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As Easton Cowan skated onto the ice ahead of his NHL debut, the crowd started cheering. Within all the noise, a song blared inside Scotiabank Arena: “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”.

“Yeah, that was definitely special,” Cowan smiled. “It was very cool, and I saw all my friends and family, so it meant a lot.”

It’s been a rather short but quick road to the NHL for Cowan. He was in Junior B with the GOJHL’s Komoka Kings in 2021, before joining the OHL’s London Knights towards the end of the 2022 season.

Four years later, and after a strong training camp, Cowan skated in his first NHL game, alongside two of Toronto’s top players, Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.

“Yeah, it’s pretty crazy,” Cowan said following Toronto’s 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday afternoon. “About five years ago, I was playing Junior B, so it just shows if you stick with it and work hard, good things will come. So just going to keep doing that. Felt good today, but back at it tomorrow and hopefully get the two points.”

Cowan finished Monday’s game with one shot and three hits in 14:05 of ice time. There were plenty of chances created by Cowan, and it seemed like he worked well playing with Knies and Matthews. The rookie even found himself on the ice during a 6-on-5 late in the third period while Toronto was down by a goal.

“I thought he had a great game. He made a lot of good plays with the puck. And he made a good one at six on five, too. So that’s why he was out there,” said Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube.

“I think it means a lot, the trust he has in me, but I felt good today,” added Cowan. “I felt like I created a lot, so it was good to get out there and create a couple more chances there, too, at the end. But those got to go in, and unfortunately, they didn’t today.”

According to NaturalStatTrick, the Knies, Matthews, and Cowan line had a team-leading 80.33 expected goals-for percentage at five-on-five. Right off the hop, though, Cowan looked like he fit in.

If you didn’t know it, you wouldn’t think it was his NHL debut.

“I thought he was great. I think he just carries himself with such good confidence in himself in the way he can play and compete,” Matthews said. “I thought he played really well tonight. Easy guy to play with. He made plays. Made smart plays with the puck.

“When the simple play was there, to just get the puck deeper or whatnot, I thought he made it, so I thought he was really good tonight.”

One moment Cowan will remember most was during warmups when he scanned the crowd and found his old Knights teammates during warmups.

“They had all my old jerseys on, switched around backwards so you could see my name, and just big smiles on their face,” Cowan grinned. “It meant a lot that they came all the way here.”

Despite not tallying a point in his debut, there’s a lot to be excited about with Cowan’s game. The fact that he fit seamlessly with Matthews and Knies says what you need to know about the type of player Cowan can be.

This is only the beginning of what’s likely a long pro career for the young forward from Strathroy, Ontario.

“I felt good. I felt like a good player. I feel like I generated a lot and didn’t give up a lot, so I just keep getting better each and every day. Just keep working on finishing my chances.”

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Four hundred forty-three times before, J.P. Crawford had crossed home plate as a member of the Seattle Mariners. But never quite like this.

This time, as Crawford approached the plate in the bottom of the 15th inning of ALDS Game 5 against the Detroit Tigers, he paused. Rather than rush across the plate to confirm the run scored as soon as possible, he slowed and looked down at the white pentagon in the dirt that had seemed like an impossible destination for both teams over the previous five hours. He held both arms in the air, helmet in hand, savoring the magical moment he was about to unlock.

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Then, he took a step and scored.

[Get more Seattle news: Mariners team feed]

Driven in by a hard-hit single to right field by Jorge Polanco with the bases loaded, Crawford represented the winning run for Seattle in its jaw-dropping, stomach-churning, hair-pulling, history-making, series-clinching 3-2 victory over Detroit to advance to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2001. Polancoâ€s walk-off hit was the final act in a contest loaded with unforgettable sequences that combined to produce a postseason clash for the ages.

“We’ve talked about the fight all year long,†Seattle manager Dan Wilson said afterward. “To go 15 innings tonight, 15 rounds, so to speak, and to come out on top — that sure feels good.â€

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It took 4 hours, 58 minutes for the Tigers and Mariners to play 15 innings — the longest winner-take-all game in postseason history. Fifteen pitchers combined to throw 472 pitches, with the highest pitch count belonging to Tigers starter Tarik Skubal, whose 99 pitches produced 26 whiffs and 13 strikeouts in one of the more spectacular playoff pitching performances in recent memory — and one that somehow faded into the background as the ultra-close contest continued deep into the night.

