play in a true All-Star Game (before).”
Clark was joined at the All-Star Game by teammates Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, the latter who scored a game-high 28 points for Team Coop.
The Storm were represented in Chicago by 20-year-old center Dominique Malonga, who threw down a dunk off a pass from Angel Reese. Malonga is averaging a team-high 16.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.
“I wanted to have an All-Star season but not necessarily be an All-Star,” said Malonga, who missed eight games earlier this season with a concussion. “I don’t know if it makes sense. I knew we were rebuilding and I just wanted to step up for this team and just have the season of me being a starter and just bringing all the work that I put in the offseason.”
This will be the third and final meeting between the Fever and Storm in the regular season, the first in Seattle. Indiana prevailed 89-78 on May 17 and 110-107 on July 17, with Clark scoring a career-high 45 points and adding 10 assists in the latter.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Vita Vea requests trade from Buccaneers amid contract dispute
Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (50) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Vita Vea has requested a trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after negotiations over a new contract failed to produce an agreement.
The two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle’s agent, Collin Roberts, confirmed the request to multiple reporters Monday, one day before Tampa Bay’s veteran players were scheduled to report for training camp.
Vea is entering the final season of the four-year, $71 million extension he signed in 2022. The 31-year-old is due a $17 million base salary in 2026, but none of that money is guaranteed. He can also earn up to $1 million through per-game roster bonuses.
The contract dispute had already carried into the Buccaneers’ offseason program. Vea attended mandatory minicamp in June but did not participate in practices, allowing him to avoid fines while continuing to push for an extension.
Coach Todd Bowles said at the time that Vea was healthy and described the hold-in as “part of the business” side of the league.
It is unclear whether Vea will take part in training camp while Tampa Bay weighs its response to the request.
Vea remained one of the most important pieces of the Buccaneers’ defense last season, starting all 17 games and recording 34 tackles, 4.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits. His presence in the middle has helped Tampa Bay consistently rank among the NFL’s stronger teams against the run.
The Buccaneers selected the 6-foot-4, 347-pound lineman with the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He has totaled 256 tackles, 35 sacks and 79 QB hits in 112 games (107 starts) over eight seasons.
Vea also helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV and earned Pro Bowl selections following the 2021 and 2024 seasons.
His request creates another major contract issue for the Buccaneers as camp begins. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is also entering the final year of his deal and has been seeking an extension, though he participated fully during minicamp.
Tampa Bay can reject Vea’s request and require him to play out the season, continue trying to reach an extension or explore a trade for one of the league’s most established interior defenders.
–Field Level Media
Travelers to be part of PGA Tour’s Championship Series
Caitlin Clark-led Fever aim to stymie Storm
