Steals, sure, someone is – though it’s not entirely clear to me if that call is being made by the bench manager, or being made by coaches on the field (who are the ones giving the signals to the runners). Both the hit-and-run play, and the bunt, are becoming increasingly rare.
Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997, and Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
Yeah, a manager was much more of an in-game factor many years ago than now; almost all strategy now revolves around pitching changes, with the best baserunners usually given a default green light most of the time.
They make those calls, yes, but certainly not constantly. There are, on average, about 300 pitches in a baseball game. There are, on average, about one bunt attempt per game. There are probably less hit-and-run attempts per game, on average. And a stolen base attempt, while sometimes called by the manager, is often done by the baserunner. And in 2023 there were about 1.8 steals attempted per game. So those plays that you listed happen infrequently, if at all, in a normal MLB game.
Now, compare that to a football coach, who is calling almost all the offensive plays in a game, which must be done within seconds of the previous play. Or a basketball coach, who is calling both offensive plays and defensive sets on a near-constant basis.
IMO, the biggest decision(s) made by a manager is the handling of a pitching staff.
Again, this would be an excellent point for discussion in its own thread.
As of this moment on DraftKings, the Phillies, at +425, are the favorites to win the series. Mariners are right behind at +475.
Some managers used to signal catchers which pitch to call. I haven’t really noticed that of late, but I suppose they could relay it via pitchcom?
Reds beat the Pirates 2-1 this afternoon. Reds are now 1/2 game behind the Mets in the NL wild card.
Arizona lost to the Dodgers 8-0. D’backs are now 1 1/2 game behind the Mets.
Mets play the Cubs tonight.
Dodgers clinched the NL West with their win today. They are locked into the #3 seed in the NL.
Astros beat the A’s 11-5 today. They are 1/2 game behind the Tigers for the last AL wild card.
Tigers lead the Guardians 2-0 after 1 right now. Guardians lead the Tigers by a game in the AL Central.
I have no skin in this game whatsoever, so I am rooting for the team with the less stupid nickname.
I like the Guardians, named after a Cleveland landmark.
I do think Spiders would have been much cooler.
It may be a Cleveland landmark, but to the rest of the world, it infers “parental guardians.” It also infers “guaranteed not to offend anyone.”
If they had chosen Spiders, I’d probably be wearing one of their T-shirts.
Bluejays up 6-0 with a perfect game going.
Nevermind, perfect game broken, 6-1.
With the Tigers beating the Guardians, the Mariners have clinched at least the 2nd seed in the playoffs.
The Dodgers will host the last NL wild card team (Mets/Reds/D’Backs), while the Cubs will host the Padres. Brewers and Phillies both get first-round byes.
Nothing is set yet in the AL, other than the Jays, Yanks, and Mariners have clinched playoff spots, and the Mariners have clinched a first-round bye.
M’s every day starters can get some rest. Cal can keep getting swings as DH. Glad they gave Woo the break.
They’re just a game behind both the Jays and Yanks, although they lose the tiebreaker to both of those teams. Home field would certainly be a plus in the ALCS.
Very true. I was thinking about the current game with Cal on DH, Woo night off and taking JP out. Not saying they’ll be taking their foot off the gas with the Dodgers. Waiting for Julio to hit a grand salami right now…
Nevermind on the last sentence. 
Actually, the Dodgers have nothing to play for, as they are locked into the #3 seed in the NL. So, they may be resting their regulars.
This, as of this moment, is not yet decided. Cubs will indeed play the Padres, but they have not yet clinched home-field advantage over San Diego. My bad.
Last night Aaron Judge broke the American League record for intentional walks in a season held by Ted Williams. He has 34. Of course it’s no where near the ridiculous 120 Barry Bonds got in one season. Like Bonds I did see him get walked in situations that with a normal player they wouldn’t even think about walking.
For some reason, mlb.com has the Astros in a wild card spot right now rather than the one game back they should be. I wonder what’s up with that?
They rarely do that stuff anymore. Many of the nuances of the game have fallen into disuse because of the home run mania that fuels MLB.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “three true outcomes” somehow it jumped from a colloquial term for an unused statistic to a swing-for-the-fences strategy embraced by both players and management.