2026 History Maker Baseball Big League “Fast Forward”
This blog entry will serve as a running summary of our annual regular-season and playoff “fast forward,” using the 2026 Pro In-Season card set for History Maker Baseball!
As detailed in our September CONNECT e-newsletter, here are our final "fast forward" standings...
Working from our final standings and playoff pairings, here are our playoff results (below). The name of the PLAAY gamer who conducted the series is listed in parentheses, followed by their personal comments, where applicable…
Wild Card Round
These series are best-of-three, with all games played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team…
(#4) San Diego defeats (#5) Chicago (2-1)
(Keith Wibbels) The Padres are movin' on! They won Game One in an epic nail-biting 1-0 win, with Ty France getting the walkoff single in the home 10th. Game Two had the Padres jumping out to a 2-0 first inning lead, and then the Cubs scored five in the second. San Diego made it 5-4 Cubs in the 5th, but the Cubs scored two more in the 7th and won Game Two 7-5. Game Three was the San Diego gun show: six homers for the Padres! Tatis was a monster 4/5 with two HR and 4 RBI's] and ended up cruising to a 10-3 win... Casey Mize pitched for 5 innings and gave up only two hits for the decisive win.
(#6) Philadephia defeats (#3) Atlanta (2-0)
(Kurt Bergland) In a battle of suffocating, shut-down pitching the Phillies swept the Braves by identical 1-0 scores! Here are the two scoresheets from Kurt's series...
(#6) Chicago defeats (#3) Cleveland (2-1)
(Michael Bratta) The Guardians win game one 4-3, take the lead in the eighth, when Catcher Jake Rogers allows his second passed ball. Game two, Chicago wins 3-0, uses four pitchers to get a combined shutout. Guardians' pitcher Gavin Williams strikes out 12 in 7 1/3 of an inning. Deciding game three, Sox are down to their last out, with the bases loaded when Miguel Vargas hits a Grand Slam to win the game (and series) 7-5!
Walks plagued both pitching staffs. Cleveland had trouble on the base paths, having three runners thrown out attempting extra bases and one caught stealing second base. Vargas's HR was a decider die roll! I was afraid to look at the outcome of the roll and had to call my girlfriend in the room to tell me. Once again, thanks for letting me play this. This series is what makes HMB such a great and entertaining game.
(#4) New York defeats (#5) Boston (2-1)
(Cory Highfield) Boston won the opener in 13 innings 4-3, but the Yankees came back to win the last two (3-2, 2-1) to take the series. All three games, one run difference. Here's Cory's series summary…
Divisional Semi-Finals
These series are best-of-five, with the first two games played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team…
(#2) Texas defeats (#4) New York (3-1)
(Steve Carey): GAME 1 - Cam Schlittler allowed only 3 singles over 8 innings, Heliot Ramos slugged a pinch-hit 3 run HR, and the Yankees shutout the Rangers 4-0; GAME 2 - Cody Bradford out-dueled Max Fried and Texas closer Jake Latz escaped from a bases loaded / nobody out situation as the Rangers shutout the NYY 2-0 to even the series; GAME 3 - Jacob deGrom went 7 strong innings, Joc Pederson hit a 2 run HR as Rangers won 4-1 at Yankee Stadium II. Texas now leads the series 2 games to 1; GAME 4 - Evan Carter slammed a 2 run HR and Josh Jung delivered a late RBI single as the surprising Texas Rangers prevailed 3-2, thus advancing to the ALCS.
Series MVP collectively goes to the Rangers bullpen who basically shutdown the Yankees offense and posted a 1.80 ERA over 15 innings.
(#6) Chicago defeats (#1) Tampa Bay (3-1)
(Michael Bratta)(Game 1) Tampa Bay 3, Chicago 0: Three runs in the first is all the Rays need, along with seven strong innings from Rasmussen; (Game 2) Chicago 6, Tampa Bay 2: C. Montgomery (Grand Slam) 4 RBI, Grant Taylor 2 innings, 7 batters faced, 5 K's; (Game 3) Chicago 6, Tampa Bay 4: Tampa takes a 1 run lead in the 2nd, only for the Sox and Grichuk (grand slam!) to take the lead 4-1. Wild pitches would plague both teams. Allowing the Rays to tie the game with 3 runs in the 5th. In the bottom of the 8th, Teel gets the go ahead run with a triple, and then scores on a wild pitch. (Grichuk goes 4 for 4); (Game 4) Chicago 5, Tampa Bay 4: Sox take a 3-0 run lead in the 4th. Rays get 1 run in the 6th, and then take the lead 4-3 in the 7th. Grichuk gets a clutch game tying HR in the 8th. In the 9th Teel gets a one out base hit. With two outs Peter's gets a walk off triple for the win and allowing the White Sox to advance!
