Transcript of Where Is MLB Headed For 2027? | The Pitch Clock (feat. Adnan Virk)

You know, some people are saying that this game right here is bigger than any game that happened in the World Series.

Definitely closer. More competitive.

We got one to go. This is the moment for Pitch Clock trivia.

Let's go, baby.

Welcome to The Pitch Clock. Here's the pitch: a two-part baseball segment combining a nostalgic baseball trivia game and an interview with an expert. This is The Pitch Clock. The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions.

Hi, everybody.

Baseball's over. Chris and I have.

Oof.

A really intense competition of Pitch Clock trivia going on right now.

I've legitimately been thinking about this all week.

It's kind of insane.

It's what it's all coming down. We've been doing this what, all season?

Yeah. We started—we started the first week of the season.

Mm-hmm.

And we have gone back and forth. Each of us has taken multi-game leads.

Mm-hmm.

But where things stand right now—and this is all before Adnan Virk joins me—to take a look ahead.

Yeah.

At next season.

Ooh.

And what's ahead this offseason. Here's what's on the table: I have a one-game lead. Chris has an opportunity to tie. And if he ties, this will come down to me pitching to Chris.

Mm-hmm.

And us determining what can be a winning scenario within all of that.

We win.

If I win, it's over.

Yeah. You're up by one right now. If you win, it's over. If I win, we're tied and we settle this on the old ball field.

Hey, Gabe, uh, what's our trivia game going to be, man?

Today's going to be 2005 trivia.

Oh, boy.

That's—seen that? That's my wheelhouse.

AKA Chris's wheelhouse.

Yeah.

There we go, baby.

Okay.

We're going to play three rounds.

Okay.

Round one is going to be multiple choice.

Ooh.

Since Chris won last week, he's going to go first.

Okay.

You get a point for each right answer.

Okay.

We're going to play up to 20. All together, all three rounds, you got to make it up to 20.

Okay.

Total.

Okay.

So first to 20 wins.

And so.

Correct.

It's one point for multiple choice. It's.

And round two is going to be a different point system.

And are we back and forth with these multiple choice?

Correct.

Like it's just up to us?

Can you steal?

You could steal for half a point.

Okay.

Ooh.

I like that. Half a point's fun. Okay. All right. So Chris is up first.

Chris?

Mm-hmm.

This Baltimore Oriole joined the 3,000-hit club with a double in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners. A: Rafael Palmero.

Oh, good. Thank you.

B: Miguel Tejada. C: Sammy Sousa. Or D: Roberto Alamor.

This is infuriating.

A.

Yeah.

One point.

Ah.

Yeah. I was an easy one.

I—I will say I was going to go Palmero.

Yeah.

Even if it wasn't multiple choice.

That's fine. I like multiple choice here.

I do too.

I like—it's a chance to hear some fun names.

It comforts me.

All right. What's the next question?

For you, Jeremy?

Yep.

This pitcher led the National League in wins, complete games, and shutouts, but finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2005.

Oh, nice.

A: Andy Pettit. B: Bartolo Colon. C: Chris Carpenter. D: Dontrell Willis.

Dontrell Willis.

Correct.

Right.

Chris, this slugger hit 22 home runs and earned a National League Rookie of the Year honors. Is it A: Garrett Atkins, B: Ryan Howard, C: Jeff Francour, or D: Willie Tavares?

Ooh, this is tough.

Ryan Howard.

Correct.

Damn.

Jeremy.

So it's 2-1?

2-1.

2-1.

Yeah. This player led the National League in home runs in 2005. A: Andrew Jones. B: Adam Dunne. C: Aramis Ramirez. Or D: Albert Pujols.

Oh, this is really hard.

I'm glad I get to go second here.

This is really hard. Who was the first one again?

Andrew Jones.

Okay.

Don't sleep on him.

I know. Because there's a year where he hit 50-plus.

I think so.

I just don't know if it's 2005.

Don't do that.

Gabe just covered his mouth.

I know because you—

No, I think it is Andrew Jones.

No.

Damn it. That makes—I saw him cover his mouth.

Yeah.

And it makes it so much worse because now I don't know what to think.

He generally covers his mouth when people say the right answer.

I'm going D: Albert Pujols.

Incorrect.

Adam Dunne.

Andrew Jones. You—

Damn it.

Yes.

Of course it was Andrew Jones.

I—I was just—

I told you.

I was totally messing with—

I went no Pujols because of the mouth. Or I went with Pujols because I was like, "It can't be Andrew Jones after all that. It can't be."

I genuinely—

It was. Was it the year he hit 50-plus?

Yes.

God damn it.

I genuinely didn't think it was Andrew Jones.

