The final month of the 2025 MLB regular season is upon us. Playoff and awards races will be decided over the next three weeks and five days, and, in some cases, jobs are on the line. Make the postseason and you could get a contract extension. Miss and you might be starting a job search in a few weeks. Such is life with September baseball.

Now that it's Sept. 2 and Labor Day is behind us, let's take a look at the top storylines as we enter the regular season's final month. Come with me, won't you?

The postseason races

Truth be told, there isn't much mystery left with the various playoff chases with less than a month remaining in the regular season. The Rangers have charged hard the last two weeks or so, creating some intrigue in the American League, otherwise we have a pretty good idea who 11 of the 12 postseason teams will be. Here are the wild card standings:

1. Yankees: 76-61 (+3.5 GB) ⚾	1. Cubs: 79-59 (+5 GB) ⚾
2. Red Sox: 77-62 (+3.5 GB) ⚾	2. Padres: 76-62 (+2 GB) ⚾
3. Mariners: 73-65 ⚾	3. Mets: 74-64 ⚾
4. Rangers: 72-67 (1.5 GB)	4. Reds: 70-68 (4 GB)
5. Royals: 70-67 (2.5 GB)	5. Giants: 69-69 (5 GB)

We can't say the postseason races are over yet -- three weeks and five days is a lot of time in this sport -- but we have a pretty good idea which way things are headed. Speaking as a baseball fan, I hope the Rangers continue their surge and/or Reds have a hot streak in them, just for the sake of making the wild card races interesting. The more important baseball in September, the better.

For now, the focus is on seeding. Can the Mariners unseat the Astros in the AL West? Can the Padres catch the Dodgers in the NL West? Can the Red Sox or Yankees run down the Blue Jays in the AL East? Those teams are all a near lock to reach the postseason. It's just a question of which team wins the division and which team(s) has to settle for a wild card berth.

Judge vs. Raleigh

In more ways than one. Cal Raleigh, the record-setting Mariners catcher, is trying to beat out Yankees captain Aaron Judge not only for AL MVP, but also for the American League's single-season home run record. Judge hit 62 homers in 2022. Raleigh has 50 homers through 138 team games. Through 138 team games in 2022, Judge had 55 home runs.

The AL MVP race is the game's most hotly contested awards race right now. There is more to it than WAR, but by that metric alone, Judge and Raleigh are neck-and-neck. Here is the FanGraphs AL WAR leaderboard (FanGraphs WAR includes pitch-framing and is most fair to Raleigh):

1. Aaron Judge, Yankees: 7.9 WAR
2. Cal Raleigh, Mariners: 7.3 WAR
3. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: 6.8 WAR
4. Tarik Skubal, Tigers: 6.2 WAR
5. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox: 5.4 WAR

The 0.6 WAR difference between Judge and Raleigh is negligible. WAR is not precise enough to think that six-tenths of a win is meaningful. In terms of player performance, the AL MVP race is essentially a dead heat (Judge -200, Raleigh +155, per DraftKings), and when the performance is this close, MVP becomes a narrative award. Does one guy lead his team to the division title? Does one guy's team slip out of the postseason?

Judge and Shohei Ohtani have received every single first-place AL MVP vote the last four years (since José Abreu won it in 2020). Raleigh will almost certainly end that "streak" this year. He'll get first place MVP votes. I have zero doubt. Will he get enough to deny Judge his third MVP? Will he break Judge's AL single-season home run record? A top storyline for September, this is.

Ohtani, Ohtani, Ohtani...

He won't go 50-50 again, but the peerless Shohei Ohtani is once again having a marvelous season, one that is poised to be historic. The Dodgers star is hitting .276/.386/.600 with 45 home runs and 17 steals this season, and he's thrown 32 ⅓ innings with a 4.18 ERA and 44 strikeouts in his return to the mound. You're welcome to disagree, but I see Ohtani as the most talented player ever.

Anyway, here are a few -- just a few -- things Othani could accomplish in the coming weeks:

50 home runs: It would be Ohtani's second straight 50-homer season. Only 10 players in history have multiple 50-homer seasons. As it stands, Ohtani is already the only player in Dodgers history to hit 50 home runs in a season.

