Mariners Moose Tracks, 10/27/21: Joc Pederson, Rob Manfred, and Sue Bird

Atlanta might be for real.

Good morning folks! It’s Wednesday and the World Series is officially underway. Let’s get you the latest news from around baseball.

In playoff news...

• The Atlanta bats refused to be silenced in a 6-2 win over the Astros in the first game of the series. Unfortunately for the Braves, Charlie Morton was removed from the contest with an apparent injury.

In Mariners news...

• High Performance Camp is happening now.

• Zach DeLoach spoke to Jonathan Mayo about his experience in the Arizona Fall League so far.

Around the league...

• Rob Manfred defended the Braves’ Tomahawk Chop chant as well as the team’s name in a discussion with the media yesterday.
• Guillermo is still Guillermo.

• Jared Diamond and Louise Radnofsky at The Wall Street Journal noted that this World Series matchup might be a worse-case scenario for Rob Manfred and the league.
• Former top Royals prospect Bubba Starling has announced his retirement.
• Former Mariners coach Chris Prieto has been promoted to first base coach in Tampa Bay.
• As we look ahead to the offseason, Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors lays out the draft pick scenarios for every team should they sign a free agent who has declined a qualifying offer.
• Pedro Moura at FOX Sports told the story of Tyler Matzek, the reliever who has overcome yips to get to the Braves World Series roster.
• Joc Pederson wrote a piece at The Players’ Tribune in which he tells the story of his season and urges people to root for Atlanta in the World Series.
• Kyle Glaser at Baseball America noted that the Astros owe their strong season in large part to their commitment to the development of International players on the pitching side.
• Shohei Ohtani got his first (but likely not his last) hardware after a tremendous 2021 season, receiving the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award.

Anders’ picks...

• Sue Bird teased the idea of returning for one more year with the Seattle Storm.