PTI - Bigger Night: Raleigh or Ohtani?

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani, and Dabo Swinney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wolbe. I'm Tony, two burglars in bikinis broke into an apartment in the District of Columbia. I'm Tony Kornhizer.

And personally, I think we look better in one pieces, don't you? You know, this is fake news? Is it fake? I don't know. You live there? Well, not to happen in your neighborhood? Not every single story passes by me and I see it. You saw somebody in bikini.

I would want it. Running down the street would say a TV. I would certainly want to know. little bit more about that. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls in today's episode, Kate Horton beats balls. Yes, sir. Davosweeney is fed up and Buster only joins us for five good minutes.

But we begin today with baseball from last night and two huge stars having extraordinary games. Cal Raleigh, the Big Dumper, hit home runs numbers 55 and 56, going past Mickey Mantle for the most home runs ever in a season by a switch hitter and tying Seattle's all-time one season mark held by Ken Griffey Jr. And Shoah Atani hitting home run number 50 after pitching five innings of no-hit baseball against the Phillies. Wilbon, who had the bigger night?

This is going to be surprisingly easy for me. Otani. Five innings of no hit. And going for the 50th home run. No, no, it's O'Tani. Look, I have respect for catchers and just what they do when wearing the tools of ignorance as it used to be called.

By a catcher? And when you invoke the name, Ken Griffey, in Seattle, you got to bow your head. Right. But Otani went five no-hit innings and joined Ruth. Okay, that seems to me to trump everything. No-hit ball and Babe Ruth.

And when you go 50, and by the way, they are their response. By the way, is Judge or is Dumpur going to be the AL MVP? You want me to go to that first? Big Dumpur. Because I'll go to that first if you want and I'll get it out of the way. I could not vote for anybody over Aaron Judge. It's an extraordinary year. He's leading the majors and batting.

No, he is. No, no, no. And look, all right, let me go back to this. Because the question is who had the bigger night. And I hate the question, because I can't tell you who. To me, it is a tie. Oh, really? It is.

It's a push for me. Okay, so Cal Raleigh, he doesn't just pass Mickey Mantle. He passes him in style by hitting home runs from both sides. Each side. Both sides of the play. Okay. He goes mantle and Griffey. Yes, that's what I want to say.

He passes mantle. He ties Griffey. These are legendary players in the history of baseball. Here's a quote from Cal Raleigh that you'll like. My name shouldn't be in the same sentence with those guys. Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. I don't really have words for it. And then as you say, Shohei hits 50.

This is two years in a row that Shohei has gone 50 or 50 plus. There's only five guys in the history of baseball who have done that. Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, we know about them, Ken Griffey Jr., and hello, George Herman Ruth. That's why you have. First of all, people don't even realize how great Griffey was to be in both those lists

tonight that we're talking about this. But when you go Griffey Ruth, and even if you allow for the asterisk, when you go Sosa, McGuire, A-Rod, that's why it's showing in five innings. I just compared Cal Raleigh to. to Griffey and to Mantle. I'd love to be able to do that with Shoahatani.

Of other people who have had 50 home runs and more than 50 strikeouts in the same season, there's nobody. There's nobody. So what we should be doing is not saying who had the bigger night. We should be luxuriating this. This is tremendous. Tremendous. And let's go back real quick. Your MVP in the AL is?

I got to say Aaron, George, and I, am I wrong? Do you think I'm wrong? There's no wrong. Okay. If I had a vote. You'd vote for Rowling? I think so. Catcher.

Catcher. Yeah, no, I know. And it changes the dynamic, yeah. You know, and the Mariners are a hot team. But judges output, his total opposite of out. He missed some time injured, too. And every time he's good, the Yankees win. And the reverse is true.

We're not there they lose. No, I agree. Oh, it's me again. Yes, it is. Let's stay with baseball here. In a matchup of two young, great pitchers, your boy, Kate Horton. Yes, sir. Beat Paul Skeens of the Pirates 4 to 1,

getting three runs off skeins, chasing him in the fourth. Horton went five innings giving up one earned, striking out six. He's now 11 and 4 with a 2-66 ERA. Skeens is now 10-and-10 with a 203 ERA. Wilbon, what does this game say about each pitcher? They're great. But we chased Skeens after three and two-thirds. We?

We? Three and two-thirds. What did I tell you yesterday when we left the studio? What did I say on the air? I said, Cade Horton is going to outperforms. And I think that's only a matter. Skeen is probably the best pitcher in baseball. But.

Him or Scoobel. He or Scoob. Skeens, the Cubs are now working against him when he's in your division. You've got to learn how to hit. You've got to learn how to take walks and make him throw pitches and get in the pitch sequence.

You've got to master all the subtleties. Craig Counsel. Let me give him a tip of the cap. People in Chicago critical of Craig Counsel. Really? Shut up. Anybody critical of Craig Counsel? Sylvie, he knows what I'm talking about.