“I feel like I pitched three days ago, if I’m being honest,†Seattle starter George Kirby said postgame.

Skubalâ€s sensational outing was the headlining performance in a game dominated by pitching on both sides; the two teams combined to hit .163 (16-for-98) while striking out 37 times. Before Polancoâ€s hit enabled Crawfordâ€s right cleat to touch home plate, just four runs had been mustered over the first 14 and a half frames, all of which required their own extraordinary sequences to come to be.

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Seattle struck first in the second inning courtesy of Josh Naylor, who reached out and poked a 100.2-mph sinker from Skubal well off the outside corner down the left-field line to put himself into scoring position. And while it was Naylorâ€s strength that enabled an extra-base hit on such a ridiculously uncomfortable-looking swing, it was his speed that shined next — or, perhaps more accurately, his baserunning acumen. Despite ranking as one of the slowest players in baseball, according to Statcastâ€s sprint speed, Naylor has become a basestealing fiend in 2025, frequently taking advantage of opponents who underestimate his willingness and ability to swipe bags.

And knowing that runs would be difficult to come by against Skubal — and recognizing that T-Mobile Park with the roof closed was far too loud for Skubal to hear his teammates alerting him that the runner was getting such a gigantic lead — Naylor took off for third and nabbed it successfully, making him a perfect 20-for-20 on stolen bases as a Mariner. Mitch Garver then drove in Naylor with a sacrifice fly that put the Mariners up 1-0 in the second inning.

Meanwhile, Seattle starter George Kirby was cruising in the early going, but he arrived at a predictable pivot point in the sixth inning, with Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter coming to the plate with a runner on second after Javier Baez led off with a double. Carpenterâ€s home run against Kirby in Game 1 — his fifth against the pitcher in 11 plate appearances to that point — plus two more hits already in Game 5 ensured that Wilson called on lefty reliever Gabe Speier to handle Carpenter in this scenario.

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And that matchup promptly backfired, as Carpenter drilled Speierâ€s second pitch deep to center field for a stadium-silencing, two-run homer that made it 2-1 Detroit.

With Skubal still in the game — having struck out eight of 10 hitters since Garverâ€s sac fly, including a postseason-record seven in a row — the prospect of scoring another run with just four innings left seemed awfully daunting for Seattle. But Skubal left it all on the table in the sixth. His final pitch of the game was also his hardest: 100.9 mph right down the middle to blow away Cal Raleigh for his 13th strikeout. Skubal roared as he bounced off the mound toward the dugout.

“After the fifth, I checked in on him how he was doing physically and emotionally, and we both knew that he had one left,†Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said postgame. “He emptied his tank and obviously was emotional coming off the mound, and I think that signals exactly where we were in the game. He gave us everything he could.â€

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With that, Skubalâ€s night was over.

For everyone else, it was only just beginning.

As soon as Skubal departed, Seattle conjured a rally in the seventh against Detroit reliever Kyle Finnegan. A Polanco walk plus another Naylor hit put Polanco in scoring position for … Leo Rivas?

On his 28th birthday and with zero postseason plate appearances to his name — not to mention just 197 in the regular season — the switch-hitting utility infielder was called on to pinch-hit against lefty reliever Tyler Holton. Holton had entered after the Mariners announced lefty slugger Dominic Canzone would be pinch-hitting for Garver, but Wilson opted to burn Canzone and instead tab Rivas for the high-stakes spot and the chance to be the unlikeliest of heroes.

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And Rivas delivered. He smacked the second pitch from Holton into left field for a game-tying single, sending the crowd into euphoric disbelief while simultaneously (and unknowingly) settling the game into a stalemate of epic proportions.

Over the next seven-and-a-half scoreless innings, a stunning carousel of pitchers cycled through the ballgame for both teams, ranging from traditional high-leverage arms (Will Vest, Matt Brash, Andrés Muñoz, Eduard Bazardo) to versatile swingmen (Troy Melton, Keider Montero) to full-blown starting pitchers (Logan Gilbert, Jack Flaherty, Luis Castillo). All of these pitchers had already been asked to cover pivotal innings in this series against these same hitters, yet all of them were up to the task of continuing their efforts in a sudden-death scenario.

All of them, until Tommy Kahnle in the bottom of the 15th, put up zeroes.

