Oct 20, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder George Springer (4) hits a three run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning during game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Mariners' George Springer Decision Looks Worse As More Evidence Emerges

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 9:15 AM ET

George Springer's back-breaking three-run home run on Monday was quite arguably the most gut-wrenching moment in Seattle Mariners history.

Seattle brought in reliever Eduard Bazardo to face Springer with runners on second and third and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, leading 3-1. It was a decision that had the entire baseball world buzzing, as Seattle could have instead gone to its closer, Andrés Muñoz, in a situation that was likely to determine how the season would finish.

The decision looks even worse in hindsight, though, as more evidence has been fleshed out to support the case that Muñoz should have been the choice.

Springer's familiarity with Bazardo likely helped out

On Tuesday, Eno Sarris of The Athletic wrote a piece that suggested one of the most crucial factors that aided Springer in the at-bat was familiarity. Bazardo had already faced Springer twice in the series, including the previous night, when he got him to ground out to third base on the same sinker he homered on to end the Mariners' season.

"Since 2016, when a batter has seen a reliever a third time in a postseason series, his OPS has jumped over 140 points, according to STATS Perform. This fits into moreample research that suggests that the more experience a batter has with a pitcher and his offerings, the batter’s advantage grows," Sarris wrote.

"We can’t be sure that spike in success comes from the fact that batters have seen those pitchers’ pitch shapes and learned their tendencies, but if it’s not command or fatigue, that’s a natural way to think about it. Bazardo had mostly thrown inside sinkers to Springer in the previous at-bats, he went there again, and Springer had seen enough of Bazardo’s inside sinkers to take advantage."

Sarris' entire piece is fascinating and definitely worth a read in full. But the crux of the matter is that Springer wasn't getting fooled by anything Bazardo would throw him, and ironically enough, his at-bat played out the exact same way it had the night before, with back-to-back sinkers resulting in a ball in play.

Springer hadn't faced Muñoz at all in the series, and he was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against him in the regular season. There's really no evidence to support the idea that he should have remained in the bullpen, apart from extremely old-school baseball thinking that the closer shouldn't pitch until the ninth inning.

More MLB: Mariners' Cal Raleigh Explains Disastrous Choice That Led To George Springer Blast

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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