With each postseason expansion throughout MLB’s history, the value of division races has diluted. In the wild-card era, you can finish in second place — or even third or fourth — and still win the World Series.

Does that make September less exciting? There’s no doubt it brings more teams and more fans into the mix. And a big game is still a big game, even if there is slightly less tension in a Red Sox-Yankees or Mets-Phillies series than there otherwise might be if both teams already know they’re going to make the playoffs.

Thus, we’re mostly left with wild-card races and battles for seeding to occupy our time and scoreboard watching. That still offers plenty of fun, still makes September the best month on the baseball calendar, and there’s still a lot of sweating going on when your closer walks two batters in the ninth trying to protect a one-run lead. The 12 postseason slots aren’t completely locked up, so if you’re a fan of the Mets or Mariners, you can’t breathe easily just yet — not until a playoff spot is clinched and the champagne uncorked.

September is here, believe it or not. We have races to decide. Let’s rank their potential excitement level over the final month.

1. National League West race

Standings: Los Angeles Dodgers up 2 games on San Diego Padres

What’s at stake: This is the best rivalry going on in the majors right now. The teams don’t like each other, the fans don’t like each other, and there’s still that element of David trying to knock out Goliath as the Padres seek their first division title since 2006 and their first World Series title ever. The teams have met three times in the NL Division Series since 2020 — with the Dodgers winning in 2020 and 2024 and the Padres victorious in 2022 — and with another rematch possible, home-field advantage could be key.

Do the Dodgers need to win the division? No, they will still be more focused on getting the pitching staff healthy and ready for October than on getting consumed in the race to win the division. It would probably mean more to the Padres, who want to finally beat their I-5 rivals in something besides that one playoff series. On the other hand, San Diego is probably a little better equipped for a short wild-card series, as it can ride its bullpen for the two or three games.

Series to watch: Somehow, the schedule-makers thought it would be a good idea to not have the Dodgers playing the Padres in September. The Dodgers finish with a road trip to Arizona and Seattle while the Padres end at home against Milwaukee and Arizona. The Dodgers won the season series, so they own the tiebreaker.

Dodgers player to watch: Blake Snell has been a notable second-half pitcher in his career and has a 2.54 ERA since returning from the injured list in August, but he hasn’t been quite as dominant as when he gets on one of his patented hot streaks (such as the second half last year, when he had a 1.45 ERA and .130 average allowed). The Dodgers won last season despite a beat-up rotation that wasn’t even all that effective in the playoffs. But the bullpen has been nowhere near as strong this season as in 2024, so they’ll need that dominant version of Snell down the stretch and in October.

Padres player to watch: Ramon Laureano has been the team’s best hitter since he was acquired at the trade deadline, slashing .305/.354/.581 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 28 games. He helped keep the offense afloat in August as Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. each hit just one home run on the month and Jackson Merrill has been injured. Laureano’s production has been great, but the Padres need more power from their big two.

2. American League East

Standings: Toronto Blue Jays up 3 games on New York Yankees, 3.5 games on Boston Red Sox

What’s at stake: This has been the wildest division race all season. The Blue Jays were eight games back in late May when they fell under .500 but have now held first place since July 3. The Yankees fell as many as 6.5 games back in August before cleaning up against the Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox this past week to draw closer. The Red Sox were 41-44 on June 30, but only the Brewers have a better record since that date. The Yankees have a plus-134 run differential, whereas it’s plus-56 for the Blue Jays and plus-102 for the Red Sox, so you wonder why they’re even in this position. However, New York is 5-8 in extra-inning games (the Blue Jays are 8-4) and hasn’t played well against Toronto and Boston (5-15).

Series to watch: Blue Jays at Yankees (Friday-Sunday); Red Sox at Blue Jays (Sept. 23-25); Yankees at Red Sox (Sept. 12-14). All three season series have already been clinched: The Blue Jays over the Red Sox and Yankees and the Red Sox over the Yankees. That will leave the Yankees on the short end of any tiebreaker.

Blue Jays player to watch: Toronto acquired Shane Bieber at the deadline even though he was still completing his minor league rehab from Tommy John surgery. He has allowed three runs in two starts for the Blue Jays, striking out 15 with no walks in 11⅓ innings. It’s just two starts, but he looks like he did when he was the Cleveland ace, plus he has allowed the Jays to go to a six-man rotation. Don’t be surprised if he ends up as the Game 1 starter in the postseason.