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“It felt like it was a pretty quiet game, from an opportunity standpoint, until we got into extras,†Hinch said, “and then there were runners everywhere, and there were double plays, and thereâ€s caught stealing, and there’s bunts, and there’s guys picking up each other on errors or misplays.â€

Tigers closer Vest carved through the middle of Seattleâ€s lineup with ease. Gilbert, who starred for Seattle in his Game 3 start just three days earlier, made his first relief appearance since his sophomore year of college and provided two scoreless innings. Melton, Detroitâ€s Game 1 starter, was touching 100 just two days after throwing three scoreless innings in relief in Game 4. Bazardo, whoâ€d already pitched for the Mariners in the first four games of the series after 73 appearances in the regular season, recorded eight outs, two more than he had in any outing all year. Tigers starter Flaherty has barely pitched out of the bullpen in his career, and he delivered two hitless frames, navigating around three walks. Castillo, Seattleâ€s Game 2 starter, made his first relief cameo since he was in A-ball nearly a decade ago — and earned the win.

While Detroitâ€s cavalcade of hurlers led by Skubal unquestionably did their part, Seattleâ€s pitching staff was ever-so-slightly better, and their collective effort to preserve the tie and set the stage for Polancoâ€s walk-off will be remembered as one of the great triumphs in franchise history.

“You can’t say enough about the bullpen and two starters we had up there in the bullpen, just taking the ball and just running with it and not wanting to come out of the game, wanting to keep throwing pitches, keep throwing innings,†Wilson said postgame. “… They don’t want to leave the ballpark until they win. And tonight was that.

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“They didn’t want to leave the ballpark until they won, and they made it happen.â€

It was Crawford, though, who began the sequence that ensured the Mariners didnâ€t need to throw any more scoreless innings. He led off the bottom of the 15th with a single against Kahnle, scooping a 3-2 changeup into right field for his first hit of the game. Kahnle then plunked Randy Arozarena with his next pitch to move Crawford into scoring position. After a Raleigh flyout allowed Crawford to advance to third, Julio Rodriguez was intentionally walked to load the bases, with Detroit seeking a double play from Polanco after theyâ€d wiggled out of jams in the 12th and 13th.

But Polanco stayed on the changeup from Kahnle and laced it into right field for the game-winner, allowing Crawford to take the 90-foot journey home.

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“It was bound to happen at some point,†Kirby said later. “The more you keep letting us into the game, especially at home, you know, we’re going to find a way.â€

As Seattleâ€s longest-tenured player, Crawford knows as well as any what his winning run meant. His acquisition from Philadelphia via trade in December 2018 was a critical one in a series of transactions that marked the start of a rebuild. Crawford is the only current Mariner who endured the non-competitive lows of the 94-loss 2019 season. He raised his national profile by winning a Gold Glove in 2020, but the team was still quite bad. 2021 marked a huge step forward, as the team won 90 games, but their minus-51 run differential was a sobering indicator that the club was miles away from being a real contender.

In 2022, Crawford got his first taste of the spectacular highs and devastating lows of postseason baseball. Seattle ended its dreaded playoff drought and even won a wild-card series against Toronto, but the Mariners were emphatically swept out of the ALDS by the rival Astros. Their season ended in a game eerily similar to Fridayâ€s thriller: an epic marathon of prolific pitching in which scoring seemed impossible until one swing from Jeremy Peña delivered the ultimate gut punch in a 1-0 loss in 18 innings.

But this time was different. It had to be. After coming up painfully short of qualifying for the postseason the previous two seasons, the Mariners aggressively assembled a roster worthy of returning to baseballâ€s premier month. Urged in August by franchise icon Ichiro Suzuki to not take an opportunity like this for granted, the Mariners surged in September en route to their first division title since Ichiroâ€s rookie season in 2001 and home-field advantage in the ALDS — an advantage that proved vital as Seattle leaned into its core strength and pitcher-friendly ballpark while tossing 15 nearly flawless innings to punch its ticket to the ALCS.

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Four wins against the top-seeded Toronto Blue Jays now separate the Mariners from a place they’ve never been before. For all the ups and downs Crawford has experienced in his seven years as Seattleâ€s shortstop, they represent merely a fraction of this franchiseâ€s tortured history as the only major-league team that has never even appeared in the World Series, much less won one.

