Baseball

Quality starts explained: 6+ innings, 3 or fewer earned runs, the 4.50 ERA criticism, John Lowe’s 1985 invention and why it replaced wins.

MLB postseason seeding explained: how the six seeds are set, who gets byes, the 3v6 and 4v5 bracket, and why there’s no reseeding.

MLB playoff roster rules: the Sept. 1 eligibility snapshot, the Aug. 31 hard wall, 26-man rounds, injury-swap penalties and the PED bar.

MLB releases explained: release waivers, termination pay, the league-minimum offset rule, and why teams eat millions for a roster spot.

Outright assignments explained: clearing waivers, losing the 40-man spot, keeping the salary – and the veteran refusal rights that change everything.

The MLB restricted list explained: personal leave, failure to report, mid-contract retirement – no pay, no service time, rights retained.

MLB rehab assignments explained: the 20-day position player and 30-day pitcher clocks, full pay, no roster impact, and the activation squeeze.

Batting title qualification explained: the 502 PA threshold, the phantom hitless at-bat exception, Gwynn’s 1996 title and the fine print.

Mound visit rules explained: the four-per-game budget, the 30-second clock, the two-visit removal rule and the exemptions that don’t count.

MLB doubleheader rules: nine-inning games since 2022, traditional vs split formats, the 27th man, and the bullpen math of 18-inning days.