Yankees player to watch: Aaron Judge is still probably the MVP favorite, but after missing 10 days with a flexor strain in his right elbow, he hasn’t been quite the same, hitting .241/.417/.506 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in 24 games in August. Though those are still good numbers, it seems fair to call it a slight slump by Judge’s recent historic standards — and it’s not the same level of production as before his injury. He also still hasn’t played the field, which limits the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton to pinch-hitting duties when the Yankees are on the road (manager Aaron Boone has been willing to play Stanton in right field at Yankee Stadium, where there’s less ground to cover).

Red Sox player to watch: Sixty-nine games into his career, 21-year-old rookie Roman Anthony has made it clear: He’s going to be a big star. Sure, he can cut his strikeout rate a bit, but he already has A-plus plate discipline and has the second-highest hard-hit percentage in the majors behind only Kyle Schwarber. And Anthony is also quickly learning to lift the ball, slugging six home runs in August after hitting one each in June and July.

3. National League race for No. 2 seed

Standings: Milwaukee Brewers hold No. 1 seed with 5.5-game cushion; Philadelphia Phillies up 1 game on Dodgers, 3 games on Padres

What’s at stake: The Phillies hold a comfortable lead over the Mets in the NL East, so they have about a 90% chance of winning the division, but Philadelphia is neck and neck with the pair of NL West rivals for the second-best record in the NL. Home-field advantage isn’t a must to win a World Series — we’ve seen wild-card teams take it all, such as the Rangers in 2023 when they were the fifth seed in the AL — but the Phillies have an extreme home/road split this season, going 45-23 in Philadelphia and 34-35 elsewhere. They’re hitting .275 with an .808 OPS at home, .239 with a .693 OPS on the road.

Series to watch: Phillies at Dodgers (Sept. 15-17). The Phillies finish with a six-game homestand against the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins, which looks like a favorable way to end the season.

Phillies player to watch: Kyle Schwarber, of course, and Cristopher Sanchez as he takes over the role of staff ace from the injured Zack Wheeler. But the bullpen has been the issue the past two postseasons for the Phillies, which puts Jhoan Duran on the spot as well. Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline to take over as closer, Duran has mostly done the job, but he blew one save against the Nationals, picking up the loss, and then lost another game against the Mets when he allowed four straight hits without getting an out.

4. American League race for top two seeds

Standings: Detroit Tigers hold No. 1 seed and are up 0.5 games on Blue Jays, 3.5 games on Yankees, 4 games on Red Sox and 4.5 games on Astros

What’s at stake: Bragging rights? Momentum heading into the postseason? Home-field advantage? Sure, all those things are nice, and the Tigers have a notable home/road split (44-25 versus 36-33), so securing that top seed, which they’ve held much of the way in the AL, would be the final touch on an excellent regular season. Still, if you’re manager A.J. Hinch, you’re not going to burn out your rotation in September just to get that top seed. If the Astros climb closer to the Tigers and Blue Jays, however, it will get more interesting as teams want to avoid that wild-card series if possible.

Series to watch: Tigers at Yankees (Sept. 9-11); Tigers at Red Sox (Sept. 26-28); Yankees at Astros (Tuesday-Thursday); Astros at Blue Jays (Sept. 9-11)

Tigers player to watch: The Tigers have been searching for a No. 2 starter behind Tarik Skubal all year. Jack Flaherty has been inconsistent all season and had three starts in August where he allowed five or more runs. Casey Mize has a 7.20 ERA over his past eight starts. Chris Paddack? No. Maybe it’s 41-year-old vet Charlie Morton, who has a 4.61 ERA in his five starts with Detroit, as he has mixed in three excellent outings with two bad ones (although he fanned 10 in one of the bad ones). No matter what, there are going to be a lot of bullpen games for the Tigers in the playoffs when Skubal isn’t pitching, especially since the pen was much better in August after struggling in June and July (and adding some depth at the deadline).

5. American League West

Standings: Houston Astros up 2 games on Seattle Mariners

What’s at stake: The Mariners haven’t won a division title since … hold on here, scrolling through the years on Baseball-Reference.com … that’s right, the 116-win season in 2001. The Mariners made some weird pact with the baseball gods that season, which for some reason didn’t include them making the World Series after their historic regular season but did include them not making the postseason again until 2022. That’s right: They remain the only franchise never to appear in the Fall Classic. Winning the division would increase their odds just a bit and allow them to set their rotation for the ALDS.

Series to watch: Mariners at Astros (Sept. 19-21). The season series is tied 5-5, so the winner of this series gets that crucial tiebreaker edge. Of note: The Mariners have lost five consecutive road series and are 1-6-1 (they split a four-game series) in their past eight. The Astros have managed to keep their grip on first place despite going 12-13 in July and 13-15 in August. They’ve won every full-season AL West title going back to 2017.