It was 30 years ago that Edgar Martinezâ€s iconic walk-off double defeated the Yankees to send the Mariners to the ALCS for the first time. That Martinezâ€s walk-off sustains as the premier franchise highlight in nearly a half-century of existence is a testament to the magic of the moment — and a reflection of how little Seattle has accomplished in three decades since. Several superstars have come and gone, with feats of individual brilliance and a few formidable ballclubs along the way. But only rarely has the World Series been remotely within reach. The ‘95 team faltered in the championship round. Back-to-back trips to the ALCS in 2000 and ’01 produced the same result. And then, a drought — thedrought. Sure, 2022 was a salve of sorts, but it was nowhere close to the ultimate prize.

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But in toppling the Tigers and advancing to Toronto — Game 1 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Sunday at Rogers Centre — the 2025 Mariners have arrived at a special opportunity. Their five grueling games against Detroit served as a reminder that nothing comes easy this time of year — and evidence that Seattle has the talent and resilience to succeed in these pressure-packed postseason affairs.

What happens next for the Mariners in their quest to finally reach the Fall Classic remains to be seen. But in emerging victorious on Friday — and giving the Seattle crowd a night to remember — they made sure that elusive goal is still within reach.

“That was an incredible win for them, which means it was an incredible loss for us,†Hinch said. “But I wish them well in the next round. They earned it, and that was an epic game.â€

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Root has spoken about previously wanting his first ton in Australia “too much”.

He has a respectable average of 35.68 in 14 Tests in Australia – he has nine fifties – but his high score is stuck in double digits at 89.

This time he travels without the burden of captaincy, something he had on the two previous tours, while he will also be part of a batting line-up and wider squad whose chances of succeeding appear higher than of the past three to have made the trip.

Neither Root nor captain Ben Stokes have won a Test on Australian shores.

“I go there in a completely different capacity to last time, different circumstances, a lot more experience now and I feel like I have a really good understanding of my game and how I want to manage it in the conditions,” Root said.

“Clearly you have got to put that into practice and be good enough when it really counts, but I am really comfortable with where everything is at and looking forward to the opportunity and challenge that lies ahead.

“More than anything as a senior player it is about not just performing in terms of the runs but everything else that comes with it.”

After two hours of cricket drills with youngsters at a Chance to Shine event in Leeds, Root has to correct himself when asked if he agrees this is England’s best chance to win an away Ashes during his time in the team.

“It definitely does, if I am being brutally honest,” he said, upgrading an initial assessment of “probably”.

“The thing that I’m most excited about is going there with a completely different approach as a playing group.

“We’re going to be able to hit them with something quite different in terms of our bowling attack, and the opportunity to potentially play three or four bowlers that bowl 90mph-plus for a sustained period of time.

“It’s not like we are going to go there with the same formula and expect different results.

“We are going to go there and try and do it a slightly different way which is really exciting.”

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On Sunday afternoon, as the Ryder Cup singles matches were kicking off, I was posted up on the bridge walkway behind the driving range watching Rory McIlroy warm up and gossiping with media pals about how it had come to this: Europe leading 12 to 5.

All manner of topics were bandied about as we looked for answers to explain it, when I looked to my right and saw one of them. Dodo Molinari, vice captain for Europe, one of the leading statisticians in pro golf. But it wasn’t just seeing Dodo; it was more that Dodo was chatting with Mark Broadie, the founder of Strokes Gained, and the two brothers — Will and Matt Courchene — who founded DataGolf, the leading pro golf analytics source.

While I couldn’t know specifically what they were talking about, the convo between these four people on the back of a driving range was all but guaranteed to be about the quantification of the Ryder Cup. You know, like those compatibility scores DataGolf released for foursomes and fourball partners (which went as viral as golfer compatibility scores can). Or how Molinari split up the successful pairing for Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland from Rome.

Anyone who enjoys the matrices of analytics that define this sport would have paid good money to be their fifth wheel, but now that the Cup has come and gone, it’s important to remember one thing. Even that quartet of calculus-minded golf guys would tell you, humans aren’t numbers.

Those three words circled my head from the first session on Friday. DataGolf had measured each skill of each player in the lead-up to the even and projected American advantages in every element of the game. Off the tee, approaching the green, around the green and putting. But the advantage was stunningly slim. Check out the pentagon below to see how slight the red outpaced the blue.

DataGolf

When you combine the skillsets of 12 of the best golfers in the world — who all play mostly the same courses in the United States — together they’re going to chart a similar shape. One player’s ineptitude can be masked by another player’s brilliance. Rarely do statisticians include variance in the visuals on their websites but they know it exists, particularly in a match that only lasts 15 holes.

