MLB

One year after Matt Williams was named National League Manager of the Year, the Washington Nationals announced Monday they've fired Williams after a disappointing 2015 season that saw the team miss the postseason with an 83-79 record:

The New York Mets are chasing an improbable and long-awaited postseason run, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have some making up to do for last year. When the 2015 National League Division Series is settled, one of the two will head home disappointed.

World Series dreams are still alive and well for 10 different postseason teams across Major League Baseball, but the rest of the league has already turned its attention toward what promises to be a busy offseason.

The bracket is set and the 10 teams have secured their places in the 2015 MLB playoffs.

This year's field has a great mix of the usual suspects—the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers—and some teams making their long-awaited returns to the postseason—the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant proved he was worth every bit of the hype as a rookie. Based on jersey sales, it appears Bryant's emergence has already made him one of baseball's most popular stars.

Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reported the NL Rookie of the Year favorite led all players in jersey sales during the regular season, followed by San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner.

Fact: The Marlins' Dee Gordon is the first NL player since Jackie Robinson in 1949 to lead the NL in batting average (.333) and steals (58).

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: MLB Stat of the Day

With the 2015 MLB regular season officially wrapped up and the 10-team playoff field now set, this week's power rankings are going to be a little bit different than what you may be used to.

Looking at last week's performance is not necessarily the best indicator of which direction each of these teams is headed, as some of them clinched prior to last week and were resting guys and setting up their playoff rotation, while others were battling just to make it in.

The 2015 MLB postseason is finally here. Some players will go on to make a name for themselves and etch their names into baseball history books.

Which players will have memorable postseasons? Who will have the defining moments of their careers?

Last October gave us one of the most impressive one-man performances in Major League Baseball postseason history. 

Madison Bumgarner made seven appearances for the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 postseason, and they needed every single inning he gave them as they marched to their third World Series title in five years.

Bumgarner had a 1.03 ERA in 52.2 innings, and his five shutout innings in relief in Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals was one of the more memorable relief outings of any playoffs in the game’s long history.

Few things in sports are more physically and mentally grueling than a 162-game Major League Baseball season, but the long journey will come to a screeching halt Tuesday and Wednesday for the losers of the American and National League Wild Card Games.