No.

That's why I tried to get you there.

No.

All right. No points. No points. 2-1, me.

Chris.

Yeah.

This closer saved 23 games with a 1.72 ERA and won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2005. A: Lance Carter. B: Houston Street. C: Chad Cordero. Or D: Joaquin Soria.

Don't do the eyes. It's Houston Street.

Yes.

Thank you. I tried to get you with Joaquin Soria, just making my eyes real big.

This pitcher struck out Omar Vizcal to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, becoming the only 12th player to do so.

Mm-hmm.

A?

Only 12th player.

Ah, only the 12th.

A: Eric Milton. B: Kevin Brown. C: Randy Johnson. Or D: Greg Maddox.

Yeah. I'm going to go C: Randy Johnson.

Incorrect.

Damn it.

Greg Maddox.

Correct.

Yeah.

Wait, Randy Johnson was already there.

3.5 to 1.

Man.

He became the first player in MLB history to begin his Major League career with five consecutive seasons with at least 200 hits. A: Johnny Damon. B: Ichiro Suzuki. C: Jimmy Rollins. Or D: Jared Jeter.

You—before you answer this, you've got to acknowledge you've had the easier questions.

What are you talking about? I would have gotten yours right.

Every last one of your questions has been obvious.

I've gotten all of them right.

They've been obvious. They've been obvious.

And so have yours.

Except for the one that you didn't get right either.

Ichiro.

Yeah.

Correct.

All right. Let me at least feel good about going into the next round.

Four and a half to 1.

Ready?

It's to me.

Mark Burley, John Garland, and Freddie Garcia. And this pitcher each pitched a complete game against the Angels in the ALCS.

Oh, boy. I know who the answer is.

Yes.

Can I just tell you the answer?

I—well, I screwed up the C, but I'd say.

It's Jose Contreras.

It is Jose Contreras.

Thank you.

So what, four and a half to 2?

Man.

Four and a half to 2.

All right. I'll take that. The man who just had his fingers on his right headphone ear because he has seen the criticism that all of you have over his headphones is Adnan Virk. He is back to move us into the offseason. We celebrated the Brewers World Series victory. We have now moved to the stage where we're looking ahead at 2027. But before we do, Adnan, we've talked about the Brewers, but I—I want to take a second here and just hear what your overall takeaway on this 2026 season was.

Yeah. A few thoughts. Number one, to me, Jeremy, is the dethroning of the Dodgers. We kept thinking to ourselves, "This is a three-peat. This is a behemoth." And instead, the Dodgers showed some vulnerability. And to further that point, I think it's no longer a certainty. It's no longer a guarantee Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani will be in the MVP conversation. Like, Aaron Judge next season is going to be 35 years of age, and when he plays the field, he gets hurt. Like, that's 6'7", 282 pounds, and that wear and tear is there. So unless they make him a full-time DH, to me, I don't think it's a guarantee Aaron Judge every year can say, "Oh, he'll be an MVP finalist." And similarly for Ohtani, we finally started to see that wear and tear.

Yeah.

That could be it. Like, you never know, right? With pitching, sometimes it's hard to forecast. I remember when Doc Goodin won the Cy Young in '85, Bob Gibson said, "This might be the best he ever is." And everyone's like, "What? He won Rookie of the Year in '84. He won Cy Young in '85." They go, "But sometimes that's it." Like, you do tap out at a certain level, and the rest of the game catches up to you, and other things happen. And for Doc, you know, substance abuse issues, etc.

Yeah.

So it's nothing you never take for granted. Remember thinking Skeens last year, "Oh, this will be the first of four Cy Youngs." And instead, we had a drop-off. So I—I take appreciation and great young pitching and say to myself, "Well, hopefully it doesn't happen again with Mizurowski and Schlittler." But both those guys, I thought, were unbelievable this season. When you're—when you're flirting with sub 2 ERAs, 200-plus strikeouts, Schlittler throws a fastball 89% of the time. Four-seamer, two-seamer, or a cutter. Like, just go ahead and go get it.

Yep.

And Mizurowski, one of my favorite stats, 100 miles an hour plus. He threw 1,110 pitches. The next starter who had the most is Bubba Chandler with 115. He's throwing 100-plus 10 times more than any other starter. And since the stat tracking era began in '08, he's thrown more 100-mile-an-hour fastballs than any other team.

That's crazy.

Nobody beats him in this.

It's crazy. And—and—and the hope is that he continues to hold up this way as an ace for this team that's coming back as World Series champions. There are so many great young players around the game. It was fun to see. You know, we talked about so many of those great young position players headed into this season, to see so many great young pitchers thrive the way that they did. It's always exciting for Major League Baseball when those guys are starting, going relatively deep into games. Both of those guys did throughout the course of the season. Obviously, in the postseason, it was that Brewers bullpen shining. But we're going to move forward and look ahead at 2027.