All of this is to say — the numbers are damn important. They are the crux of almost all relevant dialogue. They are the starting point around which captains should be making decisions. The minute you veer away from the numbers is the minute you incur slivers of risk that, when compounded, create whole chunks of risk.

But, for all that the numbers can tell us, they cannot guarantee that World No. 3 Russ Henley will play to a World No. 3 level. (To say nothing of Scottie Scheffler.) And if Henley does play to that level, they cannot guarantee it will be worth anything more than a halved singles match. Henley was bad on Friday morning, average on Saturday morning and brilliant on Sunday afternoon. (Regardless of that putt on 18.) He eked out 0.5 points in his debut Ryder Cup. Bob MacIntyre was not-so-good in two of his three matches, and yet all of them reached the 18th hole. He earned 1.5 points for Europe.

Numbers are great, but they don’t have families. Numbers are vital, but they don’t get fatigued. Whoop numbers could be just as important as the numbers on your scorecard.

Numbers would never worry about crowd control because numbers don’t get nervous! Numbers don’t even think about experience. But there goes Justin Rose “doing some interesting things,” as Cameron Young put it Sunday night. Rose had lost his putting groove in the middle of the summer and gained it back a bit in August. And you know what? Numbers tend to include everything you’ve done recently, in the name of a greater sample size, so they wouldn’t have thought Rosie would get en fuego with the flatstick.

Only, this is exactly what the numbers told us two years ago, when Rose led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at the Rome Ryder Cup. He nearly did it again this week, finishing second only to Sepp Straka, who entered the week having had zero competitive rounds in more than a month. Go figure! The R in Ryder Cup is for Randomness.

If you’re still confused by what happened at Bethpage, just know you’re not alone. I am, too, and so is Keegan Bradley. Two years is just long enough to forget that the numbers behind everything are created by humans. And the numbers we’ll be poring over ahead of Adare Manor? They’ll be created by individuals we’ll want to manipulate into teams.

Among the USAâ€s 9 previous 4×1 wins, only one was faster than Tokyo: Doha 19â€s 37.10 AR, which Christian Coleman led off and Noah Lyles anchored. (KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT)

THE HANDOFFS ARE almost always the story in the 4 x 100. This time around, solid exchanges led to a happy ending for the American foursome, who defeated Canada to take the gold in 37.29.

The heats produced most of the drama. The U.S., running the foursome of Christian Coleman, Ronnie Baker, Trayvon Bromell and Tâ€Mars McCallum, placed 2nd in heat 1 with a 37.98. Andre De Grasse caught McCallum and Canada led in 37.85. It was favored Jamaica that went down in flames, as the pass from Ryiem Forde to anchor Kishane Thompson resulted in the baton bouncing off the Mondo surface.

In the second heat Ghana clocked a national record 37.79 to lead the Netherlands†37.95. South Africa, our pick for 3rd, failed to finish, same as Great Britain, our pick for 4th.

In the case of South Africa, officials ruled that they had been affected by one of the Italian athletes. In a solo rerun the next morning, they were tasked with hitting 38.34 to make the final. A 38.64 run with just the roar of the crowd for accompaniment didnâ€t cut it.

For the final, the United States drew lane 7, with Canada — running the same order that won Olympic gold — in 5 and Ghana in 6. Christian Coleman led off, getting to the exchange just ahead of Canadaâ€s Aaron Brown. The handoff to Bednarek was crisp and efficient, nothing like their disastrous Paris effort.

Bednarek ran a solid backstretch, but Canadaâ€s Jerome Blake ate into his margin a bit. A smooth pass to Courtney Lindsey followed, and with an efficient pass Lindsey delivered a lead to anchor Noah Lyles.

The 200 winner started off with a 0.13 advantage over De Grasse and was able to hit top speed quickly. De Grasse chased valiantly but lost ground as the U.S. won in 37.29 to Canadaâ€s 37.55. Netherlands closed fast with anchor Elvis Afrifa to pass Ghana for the bronze, hitting a Dutch Record 37.81 to Ghanaâ€s 37.93.

The United States defended its title from Budapest in winning its tenth gold out of 20 editions of the meet.

