NUMBER DEALING - A NEVER-ENDING PROBLEM HOLDING BASEBALL BACK

Mario Russo

Yesterday evening in a pivotal spot, Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios was in a position of dealing.

Primarily, it started with his peak command on the bump - spinning arguably his best performance of the season with five punchouts and a walk through four scoreless innings of play.

Secondly - and quick to follow Wednesday’s glimmer of postseason success - was Berrios forced to deal with what came next. What has caused chaos within Toronto’s fanbase since the moment manager John Schneider motioned outside the visitor’s dugout. Something that made little to no intellectual sense in the moment, but was made up for in preparation.

Something that the eye didn’t catch - or perhaps, wasn't even given the opportunity to.

After 47 pitches and having just surrendered a walk, Berrios was pulled from the game. He walked off the mound with his head held high, applauding his teammates both on the field and on the bench as he made his way into the dugout.

Before he could even get settled on the Blue Jays’ bench, the plan backfired. One baserunner turned to three and two runs quickly emerged on the Twins’ side of the scoreboard. Toronto trailed by a pair and later, would lose the game by the same amount.

Those numbers proved to be the most integral digits to Toronto’s season. Far from the one’s nestled between decimals and percentages that concluded the team’s starter was unfit to rebound from a fourth inning walk.

In yet another postseason setting, both the game of baseball and the performance of its star players was cut short. Cut to shreds as a result of the cut throat algorithm that teams continuously turn to in times of despair.

First it was Blake Snell as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in game six of the 2020 World Series. Cruising through five innings of scoreless baseball against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Kevin Cash walked onto the field and pulled his starter from a commanding nine punchout performance.

His trust in the bullpen - a unit operating in a league-best rhythm at the time - ultimately faltered. The Dodgers rallied off three runs to flip the game on its head and clinch a World Series Championship.

Even in game six of last year’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, analytics reigned supreme. Phillies skipper Rob Thompson made the early call to the bullpen to replace Zack Wheeler in the sixth inning. Philadelphia wouldn't get another two-hit performance throughout the rest of the game, with Yordan Alvarez emphatically lifting one outside the ballpark just moments after the move.

Both teams watched their season’s come to a close that day - Schneider included after last night’s defeat. Each of these managers admitted their decision was part of a premeditated plan heading into the pivotal contests. That it had less to do with themselves and more with the organization as a whole. Their fingers pointed upwards rather than at their chests, despite being the only ones in the moment able to make a final decision.

At the postseason media tables, all three managers were at a loss for words. Unable to tackle what went wrong, but fully capable of deflecting the issue upwards. They sat at their tables stewing in anger. Furious about losing to not just a team, but a system.

A system without eyes to watch the games. Without ears to listen to the harrowing questions of the moment and lacking mouths to answer them.

This is the modern age of baseball, and another straying moment has crumbled its integrity.

Players will continue to deal their winning hands as the stakes ramp up. Managers will deal with the illegitimate requests from those higher than them going forward. The situation will be dealt with in the moment, as well as the ones to come. Even after this situation, the decision processes within the sport will remain untouched.

The analytical departments around baseball will continue to deal their numbers, their probabilities and their guarantees.

And the baseball world will continue to listen.