Astros player to watch: Yordan Alvarez returned last week after being out since early May with a hand injury. He homered in his second game back and didn’t strike out in his first five games. The Astros have even started him twice in left field, allowing them to give Jose Altuve a DH day. Bottom line: If Alvarez is producing, a below-average offense suddenly looks at least like an average — or better-than-average — offense. With Alvarez, Altuve and Carlos Correa, it’s 2019 or 2021 all over again, two seasons that ended with the Astros playing in the World Series.

Mariners player to watch: How much does Cal Raleigh have left in the tank? He’s sitting on 50 home runs but also hit .194 in July and .173 in August. He’s still doing damage with the long ball and has had 17 home runs and 36 RBIs over the two months, but he’s not carrying the offense as he did in the first half.

6. American League Wild Card

Standings: Mariners hold third wild-card spot and are up 2.5 games on Kansas City Royals, 3 games on Texas Rangers and 4 games on Cleveland Guardians

What’s at stake: By no means are the Mariners out of the AL West race against Houston, but they also haven’t played well enough to pull away in the wild-card fight, even after everyone declared them a sure-thing playoff team following the acquisitions of Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor at the deadline. But given Seattle’s recent history of just missing the playoffs — two wins short in 2021, one short in 2023 and 2024 — Mariners fans are understandably nervous about blowing it, especially with the Royals and the Rangers refusing to go away.

Series to watch: Mariners at Royals (Sept. 16-18); Royals at Guardians (Sept. 8-10); Rangers at Guardians (Sept. 26-28). The Royals finished one game ahead of the Mariners for a wild-card spot last season, so this looks like the key series. The Mariners have one three-game series in Houston starting Sept. 19. If they can survive this current road trip — they just went 1-2 against Cleveland and now head to Tampa and Atlanta — that series looms large as well.

Royals player to watch: Is it too late to toss Bobby Witt Jr. into the Judge/Raleigh MVP debate? He’s making a late run with his outstanding all-around game and just had his best month of the season. With Vinnie Pasquantino mashing home runs and some trade acquisitions chipping in, Kansas City is peaking at the right time. The Royals have played well for two months now and have a pretty soft schedule for the final month.

Rangers player to watch: The Rangers looked out of it, and they’re going to be without Nathan Eovaldi for the rest of the season — and likely Marcus Semien as well — and Corey Seager for some period of time following an appendectomy. But they just won three series in a row. Without Eovaldi, Jack Leiter has to continue to pitch well: He has a 2.88 ERA over his past 11 starts and just tossed back-to-back excellent games.

Guardians player to watch: Cleveland is barely hanging in there, taking two of three against the Mariners as Kyle Manzardo hit big home runs in wins Friday and Saturday. He’s hitting .273/.362/.545 since July 12, giving Cleveland a much-needed power source other than Jose Ramirez.

7. National League East and NL Wild Card

Standings: Phillies up 6 games on Mets in division; Mets up 4 games on Cincinnati Reds in wild card

What’s at stake: The Mets temporarily made the division race interesting again after sweeping Philadelphia early last week but then lost three of four at home to the Marlins. That’s unacceptable if you want to win the division. The Reds continue to falter, so the Mets’ wild-card spot looks reasonably safe, though they are just .500 since May 1.

Series to watch: Mets at Phillies (Sept. 8-11); Mets at Reds (Friday-Sunday). With next week’s four-game series, the NL East remains in play even though it would take an epic New York comeback combined with a Phillies collapse for the Mets to win the division. They’ve already clinched the season series over the Phillies with a 7-2 advantage. Meanwhile, the Reds have a chance to put pressure on the Mets with a three-game series in Cincinnati before New York’s trip to Philadelphia.

Mets player to watch: Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. The Mets’ rotation has scuffled for a while, so suddenly the season rests heavily on their two prized rookie starters. McLean won his first three starts, allowing just two runs in 20⅓ innings. Tong, who led minor league starters in ERA and strikeouts, beat the Marlins in his debut Friday, striking out six in five innings with no walks while showcasing the changeup that allowed him to dominate the minors.

Reds player to watch: What’s happening with Elly De La Cruz‘s power? He hasn’t homered since July 31 and has just one in his past 58 games.

8. National League Central

Standings: Brewers up 6.5 games on Chicago Cubs

What’s at stake: This is another David vs. Goliath matchup. Milwaukee, of course, is Goliath. The Cubs won the NL Central in the COVID-shortened season of 2020 but haven’t taken a full-season division title since 2017. Given the Brewers’ lead with no signs of faltering, the odds are slim that Chicago can chase them down.