“We just had to get the baton from start to finish,†explained Lyles. “When Christian passed the baton I knew it was a done deal. I saw the lead we had and it was a kind of a relief as everybody did such a great job. I just had to finish the race. They made it easy for me. I could have not asked for a better relay.â€

Said Coleman, “We did our job.â€

MENâ€S 4 x 100 RESULTS

FINAL (September 21)

1. United States 37.29 (5 W, 2 A)

(Christian Coleman 10.30, Kenny Bednarek 8.84, Courtney Lindsey 9.31, Noah Lyles 8.84);

2. Canada 37.55

(Aaron Brown 10.41, Jerome Blake 8.75, Brendon Rodney 9.42, Andre De Grasse 8.97);

3. Netherlands 37.81 NR

(Nsikak Ekpo 10.57, Taymir Burnet 8.76, Xavi Mo-Ajok 9.69, Elvis Afrifa 8.79);

4. Ghana 37.93

(Ibrahim Fuseini 10.55, Benjamin Azamati 8.96, Joseph Amoah 9.48, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu 8.94);

5. Germany 38.29

(Julian Wagner 10.59, Marvin Schulte 9.23, Owen Ansah 9.38, Lucas Ansah-Peprah 9.09);

6. Japan 38.35

(Yuki Koike 10.55, Hiroki Yanagita 9.14, Yoshihide Kiryu 9.71, Towa Uzawa 8.95);

7. France 38.58

(Ryan Zeze 10.48, Jeff Erius 9.07, Lenny Chanteur 9.64, Aymeric Priam 9.39);

… dnf—Australia

(Connor Bond 10.57, Jacob Despard 9.21, Calab Law 9.52, Rohan Browning).

(lanes: 2. France; 3. Australia; 4. Japan; 5. Canada; 6. Ghana; 7. United States; 8. Netherlands; 9. Germany)

(reaction times: 0.141 United States, 0.145 Netherlands, 0.146 Canada, 0.147 France, 0.150 Australia, 0.151 Germany, 0.160 Ghana, 0.162 Japan)

HEATS (September 20)

I–1. Canada 37.85; 2. United States 37.98 (Coleman 10.23, Ronnie Baker 9.08, Trayvon Bromell 9.45, Tâ€Mars McCallum 9.22); 3. Germany 38.12 (Deniz Almas, Schulte, Ansah, Ansah-Peprah); 4. France 38.34 (Zeze, Erius, Théo Schaub, Priam);

5. Belgium 38.46 NR (Kobe Vleminckx, Emiel Botterman, Antoine Snyders, Simon Verherstraeten); 6. Kenya 38.56 (Boniface Ontuga, Steve Onyango, Babu Kitsubuli, Mark Odhiambo); 7. Poland 38.59 (Oliwer Wdowik, Åukasz Å»ak, Adrian BrzeziÅ„ski, Dominik Kopeć);… dnf—Jamaica (Ackeem Blake, Oblique Seville, Ryiem Forde, Kishane Thompson).

II–1. Ghana 37.79 NR (=#10 nation);

2. Netherlands 37.95; 3. Japan 38.07; 4. Australia 38.21 (Bond, Joshua Azzopardi, Law, Browning);

5. China 38.38 (Zhijian Deng, Jinxian He, Junhao Shi, Zhenye Xie); 6. Italy 38.52 (Eseosa Desalu, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta, Matteo Melluzzo);… dnf—South Africa, Great Britain.

Special heat (9/21 am)–1. South Africa 38.64 (Shaun Maswanganyi, Sinesipho Dambile, Bradley Nkoana, Akani Simbine). (Had to run faster than 38.34 to be added to final as 9th team; obstructed by Italy in heats)

Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.

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Kevin McGonigle (Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

In the final game of the 2025 season, Kevin McGonigle struck out three times. It was a rare thing for the Tigers shortstop, as it had happened only twice over his previous 190+ games as a professional.

Unfortunately for McGonigle and the Erie Seawolves, this came at an inopportune time. Erie, playing in its fourth consecutive Eastern League final, fell to Binghamton 8-2 in a deciding game three.Â

Despite a massively productive season, it has, in some ways, also been a season defined by second-place finishes and runner-ups for the Tigers’ top prospect, On Monday, Baseball America named Konnor Griffin the 2025 Minor League Player of the Year. Two days later, Erie and McGonigle fell in that Eastern League final.Â

Still, you canâ€t tell the story of the 2025 minor league season without McGonigle.

