It’s crazy, it seems like opening day was yesterday, but it was really 3+ months ago. All 162 games of the regular season have been played, and teams have already been eliminated from the playoffs. On Tuesday, the Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 5-2, on a walk-off home run by Edwin Encarnocion in the 11^th inning. The Giants defeated the Mets 3-0, and Madison Bumgarner went the distance as the Giants defeated the Mets, advancing to play the Cubs. As of October 6, the Orioles and Mets have been eliminated, and the Blue Jays and Giants have advanced.

KEY POST-SEASON PLAYERS

Everybody knows that a team is not made up of only 1 player, but some of these players seem to carry the team. The first team we will mention is the American League East champions, the Boston Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox

David Ortiz

David Ortiz is one of my favorite players to watch in the batter’s box, he seems very relaxed, but he can HIT! The table below shows his stats from this season, keep in mind that Big Papi is 40 years old. This was quite a season to wrap up a hall-of-fame career.

Toronto Blue Jays

Edwin Encarnacion

This is not the first year that Edwin Encarnocion has had post-season success. Encarnocion hit a 3-run walk-off home run defeating the Baltimore Orioles in 11 innings. That was by no means Encarnocion’s first career post-season home run though, it was his third. Encarnocion also has a .283 post-season batting average. The table below is accurate as of October 8, 2016, and shows his career post-season stats.

Cleveland Indians

Corey Kluber

This is the first pitcher that I have put on so far, but it is well deserved. The Indians’ ace has a regular season record of 18-9, but his ERA is up at 3.14. What I see that makes Kluber worthy of being put on this list is his endurance, in 2016 he threw 215 innings. The table below shows Kluber’s stats from the 2016 season.

Texas Rangers

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran has had some post-season success during his career. The Rangers’ designated hitter hit .295 during the regular season, with 29 home runs and 93 RBI’s. The slugger has helped lead the Rangers to the division title, and the best record in the American League. The table below is accurate as of October 8, 2016 and shows Beltran’s career post-season stats. You will notice that Carlos also has some speed, he has 312 career stolen bases.

Chicago Cubs

Javier Baez

Picking which Cubs player I would feature was by far the hardest. The Cubs have so much talent and so much potential that it made it nearly impossible to decide which player to feature. Javier Baez was not making headlines before the season started, but the Cubs would not be a good as they are without him. Even though his stats weren’t through the roof, Baez has been a clutch hitter, so it is very hard not to chose him. In game 1 of the NLDS against the Giants, Baez hit a solo home run off of Johnny Ceuto, the only run of the game, giving the Cubs a 1-0 victory. The table below is accurate as of October 8, 2016 and shows Baez’s lifetime post-season stats.

San Francisco Giants

Madison Bumgarner

The Giants ace can do just about everything, he has been used as a pinch hitter, and also a  bullpen pitcher. His pitching is what gets him into this post, MadBum seems to thrive in the play-offs. In 2014, he pitched 3 scoreless innings in game 7 of the World Series, just one game after he started. The southpaw also led the Giants to victory in the wild card game this year by pitching a complete game shutout. The table below shows his career post-season stats and is accurate as of October 8, 2016.

Washington Nationals

Daniel Murphy

If I say the name Daniel Murphy, you will most likely think about the 2015 NLDS between the Dodgers and Mets. Murphy carried the Mets to a 3-2 series victory, and a 4 game sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS. Murphy is a very smart player, he is constantly thinking, which results in amazing statistics. Even though Murphy is fresh off the DL with a strained gluteus maximus, he can still play well. The table below shows Murphy’s incredible post-season statistics and is accurate as of October 8, 2016.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Corey Seager

Corey Seager has been making headlines all year, and this is his rookie year!! The young shortstop has almost everything that you could want in a player. He can hit for power, but also is good at getting on base and advancing the runners. He is also a clutch hitter, on September 25, 2016, Seager tied up the game with a solo home run with 2 outs in the ninth inning, the Dodgers went on to clinch the division that day. Seager, who is learning from his double-play partner Chase Utley, robbed countless batters of extra bases this year. The table below show Seager’s statistics from this year and is up to date as of October 8, 2016.

This year’s contest for the World Series Title will be a very intense one. With all of these stars, and others who are not listed, each game will have a lot of excitement. Go Blue!!