BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the first time since the 2021 season, five former Indiana baseball players played at least one game for a Major League Baseball team in 2024.
Two of them are pegged to be significant contributors for their clubs as the baseball playoffs begin.
The playoffs start on Tuesday, but Indiana’s two expected playoff contributors won’t begin until the Divisional Series round as their teams received byes as one of the top two division champions in the their respective leagues.
One former Indiana standout is familiar. Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber had one of his finest seasons in 2024.
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Schwarber hit 38 home runs, had 104 RBI and hit .248 for the Phillies, taking part in 150 games for the NL East champions.
While he crested the 40-home run mark in both 2022 and 2023 for the Phillies, Schwarber’s .248 batting average was his best since he hit .266 while splitting the 2021 season between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox.
Schwarber had a career-high 3.5 WAR by baseball-reference.com’s definition of the advanced statistic. His previous best was a 2.3 for the Chicago Cubs in 2019 and the Phillies in 2022.
In addition to his on-field exploits, Schwarber is the Phillies’ nominee to win the coveted Roberto Clemente Award.
Schwarber has been stronger in the playoffs than he typically is in the regular season. His career playoff batting average is .245, 15 points better than his regular season career average. Schwarber hit 5 home runs in 7 games for the Phillies in their 2023 NLCS series against Arizona.
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He also hit 6 home runs in Philadelphia’s 2022 World Series championship run. Schwarber also hit 5 home runs as a rookie in 2015 during the Chicago Cubs’ playoff journey.
Schwarber, a Middletown, Ohio native, played at Indiana from 2012-14, helping the Hoosiers reach the College World Series in 2013.
The Phillies will start their playoff run on Saturday as they will host the winner of the Milwaukee Brewers-New York Mets Wild Card Series. That NLDS series will be televised on Fox or FS1.
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tim Herrin (29) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Another former Hoosier who will have an important postseason role is Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Tim Herrin.
Herrin had a breakout season for the Guardians. Part of the best bullpen in baseball with a 2.57 ERA, Herrin was lights out. He had an ERA of 1.95 in 75 appearances for Cleveland. His WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings pitched) was an outstanding 0.975. Herrin struck out 68 batters in 65 2/3 innings.
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Herrin was at the front end of the Guardians’ bullpen as he usually entered the game in the sixth or seventh inning. Herrin had 16 holds for the Guards.
Herrin, a Terre Haute, Ind. native, is in his second season at the Major League level. He improved dramatically from his rookie campaign in 2023 when he had a 5.53 ERA in 23 appearances.
Herrin pitched for Indiana from 2016-18. He had a career ERA of 3.44 for the Hoosiers.
The Guardians begin their American League playoff journey on Saturday as they host the winner of the Detroit Tigers-Houston Astros Wild Card Series. That ALDS series will be televised on TBS.
One other former Hoosier, pitcher Scott Effross, pitched for the New York Yankees in 2024. He appeared in three games, most recently in a Friday contest against Pittsburgh. Effross is a long shot to make the Yankees’ postseason roster. The Yankees begin their ALDS series against either Baltimore or Kansas City on Saturday. Effross played for the Hoosiers from 2013-15.
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Two other former Hoosiers who played in 2024 won’t take part in the postseason.
Pitcher Tanner Gordon made eight starts for the Colorado Rockies in 2024. He finished with an 0-8 record and an 8.65 ERA for a 101-loss Rockies team. Gordon played at Indiana in 2019.
Andrew Saalfrank, who played at Indiana from 2017-19, made 2 appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the season, but Saalfrank wouldn’t have played a part anyway. He was banned by Major League Baseball in June for a year for violating MLB’s sports gambling rules.
New Orleans Pelicans (4-13, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (7-10, ninth in the Eastern Conference)
Indianapolis; Monday, 7 p.m. EST
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pacers -5.5; over/under is 228
BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans heads into the matchup against Indiana as losers of four straight games.