150 runs: Ohtani has scored 124 runs this year. Only 19 times in the Modern Era (since 1900) has a player scored 150 runs, and Jeff Bagwell (150 runs in 2000) is the only player to do it since 1937. Runs scored are a team stat as much as they are an individual stat, but Ohtani certainly helps himself with all those homers.

Fourth MVP: Barry Bonds (seven) is the only player in history with more than three MVPs. Ohtani is already the first player to win three MVPs unanimously. It could happen again. And remember, Ohtani was the AL MVP runner-up in 2022. If not for Judge's historic 62-homer season, Ohtani could be working on his fifth straight MVP right now.

I understand there is some Ohtani fatigue out there, but don't lose sight of just how special he is. We're never going to see a player like this -- excellent at hitting and pitching -- again.

Will there be a no-hitter?

Today is Sept. 2 and there has not been a single no-hitter this season. On only two occasions has a team even taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Reds righty Nick Martinez did it against the Padres on June 27, and Guardians righty Gavin Williams did it against the Mets on Aug. 6. That's it.

The last season without a no-hitter was 2005, and 2006 was the last season that didn't see a no-hitter until September. Aníbal Sánchez, then with the Marlins, no-hit the Diamondbacks on Sept. 6 for 2006's only no-no. There were four no-hitters last season and an average of 3.7 no-hitters per season from 2006-24. That includes the 60-game 2020 season, which featured two no-hitters (the Cubs' Alec Mills vs. the Brewers and the White Sox's Lucas Giolito vs. the Pirates).

No-hitters are anomalies and there's no rhyme or reason for why we went from nine no-hitters as recently as 2021 to zero no-hitters with less than a month to play in 2025. If the no-hitter drought continues for a few years, then maybe there's something to it. Otherwise, no-hitters boil down to the inherent randomness of the sport, and right now, the randomness has favored the hitters. 

Will anyone in the NL hit .300?

The league batting average is .246 this season, up from .243 last year and the second highest it has been since the league hit .252 in 2019 (.248 in 2022). That said, only seven qualified hitters have a .300 batting average right now, and five are in the American League: Judge (.324), Jacob Wilson (.318), Bo Bichette (.310), Jeremy Peña (.307), and George Springer (.300). 

Here is the National League batting average leaderboard:

1. Trea Turner, Phillies: .301
2. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers: .300
3. Sal Frelick, Brewers: .298
4. Will Smith, Dodgers: .293
5. Ketel Marte, D-backs: .290

There is a real possibility no NL player with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title will hit .300 this year. The lowest average for a batting title winner is Carl Yastrzemski's .301 in 1968. The lowest average to win the NL batting title is Tony Gwynn's .313 in 1988. That NL record will almost certainly fall this year (and get shattered).

A batting champ with a sub-.300 average would be a rough look for baseball at a time when the league has implemented multiple rule changes (infield shift ban, etc.) designed specifically to increase base hits and action in general. It could happen though. Only two NL hitters are at .300 right now and only a handful are within striking distance.

Will there be a 100-win team?

The Brewers have baseball's best record at 85-54. That .612 winning percentage puts them on pace for 99 wins, or just short of becoming baseball's first 100-win team since 2023. Not a long drought, of course, but zero 100-win teams in 2024 (Dodgers led with 98) was notable after there were at least three 100-win teams every year from 2017-24 (excluding 2020).

Milwaukee must win 15 of its final 23 games to reach 100 wins. Eminently doable for this team, but keep in mind there is no tangible benefit to winning 100 games. It's just a nice benchmark. The Brewers have a 5 ½ game lead in the NL Central and a 4 ½ game lead on baseball's best record. Once they lock those up, they can take their foot off the gas and rest their players, audition guys for postseason roles, etc. At some point, wins will not be the priority. It happened with the Dodgers last year, hence only -- "only" -- 98 wins instead of triple digits.