So I think he's done a hell of a job with Cade Horton. I would not start Cade Horton in the playoffs, three games against the Padres if we're lucky. I wouldn't. I put Shoda Immanaga out there, and I would not put the pressure on the rookie at having pitched second at earliest. So great that this has become a local show and you're shouting out to Sylvie and warning him that you're smarter than he is. This is another tough question for me, because I tend to tune out when you talk about pitchers that you're touting, especially Cub pitchers except for Ferguson Jenkins. So let me refer to my notes here.

Greg Maddox. No, or Greg Maddox, but most of his fame was in Atlanta. About a month ago, you were touting the Miz and Milwaukee. I'm just scared of them. I believe at one point in the show you said you thought he was better than Schen's, and I don't think he is. Okay, but you can tout Horton, because here are stats that are great. And his 11 starts since the All-Star game, his ERA is 093. I know.

He's 11 and 4 on the year. His IRA is 2-66. That's wonderful. He's going to be rookie of the year. I'm going to stay with Skeens, and I'm going to tell you why. because I think 203 is better than 2-66, because I think Skeens has 209 strikeouts is better than the 95 by Horton.

He's a strikeout pitch more than half the amount of innings of Skins, and Skeens has more than twice as many. But mostly because Skeens doesn't play for the Cubs. The Cubs are much better than the Pirates. He's got no support. 541 runs lowest in the majors, the Cubs 735. Yes, Skeens is getting 3.35 runs per start, and your boy is getting 4.3.

He's been great. He's been great. But Skeens last year as a rookie was even better, 11 and 3 and a 1-99. But you know what this rookie gives us a chance to do? He gives us a chance in the postseason. Get a second series.

He gets us a chance in October. Yeah, no. Even if I'm just saying. I'm not putting him out there on the bump to start the playoffs. No, no, no. I got other Matthew Boyd, even though he didn't do much today.

He's an all-star. Let's move to college football where Clemsonon coach Davos-Sweeney has a message for his critics, Hayden's following Saturday's loss at Georgia Tech Swinney told reporters

Tuesday quote if Clemson is tired of winning they can send me on my way but I'm gonna go somewhere else

in coach hell I'm 55 I got a long way to go and then he added if you don't believe in us because we've lost two

games down to the last play and we're one and two you weren't all in anyway seems Davos feeling some heat Tony should he be

no no because he's been to four national championships and he's won two because he's won eight out of the last 10 in the ACC because since Sabin is retired, who's got that's actually better than Davo, Swainney? Does he find himself on a hot seat? Billy Napier of Florida finds himself on a hot seat.

Yeah. No, Davo finds himself on a warm seat. It's not a hot seat. And the reason is because there's no sport that we follow that's like college football where it's what have you done for me lately. Yeah, people are crazy. The fan bases are not to say it. Sweeney was right in everything he said, but it was really whiny.

I mean, and he looks sort of unhinged. And there are probably people in Clemson right now who are saying this to themselves. They're saying, you know what? Dabble doesn't really believe in a transfer portal. And Dabo's lost a lot more games lately than he used to lose. In fact, he's lost 14 games in the last four seasons, 16 if he count one and two this year. And there was a period of time from 2012 to the last four seasons. 2009 season where he didn't lose that many games.

So maybe the game is passed them by. That's being said. I don't know how publicly, but that's being said. You know what? I'd hire Dabo in a heartbeat. Who wouldn't? By the way, Florida may hire Dabo in a heartbeat. Exactly.

But you know what? It's probably just time. Probably time for Dabo to go on. This is not, you know, John Robinson staying at, you know, USC. This is not that. This is not Bear Bryant and Joe Paternal. This isn't.

It's a different. time. Dabble can go somewhere else, make a fan base really, really, really, really excited for a long time. Probably win again, just like he said, but it doesn't need to be Clemson. And the people at Clemson can be stupid like the people at Nebraska Wards were and say, oh, 9 and 3, 10, and 2 not good enough for us and spend the next 15 years in the wilderness. It reminds me of when Nick Sabin used to give those rat poison speeches. And it reminds me of that because Davos-Weney went to Alabama. You know the smartest thing he ever did because he could have had that job. He didn't want that job.

No, you don't. Let Caleb DeVore suffer in that following. Speaking to that. But you're right, he can go anywhere. How much money would Florida put up? Hundreds of millions of dollars to get the guy, right? It's a proven winner. Look, I am a college football booster.

Take out a checkbook right now for now. We're all stupid and crazy. And we have expectations that are out of line and out of whack. And we want to fire people, then we want to hire people. All the time. This sport, it's part of what makes it excited. Yes, I agree. Let's take a break.

