Before his 15th-inning walk-off single sent Seattle to its first ALCS in twenty years, Polanco was a teenager from San Pedro de Macorís chasing a dream his grandfather inspired.
He grew up in the Dominican Republic while his father worked in New York, learning baseball from his grandfather — the man who taught him patience, faith, and how to love the game.
When that guiding figure passed away in 2017, Polanco’s game faltered. He kept showing up anyway, taking grounders for hours before first pitch. Years later, with a family of his own and a city behind him, he delivered the swing every kid imagines — a 110-mph line drive that ended the longest winner-take-all game in Major League history.
Polanco, the switching-hitting veteran, grew up in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, the same city that produced baseball legends like Sammy Sosa, Alfonso Soriano, Robinson Canó, George Bell, and Johnny Cueto.
Polanco’s story found an even bigger stage this month when Storytime Sports (@footballfangirl23) — a platform celebrated for spotlighting athletes across the NFL, NBA, and tennis — chose him as its first-ever Major League Baseball feature. The short captured his journey from loss to fatherhood, reminding fans why these moments hit deeper than the box score.
Jorge Polanco’s postseason run keeps growing. In Game 2 of the ALCS, with the score tied 3–3 in the fifth, he unloaded on a 98-mph fastball from Louis Varland and sent it 414 feet to center for a go-ahead three-run homer.
The blast — his third of the postseason — gave Seattle a 6–3 lead and turned a tense night into a 10–3 rout, putting the Mariners up 2–0 in the series. Polanco finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, lifting his postseason total to eight RBI in eight games.
As manager Dan Wilson put it afterward, “That was just Polo being Polo — waiting for his pitch and delivering again.”
Since this article first ran on October 4, Jorge Polanco has doubled down on his reputation. In Game 1 of the ALCS at Toronto, he drove in both go-ahead runs with two opposite-field RBI singles, leading Seattle past the Blue Jays 3–1.
Only two nights earlier, Polanco authored the signature moment of the postseason. After Tarik Skubal struck out 13 on 99 pitches, Polanco worked a walk, scored on Leo Rivas’s pinch-hit single, and later ended the 15-inning marathon with a walk-off RBI single.
Those back-to-back performances didn’t just confirm the headline — they expanded the legend.
Jorge Polanco is the most clutch MLB hitter in 2025. Who is 2nd place? A man known for World Series heroics….Freddie Freeman.
Tarik Skubal was mowing hitters down early — nine strikeouts, barely any mistakes. But Jorge Polanco made him pay for the few he did make.
In the fourth inning, Polanco saw two fastballs miss high, then waited on a low changeup that just didn’t fool him. The next pitch was a slider that stayed up, and Polanco sent it 392 feet to left-center to put Seattle on the board.
Two innings later, he showed even more patience. After fighting off 99-mph fastballs and laying off another tempting changeup, Skubal finally tried to sneak a sinker over the plate. Polanco didn’t miss — another home run, 369 feet to left, his second of the night.
Both were solo shots. Both came off Skubal. And both completely changed the feel of the game.
Detroit tied the game in the eighth on a two-run double by Spencer Torkelson, erasing what had been Polanco’s 2–0 cushion.
But the Mariners didn’t flinch. Cal Raleigh doubled. Julio Rodríguez followed with a line drive to left that brought Raleigh home for a 3–2 lead.
Then came Polanco again — this time with a soft infield single to third that pushed Rodríguez to within 90 feet of another run. He didn’t score, but Polanco’s presence forced Detroit to keep pressing, giving Seattle every chance to manufacture insurance before Andrés Muñoz shut the door in the ninth.
According to FanGraphs, Polanco leads all Mariners — and the entire American League — in Win Probability Added (WPA) and clutch performance (WPA/LI).
Mariners clutch board: Polanco leads all Seattle hitters in WPA and Clutch (WPA/LI), ahead of Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh.
Across all of Major League Baseball, he ranks second only to Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers.
Freddie Freeman leads all hitters in WPA/Clutch — Jorge Polanco ranks second overall and first in the American League.
These aren’t fantasy stats — they’re impact numbers built from real, finished games.
They measure how much a player shifts the odds of winning after the outcome is determined.
And no, those numbers aren’t inflated by Sunday’s two dongs off Skubal or the infield single that followed Julio Rodríguez’s double.
Polanco earned this reputation over six months of baseball before the start of the 2025 MLB Postseason.
Polanco went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in an 11-inning battle.
Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco, right, high-fives the third base coach after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
In a game that helped Seattle avoid an early sweep, Polanco’s two-run single flipped the score late.
Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco reacts after hitting a two-run single to score Dylan Moore and Miles Mastrobuoni against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 7, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Two homers, five RBI, and a dugout full of belief.
Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco is congratulated in the dugout on his two-run home run on a pitch from Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jose Fermin during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
After a quiet summer, Polanco reignited Seattle’s energy with a two-run homer in the second inning. The trident came out; the vibe changed.
Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco holds the trident in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the San Diego Padres during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An 11th-inning RBI single capped a long night and gave the Mariners the lead they needed.
Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco hits an RBI single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the 11th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
With two outs in the fifth, Polanco launched a go-ahead three-run homer off a playoff-bound Dodgers team — sealing his reputation as a late-season weapon.
Seattle Mariners’ Jorge Polanco celebrates in the dugout after hitting a go-ahead three-run home run that also scored Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The Mariners have become one of baseball’s most international rosters — a Dominican centerpiece in Julio Rodríguez, Mexico’s late-inning ace Andrés Muñoz, Cuban-Mexican spark Randy Arozarena, and Cal Raleigh, the Team USA catcher who brought national eyes with his Home Run Derby win.
Mariners fans have witnessed some of baseball’s greatest talents — Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martínez, and Ichiro Suzuki — and they’ve cheered through the heartbreak of teams that won 116 games without a title.
This year’s roster feels different.
Amid all that star power, Jorge Polanco often gets overlooked.
But in moments that decide games — and seasons — he’s been the one delivering the biggest swings.
Game 3 moves to Detroit on Tuesday, October 7 (4:08 p.m. ET, FS1) with Logan Gilbert facing Jack Flaherty.
Oddsmakers lean Seattle, but barely:
| Series | Line |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners | -130 (favorite) |
| Detroit Tigers | +110 (underdog) |
Jorge Polanco Player Props – 2025 ALDS Game 3
| Category | Line / Odds |
|---|---|
| 1+ Hit | -175 |
| 2+ Hits | +270 |
| 1+ Home Run | +525 |
| 2+ Total Bases | +135 |
Seattle enters Game 3 favored by 1.5 runs (+135), with the over/under at 7.5.
Polanco’s odds reflect his reputation — undervalued in name, but the kind of player who quietly swings both scoreboards and betting lines.
We’re keeping this section alive as long as the Mariners keep dancing.
Every game, a new parlay — inspired by Seattle’s global core and the World Baseball Classic vibe this team radiates.
Game 1: Brutal. We bet chaos, got calm. Mariners dominated, low scoring, bullpen rested, Muñoz looked like a gem, Polanco played hero — and our parlay? Dead on arrival.
Game 2: Redemption! We bounced back, made $56 off $12, but our actual parlay was an embarrassment to math and man.
So for Game 3, we’re going full George Costanza — doing the opposite of our instincts.
$2 to win $3,028.79. Yes, that’s +151,339 odds. Nuts, not insane.
Not everyone’s ready to ride a +151,000 fever dream. For the more grounded Mariners faithful — here’s tonight’s “sane” ticket.
Each of these is solid value on its own.
Together? You’d have to be a delusional Mariners fan.
My kinda gyal.
Game 3 ALCS Trifecta (+1949)
Polanco’s clutch, Suárez is the X-factor finally heating up, and we’re trusting this Mariners lineup more by the day.
$2 to win $38.99. Reasonable? Barely. Legal?…depends on your state lines. Fun? Wildly F-U-N.
Jorge Polanco coming out with the wrong hat in May. We relive it on #NationalHatDay. pic.twitter.com/eGc9tUAAuX
— Chattanooga Lookouts (@ChattLookouts) January 15, 2016
“Polo” has been many things — switch-hitter, survivor, quiet leader — but above all, a Dominican ballplayer of faith who always seems to rise when it matters most.
He’s already delivered seven clutch games this year. Now comes the real test.
Since breaking out with a 4.6 WAR season in 2019, Polanco has quietly ranked among MLB’s most reliable late-game hitters.
According to FanGraphs’ clutch metrics since 2014, he’s consistently near the top — right alongside names like Andrés Giménez, Tommy Edman, and Bo Bichette.
He’s not perfect. In the first inning Sunday, he popped out on the first pitch, bailing Skubal of the first on 16 pitches after a leadoff single to Arozarena.
Three innings later, he didn’t miss — and changed everything.
Seattle heads to Detroit with the series tied and momentum on their side.
Will Jorge Polanco prove to be October’s most clutch hitter too?
