The MLB Playoffs Are a Whole New Ballgame—or at Least One With Different Ballplayers

Getty Images/Ringer illustration It's always been tough to predict October baseball. Increasingly, it's also getting tough to predict who will be playing it. Why are postseason rosters and usage patterns drifting farther and farther from those of the regular season? As you may have heard, the MLB playoffs are unpredictable. The results are inscrutable, compared to the regular season, because October conditions are different. The teams are typically pretty evenly matched. The series are short, and the samples are small. The pressure is high; the air is cold; and the players are intensively scouted, extra fatigued, and playing through pain. But there's another, underrated reason it's tough to anticipate how teams will play in October: It's also increasingly tough to anticipate who will play for them. Down 2-0 in the ALCS entering Thursday's Game 3, the Cleveland Guardians handed the ball to left-handed starter Matthew Boyd, who's better known for his time on a different AL Central team. The 33-year-old, who had Tommy John surgery in June 2023, signed with Cleveland as a free agent almost exactly one year later and made his 2024 major league debut in mid-August. He started only eight...