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NLCS, ALCS are tight, which is becoming the norm in the postseason

• Tigers DH Victor Martinez is reaffirming himself as one of the best pure hitters in baseball. Martinez is a tough out who uses the whole field from both

Tom Verducci

NLCS, ALCS are tight, which is becoming the norm in the postseason
NLCS, ALCS are tight, which is becoming the norm in the postseason /
The ALCS between Jarrod Saltalamacchia's Red Sox and Jose Iglesias' Tigers has been very evenly matched.
The ALCS between Jarrod Saltalamacchia's Red Sox and Jose Iglesias' Tigers has been very evenly matched :: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

• Tigers DH Victor Martinez is reaffirming himself as one of the best pure hitters in baseball. Martinez is a tough out who uses the whole field from both sides of the plate and is a high-contact hitter. On June 28, shaking off rust after knee surgery, Martinez was hitting .225. Since then, including the postseason, Martinez is batting .376. With an injured Miguel Cabrera unable to provide much power and Prince Fielder still lost in a funk in which he cannot pull or drive the ball, Martinez has become Detroit's most dangerous hitter.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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