Sandy Alcantara Is the Most Important Man in the NL Pennant Race
by Michael Baumann
September 29, 2022
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sandy-alcan ... nant-race/
Now, if that sounds like a specious, slightly clickbaity premise, that’s because it is. Clearly, the most impactful player for the pennant race will probably end up being someone who’s actually, you know, participating in it. But let’s have some fun here and look at the pennant race from the perspective of what can go wrong.
Because Alcantara is due to start twice in the Marlins’ final seven games, he’s very likely to take part in more individual plate appearances than any position player on the four teams vying for a playoff spot.
The only question left is this: Will Alcantara pack it in, or will he and Marlins manager Don Mattingly approach the last week of the season with an outlook of “We’re not happy until you’re not happy,” and try to play spoiler?
It matters not at all whether the Marlins end the season with 66 wins or 70; in fact, since the games matter less, Mattingly might be inclined to let things ride with Alcantara in the late innings, while Craig Counsell or Brian Snitker in a similar situation would play it safe and hand the ball to a high-leverage reliever.
With the playoffs, or even a .500 record, no longer a possibility, Alcantara’s Cy Young case is a legitimate primary motivation. And there’s no better exclamation point to put on it than a pair of high-stakes victories against Burnes and Fried, the reigning Cy Young winner and the ace of the defending World Series champion. Failing that, there’s always the traditional rallying cry of the spoiler: spite. Ruining someone else’s season just because you can. Great things have been achieved for pettier reasons.