Baseball

Jeff Hoffman had an incredible championship run
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Jeff Hoffman had an incredible championship run
Credit: NW

This season has been a rollercoaster ride for Jeff Hoffman. At times, trusting him was… difficult.

Having said that, John Schneider never planted his reliever publicly: he always defended him. His plan was undoubtedly to give him confidence for the future.

And it obviously worked.

Without fanfare, the Blue Jays closer was excellent against the Mariners in the championship series. In five innings of work, he gave up no runs to his opponents.

Only two opponents made it to the paths (one hit, one walk), and he averaged two guys in the mitt per inning. In short, he was strong and gave the Blue Jays exactly what he had to give.

I'm sure John Schneider is happy. Why would he be? Because his bullpen isn't the best in the world and he needs his closer.

After all, the Blue Jays don't have a ton of relievers who can be sent out in any situation. Louis Varland has pitched quite well and Seranthony Dominguez is also a good weapon, but otherwise?

And for the Blue Jays, having Hoffman allows them to beat fire with fire with Roki Sasaki, who has settled into the ninth-inning specialist chair for the Dodgers.

Both the Dodgers and the Blue Jays have non-elite bullpens. So, having Hoffman to compete with Sasaki late in the game means that the California bullpen doesn't have an outrageous advantage.

Will Jeff Hoffman pitch well in the World Series? Find out in the next 10 days.

PMLB
  • Kevin Gausman is disappointed not to pitch tomorrow, but he puts the team first.

  • Bo Bichette continues to practice at second base.

  • Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani are expected to pitch games #3 and #4. Ohtani isn't planning to give his Blue Jays cap back to John Schneider, by the way.

  • Alex Vesia: a family emergency will prevent him from starting the World Series.

This content was created with the help of AI.

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