Marty’s musings: Atlanta takes down Houston and a major retirement announcement from San Francisco

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting key pitching matchups.

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting key pitching matchups.

The Braves sealed the deal in Houston last week, delivering Atlanta its first World Series trophy in a quarter-century. Now that the hot-stove is lit, qualifying offers are being tossed around, and while the dominos of free agency are set to fall. All of this of course is happening under the cloud of potential labor unrest in what is likely to be a contentious offseason between the owners and the players.

News & Notes

23.06 - cWPA for World Series MVP Jorge Soler. As I wrote last week, the Braves added Soler in an overlooked deadline deal that ended up making a ton of difference in the Fall Classic.

57.6 - fWAR for Giants catcher and franchise player Buster Posey, who announced his retirement last week. The news came as a surprise, as Posey is only 34, and is coming off his best season since 2016. Citing wanting to spend more time at home, and clearly having been pretty physically beaten up from so many years behind the dish, Posey is calling it quits.

3 - Year deal manager Bob Melvin agreed to with the San Diego Padres. Melvin has been managing for nearly 20 years, has earned Manager of the year honors three times, and is stepping into a team loaded with talent and as yet unachieved expectations.

1,987 - Big League wins for Astros’ skipper Dusty Baker, who agreed to a one-year deal with the club to return to manage the Astros in 2022. The ‘stros are going to look quite a bit different next year, especially if they don’t re-sign shortstop Carlos Correa, but a strong core and culture of winning will surely keep the team competitive.

14 - Players were extended qualifying offers last week. Some names on the list will be obvious declines, generally most, if not all players decline. If another team signs any of these players, the previous team will receive draft pick compensation.

22 - Days until the CBA expires. This is likely going to be a contentious offseason despite money continuing to roll-in for MLB.

143 - Days until Opening Day.