FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: October 17, 2026
One of the great underrated joys of baseball is a competitive best-of-seven series that ends in five games. Think the 2024 World Series, when the only game the Dodgers lost was also the only game that was decided by more than three runs. The series scoreboard suggests that it was lopsided, but the individual games were absolutely riveting.
Even more overlooked is the enthralling four-game sweep, which is so rare that we are morally obligated to appreciate it when we see one. For that reason, it is my duty as a baseball writer to marvel at the NLCS that just transpired, when the Brewers came from behind in each of the four games to topple the dynastic Dodgers. Michael Baumann covered the series in Milwaukee and Los Angeles, and you should definitely check out his writing on the action if you haven’t already.
In this week’s mailbag, we’re putting together the best all-time roster of players who’ve never played in the World Series, and considering whether they’d beat an All-Star team from the clubs in this year’s Championship Series. We’re also answering your questions on what would happen if hit-by-pitches were treated as regular balls, and 1-0 games that feature a first-pitch home run. But first, I’d like to remind you that this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members. If you aren’t yet a Member and would like to keep reading, you can sign up for a Membership here. It’s the best way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question for an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com.
Matt is the associate editor of FanGraphs. Previously, he was the baseball editor at Sports Illustrated. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Men’s Health, Baseball Prospectus, and Lindy’s Sports Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @ByMattMartell and Blue Sky @mattmartell.bsky.social.
There is no way to build a team out of current players from four teams that would beat that massive pool of players that never made it.
However: I do think that if you wanted to do so, you could definitely build a team out of Brewers, Dodgers, Rays, and Guardians who *did* make the World Series with the franchise that would be a favorite versus the one above who didn’t.
You could probably even do it with just the Dodgers because the Dodgers have an all-world pitching staff in their team history. And if not, just add the Brewers so you can stick Yount at shortstop and Molitor at third base and you have a team that definitely would be favored.
C: Roy Campanella, Will Smith
1B: Freddie Freeman
2B: Jackie Robinson
SS: Pee Wee Reese, Maury Wills
3B: Ron Cey, Max Muncy
OF: Mookie Betts, Duke Snider, Willie Davis, Cody Bellinger
DH / LHP: Ohtani
SP: Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela, Clayton Kershaw, Drysdale, Hersheiser.
RP: Kenley Jansen, Mike Marshall, Kenta Maeda, Alex Vesia, and this is where my knowledge of Dodgers players who made the World Series breaks down. But if we made Glasnow and Walker Buehler relievers it would be pretty terrifying.
Looking back on this, the Dodgers have made so many World Series that there aren’t so many top Dodgers players who didn’t make the World Series. Mike Piazza is one of the few. I think Matt Kemp too.
Let’s do the Brewers / Guardians instead. That seems fairer.
C: William Contreras, Alomar Jr
1B: Paul Molitor (who might also play at DH and back up 3B), Cecil Cooper
2B / SS: Lindor, Yount, Turang
3B: Jose Ramirez
OF: Larry Doby, Kenny Lofton, Christian Yelich, Gorman Thomas
DH: Jim Thome
SP: Bob Feller, Corey Kluber, Charles Nagy, Mike Caldwell, Early Wynn
RP: Rollie Fingers (this one is a borderline call, he was hurt in 1982 but I think he was on the roster for the WS), Jose Mesa, Andrew Miller, Aaron Ashby (I think he qualifies based on years pitched), Trevor Megill, Tanner Scott…
I think this team would be a pretty fair matchup versus the no-World Series team. The outfield and rotation of the no-WS team is much stronger than the Brewers / Guardians WS players. But this team seems stronger than the Final Four All-Stars on the position player side, especially since Mookie Betts at shortstop is nowhere near as awesome as Mookie Betts as a right fielder. If we threw in the Rays to get Blake Snell and some other pitchers it would be very competitive.
A former coworker faced Sam McDowell in high school. He said that it was a scary experience. McDowell threw harder than any pitcher in the area and had no idea where the ball was going.
Slightly different, but on Aug 27 Drake Baldwin homered on Yamamoto’s first pitch in the *bottom* of the first. The Braves won 1-0 on a Chris Sale shutout.
I’m kind of bummed that my question can only be answered back to 1988, but not surprised that it still has happened since then, and sort of twice.
Also, while Frank Thomas is eligible for the “never played in a WS” team, he does have a WS ring as a player. He earned one in 2005 with the White Sox before his chronically injured feet prevented him from playing the rest of the year in late July. He definitely earned that ring, despite not being able to play much. He hit .219/.315/.590 in 124 PA with 12 HR and a wRC+ of 128 and put up 0.4 fWAR despite a BABIP of .169, the DH penalty, and hardly being able to run at all.
Joe Nathan also pitched two innings for the World Series winning 2016 Cubs
Not a first pitch homer or even a leadoff homer, but as a Cardinals fan, this time of year always reminds me of the 1-0 2011 NLDS game 5, Cardinals-Phillies. Halladay’s fourth pitch: triple. Skip Schumaker works a 10 pitch at bat and hits a double to bring him in. End of scoring.
Russell Martin never playing in the World Series is interesting since I think of him as a “winner” – his teams made the playoffs in 10 of the 14 seasons he played, and 9 of the first 11, including two teams that were historically NOT playoff teams before he joined (Pittsburgh and Toronto). I guess that’s indicative of the contemporary state of baseball, that you can play 58 playoff games across 10 seasons and never make the World Series.
Re the HBP question: I guess the WPA numbers don’t back it up, but any Nationals fan will tell you that without Michael A Taylor’s HBP in the 8th inning of the 2019 NL wild card game, the Nationals don’t score 3 runs off Josh Hader to win that game and then go on to win the world championship. And it was a disputed HBP! Hader’s pitch hit Taylor’s hand and the knob of the bat; the HP ump ruled it a HBP, and Milwaukee challenged but the call was not overturned. Hader struck out the batters before and after Taylor, so if he hadn’t gotten on, the inning would’ve ended 3 batters before Juan Soto came up with the bases loaded, with the Brewers still ahead 3-1. Of course, it was Soto’s bases-clearing hit that flipped the lead and therefore deserves the massive WPA that’s credited to it, but if we’re playing the alternative universe game, it’s a pretty tidy narrative to say the disputed HBP was the critical lucky break that opened the door for the Nationals’ amazing championship run.
Feel confident this isnt just my Brewers bias, but Bobby Gas is arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, so definitely shouldve been on the team.