A thrilling end to the 2025 regular season sets up what should be an exciting October in Major League Baseball. With 12 teams making the playoffs, half of them feature players out of Long Beach who’ve got a chance at a World Series ring.
Starting in the American League Wild Card Round, the No. 5 seed Boston Red Sox feature Long Beach State Dirtbags alum Jarren Duran. The 29-year-old outfielder has appeared in 157 games for Boston this season, with 16 homers, 84 RBIs, 24 steals and a .774 OPS.
The Red Sox will face their archrival New York Yankees starting on Tuesday, hoping to move onto the Divisional Round against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Toronto bullpen features Wilson High graduate Tommy Nance, who is having the best season of his career. The 34-year-old righty has made 30 appearances for the Jays, posting a terrific 1.99 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, striking out just over one batter per inning. He appears likely to have a spot on a postseason roster for the first time as a big leaguer.
Also awaiting their opponent in the Divisional Round are the Seattle Mariners and shortstop J.P. Crawford. The former Lakewood Lancer has been a big part of the M’s historic regular season, which ended with the franchise’s first division title in 24 years. Crawford is third among all qualified shortstops with an 11.4 percent walk rate, which supports a solid .352 on-base percentage.
Crawford has also had some spectacular moments late in the season. His walk-off, two-run homer on Aug. 1 against the Texas Rangers broke an extended home run drought for a comeback victory. Then on Sep. 21 against the Houston Astros, Crawford’s go-ahead grand slam helped finish off a three-game sweep, helping Seattle take a massive step toward winning the division.
Seattle will face either Cleveland or Detroit in the Divisional Round, starting on Saturday.
Over in the National League, it’s a homecoming for Millikan alum Spencer Steer as his Cincinnati Reds held onto a playoff spot over the final weekend of the regular season. The Reds were a remarkable story late in the year, winning 8 of their last 11 games to earn the final Wild Card spot.
“I love this group,” Steer told FanDuel Sports Network after the Reds clinched their playoff berth. “We’re all so close, man, and we were down and out so many times. People wrote us off, but you can’t kill us.”
Steer and the Reds will face the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Tuesday night, bringing Steer back home to Southern California for his playoff debut. He’s had an up-and-down season with his fair share of injuries, but Steer has also played strong defense at first base and has provided an impact bat in spurts. In mid-September he homered four times in a four-game span, collecting six hits and driving in 10 runs during that stretch. Overall, Steer recorded his third 20+ homer campaign in his third full season in the big leagues.
Also in the NL Wild Card Round is Long Beach native Justin Turner and the Chicago Cubs, who match up with the San Diego Padres. The 40-year-old Turner has been a situational player for the Cubbies, but is an invaluable leader set to make his 10th postseason appearance. Turner went to the playoffs nine times with the Dodgers but hasn’t played in October since 2022.
The NL’s top seed are the Milwaukee Brewers, featuring closer Trevor Megill, who returned from the injured list to pitch in Sunday’s regular season finale. The All-Star righthander, who was born in Long Beach, led the Brewers with 30 saves this season but has been out since Aug. 24.
Megill returned to throw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts to earn the last win of the season for Milwaukee. He finishes the year with a 2.49 ERA and 60 strikeouts over 47.0 innings pitched. His 30 saves rank 8th in all of baseball despite having just 50 appearances, and he will be making his playoff debut this October.
The Brewers have a few other Long Beach connections as well. Outfielder Blake Perkins is a product of Long Beach PONY and also started his high school career at Wilson before moving to Arizona. Plus, infielder Brice Turang is the son of former big leaguer Brian Turang, who played at Millikan and LBCC before reaching The Show.
Milwaukee will host the winner of the Padres-Cubs series in the Divisional Round.