Well, Terry Scoople is the biggest fish out there, as you and I both know. And I—I'm just wondering, how large is the contract going to be? I remember with Juan Soto, I kept thinking it would be at least a $500 million contract, maybe 600. It ended up being 765. So in terms of Scoople, early on, it was like, "Oh, 325, and then it's 400." And now I feel like everyone's saying 500. So if this guy gets half a billion dollars for 10 years, that would just be gargantuan money for one of the best pitchers in baseball. Again, didn't win a Cy Young this year, coming off two straight Cy Youngs, but still was excellent this year. Proved he could thrive in a big environment in Los Angeles.

Round 2 is Mystery Man. I'm going to give you three clues. First clue worth 3 points, second 2, and the third one is going to be worth 1 point.

Okay.

You have to guess the player.

Okay.

Ready? And you guys have buzzers.

And we each have a buzzer?

So whoever buzzes gets the answer.

I'm ready.

Clue number 1: This player stole 45 bases in 2005.

Jose Reyes.

No. Clue number 2: He was a switch-hitting second baseman for Baltimore.

Brian Roberts.

Damn it.

Yes.

Oh.

I was—

Oh, no.

Number 2: This player collected 221 hits in the 2005 season.

Ichiro.

No.

Juan Pierre.

No.

Yeah.

Clue number 2: He won the American League batting title with a 331 average.

Derek Jeter.

Nope.

Now.

Bill Miller.

Nope. Clue number 3: He played for the Texas Rangers as an infield.

Michael Young.

Yes.

Damn. All right. It's only 1 point, though.

6.5 to 2. I mean, to 3.

To 3. He won the ALMVP award in 2002.

A Rod.

No.

Jay Buehner.

No.

Just wanted a fun name.

Clue number 2: He drove in 98 runs during the 2005 season.

David Ortiz.

No.

No buzzer. All right. Moving on.

All right.

Mark Teixeira?

No.

Damn.

Last clue.

Man.

He played shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.

Tahada.

Yep.

Dude, get quicker with that finger, brother. 7.5 to 3.

Clue number 1: He was baseball's top power-hitting first baseman switch-hitter.

Teixeira.

Yeah.

10.5.

Boy, this is tough.

To what?

To 3.

3.

3.

He was the only 22-year-old during the 2005 season for this team. I saw Chris go first.

Miguel Cabrera.

Yep.

Is that what you were going to say?

Of course I was going to say that.

Let's go.

The job you didn't need to be the—

I think you didn't need to be the—

The cubs.

Didn't need to be the cubs.

Didn't need to be the wanted to be.

So who are some of the teams that you're looking at here in terms of the way that they potentially reshape their roster and add to it?

I always look at the New York Mets, Jeremy. The coming off of season, we said the second biggest payroll in baseball and we're a huge dun. How does it feel to be David Sterns, the team in many ways you helped build. You were the epitome of the great front office, and they won the World Series before you built Ohlins and Mets. And you've got $340 million in this largest at your disposal. So he's got a little egg in his face. I think he's going to prove himself now. Everyone knows that. This is basically David Sterns' year to put up or shut up. Otherwise, Steve Cohen will make a move. So how will the Mets navigate huge salaries and what was a big disappointing season? They've got some good young players.

Yeah.

We thought this was going to be a young juggernaut. Instead, they have completely zagged when everybody else zagged. And this season, going in, the Rays were expected to finish fourth or fifth in the division. I think most people thought Jays, Yankees, Red Sox, maybe Orioles Rays will figure it out. Instead, the Rays win the division. 98 wins, they're not going anywhere. So what happens to Baltimore? They were supposed to have all these great young position players. Gunner Henderson is a former Rookie of the Year. He based it 100 OPS plus. He was a league average player. Wright-Jackson-Hawley was the number one prospect in baseball. He has yet to develop further beyond that. Adley Rutchman, gone, now a member of the Boston Red Sox.

That's a fascinating one because the Orioles were a team that basically had like nine prospects who not only were all supposed to be great, all looked exactly the same. Like, you could just put them in a lineup and nobody would have been able to figure it out who was who. And yet, the majority of those guys have not developed. We can expect Gunner Henderson to bounce back from a season like this one. He's such a great player. But it shows just how difficult it is to repeat things year over year. You know, everybody was putting him right there with Bobby Whitt Jr. Obviously, he's not quite that player that Bobby Whitt Jr. has been early in his career.