Series to watch: The two teams are done for their season series, and the Cubs took it 7-6, so at least they own the tiebreaker.

Brewers player to watch: Closer Trevor Megill landed on the IL a few days ago with a flexor strain in his elbow after blowing three saves since mid-August, so Abner Uribe takes over. If the Cubs have a chance to catch the Brewers, it might be because the Milwaukee pen, which has been worked hard, burns out in September, especially with the Brewers in the midst of playing 19 games in 18 days.

Cubs player to watch: Kyle Tucker slumped as he played through a hairline fracture in his right hand for two months. He finally broke out with three home runs in two games and has hit over .400 his past nine games. The Cubs’ offense was horrid in August — Pete Crow-Armstrong also struggled — and they’ll need Tucker and the rest of the lineup to rebound in September.

9. American League Central

Standings: Tigers up 9.5 games on Royals

What’s at stake: This one is all but over — though, it’s not impossible for the Royals. The Mets blew a seven-game lead in 2007 with 17 games to play. The 1995 Angels entered September with a 7.5-game lead and lost the division in a tiebreaker game. The 2009 Tigers were up seven games on Sept. 6 and blew it. The 2011 Braves had an 8.5-game lead in the wild-card race at the start of September and missed the playoffs. And during that same season, the Red Sox were leading the Yankees in the AL East and nine games up on the Rays — who would catch them on the final day of the season to win the wild card. So … you never know.

Series to watch: The Tigers and Royals are done playing each other, with Detroit winning the season series 9-4.

The Nismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will officially welcome its latest class motivators at the end of this week. The announcement was made in the men’s NCAA basketball in April Final four,

Although only two former NBA players will enter the Hall of Fame, a small class by modern standards, Carmello Anthony and Dwight Howard were important figures in the 2000 and 2010s, combining 18 All-Star Showwews and 14 All-NBA honors.

Meanwhile, the historic three-Khiladi category of WNBA includes great people of the league some time. Suu Bard, Sylvia Fouls and Maya Moore were part of the “W25” during the 25th anniversary ceremony of WNBA and ranked in the top 10 of ESPN. Graded the best players in league history at that point.

Before the ENSHRINEMENT weekend, let’s look at where the rank of this year’s class NBA and WNBA is rank on both sides.

Anthony, Howard Both Clear-Cut Hall of Faimers

This year’s two-Khiladi NBA Class Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colngello is unconventional compared to recent years, which has rapidly expanded the player pool in the hall. The last time some former NBA players were shown in a category in 2017, when George McGinis and Tracy McGurdi were included.

On the other hand, 2025 stands out for the specialty of players who should make the hall of fame, no matter the standards. Both Anthony and Howard added 0.5 championships My method of evaluating NBA Player CareerPut them in the top 100 in league history. Since 2017, at least one player has been depicted in all one category, which came less than that mark, and they save every player included in 2024.

In the case of Howard you may be surprised how the back of his NBA career was a disappointment, which was reflected about him The league’s 75th anniversary team Selected in 2021. But Howard was strictly eligible to make the hall of fame in his first eight sessions. Orlando magic,

Although not a title resulted in that period, Howard combined with Orlando. The 8 championships won three times defensive players and formed the first team in every season through 2011-12 in 2007-08. As a breathtaking, he was dismissed as a product of the league center drought, Howard finished the top five in MVP voting for four consecutive sessions, finishing second in 2010-11. He must have received my vote for the award It actually went to Deric Rose.

When Howard did the first business, he finished 41st in the shares of the MVP Award and finished 52nd in the championship. Howard left the magic and did not add much to that clan while playing with six separate teams, including three different stints. Los Angeles Lakers Finally playing an important role from the bench in 2020, as a result of a title, but he still abolished the top 40 all-time in the championships, extending them beyond Anthony.

During his 19-year NBA career as an appearance as Anthony, which was overlaps with Howard during his shared final season in 2021–22, his peak was never as elevated as Howard. Anthony finished third in the top five of MVP voting (he ranked in 2012-13, when he led new York Knicks Between 2000 and 2024, only in their 50-win season) and never formed the first team.

Based on its 10 All-Star Showwew and six all-NBA nodes, Anthony still ranks 66th in the championship prize estimate, and in total 100 in the top 100-one clear hall of famer. And this is just his NBA career. In an era, the first modern “one-and-such” probability where players like Howard jumped directly into the league, Anthony’s Hall of Fame resumes as a new person in the Hall of Fame resume as a new person for a national championship, and the USA is his long legacy with basketball. (More on that in a moment.)

