Freddy Peralta walked onto the trophy stage after Tampa Bay wrapped up the Cleveland Guardians and secured a trip to the Fall Classic, and the moment landed exactly the way a story like this should. When Kevin Cash called his name as ALCS MVP, the former All Star’s reaction was pure disbelief and pure joy.
It was the kind of finish that makes the whole thing feel bigger than a baseball series. Peralta had been acquired at the trade deadline from the Mets after a rough start to the year, and the Rays got him to buy into their adjustments. He did the rest.
The turnaround started with the mechanics. Tampa Bay had him pitching from the stretch, speeding up his delivery, and emphasizing leg drive to improve the direction of his hips.
The change was immediate. In 10 regular-season starts for the Rays, he went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA, then picked up AL Pitcher of the Month honors in September before carrying that momentum into October.
When the ALCS arrived, Peralta was right in the middle of it. He earned two wins and gave up just one earned run across the series, taking on key innings in three of Tampa Bay’s four victories. That included the start in the Game 6 clincher.
Across the series, he was “Fastball Freddy” at full throttle, sitting 98+ mph and helping drive both the talent and the mood in the clubhouse. The source of the success was more than just arm speed, though.
As great of a pitcher Freddy is today, he is seemingly an even better person. But this award has an additional bit of magic.
There’s another layer to all of this, too. Peralta spent years as a Milwaukee Brewers mainstay, having led the National League in wins in 2025 for the Brew Crew, then worked through a turbulent 2026 to get here.
Now Tampa Bay is headed to the World Series to face the Brewers, with both clubs still looking for their first title. In a fitting twist, former Rays first baseman Jake Bauers was named MVP for the Brewers to set up the matchup.
Whatever comes next, Peralta’s ALCS run is already the turning point in Tampa Bay’s march: a deadline pickup who became a series MVP in a matter of months.
In Other News...
Jets Offensive Debate Is Getting Harder To Ignore
Aaron Glenn has backed Frank Reich publicly, saying the offensive coordinator has done a good job while the Jets work through a season defined by injuries and inconsistency on that side of the ball. The bigger picture is hard to miss: New York is sitting near the bottom of the league in points per game, red-zone efficiency and third-down conversions, a reminder that the offense has not found enough rhythm to support the rest of the roster.
The frustration is starting to show up in the broader conversation around the team, too, with multiple outlets placing the Jets in the NFLs lower tier because of how often drives stall once they get close to scoring range. There is still some interest in what young players like Omar Cooper Jr. can add, but the more immediate question is whether the current offensive setup can clean up the spots that keep biting them before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Just Got A Hopeful Reminder From The Knicks
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The Jets have not won a Super Bowl or a playoff game since 2011, and the losing seasons have piled up in the years since, but this season has offered a few signs that the tide might finally be shifting. Whether the current progress turns into something lasting is still the open question, and the next stretch of games will say a lot about whether this looks like a brief uptick or the start of something closer to the Knicks late-arriving breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Glenn Had To Explain A Strange Jets Sideline Mix-Up
Aaron Glenn spent part of Monday explaining a small but notable sideline mix-up from halftime, one that caught attention because it came in the middle of a game day interview. During the break, the Jets coach made a statement suggesting New York would receive the second-half kickoff, even though that did not happen.
When asked about it the next day, Glenn moved quickly to clarify what he meant, saying he was speaking more broadly about the offense needing to sustain drives rather than the specific kickoff situation. The explanation was reported by multiple outlets, and the moment was brief, but it was the kind of detail that can linger when a team is still trying to clean up its communication as much as its play. [Read more 🡒]