RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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⚾️ MLB awards races: Top contenders
(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports)
The National League MVP race leveled up earlier this week, with both Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong blasting three homers in a two-day stretch. But that isn't the only major award race with razor-thin margins heading into the homestretch.
NL MVP: Crow-Armstrong (-160 to win) and Ohtani (+130) are the two most complete players in baseball. With both putting up similar offensive stats — and both leading World Series contenders — this award could hinge on whether voters value PCA's defense or Ohtani's pitching more highly.
PCA: The Cubs CF is batting .279/.378/.550 for a .928 OPS that ranks second in the NL, and his 31 HR, 79 RBI and 90 R are all near the top, too. His biggest differentiators against Ohtani are on the base paths, with 31 steals (2nd in the NL), and in the outfield, with an NL-best 23 outs above average. His 7.8 WAR leads baseball.
Ohtani: The Dodgers DH/SP is batting .291/.388/.554 for a .942 OPS that leads the NL, while his 30 HR, 80 RBI and 82 R are roughly in line with PCA's marks. As a pitcher, he's 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 14 starts, though a knee injury has kept him off the mound since July 3. Add it up, and his 6.8 WAR ranks third in baseball.
AL Cy Young: Yankees ace Cam Schlittler is the slight favorite (-165) over Blue Jays newcomer Dylan Cease (+130) in the other major award race that's still very much up for grabs.
Schlittler: The second-year sensation is 10-6 with an AL-best 2.19 ERA for the wild card-leading Yankees, while his 0.94 WHIP ranks first and his 152.0 IP ranks second. He's struck out 189 batters (third-most) against just 34 walks, and his 5.2 WAR leads AL pitchers.
Cease: Toronto's season has been disappointing, but don't blame this guy. Cease is 7-5 with a 2.42 ERA that trails only Schlittler in the AL and a 1.06 WHIP that ranks sixth. He has a league-leading 201 strikeouts against 59 walks, and his 5.0 WAR trails only Schlittler among AL pitchers.
The other two "races": With all due respect to the contenders having superb seasons in their own right, the AL MVP and NL Cy Young races are all but locked up.
AL MVP: Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez (-1600) leads the AL in all three Triple Crown categories (.317 AVG, 36 HR, 88 RBI) and has an MLB-best 1.040 OPS. His closest competition is Rays 3B Junior Caminero (+850), who has 35 HR and an .899 OPS.
NL Cy Young: Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski (-1000) has been extraordinary, leading all of baseball in ERA (1.75), WHIP (0.75) and strikeouts (210). In any other year, Atlanta's Chris Sale (+1000) and Philadelphia's Cristopher Sánchez (+1200) would be more than worthy winners.
Plus… The ROY races in both leagues are excellent. Detroit SS Kevin McGonigle (-500) is second in the AL with 5.7 WAR, while White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami (+425) has 29 HR and a .904 OPS; Cardinals SS JJ Wetherholt (-150) has 4.8 WAR thanks mostly to his slick glove, while Reds 1B Sal Stewart (+190) has 27 HR and an MLB-leading 94 RBI.
🎾 First look: WTT reveals new teams
(World Team Tennis)
World Team Tennis, the pioneering mixed-gender league relaunching this December, will unveil official clubs today — and Yahoo Sports AM has the exclusive first look.
A new era: As part of its reimagined future, WTT is introducing three new team identities, each with a distinct crest and logo inspired by its city. The league, originally co-founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, is also revealing one elite player with local ties who will represent each club.
The teams:
🦩 Florida Flamingos: Revives one of the most recognizable identities from the WTT's early years, while reimagining the flamingo motif in a vibrant palette of pink and burgundy.
🗽 New York Empire: Builds on the franchise that won the 2020 WTT championship with an imperial "NY" monogram and geometric crown that evokes the city skyline.
🇨🇦 Toronto North: A six-antlered moose (for Toronto's six districts) boldly announces WTT's return to the region for the first time since the Toronto-Buffalo Royals competed in '74.
The stars: Jessica Pegula (New York) was born in Buffalo and her family owns the Bills and Sabres; Tommy Paul (Florida) has resided in Boca Raton since he was a teenager; Denis Shapovalov (Toronto) grew up just outside the city.
Pegula rocking her Empire gear. (World Team Tennis)
What they're saying: "Our view is that tennis' popularity starts with the best players in the world, but has always extended well beyond the court into lifestyle and culture," said WTT CEO Stephen Amritraj. "That's why we prioritized creative direction for our teams, developing unique identities that fans and players will connect with and want to be a part of."
Looking ahead: Opening night is set for Dec. 2, 2026, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, before the league shifts to a home and away competition calendar.
💯 Big Numbers
Injury aside, Love was electric in his preseason debut. (Ian Maule/Getty Images) Ian Maule
🏈 14 touches
Running back Jeremiyah Love, the Cardinals' No. 3 pick and arguably their most exciting player for the upcoming season, sprained his ankle after getting 14 touches in his preseason debut last week — an uncommonly high number for a player as valuable as he could be.
Bold move, Mike: Love's 14 touches were by far the most in a preseason game by a first-round rookie RB in the past 10 seasons. Why give him so many? "I mean, it's a rookie that hadn't played," first-year head coach Mike LaFleur said, adding that he essentially decided to give him such a big workload just to see how he could handle it.
⚾️ .066
There have been 45,719 player-seasons in MLB history where a player got at least 85 plate appearances, and Braves SS Ha-Seong Kim's batting average (.066) and slugging percentage (.066) are both ranked dead last . ...
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