(#2) Los Angeles defeats (#4) San Diego (3-2)
(Keith Wibbels) Well, “Dr. K” went all-in on this, all games played with the full-play version of HMB, and a separate re-cap for each…
Game 1
King [SD] - v - Glasnow [LA]
The tone was set for this series with the first batter, Fernando Tatis Jr... He smacked a slicing drive into right field that got flagged down on a real hustle play by.... KyleTucker [yeah, THAT Kyle Tucker!] and the lockdown pitcher's duel was in place... in the end, Shohei Ohtani went 3-4 and knocked in both LA runs, which were enough for a 2-0 Game One win for the Dodgers. Winning pitcher Tyler Glasnow's line: 7.0/ 0 runs/ 2 hits/ 6 K's/ no walks... this was a game of what might have been for the Padres, especially Jackson Merrill, who led off the Padre 5th with a roll of 3-3-3... now all you HMB vets know that's a possible triple [or HR] if the batter isn't utility and if they're a HR king.....Merrill is semi-utility/ semi HR king... so if he doesn't roll the dot, it's at least a triple....he rolled the dot. As the luck of random numerical generation would have it, he came up again in the 7th with two men in scoring position and the roll is 3-3-3 again.... and the dot again! That's why I love HMB above all others!
Game 2
Pivetta [SD] - v - Ohtani [LA]
The Dodgers cruised into a 4-0 lead after the 4th, sparked by a 1st inning leadoff HR by Ohtani... and then in the 3rd Ohtani hit a two run shot... On the mound, Ohtani retired the first ten batters and the first eleven of twelve. His only glitch came in the Padre 6th, when Jackson Merrill caught one for a three run HR and suddenly it was game on and 4-3 Dodgers... but the Dodger bullpen did the rest and an 8th inning add-on run made it 2 games to none for the Dodgers on a 5-3 win.
Game 3
Skubal [LA] - v - Mize [SD]
Even though Casey Mize had been inconsistent down the stretch, he got the call for the Game 3 start.... and he was magnificent when it mattered!... No runs on two hits, and the Padres got all their runs in the 4th, when the Dodgers uncharacteristically made two errors that cost them when Samad Taylor doubled in the third and fourth Padre runs of the inning, and that was that...
4-0 Padres. Skubal got snakebit in this one; he pitched really well but got let down by his defense....
Game 4
Snell [LA] - v - Buehler [SD]
San Diego's season is still on the line as Game 4 gets underway... both pitchers are in total command early. The Dodgers' first base runner was Freddie Freeman on a 4th inning single, but Blake Snell matched Buehler out for out.....LA got two in the 4th as Freeman scored on a two run shot by Will Smith, and they added the third run in the sixth when Teoscar Hernandez doubled in Mookie Betts to lead it 3-0. San Diego got one back in the home half of the 6th when Tatis Jr. scored on a ground ball hit deep into the hole at short...The Padres made it 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th when Tatis Jr got a leadoff double, and was driven in on a two out single by Jackson Merrill. [BTW] Buehler got pulled in the 5th after the third Dodger run scored, and Robbie Ray was put in to do long relief... and in the 9th, Ray retired the Dodgers in order, and the Padres have three outs to save their season. I'm just going to recap the scoresheet...Bogaerts [who had a miserable series offensively AND defensively] singles to lead off the bottom of the 9th...Klein comes on in relief for the Dodgers....Cronenworth strikes out....Klein throws one "JUUUUST a bit outside" and Bogaerts is at second on the wild pitch...Samad Taylor beats the throw on a weak little dribbler to third and we have runners at the corners.... and now Freddy Fermin [who has replaced Luis Campusano at catcher] comes to the plate.... and he hits one down the right field line.....it's fair!!! Bogaerts scores to tie it at 3-3, and Taylor [who is semi-active] is waved around third....he will score on a 1-5 on a 1D6....Tucker digs it out and throws it to the relay man, Freddie Freeman who turns and guns it home.... and the roll is..... a 6!!! Taylor is out, but Fermin has taken second on the throw.... and now comes Fernando Tatis Jr.... who waits for his pitch and catches one that Klein wishes he could have back and launches it into the right-center gap.... Fermin is full stoic, but he still has about two weeks to score before the ball gets back to the infield.... and the Padres have pulled off a miracle 4-3 win!!...Robbie Ray gets the W....Great game!!! Blake Snell didn't get the decision, but this is his line: 5.1/ 1/ 3/ 11 K's/ 1 BB.