Currently No. 2 among BA’s Top 100 Prospects, McGonigle is a dynamic player with one of the most polished hit tools weâ€ve seen in the minors in some time. The 21-year-old has an old-school gamer mentality, and he gets into more power and speed than his physical tools might suggest.Â

For many evaluators outside the Tigers’ organization, McGonigle is the top prospect in the game and praise has been effusive. It’s left Tigers fans wondering if McGonigle—a player who is capable of doing everything well and brings a winnerâ€s mentality—could have provided a spark to a free-falling major league team over the final month of the season.Â

In many ways, McGonigle is the final cog in a rebuild thatâ€s taken a decade and spanned multiple general managers. Alongside Tigers teammate Max Clark, he has found success throughout his minor league career, racking up winning records at every stop along the way. The Tigers hope the dynamic duo can do the same when they reach Detroit in 2026.Â

What sets McGonigle apart from other top prospects is his robust and well-rounded set of tools at the plate. While Griffin is the best all-around player in the minors, it wouldnâ€t be wrong to say that, at the moment, McGonigle is MiLB’s best hitter.

The data backs this statement when comparing McGonigle to minor league averages across his skill metrics:

Miss%IZ-Miss%Chase%Swing%Chase-Swing%Kevin McGonigle18%13.60%20.20%45.20%25%MiLB Avg.27%19.20%25.10%45%19.60%Difference-9%-5.60%-4.90%+0.20%-5.40%

Here we see that McGonigleâ€s skill-based metrics are well above minor league averages. On paper, his numbers roughly equate to a 70-grade hit tool (or better), as he shows elite contact and swing decisions.

Where McGonigle really separated himself from other highly-skilled hitters this season, though, is in his ability to hit for power. After hitting just five homers in 2024, McGonigle smashed 19 across three levels in 2025.

Again, we find standout metrics:

Avg. EV90% EVMax. EVPullAir%xWOBAHard-Hit LAKevin McGonigle91.5 mph105.3 mph113.3 mph24%0.38517.4MiLB Avg.86.2 mph101.5 mph108.4 mph18.60%0.29410Difference+5.3 mph+3.8 mph+4.9 mph+5%+0.091+7.4

McGonigle not only displays elite plate skills, but his power numbers compare well to other top prospects, too. He shows above-average raw power based on major league averages with strong launch angles that allow him to drive his best-struck contact in the air.

Where McGonigle really stands out compared to other prospects is with his optimized swing path. His ability to hit the ball hard in the air to his pull side has allowed him to get to more of his power and likely will lead to 20-plus home run totals annually in the majors.

In many ways, McGonigle is what a fully-optimized hitter looks like: few holes in his swing, a discerning eye at the plate and a swing optimized for power. And while he may have experienced a season of close-call finishes when it comes to awards and trophies, with a future as bright as any in the game, we may one day see McGonigle reach the gameâ€s greatest heights.

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Summers are always short in the NHL. It seems like just yesterday the Florida Panthers claimed their second Stanley Cup…

It’s always a good idea to rely on the relay action of tag team wrestling to pack out a three-hour…

Tonight’s AEW September To Remember airing September 17, 2025, promises an action-packed night live from the Canada Life Place in…

A new stipulation is set for one of the matches announced for Wednesday’s AEW September to Remember event in London, Ontario, Canada.

AEW’s Tony Khan announced in a social media post Monday night that Wednesday’s Queen Aminata vs. Thekla contest will now be a ho holds barred match, writing:

#SeptemberToRemember Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite No Holds Barred @amisylle vs @toxic_thekla With the violent animosity between Queen Aminata/Thekla, itâ€s likely to be a chaotic brawl with little emphasis on rope breaks or rules, so Iâ€ve made it No Holds Barred THIS WEDNESDAY!

Wednesday’s three-hour September to Remember special is the go-home show for Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view in Toronto. The card for Wednesday’s show:

AEW September to Remember, Wednesday, September 17 —

• All Out tag title match qualifier: Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Gunn Club (Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn)
• All Out tag title match qualifier: Luchasaurus & Kip Sabian vs. JetSpeed (Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight)
• All Out tag title match qualifier: Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) vs. Josh Alexander & Hechicero
• No holds barred: Thekla vs. Queen Aminata
• All Out Unified title match qualifier: The Beast Mortos vs. Mascara Dorada
• Bobby Lashley vs. Toa Liona
• Jon Moxley vs. Roderick Strong
• FTR face-to-face with Adam Copeland & Christian Cage
• Toni Storm feature
• Riho vs. Robyn Renegade

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