What's your favorite baseball moment of 2025? Our writers share their picks
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:The Athletic MLB Staff
From hijinks in spring training to the biggest moments of the playoffs, our staff recalls their favorite moments from the 2025 season.
The baseball season never really seems to slow down. From the Hot Stove to the end-of-year awards and the 162 games in between, there are plenty of opportunities for memorable moments in the sport. We asked our writers to recall some of their favorites — whether it was hijinks in spring training or the biggest moments of the postseason — from the last calendar year to help us encapsulate the 2025 MLB season. Their picks are included below, but we’d love to hear yours, too, so sound off in the comments.
Judge’s swing for the ages
Aaron Judge, long scrutinized for his underperformance in the playoffs, finally had a signature postseason moment with a three-run home run off the foul pole in a 9-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. It did more than tie the game in the fourth inning and send Yankee Stadium into a frenzy. It vaporized the narrative that Judge couldn’t hack it in the playoffs, and it left jaws hanging over how he did it. Judge, who won his third AL MVP this year, was getting heat from fans who felt he was a regular-season monster that couldn’t hack it in October.
The home run came on the heels of Judge’s torrid 10-for-20 (two doubles) stretch. For once, nobody could blame Judge for the postseason woes of the Yankees, who wound up losing the series in four games. But the blast was a stunning feat itself. Judge turned on reliever Louis Varland’s 0-2, 100-mph fastball that was so far inside it stunned teammate Paul Goldschmidt, who had witnessed a lot over his decorated 15-year career.
“The best swing I’ve ever seen, definitely in person, maybe all time,” Goldschmidt said. It was also one of the more meaningful swings of Judge’s life. — Brendan Kuty, Yankees writer
Kurtz’s historic night showed the bigger picture
Watching the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz play one of the greatest baseball games of all time was memorable. Listening to his parents’ reaction the next afternoon offered needed perspective amid a 162-game season.
Kurtz’s mom, Marie, said she hopes for just one hit per game — preferably in his first two plate appearances. When it happens, “I’m actually less nervous because I feel like, ‘All right, he’s had a good night. It’s OK,'” she said. It’s understandable, then, that Marie and her husband, Jeff, were still in shock a day after the rookie went 6-for-6 with four home runs against the Astros. Witnessing both parents beam with pride offered a reminder of the humanity within the business of baseball. —
There’s one standing ovation from the 2025 World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers that will stick with me for a long time. It wasn’t for a momentous home run or diving catch, but for something much more mundane. In the 18th inning of a wild Game 3, Dodgers ballboy Branden Vandal jogged onto the field to deliver a cleat-scraping device to last-man-standing Will Klein. As the reliever picked at the bottom of his shoe and handed the scraper back to Vandal, the Dodger Stadium crowd began to rise and then erupted.
The exhausted crowd’s cheers as Vandal trotted back broke through the deliriousness of that seven-hour game, reminding everyone in attendance that the contest had gone from entertaining to legendary to absurd. As much as the championship-deciding homers that followed will stick in my memory, so will Vandal’s slow jog and ovation. — Mitch Bannon, Blue Jays writer
Raleigh lets it rip
Bryce Miller pitched well. Josh Naylor hit a late three-run double to complete a comeback. Andres Muñoz closed it out. And with that, the Seattle Mariners were in the postseason for just the second time in almost a quarter of a century. These were all great moments that September day, but my favorite memory of the 2025 MLB season might have come in the post-game interview. Cal Raleigh, in the heat of the moment after clinching the AL West, quoted the movie “Major League” to a packed house in Seattle.
“Might as well go win the whole f—ing thing.”
The expletive felt like a rush that had overtaken the mostly mild-mannered Raleigh, a poignant mix of hope for the future tinged with a bit of relief. His season had been so superlative, and the wait for a true contender in Seattle had been so long, that there was a huge buildup to this single quote.