Game 5
King [SD] - v - Yamamoto [LA]
It all comes down to this....and both pitchers were magnificent... not a lot to report here, the pitcher's lines will tell the story: Yamamoto 7.0/ 1/ 4/ 5/ 1, and for King 8.0/ 3/ 3/ 8/ 1.... the Padres had two on and nobody out in the 8th, but Tanner Scott came in and put out the brushfire and retired the Padres in order in 9th to send them home and keep LA in the playoffs... the number 3-3-3 was again significant for the Padres because the Dodgers scored three runs on three hits [including a three run HR by Max Muncy] in the 3rd inning....Ohtani basically went off the air for the last three games...[one for twelve {a single} and seven K's] but a great series to play out on the tabletop here at the global HQ of the Yosemite Tabletop Baseball Network.... I really enjoyed the great pitching and all the postseason drama...
(#1) Milwaukee defeats (#6) Philadelphia (3-2)
(Kurt Bergland): The Brewers fell behind two games to one in the series, but took the final two games to win it, three games to two. Misiorowski allowed only one earned run in 16 innings of work, striking out 23, and was clearly the MVP. Scores: (game 1) Milwaukee 2, Philadelphia 1; (game 2) Philadelphia 6, Milwaukee 2; (game 3) Philadelphia 6, Milwaukee 4; (game 4) Milwaukee 8, Philadelphia 0; (game 5) Milwaukee 5, Philadelphia 2.
League Championship Series
(#2) Los Angeles at (#1) Milwaukee
Keith Wibbels played this one out, full-play, and what a series…
Game One
[LA] Glasnow vs. [MIL] Misiorowski: The tone was set for this series in Game One... and that tone was pitching. Miz went seven innings, giving up no runs on two hits/ 10 K's/ 2 walks... Glasnow was great for the Dodgers, but he gave up a leadoff triple to Jackson Chourio in the 4th, walked Brice Turang, and they both came in on a two out double by Christian Yelich... and that was that... MUM was the word for the Brewers: Miz, Uribe, and then Megill closed it out for a 2-0 Brewers win.
Game Two
[LA] Snell vs. [MIL] May: Ohtani singed and got driven in on a double by Freddie Freeman in the Dodger 1st, but Milwaukee answered with two in the bottom of the 2nd off the bat of Sal Frelick, who doubled in Contreras and Pratt....LA took a 3-2 lead in the 7th as Tommy Edman doubled in Pages and Teoscar Hernandez. Garrett Mitchell launched a solo blast in the bottom of the 7th, and we're tied at 3-3... but the Brewers got some help from the Dodger defense in the bottom of the 8th, as Contreras singled, followed by a Yelich single... then Cooper Pratt laid down a bunt, which got bungled by Muncy and everybody is safe! Sal Frelick singles to score Contreras...bringing up semi utility, semi scrapper, semi whiffer David Hamilton... and he catches one for the greatest moment of his alternate universe career... Granny comes to visit Milwaukee, and Uribe cleans up in the 9th and the Brewers head to Cali with a two games to none lead after an 8-3 home win.
Game Three
[MIL] Gasser vs. [LA] Skubal: Another pitching lockdown. The Dodgers got a single run in the 7th... the Brewers tied it up in the top of the 8th... and both teams scored in the 10th, but Freddie Freeman got the walk off single in the 11th to give the Dodgers their first win at 3-2.
Game Four
[MIL] Henderson vs. [LA] Yamamoto: Pitching is king again. Scoreless everywhere except in the Dodger 5th, where Henderson walked Tucker, then he made an error to let Tommy Edman get on... it was at this point I rolled the decider die to see if I should pull Henderson [who had only given up one hit to that point] or to pull him... the dot said leave him in... and the next batter, Mookie Betts parked it in the left field seats for a 3-0 lead that held up for the Game Four win... Milwaukee only had three hits, and the winning Dodgers only had five.
