Offishial news, 10/24/22: Ocampo interviews to be assistant GM; World Series matchup set

Marlins Stat of the Day (via Baseball Savant)

Bryan De La Cruz led all Marlins players this season with a 47.3% hard hit rate.

• Sunday’s MLB postseason games: The Phillies beat the Padres, 4-3; the Astros beat the Yankees, 6-5. Bryce Harper and Jeremy Peña won the NLCS and ALCS MVP awards, respectively. Dave Dombrowski has now clinched pennants with four different franchises (previously the Marlins, Tigers and Red Sox). This sets up a World Series matchup between Philly and Houston beginning Friday at Minute Maid Park.
• Sunday’s fall/winter ball updates: Tigres del Licey find themselves atop the LIDOM standings thanks to hot-hitting Charles Leblanc, who went 2-for-4 in their latest win and has reached base in every game he’s played so far; Luke Williams (Estrellas Orientales) went 1-for-4 and continues to be used exclusively in the corner outfield spots.
• Every Monday, I put updated stats and observations into our Marlins winter ball tracker.
• Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that John Gibbons and Dusty Wathan were among the candidates who interviewed with the Marlins during their managerial search process (neither are under consideration anymore). The team is simultaneously looking to add to the front office, having spoken to Astros international cross-checker Oz Ocampo about becoming an assistant general manager. No word on whether current assistant GMs Brian Chattin and Dan Greenlee are in danger. More likely, Ocampo would be assuming the responsibilities of Gary Denbo, Geoff DeGroot and Hadi Raad, player development/scouting executives who were fired earlier this year.

• In editing Kevin Barral’s new season review article on Nick Fortes, I noticed that the rookie catcher posted drastic home/road splits.
• Jerar Encarnación was featured in this beautiful mural in his hometown of Bayaguana, Dominican Republic. Encarnación is the only player in MLB history to come from Bayaguana, which is about 50 miles northeast of Santo Domingo.

• Sandy Alcantara was on the sidelines at Hard Rock Stadium to witness the Dolphins’ win over the Steelers. Last week, Alcantara was honored with the Juan Marichal award, given annually to the most outstanding Dominican pitcher in the big leagues.
• Congrats to Ashlyn Cromer and Brady Allen on their engagement! The couple met at the University of South Carolina. Miami’s fifth-round pick from the 2021 MLB Draft, Allen made his pro debut this season, slashing .248/.344/.357 in 117 games (predominantly for Low-A Jupiter with a September promotion to High-A Beloit).