The thing with boom-or-bust hitters is that the boom can happen in the middle of any cold stretch. It just takes one swing. The threat of that on the bench was more than enough for the Guardians to carry him on the ALDS and ALCS rosters, and Rafael was cheering in the stands all during the first few games in October, beaming with pride while he saw his son on a big league field.

Yet the results still weren't coming. Noel was hitless in his first five games. He finally picked up a double against the Yankees in Game 1 on Monday, but it didn't impact the result of the game. It had been the same story for Noel in the postseason as it was in the final month of the regular season: underwhelming production. Sure, it was still cool for Rafael to experience something that few parents will ever get to live through, but he still hadn't met Big Christmas.