The feeling was real, and it gave us a glimpse inside the clubhouse and into the way players talk to each other when they’re on a legendary run and the cameras aren’t around. It may not have ended up the way they wanted, but in that moment, it did feel like anything was possible. — Eno Sarris, national writer
A masterful coffee run from a pair of top prospects
One of my favorite stories from spring training was when rookies Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony coordinated an early-morning coffee run for 76 orders by players, coaches and staff at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. What started as good-natured ribbing from veteran Walker Buehler morphed into a full-on challenge for the pair, who enlisted a teammate with a bigger car to transport the drinks. It was a quintessential spring training story, made all the better by the details Mayer and Anthony provided, from borrowing a wheelie cart from clubhouse manager Tommy McLaughlin to get the drinks into the clubhouse to their fear of ever returning to that Starbucks in the future.
After all that work, they made just one mistake, accounting for just one Garrett (Crochet) instead of two (Whitlock). In typical Whitlock fashion, he felt too bad to tell them they’d missed his order. — Jen McCaffrey, Red Sox writer
Once in a lifetime, multiple times
A full-time beat reporter might see a walk-off grand slam once a decade. They might see a walk-off inside-the-park home run once in a lifetime. Covering the Giants in 2025, I got to witness both in the same season — and by the same player! Patrick Bailey won a Gold Glove behind the plate and didn’t contribute much in the batter’s box, but as they say, timing is everything. Maybe Bailey has some weird flair for ridiculousness because one year earlier, he hit another once-in-a-lifetime home run: a splash hit that didn’t actually splash because it landed in a kayaker’s lap in McCovey Cove. I’m not sure what Bailey can do for an encore next season, but I’d imagine he’d be happy with a bunch of boring, fifth-inning singles and doubles if it means boosting an otherwise ugly .602 OPS. — Andrew Baggarly, Giants writer
Buxton completes the cycle and finishes a narrative
For years, everyone wondered what it would look like if Byron Buxton could stay healthy for an entire season. Finally, it happened in 2025.
Except for a few brief absences, Buxton played every day and produced a tremendous season with the Minnesota Twins. But the highlight came on July 12. Leading off and starting in center field against the Pittsburgh Pirates on his own bobblehead day, Buxton put on a showcase. He reached on an infield single in his first trip to the plate and tripled an inning later. By the bottom of the third inning, Buxton had already completed three legs of the cycle after hitting an automatic double off Génesis Cabrera to put the Twins in front by six runs. Buxton singled in his next at-bat, and the Twins kept piling on their lead.
By the time Buxton batted in the seventh inning, the Twins led by seven runs, which meant it was likely his final chance to complete the first cycle of his career. Just like he did all season, Buxton came through in dramatic fashion.
Despite falling behind 0-2 in the count, Andrew Heaney left his offspeed pitch up enough, and Buxton stunned the crowd with a home run to complete the cycle. The outfielder celebrated his way around the bases as Target Field roared.
Though the moment will be overshadowed by the team’s trade deadline activity and other moments that define a failing season, it was an unforgettable individual accomplishment that represents a player finally showcasing the promise we all hoped we’d one day see play out over 162 games. — Dan Hayes, Twins writer
A debut dream come true in Cincinnati
After the Cincinnati Reds took Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns with the second pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Burns was asked who he was looking forward to facing when he got to the big leagues. His answer was the Yankees’ Aaron Judge. Less than a year later, Judge was the third batter Burns would face in his big-league debut at Great American Ball Park on June 24.
After strikeouts of Trent Grisham and Ben Rice, Burns got his wish. Four pitches later, Burns strutted off the field, having struck out the side. It was the dream debut that only got better when he struck out the first two batters of the second inning, former MVPs Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. The next batter, Jazz Chisholm Jr., singled, but Burns then struck out Anthony Volpe to finish the second. He finished with eight strikeouts in five innings and a no-decision, but it was the confident, unsurprised look as he walked off the field, fulfilling his dream of striking out Judge in his debut, that I’ll remember. — C. Trent Rosecrans, Reds writer
Seattle broadcaster Rick Rizzs celebrates with Mariners fans during the ALCS. (Tyler Kepner / The Athletic)
For Seattle fans, close would be close enough
In the October twilight, with revelers packing Royal Brougham Way, you couldn’t have known that the sun had already set on the Mariners. This was as far as the franchise had ever gotten. This was as good as it would get.