The last time baseball did not have a 100-win team in back-to-back seasons was 2012-14 (three straight years). I wonder if this will become the norm. The postseason field is so big and there's not much incentive to bank every last win. We'll see. For now, there's a chance baseball won't have a 100-win team for the second straight year, something that hasn't happened in a decade.

Milestone chases

As always, there have been several major milestones this season. Most notably, Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw joined the 3,000-strikeout club on July 3, becoming only the fourth lefty to get there. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander reached 3,500 strikeouts on Aug. 11 and Max Scherzer could join him before the end of the year. Pete Alonso became the Mets' all-time home run king.

September does not figure to be the busiest month in terms of milestones, though a few players are closing in on some significant accomplishments. Here are a few milestones that could be reached before the end of the season:

• Raleigh is five homers away from setting the single-season record for a switch-hitter (Mickey Mantle: 54 in 1961).
• Angels star Mike Trout is two home runs away from joining the 400-homer club.
• Royals backstop Salvador Perez is four homers away from becoming the eighth catcher with 300 homers.
• Three more wins will get Tigers right-hander Charlie Morton to 150 wins for his career.

Also, Pete Crow-Armstrong needs two home runs to become only the second player in Cubs history with a 30-30 season (Sammy Sosa did it in 1993 and 1995). Trout has been stuck on 398 home runs since Aug. 6, though I have to think he'll get those last two before long, and become the 59th player in the 400-homer club. That's the biggest milestone left in 2025.

Manager/front office changes

Four managers have already been fired this season: Bud Black (Rockies), Brandon Hyde (Orioles), Dave Martinez (Nationals), and Derek Shelton (Pirates). More could follow in September. The last week of the season, specifically, is a popular time for managerial changes. Last year the Reds fired David Bell on Sept. 22, seven days before the final day of the regular season.

Rocco Baldelli (Twins), Oliver Marmol (Cardinals), and Bob Melvin (Giants) are among the managers who could be on the hot seat. Brian Snitker (Braves) has hinted at retiring after this season. New York managers are perpetually on the hot seat, so Aaron Boone (Yankees) and/or Carlos Mendoza (Mets) could get a pink slip should things really go off the rails in September.

September front office changes are not as common as September managerial changes, but they do happen. The Red Sox fired Chaim Bloom on Sept. 14, 2023, most notably. Ben Cherington (Pirates), Perry Minasian (Angels), and Bill Schmidt (Rockies) are the lead baseball operations executives who seem most at risk of being replaced in the coming weeks.

Prospect promotions

Several teams have already gotten a head start on their late-season prospect promotions. Within the last week or so the Orioles called up (and extended) catcher Samuel Basallo, the Pirates brought up right-hander Bubba Chandler, and the Mets summoned righties Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. They all rank among baseball's very best prospects and they're all big leaguers now.

Limited September roster expansion (teams only get one extra pitcher and one extra position player now) has cut down on the number of late-season prospect cameos, though they will happen. Will the Phillies give righty Andrew Painter a look with Zack Wheeler done for the year? Do the Tigers turn to Kevin McGonigle to solve their shortstop woes? Does Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, get his feet wet for the Guardians in preparation for a full season at second base in 2026?

It's important to note there aren't enough days left in the season for a player to accrue the 45 days of service time needed to exhaust rookie eligibility. So, as long as they stay under the 50-inning/130 at-bat rookie limits, they will be rookie eligible in 2026. That allows their team to gain a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick if they win Rookie of the Year next season. It is in no way a coincidence that Basallo was called up with 44 days remaining in the season. The O's wanted him to retain PPI eligibility.

Fond farewells

September will be our last chance to see some of our longtime favorite players. Rockies icon Charlie Blackmon announced he would retire after the season on Sept. 23 last year. Go back a few years and Royals lifer Alex Gordon announced his retirement on Sept. 24, 2020. Will any players make it known they're hanging up their spikes over these next few weeks?

Kershaw has been going year-to-year for a few years now. Verlander and Scherzer are 42 and 41 now, respectively. Justin Turner turns 41 in November. Andrew McCutchen turns 39 in October (though he says he wants to keep playing). We may not know it yet, but some of the generation's best players could be entering their final month in the league. Heck, even they may not know it yet.