Coming up, could the streaking guardians catch the Red Sox for the third wild card in the American League? We're going to ask Buster only. We'll also ask him whether we should expect the Mets to hold on of the same wild card in the National League. You thought he was whining, though, didn't you? Dabble? I liked it. Really? Yeah.

I thought that was kind of. I thought it was a little over-the-top. Well, it was. But everything in college football is over the top. Yeah. Let's talk baseball with our great friend ESPN senior writer and Sunday night baseball reporter. Buster only, who as I've told you, Wilbon, has skills. He can make bagels.

He can milk cows and he can grow potatoes. I can eat potatoes, eat bagels, and drink milk. Okay, there you go. So we get that in common. So you're even. Let's start with this, Buster. The Mets have won their last two, but they've only a one and a half game lead on Arizona for the third NL wild card. Do you believe in the Mets?

I believe, Tony, that they're going to make the players. but not because of how they're playing, but because the teams chasing them, the giants and the diamondbacks, were sellers at the deadline. Look at the trajectory of the Mets. They make the National League Championship Series last season. They go out and spend $765 million on Juan Soto, and yet they are crawling toward the finish line in an era in which there's six teams in each league that make the playoffs. Since July 28, the Mets are 16 and 29. Their starters have a 539 ERA. If they don't make the playoffs, it'll be the biggest collapse in the history of baseball. Wow.

Wow. Man, that's a hit line. Meanwhile, the Guardians, as you know, Buster, have won five straight and if crept within two and a half of the socks for the third AO wild card spot. Should the Red Sox be nervous at all? Michael, absolutely, because they are a very different team since Roman Anthony got hurt. He suffered an oblique. In the 35 games before he got hurt, he hit 326. The Red Sox were 22 and 13.

They're rolling along. Since he got hurt, they're 4 and 7. They're averaging only 3.8 runs per game. You look at the lineup. It's clear they need help. Roman Anthony meant so much of that team. I think it might be a struggle for them to make the playoffs. That's why when we saw Alex Cora, the Red Sox manager over the weekend,

he said, hey, let's not talk about October yet. Let's talk about making the playoffs. All right, if we're going to stay with the injury talk for a second, we've got to ask about Yordaun Alvarez and his ankle sprain, which was so grisly to watch, and the impact that's going to have on the Astros in these next few weeks. Yeah, it's absolutely devastating at time when they're trying to win the American League West, trying to beat off the Seattle Mariners.

Look, the Houston Astros have suffered more injuries than any contender. in baseball, whether it was Yordaun Alvarez for a lot of this year, Jeremy Payne for a long time. Justin Verlander told me this season that the Astros culture has enabled them to overcome some of these injuries. I don't know if they can do it without Yordaun Alvarez. I will tell you this. Dusty Baker told me a few years ago, Yordan Alvarez's swing is so simple that if he comes back and he can actually get in the lineup as a DH, he is the ability to make a quick adjustment, a quick return and he will hit if he comes back. I'm going to go off book for a second on this because Wilbon didn't mention it, but we've

got to mention it. The Cubs are going to make the playoffs, right? They've made it. They made it. Now, is that at, how surprising is that to you, given where they were at the beginning of the season, or did you see this coming for the Cubs? Oh, you totally saw it coming because of the fact this team is so good defensively and such a deep lineup with the additional Kyle. Tucker. Now, as you guys know, since Tucker heard his finger back in June, he hasn't been the same.

You're hoping if you're the Cubs that down the stretch, you get him back maybe at some point, and you get that lineup depth again. Their pitching has gotten better, Tony, since the trade deadline. So I think they're going to be a dangerous team going into the postseason. Hope you feel good about that. Yes, I do feel good about that. We'll get you out of here on this. We're going to take the wider view on this. Teams that win the World Series or get to the World Series have to have pitching. It's not just hitting. you have to have pitching. As you survey all the teams and the majors, who has the deepest pitching staff going into October? No question about it, the Toronto Blue Jays. Think about the rotation

that John Snyder, the Blue Jays manager can run out there, a rotation that would make teams like the Mets jealous, Kevin Gossman, and Shane Bieber, who they acquired from Cleveland at the trade deadline, and Chris Basset, and Max Scherzer. And now this kid, Trey I Savage, came up the other day was absolutely dominant over five innings in his major league debut, throwing a great splitter. You know that once we get to the postseason, he is going to be a tremendous weapon, maybe like Francisco Rodriguez in 2002 when he got called up at the end of the year by the Angels and was a difference maker because opposing hitters just didn't know him. Toronto, I would have thought the Dodgers. I would have sat here and thought the Dodgers. Buster, thank you so very much as always.

All right, guys, thanks. Let's take one last break still to come, a rough night. for Wilbon's WNBA playoff picks. I know, man, I got it over. Could the commanders be without Jane Daniels on Sunday? I'm going to surprise you with my take on that. Did you know, as Buster knew that the Cubs would be this good? I thought they would have a shot, not this good. Right.