The Mariners had just beaten the Blue Jays for their third victory of the ALCS. Their next home date would come in their first World Series, as long as they could take one of the next two games in Toronto. Rick Rizzs, the venerable voice of the Mariners, stood two levels above the crowd and slid a placard with a trident logo — raised upward, like a W — into the sixth of 11 slots on the facing of T-Mobile Park.
Five more tridents would make them champions. Just one more, and they’d win the pennant.
“Now we’re so close, we’re oh-so-close to getting there,” said Rizzs, a Mariners broadcaster for 40 years. “And these fans feel it, the players know they can get there, and that’s why you see all this excitement here. It’s been a long time in the making and they’re ready to grab it.”
You know what happened next. And as much as the fans wanted to believe, they could not have been too surprised. Nobody knows baseball cruelty like a Mariners fan. The Blue Jays won Game 6 and clawed out Seattle’s heart with a clinching comeback in Game 7. The Mariners remain the only franchise to never reach the World Series.
They won’t hang a banner for falling one victory short. But as good as it got still felt special. — Tyler Kepner, national writer
Welcome to the City of Brotherly Love and Home Runs
Kyle Schwarber was having a strong season before the All-Star Game swing-off, but something changed as the second half got underway. There were “MVP” chants seemingly wherever the Phillies played and an undercurrent of anticipation every time he stepped to the plate. Hearing the cheers and seeing fans embrace each other and freak out over every home run was so fun. The night Schwarber homered four times, the day he “finally” reached 50 home runs, the questions of whether he could break Ryan Howard’s record during the stretch run — it was all thrilling to watch and report on day in and day out.
It was my first season covering the Phillies, and witnessing the city’s love for Schwarber gave me a greater appreciation for my new home and the audience I’m writing for. There might also be boos, but Phillies fans love hard. I saw it with each home run. — Charlotte Varnes, Phillies writer
Scherzer stays in the game
ALCS. Game 4. Max Scherzer’s glory days are firmly in the rear-view mirror, and in fact, he wasn’t even on the ALDS roster. But here he is, in the fifth inning, leading 5-1 with one out and a runner on first base, as his Blue Jays try to tie the series at two games apiece.
“That’s good enough,” thinks manager John Schneider, walking to the mound to make a pitching change.
No, it is absolutely not, Scherzer lets his manager know in no uncertain terms. He stays in the game and gets his first postseason win since Game 1 of the 2019 World Series.
Dads everywhere pump their fists. “I’ve still got it, too. He’s just like me,” they think. They’re wrong, but we don’t have to ruin this for them. — Levi Weaver, The Windup newsletter writer
There’s a little left-hander in Ambler, Pa., who was once the best player in baseball. It says so on the plaque above his fireplace, in the same modest home he has owned for more than seven decades. Bobby Shantz, 100, is the oldest living Most Valuable Player, and if you didn’t know he played ball, you could pick it up quickly by meeting him.
Shantz, the 1952 American League MVP for the Philadelphia Athletics, welcomed me into his living room this August. He is 5-foot-6, by far the most accomplished pitcher of his size in baseball history, and might be the best fielder ever at his position. His Gold Gloves are everywhere.
Shantz still has stories. As a rookie, he played for Connie Mack. As a veteran, he played for Casey Stengel. (One never spoke, the other never shut up.) Babe Ruth hit three home runs in the first three days of Shantz’s life. Now he watches with wonder as the Babe of today, Shohei Ohtani, does it all for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Boy, he hits that ball, he throws that ball — everything in baseball he can do, that guy, and he looks like he’s not even trying!” Shantz said. “I can’t believe that guy could be that good. I don’t think Babe Ruth could do that s—. I know he couldn’t run like that.”
It is hard for Shantz to get around much — bad hip, achy knees — but he will be a ballplayer till the end, unpretentious, forever a friend of the fans. He still gets about 200 letters a week. His son, Bobby Jr., arranges the cards and photos on the dining room table, and Bobby Sr. signs them all.
“I’m surprised they still remember me; it’s been quite a while,” Shantz said. “I’ve been pretty goddamn lucky, I tell you.” — Kepner
