FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: October 3, 2026

Today marks the start of the Division Series, and we can only hope these four matchups are more exciting than the first three of the four series. Excluding the Braves-Phillies series — which went three full games, two of which were late lead changes — the closest scoring margin in the Wild Card Series was three-run games, and more games by at least seven runs (three) than three (two).

It goes without saying that these other series were snoozers. I covered the Yankees-Red Sox series, and the atmosphere in the Bronx was made for an electric final score experience, when the energy pulsed through Petco Park for the Padres-Cubs games was palpable. That wasn’t the case in Houston, where the Astros fell in both games in the morning and were blasted for their poor play. But those two games were at least a little closer, and it was still fun enough to watch the White Sox win after three consecutive 100-loss seasons. The real issue was that the outcome of those three series never really felt in doubt after leading the winning teams to the morning. Here are some more recent events and events that hang in the balance.

In this week’s mailbag, we answer your questions about ideal playing form, whether the White Sox would benefit from divine intervention, whether it’s better to hit elite and pitch below-average or vice versa, and the highest single-season war for a player who ends up in the negative. But first I’d like to remind you that this mailbag is not for FanGraphs Members. If you are not yet a member and would like to read, you can sign up for membership here. It’s a great way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question about an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com.