Game Five
[MIL] Miz vs. [LA] Ohtani: Dream matchup here, right? And they both delivered! In the Brewers 4th, Ohtani walked Brice Turang, who scored on Christian Yelich's two out single... David Hamilton walked and scored on a single by Bauers in the 8th, and behind Miz's 7.0/ 6/ 4K/ 0 walk performance, the Brewers are a game away from the Series with 2-0 Game Five win. Ohtani went 5.0, giving up both runs on only four hits
Game Six
[LA] Glasnow vs. [Mil] Harrison: Surprising starter for Pat Murphy. But he gets out of the 1st easily. OTOH, the usually steady Glasnow walks the bases full in the bottom of the first, and Dave Roberts goes to the pen and brings in Wrobleski...the Brewers end up with two in the first as Cooper Pratt singles with two outs [another two out score for the Brewers]... the Brew Crew adds another run in the 3rd on a walk to Turang and a double from Yelich. Dodgers get one in the top of the 6th as Freeman doubles and Muncy singles him in... but the Brewers score one of their own in the 6th to make it 3-1... Dodgers keep fighting in the 7th as Pages singles, then reliever Alan Ashby comes in for the Brewers... his double flash rating bites him as he runs into a questionable umpire on the 1-4-4 roll, and suddenly the bases are loaded after consecutive walks... [BTW this was the ONLY time in the series that a questionable call was made...] Mookie bets hits a fly ball deep enough to score Pages, but that's it, and we go to the stretch at 3-2 Brewers... but William Contreras leads off the bottom of the 7th with a double and by the time the inning is over, the Brewers have scored two and lead it 6-2 and are feeling pretty good about their chances... no score in the 8th, and Megill comes in to wrap it up in the 9th, but Michael Tucker leads off with a solo homer and it's 6-3... then Dave Roberts pinch hits Daulton Rushing and he smacks another solo homer to make it 6-4! Megill strikes out Ohtani [who went 4-25 from the plate over the series] and it's two away with bases empty... but Freeman doubles, and now the Dodgers' cleanup hitter Max Muncy comes to the plate with a chance to tie it... Murphy brings in Shane Drohan... Muncy hits it DEEP to center... back, back.....CAUGHT at the wall by Mitchell and the Brewers are the champs!
——-
(#6 Chicago) at (#2 Texas)
Michael Bratta played this series and it was another amazing, memorable tabletop experience!…
Game One
CHI- 3 H-11 E-1 LOB-13 W-Newcomb SV- Taylor HR- Vargas - 3 RBI
TEX- 2 H- 10 E-1 LOB-11 L- deGrom
Game Two (12 innings)
CHI- 5 H-12 E-1 LOB-14 W-Taylor HR- Murakami, Grichuk
TEX- 4 H-8 E-1 LOB-6 L- Latz HR- Pederson, Burger
Game Three
TEX- 0 H-4 E-0 LOB-8 L-Rocker
CHI- 4 H-8 E-1 LOB-8 W-Castillo HR-Meidroth C. Montgomery
GAME SUMMARY: Castillo & Newcomb pitch a combine shutout. Allowing 2 hits, and 14 total strikes out, 3 walks.
Game Four
TEX- 10 H-7 E-1 LOB-4 W- Eovaldi (CG) HR-Pederson, Jung, Jansen, GS-Langford
CHI- 0 H-5 E-1LOB-6 L- Kay
GAME SUMMARY: Eovaldi 8 K's, 0 W. White Sox use five pitchers in the loss.
Game Five
TEX- 1 H-5 E-1 LOB-9 W- deGrom SV- Latz HR- Langford
CHI- 0 H-2 E-0 LOB-3 L-Burke
GAME SUMMARY: deGrom takes a no hitter into the 8th. Allows no walks, and strikes out nine. Now 21 consecutive scoreless innings for Chicago.
Game Six
CHI- 3 H-8 E1 LOB-9 L-Martin HR- Meidroth (Leading off the game)
TEX- 6 H-12 E-0 LOB-7 W- Bradford SV-Latz HR-Langford, Pederson
GAME SUMMARY: Texas is able to comeback from being down 3 games to force a 7th game.
Game Seven
CHI- 0 H-4 E-0 LOB-5 L-Castillo
TEX- 3 H-3 E-1 LOB-6 W-Eovaldi SV-Latz HR-Langford (4th consecutive game with a home run)
SERIES SUMMARY: Eovaldi 15 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 16 K, 2 Wins. Langford 6-25, 8 RBI, 4 HR, Latz 3 SV,
Four shut outs in the series, PLAAY games imitates life as the White Sox bats dried up and pitching became worn down. Texas goes on a exciting run, as they did at the end of “fast-forward” season. Another reason these games are so much fun. A team who didn't actually make the playoffs will go to the World Series to represent the American League.
PS. It was a lot of fun to roll out this play off run for the White Sox. Also equally as depressing as the real season to get so close and totally collapse at the end.
History Maker Baseball “Fall Classic Pre-PLAAY”
Texas at Milwaukee
(TBD)
