The 2025 MLB regular season is winding down. The races in each division and the Wild Card are all entertaining and should keep the baseball world captivated down the stretch. But there is more to be excited about than just the postseason.
In this piece, we will examine four interesting storylines down the stretch and how they could affect the baseball world. There are MVP races that are heating up and potentially some records that may end up being broken very soon.
Baseball has always been a numbers game, and in a sport that collects its statistics like no other, 2025 will have its own story to tell.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
4. No no-no's in 2025?
No-hitters are a fabric of the game. When a starting pitcher or pitching staff completes this feat in a game, it's a cause for celebration, as history has been made. It happens so rarely that it needs to be celebrated each time.
However, while some pitchers have come very close to pulling this off in 2025, nobody has actually finished the job. Not since 2005 has there been a year without a no-hitter. Could that change 20 years later?
Hopefully, somebody tosses a no-hitter in the final month of the year. But time is certainly running out.
3. NL batting title with average below .300?
Every year, a player with the best average in the American League and National League takes home the batting title. Typically, whoever wins the award in each league has hit for an average of at least .300. But could that change in 2025?
In the American League, the top four average hitters are well above .300, but that could change in the National League. Trea Turner currently leads the race for the NL batting title. He is hitting .301 at the moment, but that doesn't mean he'll stay above .300, as he is barely over that mark to begin with.
This would be noteworthy. Players that hit .300 are becoming slightly less common in today's game. Batting average is a statistic that sadly is becoming overlooked more frequently. But Turner is barely over .300, and Freddie Freeman is right at that mark. A brief bad stretch or two for either player could push them below .300 and make it possible for the batting champion to make a little dubious history.
The race for the batting title will be interesting to watch. Hopefully, one of Turner and Freeman remains at .300 or above.
2. Will Shohei Ohtani win his fourth MVP?
The MVP races are exciting to watch. Last year, the winners were Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. They could very well win the awards again. But the NL race is where things get interesting. Ohtani has won three MVP Awards. He may be on track to win his fourth.
The last player to win four or more MVPs in their career was Barry Bonds. Ohtani could certainly make some history this year. He is hitting .276/,386/.600 with 45 home runs, 85 RBI, 17 stolen bases, a 5.6 WAR and a .986 OPS.
The numbers bode well for Ohtani to win his fourth MVP. He is hitting below .300, but he's on track for a strong finish. It will be interesting to see if he can ultimately take home some more hardware.
Bonds retired after the 2007 season, so this would certainly be some very impressive history. He won his last MVP in 2004 and won the award a total of seven times. Ohtani is the kind of player that could make such history, and we'll have to wait and see how the two-way superstar performs in the month of September.
1. Will Cal Raleigh break Aaron Judge's home run record?
The biggest storyline of the season has been Cal Raleigh. He won the Home Run Derby and was an All-Star for the first time in his career. But what has made his season so impressive is that he has hit 50 home runs.
Now, the question is, will he ultimately break Aaron Judge's record of 62. Obviously, Judge's record is seen as the record because other players who have accomplished the feat were accused of or tested positive for steroids.
Raleigh needs 12 more home runs to tie Judge's mark from 2022 and 13 to break it. The way he has been swinging the bat, it is certainly possible for him to set his own mark in 2025. It will take a major surge, and it might be unlikely that he actually gets to 63 home runs.
But he certainly can't be counted out. He hasn't homered since last week, but a late surge can never be ruled out with the way Raleigh has swung the bat this season. It will be interesting to see if he can ultimately get closer to Judge and potentially steal the record from him.