27 Things That Will Decide the 2026 World Series: 2nd Inning

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We're not messing around when it comes to previewing the 2026 World Series. The Brewers are trying to do what they've never done before; we need to match that energy. In a previous article, I introduced the idea of this series of posts: We're going to tackle 27 things that you'll be thinking about when the Series is over. Here are the second inning's worth of things—all on a theme.

4. Bunt Against Junior Caminero When He Plays Deep—But Don't Expect That Often
Junior Caminero is big, and he's slow, and he's not exceptionally fluid in his movements at third base. His arm is average-ish, and it's sometimes inaccurate. (He had a 77.1% On-Target rate on throws this season, which was 16th-best of 35 qualifying third basemen, but his 29 high or wide throws were three more than any other third baseman had, so when he was off-target, it was often in dangerous ways.) You can bunt against him, any time he's playing deep.

No third baseman fielded more bunts than Caminero (26) this year, though, and often, he did it from a very aggressive, very proximate starting position. I watched all 26 plays. You definitely want to test him when he plays behind the bag, but if he senses that a bunt might be coming, he won't be doing so. He still might rush things, as he did on a bunt by none other than David Hamilton back in April:

By and large, though, he's an adept fielder of the bunt when he starts in close to the batter. He needs to have a good platform from which to throw and to be comfortable making the play, but once he is, he's good at this play.

Again, catch him unaware, and Caminero is fairly helpless against the bunt. He's not mobile enough to make the play against even a decent bunt by a moderately fast hitter. Knowing that, though, the Rays often have him well in on the grass in potential bunt situations. One thing he will not so, unless you really fry his circuitry, is try to get the lead runner on a sacrifice bunt attempt. He didn't do that all season, even when given a couple of excellent chances to do so. It's all about picking spots and knowing situations when bunting toward the slugging third baseman.

5. The Value of Showing Bunt, as the Brewers Understand It
During his appearance on the FOX Postgame after the Brewers won Game 4 of the NLCS, Pat Murphy mentioned having talked to David Hamilton about laying down the (seemingly bootless) bunt that ended the top of the third inning in that game. Murphy's promise to Hamilton was that if he did so, he would see better pitches to hit later in the game.

The claim sounds dubious at first, but it's not a new concept to the skipper—and there's some validity to it.

Over two years ago, I wrote about the "immeasurable" value of showing bunt, as Murphy put it at the time, and how it turned out to be measurable. You really can get the extra meatball, here and there, by showing bunt and throwing off either a pitcher's mental approach or their visual sightlines on the strike zone. It costs a strike, sometimes, but that's a small price to pay if the purchased product is an extra-base hit.

It certainly helps that Hamilton is (whatever Murphy might think) a plus bunter, so teams have to respect his bluff more than other batters'. Many batters can derive some value from showing bunt, though. They did it often when they faced Tarik Skubal this season, as they tried to throw him off slightly and steal a two-eyed look at his offerings, to boot. Not every square-around can be measured by whether or not it results in a dribbling little ball in play.

6. Speaking of David Hamilton and Bunts...
A recurring and thorny dilemma for the Brewers during this series will be the question of whether to start Hamilton or Joey Ortiz at third base. The considerations there are several and they don't all point a would-be decision-maker in the same direction, but here's one to file away as we unpack everything: The Rays bunt a lot, and Hamilton is far better at fielding bunts than Ortiz is. In his supernal Substack Pebble Hunting, Sam Miller broke down this series in several ways. One of them is all the ways the outcome might be affected by the Rays' brilliant bunters.

Sam doesn't mention it, but I thought immediately of the difference that having Hamilton at third might make, relative to Ortiz. The former has been unfortunately erratic all season, but he's much better on bunts than Ortiz is. Ortiz visibly panics at times, and is too slow at others. Hamilton is more sure-handed and better when you take away time for him to think on a given play, and that includes when you force him to race in on a ball and fire in one motion. He'll even cut down a lead runner, when the opportunity arises. Hamilton has also hit better than Ortiz so far this October, though that can change quickly—and, as we''ll soon see, might need to.

That might be all the bunting talk for this entire manifold preview—or it might not! Tune in later for more. In the meantime, if you haven't already, register as part of our community and join the discussion about all things World Series.