Well, I think of a great story our former boss, John Skipper, told. He said when he would negotiate with Rob Manfred or Roger Goodell or Adam Silver, he'd go in and say, "Okay, here's 10 things I'm looking for. Three are absolute must-haves, and three is wishful thinking. And then the other four is where the negotiation would really take place, and he would work with Adam or Rob or Roger to get the deal done." So in this case, the owners are saying, "Hey, absolute must. We need a salary cap. That has to happen. We believe in terms of competitive balance. Every other major sport has it, and we need it." And the players are saying, "Hey, we'll do anything you want, but no salary cap."

Right.

So this is the—this is the issue. It comes down to this. So I'm trying to stay optimistic and say, is there a way the owners can institute a salary cap without calling it a salary cap? Is there a way? And Steve Phillips, again, my friend and colleague at MLB Network had said this to me, "Can you make it so punitive if you go above a certain number? Hey, we'll—you know, if you go over $300 million, we'll suspend you six draft picks." So everyone goes, "Okay, fine, fine. I won't do it." Like, it's—you don't call it a cap, but it essentially is a cap. And similarly with the four, unless you spend a certain amount of money, you're going to get docked this many picks. You're going to have this sort of financial penalty, whatever it might be.

Yeah.

That was 100-day lockup. Mid-March, it was done. And we've been good ever since. So let's suppose you and me sign up for June 1st to get a deal done, but for the next five years, we're good? That would be a massive relief. Two months and then five years were awesome. Yeah.

As a guy whose birthday is on June 4th, I will happily take that as a birthday present and an early birthday present at that from Major League Baseball and from the Players Association. Adnan, this is our last Pitch Clock with analysis for a bit. The Pitch Clock and our games are going to keep going for the next several weeks. We will keep you guys posted on that as an audience. But on behalf of our audience, Adnan, thank you for shepherding us through this postseason. Thank you for being our most consistent guest on the Pitch Clock and for all of the analysis throughout all of it.

No, you're the best, Jeremy. Thanks so much for giving me this platform. It's an absolute blast. I appreciate anybody who has such a passion and love for the sport as you do. So that reverence carries through. And you're carrying the torture. The amount of times I've had to hear you on levitrap, you're going, "Oh, God, Jeremy wants to talk baseball again." I'm like, "No, keep doing it, buddy." So fight the good fight. I love the fact the Pitch Clock has continued, and I'm glad for all your success with the Marlins and the Heat, whatever else this postseason may be. Fingers crossed Pitch Clock returns sooner than you think.

That's right. Let's hope for that. Our friendship will not be locked out until June 1st.

Well said. I'll talk to you soon. You can see everything. Go see it a fourth time.

Yeah. Oh my God. Absolutely.

Round three, in honor of Ethan, we're going to play Who He Played For.

Oh, boy. Okay. Great. In what year?

2005.

Okay.

JT Snow.

Giants.

Yes. Next player. Coco Crisp.

Guardians.

You were first?

100%.

You did.

100%.

100%.

Ruben Sierra.

I was just clicking that thing regardless. Did he still play that? I know we played in '03. Yankees.

Yeah.

Thank God. Yeah. I thought it's 14.5 to 5.

Yes. Steve Finley.

Angels?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Let's go.

Let's go Finley.

15.5 to 5.

David De Jesus.

The Royals.

Yes.

15.5 to 6.

Mike Lowell.

Red Sox.

No.

Marlins?

Yes. Heat Sop Choi.

Yeah. Heat Sop Choi was a Marlin.

No.

Yeah. On opening day 2005, he was 100% a Marlin.

Dodger.

Yeah.

Are you kidding? Was it '04?

You're rattled right now.

I'm really rattled. I thought you were throwing something at me. I'm all over the place. It's the football pads, man. 17.5 to 6. This is a disaster.

Phil Nevin.

Padres.

Yes.

18.5. This sucked. So let's just make this clear. I've got to get 14 before you get 2. Yeah. Okay. I'm nervous.

Mike Lamb.

Philly. I have no clue. That's what I was going to guess.

Yeah.

Okay. Good. Astro.

Yes.

Yes.

What the?

Actually, now that you say that, I can picture it. Okay. 18.5 to 7.

Mike Piazza.

Mets.

Yes.

Yeah. Yeah. I was really.

One more, baby.

I was really hopeful you were going to overthink it.

Jock Jones.

Twin.

That's game.

Let's go, baby.

See you on the ballfield, buddy. Bring that 74.

You know what?

Bring that 74.

You're not going to touch it.

Oh my God.

You're not going to touch it.

I am going to stroke it.

I.

Whoa.

We'll end there. Enjoy stroking it.