The matchups in the league championship series, which begin Sunday with the Texas Rangers at the Houston Astros in the ALCS, aren’t exactly what MLB had hoped for.

Three teams with 100-plus wins — the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles — all bowed out quickly, leaving baseball with the all-Texas matchup in the ALCS and an NLCS series pitting a rebuilding Arizona Diamondbacks team with no household names against the star-studded Philadelphia Phillies.

A possible repeat of an Astros-Phillies World Series would likely be greeted by yawns. Last year’s matchup was the second-lowest rated World Series in history.

But who knows? It could be riveting baseball, which is something the postseason has lacked in the first two rounds thanks to all the blowouts and sweeps.

Here are five takeaways from the postseason.

1. Obviously the playoff format will be questioned when 3 of the top 4 seeds who had byes are gone.

The long wait for the first postseason series is basically like the All-Star break, and because baseball is a sport that relies on the 162-day grind, any change in routine can be hazardous.

Still, the Orioles proved they were not ready for prime time, the Dodgers trotted out three starters who looked clueless and the Braves couldn’t hit in the clutch. The blame should go to them, not the format.

The only solution is to change the wild-card series to a do-or-die from best-of-three, shortening the rest time for the top seeds. But that would involve losing TV revenue, so don’t look for MLB to do anything that would affect the golden goose.

2. If you are a Chicago White Sox fan, you might have experienced PTSD watching Wednesday’s Dodgers game.

It happened during the third inning of Game 3 of the NLDS . Dodgers starter Lance Lynn served up four home runs in one inning against the Diamondbacks, which never had been accomplished in postseason history.

Lynn served up a major-league leading 44 home runs during the season, including 28 in 21 starts for the White Sox. He last gave up four home runs in a game on July 21 against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, though at least he spaced them out over two innings.

In September, Lynn told a reporter: “I mean, once you go over 30 (homers), who gives a (bleep)?”

As we discovered in Chicago when the Sox went south, Lynn doesn’t tend to take responsibility for his team’s downfall. He was one of the ringleaders in a bad clubhouse culture, and the Sox were motivated to find someone to take him off their hands. Fortunately the Dodgers were willing to take a risk, which didn’t work out.

It’ll be interesting to see which organization signs him for more of the same in 2024.

3. Bryce Harper can be an unlikeable guy, especially to opposing players.

After Harper was doubled off first base to end Game 2 of the NL Division Series, Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia yelled in the postgame clubhouse, “Ha, ha, attaboy, Harper.”

A few reporters mentioned it in their coverage, with one naming Arcia as the culprit. After Harper homered twice in Game 3, he stared Arcia down as he rounded the bases. Arcia said afterward that Harper “wasn’t supposed to hear it, that’s why we were saying it in the clubhouse.”

That led to MLB Network’s Alanna Rizzo criticizing one of the reporters on “High Heat” for using the comment, calling him a “jackoff” who didn’t deserve a credential and referring to the clubhouse as “sacred space.”

The Baseball Writers Association of America issued a statement saying the reporter was accredited and “to assert otherwise, in vulgar terms, is both unprofessional and unacceptable.” The statement added: “The BBWAA is deeply troubled that the league’s own network would permit the disparaging of one of our members in this fashion. Scrutinizing our work is part of the territory but comments such as these should have no place on MLBN.”

Rizzo eventually apologized to the reporter for her reaction after an outcry from media.

Will MLB discipline someone it employs on its TV network? Do I need to ask?

4. Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy have faced off many times, and the matchup of two future Hall of Fame managers figures to be highlighted on the ALCS telecasts.

Bochy has three World Series rings with the San Francisco Giants, but what I remember most is the 1998 World Series between his San Diego Padres and the New York Yankees. Bochy was pummeled for his decisions and took it gracefully.

“It goes with the territory,” Bochy said then. “I’d love to be in this situation all year, or every year, and let people take shots at me. We’re in the World Series, and when you’re playing in a series like this, every move is going to be scrutinized, and that’s fine.

“People are watching. That shows you people have interest, especially here in San Diego. And for me, I just have to keep going with what I believe and what my gut tells me. Use my instincts. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.”

It worked more often than not. Bochy’s 49 managerial postseason victories are fifth on the career list, and he has a .598 winning percentage in his nine trips to the playoffs.

5. Joe Maddon once called Nick Castellanos and his family a ‘reality show in the making.’

“People would watch it,” Maddon said as Castellanos sizzled for the Cubs after arriving in a trade in 2019.

Now it’s happening in Philadelphia, with Castellanos becoming the first player with two home runs in back-to-back postseason games. TBS often cut to his son, Liam, who was celebrating wildly in his box seat.

