Ex-Marlins president shares significance of Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Francisco Lindor & Jose Ramirez in ALCS/NLCS

The LCS is here, and that usually means superstars on the level of Aaron Judge, Francisco Lindor, or Shohei Ohtani are playing. In the case of the 2024 LCS, MLB insider David Samson pointed out that several of the top five players are still on the field, which is a rarity.

It's true that teams that make it this far usually have stars on their rosters. Spending big money on good players usually yields postseason success. The Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, and other teams who didn't spend as much have already been eliminated.

In the latest episode of Nothing Personal with David Samson, the former Miami Marlins president said (17:23 - 17:45):

"Jose Ramirez is the best player for the Guardians. One of the top five players in baseball. It is amazing that you've got Ohtani, Judge, and Ramirez in the LCS. And Lindor. Wow, does that happen? Almost never. That you've got the top five players in the LCS playing."

In terms of this year's fWAR, five of the top eight players are still in the LCS: Judge, Ohtani, Lindor, Juan Soto, and Ramirez. These teams are led by their superstars, and Samson thinks that's ideal for baseball.

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Francisco Lindor discusses breaking Dodgers' streak

If the New York Mets, led by Francisco Lindor, were to come back in the NLCS, they were going to have to do something no one had been able to do against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 33 innings: score.

Francisco Lindor hit a home run (Imagn)

The San Diego Padres and Mets had been held off the scoreboard by LA for that long, but Lindor broke that streak with a leadoff home run. Shortly thereafter, a Mark Vientos grand slam put them into the driver's seat and they tied the series at one game apiece.

Lindor was asked about ending the streak in that fashion, and he was quoted as saying by the New York Post:

“I was just trying to have a quality at-bat and get the guys going. [Reporters] have done a great job of not mentioning it to me, so I didn’t really know it.”

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said:

“Not just because of the homer, but the way he attacked him. Fouled off a couple of pitches, laid off a couple of breaking balls and got a pitch and drove it to set the tone.”

The Mets, potentially with some momentum, will resume play tonight in Queens.