The Pacers are 5-2 in home games. Indiana ranks fifth in the league with 17.0 fast break points per game led by Bennedict Mathurin averaging 4.5.
The Pelicans have gone 1-7 away from home. New Orleans averages 14.2 turnovers per game and is 3-4 when turning the ball over less than opponents.
The Pacers are shooting 48.7% from the field this season, 0.2 percentage points higher than the 48.5% the Pelicans allow to opponents. The Pacers average 103.8 points per game, 14.3 fewer points than the 118.1 the Pacers allow to opponents.
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TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam is averaging 20.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Pacers.
Brandon Ingram is scoring 22.9 points per game and averaging 5.8 rebounds for the Pelicans.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pacers: 4-6, averaging 111.7 points, 38.9 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 9.0 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.5 points per game.
Pelicans: 1-9, averaging 100.2 points, 42.7 rebounds, 23.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.7 points.
INJURIES: Pacers: Aaron Nesmith: out (ankle), Andrew Nembhard: out (knee), Isaiah Jackson: out for season (calf), James Wiseman: out for season (calf), Ben Sheppard: out (oblique).
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Pelicans: Zion Williamson: out (hamstring), Yves Missi: day to day (shoulder), CJ McCollum: day to day (thigh), Herbert Jones: out (shoulder ), Dejounte Murray: day to day (hand), Jose Alvarado: out (hamstring).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Washington Wizards are still in the loss column after falling to the Indiana Pacers 115-103 inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday evening.
The Wizards remained competitive throughout the game, especially after the first half when they led by two points going into halftime.
However, the Pacers pulled ahead in the second half and were able to cruise to a double-digit victory.
The Pacers had seven players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 22 points from Pascal Siakam. Myles Turner had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
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The Wizards were sorely missing their leading scorer in Jordan Poole, who was ruled out prior to the game with a hip injury. That put Kyshawn George into the starting lineup, where he scored 15 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
All five starters scored in double figures with Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr scoring 17 points apiece for the team-high.
With 11 consecutive losses, the Wizards remain at the bottom of the NBA standings, but there are some positives that the team will walk away with.
The Wizards will look to snap their losing streak back at home on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.
Make sure you bookmark Washington Wizards on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
It’s a day that ends in the letter ‘y,’ so Indy Star sports columnist Gregg Doyel is acting strange online. Thankfully, this scenario has nothing to do with him acting creepy towards WNBA star Caitlin Clark, but instead, centers around the Ohio State Buckeyes blowing out the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.
For anyone who may have forgotten, Doyel stole the show during Clark’s introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever by making the scene all about himself in one of the strangest moves ever seen in a media setting.
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Doyel introduced himself to Clark by saying “Real quick, let me do this,” before reportedly forming a heart with his hands, a gesture Clark does towards her family after games.
Clark replied by very awkwardly asking “You like that?” before things got even weirder.
“I like that you’re here. I like that you’re here,” Doyel responded. “Yeah, I do that at my family after every game, so it’s very cool,” Clark replied.
“Okay, start doing it to me, and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel replied back.
Long story short, Doyel later apologized for his creepy actions but was ultimately suspended by the Indy Star for two weeks.
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Naturally, each time he shares his opinion on social media nowadays, he gets chirped into oblivion and Saturday was no exception.
Doyel took serious offense to Ohio State scoring a touchdown with 35 seconds left in regulation to ultimately cap off its win over Indiana 38-15. He specifically didn’t appreciate Ohio State quarterback Will Howard celebrating the nail-in-the-coffin touchdown by putting out a fake cigarette to mock Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.
Doyel taking offense to a 23-year-old college quarterback celebrating a monumental win over an undefeated Indiana team is odd behavior, and folks in his mentions were sure to point out that fact.
Ohio State virtually guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff with the win over Indiana, and the Hoosiers should be safe as well, barring a colossal loss to Purdue to close out the regular season.
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