Why didn’t the Cubs re-sign Castellanos, who loved Chicago and wanted to return after the 2019 season?

It’s one of those things that can never really be explained.

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The Orioles’ recent drafts played a significant role in their turnaround. A key figure in those selections is leaving the organization.

Brad Ciolek, Baltimore’s director of draft operations, is joining the Washington Nationals as their senior director of amateur scouting, a source with direct knowledge of the agreement confirmed. Ciolek has been with the Orioles for more than a decade and has overseen their past five drafts — each of those under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias.

A rare holdover from the previous front office, Ciolek served as Baltimore’s interim scouting director for the 2019 draft, in which the Orioles had the No. 1 overall pick. They used it on catcher Adley Rutschman and took infielder Gunnar Henderson with their second-round selection. Those two players ranked first and second among Orioles in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement as the club won 101 games and the American League East this season.

The 2019 draft also produced major leaguers Kyle Stowers and Joey Ortiz, with fifth-round pick Darell Hernaiz traded to the Oakland Athletics to acquire left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin. Baltimore’s top two choices in 2020, No. 2 pick Heston Kjerstad and No. 30 pick Jordan Westburg, and 2021 No. 5 pick Colton Cowser all reached the majors in 2023; Ciolek spent those two drafts as Baltimore’s supervisor of domestic scouting operations.

Jackson Holliday, the first overall selection in 2022, ranks unanimously as baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect. That draft was Ciolek’s first in the directing role. Of the top 30 prospects in the Orioles’ top-ranked farm system, 20 were products of Ciolek’s drafts, based on Baseball America’s rankings.

After the initial turnover surrounding Elias’ November 2018 hiring, the Orioles have enjoyed relative consistency across the top of their baseball operations department. Assistant general manager of analytics Sig Mejdal and director of senior director of international scouting Koby Perez were among Elias’ first hires after he joined Baltimore. Ciolek, director of pro scouting Mike Snyder, director of minor league operations Kent Qualls and director of baseball systems Di Zou were already in the organization at that time. Director of player development Matt Blood and assistant general manager of baseball operations Eve Rosenbaum were brought in ahead of the 2020 season.

Brendan Fournie, hired as Baltimore’s director of baseball strategy in late 2021, is the only member of the baseball operations department with a director or assistant general manager title who was hired within the past three years. That could change if the Orioles make an external addition to replace Ciolek.

The Athletic first reported Ciolek was joining the Nationals. 106.7 The Fan first reported his position with Washington.

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Hats and shirts celebrating the Orioles’ American League East title are still for sale in the B&O Warehouse.

Meanwhile, the union workers who stock and sell the team merchandise at Camden Yards have been passing out leaflets to customers during the first round of collective bargaining negotiations with Fanatics since the company took over the Orioles Team Store ahead of the 2023 season.

The Orioles contracted with Delaware North for both concession and merchandise sales from 2010 until 2022. Effective this season, the team contracted with Levy, a Chicago-based hospitality company, to manage concessions, and Fanatics, a licensed sports merchandise company co-headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and San Mateo, California. Fanatics has made Major League Baseball’s uniforms and official merchandise since 2017, when it bought Majestic for around $225 million.

This season, merchandise workers did not have a union contract as Fanatics, unlike Levy, did not assume the union contract with Unite Here Local 7, instead agreeing to bargain.

“The union does not have a contract with Fanatics,” said Tracy Lingo, president of Unite Here Local 7, which represents around 400 concessions workers and 50 merchandise workers at Camden Yards. “When Levy came in, they assumed the previous company’s contract with us. Fanatics has not done so. We are bargaining a first contract with Fanatics.”

Lingo added that union and company representatives have not met since August, and that workers began to communicate with customers about the labor dispute during the playoffs this month and plan to continue to pass out leaflets at the team store explaining their grievances. The 101-win Orioles attracted roughly 7,000 more fans per game this season compared with last, around a 40% increase.

A Fanatics spokesperson declined to comment Monday night. The Orioles did not respond to a request for comment about the team’s business with Fanatics.

The union says Fanatics has not allowed workers to work five days a week while keeping the team store open six days a week.

Carolyn Brooks, who has worked the cash register at the team store since 2018 and grew up in East Baltimore, said she lost around $90 a week when her hours were cut from five to four days per week.

“They bring in boatloads and boatloads of merchandise for us to size and put on hangers and to put out on the floor. We have to stand for long periods of time providing for this company that is making all this money,” Brooks said. “Fanatics doesn’t want to do anything for us, but we have rights. We deserve respect.”

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The Orioles’ 2023 season is over, but the awards to recognize their unprecedented campaign are just beginning.