Although Anthony and Howard can not compare classes made from inner-circle hall of fames such as 2020 (Cobe Bryant, Posthental, Plus Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnet), just three classes have crossed this year since 2010.

Historical WNBA class

There is no trade-bandting between quality and quantity between three former WNBA players in this year’s class, which is the most. Fouls and Moore, who formed a team with four championships of Moore Minnesota LinksBoth were MVPs, and the bird was probably the best career possible without reaching that level.

When I used the WNBA version of the championship Rank players rank during the 25th anniversary session in 2021All three players were in the top 14 in the top 14, with Moore (fourth) and the top 10 fouls (ninth).

In some ways, Moore’s career offers a more extreme version of my fictional magic-cavalry howyer. She played only eight WNBA seasons, who move away from the game in her head to work on the issues of social justice and help to eliminate the wrong trust of her husband, Jonathan Iron. Moore managed to pack seven all-WNBA showcases and four top-three finish in MVP voting in her brief career, and when she retired, she finished second in the all-time playoff win over the replacement player (WARP) by her metric.

After the foul, four-time defensive players, three times NBA win the winner Howard. Falls were able to expand their dominance of the paint at both ends for a long time compared to Howard, earned the last one of their defensive players of the year awards in 2021 and were forming the second team in 2022, forming the second team, their farewell season. It brought fouls for eight all-WNBA appearances, (among others) tied to the sixth in league history with a bird.

Bird’s career spread over two decades, and as an active player, his 19 seasons (not remembering two due to injury) matches Anthony, despite WNBA rules, Bird needed to play four sessions in UCIN before preparing the number 1 draft in 2002. Bird led. Seattle Storm Last from four of his championships with his playing point guard in 2020. She remained an aristocratic player in the 40s.

WNBA’s All-Time Leader in Assistes, Bird also finished first in the games played, Minutes and All-Star Showwee (13, only affected all-star games during the years that characterized the total international competitions affected by WNBA). Meanwhile, Falls was the all -time rebounding leader of the league, when he retired before passing. Tina Charles Last year.

As I noted back in AprilThere is no question that it is the largest section of women’s basketball players to enter the hall. The nearest examples were 2021, when a pair of MVP (Yolanda grifith And the bird’s prolonged Seattle team partner Lauren Jackson) moved together, and in 1993 Pre-WNBA Duos (Ann Mears and Soviet Star Uljana Semjonova) and 1995 (Anne Donovan and Cheryr Miller).

With WNBA on growth, we should eventually see large sections becoming ideal. For now, however, the 2025 square stands alone in terms of WNBA achievements.

Shared Olympic Heritage

There is a point of overlap between NBA and WNBA classes and their Olympic gold medals. All five players won at least one gold, and Bird (five), fouls (four) and anthony (three) are all among the most decorated basketball players in Olympic plays.

Six gold medal of team partner Diana Raksi has been in favor of Birds Total, and men only for a long time, “Olympic Mello” Share in second place with Lebron JamesFollowing Kevin DuuntFour gold medals.

In fact, Anthony and Howard are being honored twice this year by the hall. Both will go as part of the 2008 USA basketball “Redeem Team”, which won gold in Beijing after falling down in 2004 at Athnes (first Olympics of Anthony) and the last two FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup. Bird and Fouls were also gold medalists in 2008, while Moore joined him in 2012 and 2016.

None of the five honors of this year required Olympic success as part of their affairs, but it strengthens the historical nature of the class.

The Indian men’s hockey team will aim to maintain their victory in Kazakhstan in the third group stage match in the men’s Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar on Monday.

After winning its last two matches, India made it in the next stage of the Super 4S. He played China on 29 September, defeated him 4-3 and was against Japan and defeated him 3–2 on Sunday.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh has been a standout player for India so far as he scored five goals in two matches, including a hat trick against Chinese.

However, both wins did not easily come to India. Japan and China made it difficult for the house team to work hard and take their opportunities. Overall, India dominated the statistics, but his opponents were not really out of the game till the last hooter.

Even though it is to be improved, especially in defense and goalkeeping, India’s head coach Craig Fulton will be happy to see his side to win.

Meanwhile, it is going to be a difficult task for Kazakhstan against Indians as they have already lost two games against China and Japan, scoring 20 goals.

Japan will face China in the second game on Monday and make the winner Super 4S. In the second group, Malaysia is via Super 4s, while the second place will be related to South Korea or Bangladesh.

Super 4S is another round Robin stage that includes four teams and the top will reach the final on 7 September. Only the title winner will qualify for the next year’s FIH World Cup in Netherlands and Belgium.

India vs Kazakhstan will begin at 7:30 pm.

You can follow the action here: