This edition of Daily Field Notes was written under the influence of a delicious pumpkin beer while listening to the Cubs smoke the Diamondbacks 9-1.

Shohei Ohtani

People will tell you that he cannot be Rookie of the Year because he missed too much time. Those people prob eat Miracle Whip straight out the jar and are bad at baseball watching. Shohei Ohtani has a higher WAR than every other AL rookie (in less time to boot), all with an injury (Torn UCL) that ends everyone else’s season on the planet that has ever existed in the universe. Shohei Ohtani is a true freak. He has the 6^th highest OPS in all the land (min. 300 PA) and has thrown the fastest pitch by any starting pitching this season at 101.9 and is the fifth hitter in baseball. I HAVE THE POWER! I just yelled that in my He-Man voice while picturing Shohei Ohtani holding his bat in the air as lightning strikes it (electricity from lightning is more powerful than The Ghostbusters crossing the streams) and power flows through his body and gives him the power to defeat Skeletor, aka every other player on the planet. No other rookie can hit a dinger off your best pitcher, then turn around and strike out your best hitter. Get at me! He’ll have your pitchers and hitters wondering if they should pack up and quit. Maybe retire at halftime. Shohei dominates on both sides of the ball. Call him LeBron James with a heater.

Shohei Ohtani would be the Rookie of the Year in all of baseball if that thing existed. He’s for sure your guy in the American League. Shohei is doing things that only Babe Ruth has done. Yes, the Sultan of Swat, The Great Bambino, The Behemoth of Bust! Babe Ruth is such a legend I’m not too sure I can even imagine his existence on Earth. He’s like Jesus, or Socrates. And Shohei is doing things that only that guy did!

Christian Yelich

He should be NL MVP if the Brewers make the playoffs. He’s officially hit a bicycle this season (two cycles in a season) and is the best hitter in all of baseball post all-star break. Big reason that the Brewers are still at the party. Right now I’d say he has more of an impact on his team than Javy Báez and Matt Carpenter.

The second CYCLE of 2018!

Have a day, @ChristianYelich! pic.twitter.com/xrxj4DUCzh

— MLB (@MLB) August 30, 2018

The Oakland Athletics and The Tampa Bay Rays

The Oakland A’s are only 2.5 games out of the top AL Wild Card spot. The great Yankees, and the makeshift Athletics are in a battle for home field advantage in the winner take all game. The A’s have had four different starters go under the knife for Tommy John Surgery, and another pitcher who might have to get part of his rib removed. Talk about bad luck. But Billy Beane is the type of person who leaves one peg remaining on that Cracker Barrel game and has turned lemons into delicious biscuits & gravy with Oakland starters. He’s running Mike Fiers, Edwin Jackson, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill as well as a host of openers like the Rays do.

Teams, stop “rebuilding” and build teams like Billy. You don’t need household names to win. Just ask Ramon “From the Warning Track” Laureano, the most exciting rookie you’ve never heard of.

Throw of the year?! 😳 pic.twitter.com/fgFmTMXOKO

— MLB (@MLB) August 12, 2018

The Tampa Bay Rays have the same record as the Cleveland Indians, a better record than the NL West leading Dodgers, a better record than the NL East leading Braves, and a better record than the Wild Card contending St. Louis Cardinals. It’s because of this success that the Rays and the Athletics are having that I’d like to see a change in the playoff format. A good Cinderella story is the best thing in sports, so give me more of that please. Maybe we could have another do-or-die Wild Card matchup, so you’d have 2 AL Wild Card games and 2 NL Wild Card games. Then your winners go into a best of 3 series, and that winner goes to the NLDS/ALDS.

This sounds crazy, but I love baseball. It’s the greatest game on earth. I want this game to build around its young players and ascend to new levels. There is so much excitement to be had, and I’m on board with breaking the mold and doing what it takes to put the best teams on the field in the most meaningful matchups. We need more meaningful baseball games. More teams in the race, more teams playing in the postseason, more damn good games with a title on the line.

If the season ended today, you’d see Tampa Bay play Seattle and Colorado play Philly in the extra Wild Card games. Four teams I’d love to see compete past game 162.

Alex Bregman

Alex is still carrying the grudge of being picked number 2 overall in the 2015 MLB Draft, saying “But, yeah, I was pissed. I wanted to be the No. 1 overall pick.”

Alex has made a name for himself this year. When you talk about top-dog hot corners like Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado, and Jose Ramirez, you better mention Alex Bregman. He’s 4^th in all of baseball in FanGraphs WAR and might just be the most productive 3^rd baseman in all of baseball at the plate.

Call Alex Bregman for all your bottom of the ninth walk-off needs.

We love weird walkoffs! pic.twitter.com/lCOksfntaf

— Houston Astros (@astros) July 11, 2018

That’s it for this edition of Daily Field Notes. Hope this burned some time at work. Thanks for reading.