Three Orioles — catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Austin Hays — were named American League Gold Glove Award finalists, Rawlings announced Wednesday afternoon.

Three finalists at each position were chosen in each league by the 30 MLB managers and six coaches from each team — votes that make up 75% of the process — and the Society for American Baseball Research Defensive Index, which accounts for the remaining 25%.

Gold Glove Award winners will be revealed Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.”

Rutschman was one of six catchers in the AL to start more than 100 games behind the plate this season and ended his second big league campaign rated as an above-average backstop in each of the four major metrics measured from Statcast tracking data.

His 22% caught stealing rate is narrowly above average, but his 1.91-second pop time — the time it takes him from catching a pitch to the ball reaching the middle infielder’s glove at second base — ranked fourth in the AL among backstops with more than 30 stolen base attempts against them. His pitch framing, according to Baseball Savant, ranks in the top 20% in the major leagues, and his five catcher-framing runs rank eighth in the AL. He’s also a plus blocker, ranking in the 85th percentile in Statcast’s pitch-blocking metric and eighth in the AL in blocks above average per game.

Only two starting catchers in the AL rank better than Rutschman as both a framer and a thrower: Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Texas’ Jonah Heim. Raleigh isn’t a finalist — Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk is instead — while Heim and Rutschman will go head to head again for an award after Heim, an Orioles draftee in 2013, won the fan vote over Baltimore’s backstop to start the All-Star Game.

But Rutschman’s value as a catcher is perhaps derived just as much from his handling of a young Orioles pitching staff that took leaps in 2023. The 25-year-old has been often credited by his pitchers and manager Brandon Hyde for his ability to help craft a game plan, call pitches and provide support throughout the game. After innings end, he meets his pitcher at the foul line for positive reinforcement — an unusual yet distinctive act he does no matter the circumstances.

Hays was perhaps the most likely Oriole to be a Gold Glove finalist after standing out in Camden Yards’ abnormally large left field. Mountcastle, meanwhile, is a surprise after playing just 90 games and 769 1/3 innings at first base this season.

Hyde frequently talked about the importance of having Hays in Oriole Park’s left field — the sport’s largest after the organization moved back the wall before the 2022 season — to the success of Baltimore’s young pitching staff. Hays’ seven defensive runs saved ranked third among AL left fielders. The only two ahead of him — Cleveland’s Steven Kwan (15) and Toronto’s Daulton Varsho (11) — are also finalists. Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average ranked Hays’ range as slightly below league average, but his arm is rated by Statcast as one of the sport’s best with an arm value in the top 10% and arm strength in the top 20%. Hays, an All-Star after a torrid first half, totaled only four outfield assists, but that’s largely because opposing base runners rarely tried to take an extra base against him.

For Mountcastle, being a Gold Glove finalist at first base would’ve been a shock just a few years ago. Drafted as a shortstop out of high school in 2015, Mountcastle moved to third base as a minor leaguer in 2018. He then spent the following three seasons playing first base and corner outfield before permanently moving to first last season. Of the 12 AL first basemen with more than 600 innings played, only five had a positive DRS, with Mountcastle’s two ranked third on that list. The only two ahead of him are New York’s Anthony Rizzo (three) and Texas’ Nathaniel Lowe (two), both of whom are also finalists. According to OAA, Mountcastle’s minus-1 ranked sixth among AL first basemen, including behind teammate Ryan O’Hearn at three.

Infielder Gunnar Henderson and center fielder Cedric Mullins were not named finalists. Mullins, a finalist in 2022, started just 101 games in center field this season after landing on the injured list twice with groin strains. Henderson split his season between shortstop and third base, hurting his chances of being a finalist at either, but he also didn’t make the final cut for the utility spot despite ranking fifth among AL infielders in DRS, which was awarded for the first time last year.

However, Henderson’s offseason won’t be without hardware. The 22-year-old is the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award next month after leading the 101-win Orioles in Baseball-Reference’s version of wins above replacement at 6.3.

Starting pitcher Kyle Bradish is expected to get votes for AL Cy Young, Rutschman could be the AL’s Silver Slugger at catcher, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is a consideration for AL Comeback Player of the Year and closer Félix Bautista is worthy of Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year consideration. Hyde is expected to win AL Manager of the Year, and executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias is a strong candidate for MLB Executive of the Year.

On Tuesday, Henderson, Bradish and O’Hearn were finalists for the player-voted Major League Baseball Players Association’s Players Choice Awards. Henderson was nominated for AL Outstanding Rookie, Bradish for AL Outstanding Pitcher and O’Hearn for AL Comeback Player.

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