He, no, Buster knows and stuff. I'm a fan. Right. I hope. Really? You're a fan? I had no idea. Not an analyst.

Happy time. People, happy birthday to a whole lot of people you're going to recognize. It's one of those big days. Oh, James Wood, big slugger. He's had a real rough time since the All-Star game. He's 23. Austin Matthews, who led the NHL and goals in 2012, is 28. Patrick Mahomes, you know him?

Yeah. Who has three Super Bowl wings. He's 30. Jorge Ramirez, who is likely to go 30-30 this season for the third time is 33. Alexander Ovechkin, who has scored more goals than anyone ever, is 40. Wow. Jimmy Johnson, one of the greatest race car drivers of all time, is 50. Rashid Wallace, famous for saying both teams played hard, my man, he's 51.

Mark Brunel, three-time pro bowlers, 55, and Phil Jackson, who won one NBA title as a player and 11 as a coach. He's 80. That's even better than, what is it, the Jim Brown, Michael Jordan birthday? Or the LeBron Tiger. Isn't there a LeBron Tiger Day? I think so. I think in December, right, in late December? Yeah, yeah.

Pretty good though. This is impressive. This is a good list. Happy anniversary, Earl Weaver and Bill Haller. This is posthumous. But on this day, 45 years ago, the fiery manager and the umpire got into it after Haller called a ball from Orioles pitcher.

Weaver's ensuing tirade resulted in Haller tossing him from the game. This is nothing new for Weaver. He was tossed from at least 91 regular season games. Several more in the postseason. Three different times, Weaver was ejected from both ends of a double header. Ron Luciano personally ejected Weaver from all four games of a minor league series and eight games in the majors. Weaver once spurned an offer by an umpire to see the umpire's copy of the rulebook saying, quote, that's no good. I can't read Braille, unquote.

Weaver was rude, crude, crude, wild, obnoxious, obstreperous, a thorough delight and a great manager. It was brilliant. Yeah. Wasn't that the subject Weaver and getting tossed of a less filling taste, great commercial? Certainly could have been. It seems like there was. We both got to see Earl Weaver. What was better?

Seriously. No. He owned it. He owned the game. He did. He owned the game. Happy trails to Wilbon's WNBA playoff predictions for last night's games.

Wilbon, who had the dream eliminating the fever in game two last night, wrong. The Caitlin Clarkless fever won by 17 in Indy. And in Seattle, you had the aces outsting the storm wrong again. The storm snapped the Aces 17-game winning streak, winning by three. Let's try again for tonight's games. Will Bonn, will the Liberty and the Links advance? I think the Links will advance. I think Phoenix wins at home over Liberty.

But let me just say this. Those games were great endings. I watch both of those games. The ACE's loss is surprising. Just the Aces, they just win every game. And so whenever they lose, you're like, oh, my God, it's so great to see basketball in Seattle. Hello, NBA. Let me say it again.

It's so great to see basketball in that crowd in Seattle. It was thrilling to watch. So that's what you watched last night? Yes, I did. Do you know what I watched last night? The Nats. I wanted to watch the Nats. I kept going back.

They were in a weather delay. The Nats were broadcasting some game against the Marlins from 20 years ago. And it said on the right hand corner of the screen weather delay. And I waited at 7. It was a second game of doublehead. It was 7.38, 815, 8.30. And then it was raining outside my house. They're not going to play.

They started last night close to 9. They finished after midnight last night and lost both ends. Of course. They lost both ends. Now, I missed it. Let's go to the big finish if we could. Get's quarterback Justin Fields out with a concussion. Tyrod Taylor will start against the bucks.

Your thoughts? I just want Justin Fields to be healthy and get some momentum and play. I still root for him. I do. Commander's quarterback, Jayden Daniels, has yet to practice this week. Are you concerned? Yes, but it's only game three. I would sit him.

I would sit him. You have to keep him healthy. Against the Raiders, I sit him. You can maybe beat the Raiders at home. the same page. You can do that without him. Kaleel Mack's elbow injury is reportedly not season ending. Is that a big deal? It's still a big deal because it sounds like he's going to miss a month or so.

And they need Kaleel Mack. Come on now. The Angels will finish. Get this. Under 500 for the 10th straight season, your thoughts. Makes me sad. Mike Trout has disappeared. Get him out of there.

He's got to go. Free Mike Trout. Last one, Byron Munich, Liverpool, and PSG all won their Champions League Openers today who had the best win. They all won at home. Byron beat Chelsea. So I'm going to go with that as the best one. Is that what you call them Byron?

Bion. Bion. Bion News. Great. I would have called them by their phone name, not just their first name. We're out of time. We're trying to do better the next time. I'm Tony Cornerizer. I'm Mike Wilvon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads.

Fly the W in Chicago. We're back in the playoffs.