What Alanna said yesterday was incredibly hurtful/uncalled for. I’m glad she apologized.
One last thing before this 🙏 moves on: please don’t toss hate (particularly sexist stuff) into her mentions. She fucked up, said sorry. The end. Take the high road.
Appreciate you all ❤️
Thanks to all the reporters, journos, baseball twitter weirdos, acquaintances and friends who had my back over the last 48 hours. And also, of course, the
@officialBBWAA
. Community feels good, humbled to be a part of this one.
Now let’s enjoy some ball.
As a former college pitcher with a surgically repaired elbow ligament… I have very little issue with this.
Kid was a 19th rounder last year who went back to school to win a title, not a future big leaguer risking millions. He’d tell you the same.
Happy Chanukah!!
A few months ago the folks at Wilson Baseball asked if I wanted to help them design a special Chanukah themed glove to go alongside their annual Xmas glove.
Obviously I said yes.
Pretty sweet.
Jorge López’s tantrum warranted criticism and maybe even his getting cut.
But his postgame response — clearly jumbled by the language barrier — deserves empathy and context.
On a sad, unfortunate moment for a human being with a lot on his shoulders.
Been asking big leaguers about their all-star break plans and at least 5 guys said something like: “Locking myself in a room and playing a wild amount of College Football 25.”
Game drops Tuesday.
Everyone is gonna return from break red-eyed, but with the glory of a CFB title.
Giants infield guru Kai Correa doing pregame work with Mauricio Dubón, putting differently weighted balls in the machine to give randomness and variety to the type of hops Dubón gets.
Rhys on Harper: This guy has been destined to be THE guy, a Hall of Famer, a champion, his whole life.
Me: Ok, so what does that make you?
Rhys: Me? I'm just a dreamer, I guess.
Remember the hitting mini-game from MVP Baseball 2005?
MLB is doing a Skills Competition after the Futures Game this year heavily inspired by that mini-game.
Wrote about the new whimsical contest and what it might mean for All-Star Week going forward.
🔗
College coaches have a responsibility to look after the best interests of their players.
Sometimes that means not letting a top pick throw 120 pitches. But sometimes it means letting a non-prospect type throw 156 pitches in an experience he’ll cherish for the rest of his life.
My Harlem Little League 10u kids are 4-0 with four mercy-rule wins this weekend in our Memorial Day tourney. Playing for the championship tomorrow. Yes, we taught a lot of kids to swing like Acuña. Been coaching this same group for 3 years now, love seeing them grow.
#HarlemRakes
“First of all, we do have a major-league team in the Bay Area. It's not like there is not an available option. The Giants obviously still play there.”
Rob Manfred spoke on how MLB plans to serve Oakland baseball fans once the A's leave.
NEW
@YahooSports
Commemorating the final season at the Oakland Coliseum 🏟️
The 2024 season will be a celebration of fans, employees, and players past and present. Details:
Can confirm the Cardinals are calling up RHP Ryan Loutos.
Loutos played D-III ball at Washington University in St. Louis and signed with the Cards as an un-drafted free agent in 2021.
Was 90-92 when he signed. Had a big velo spike before camp in ‘22 and now he’s a big leaguer.
You ever try to text something to yourself, but you accidentally send it to somebody with the same first name as you?
I sent
@TalkinJake
my grocery list a few times, but had a new one this morning when I texted Jake Bauers my daily workout plan.
Might be spending too much time around baseball people.
Just had a flight delayed four hours and my first thoughts were: "This is an opportunity to get better. Be patient. Fight through some adversity. Explore O'Hare. Take it one hour at a time."
Wavering between feeling too conspiratorial and then too naive about the Ippei/Ohtani stuff. Dangerous to be too trusting, exhausting to be too skeptical.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is gonna get at least $250 mil and he’s never thrown an MLB pitch.
Why are teams are so confident about giving Yamamoto mountains of cash?
It’s all about his very special fastball.
Dug into some Yamamoto pitch data
@MLBONFOX
Wacky story time
1. A good friend from HS is a pro opera singer in Montreal
2. She happened to be in NYC today and came over to chill w/me + my fiancee
3. Even tho she’d never heard of Ohtani she IS GOOD PALS WITH THE CANADIAN OPERA SINGER WHO TWEETED THE KIKUCHI SUSHI THING
My GF saw this picture on my laptop and asked "who's that."
Me: The new guy on the Yankees.
Her: HE'S THAT YOUNG?!
Me: Lol no this picture is from 2013. Did you think this was like a Doogie Howser situation
Her: Yes, wait so Team USA has always had that dumb bacon logo?
"Team USA taught me so much about what’s important. Whether it’s the Stars and Stripes or the Yankees, you’re playing for something bigger than yourself."
How Anthony Volpe's Team USA experience as a kid helped prepare him for The Bronx
🔗
📸
@USABaseball
"He mentioned to me: I'm talking to Oregon State right now. I was like, dude, you're 14, you're not talking to Oregon State... Turns out he was."
Here's an article I wrote earlier this year about Corbin Carroll's outrageous high school baseball exploits.
I talked to 30 or so people this morning about Jorge López. The overwhelming majority described him as a kind-hearted man with demons who often struggles to control his emotions.
Good morning from Phillies camp, where Brandon Marsh informed me that while his teammates are out golfing in the afternoon he’s taking long walks on the beach instead.
“I took like three walks up and down the beach yesterday, bro. I love it. Helps clear my mind.”
sure the Mariners lost the series to the Orioles but all I saw was the Friday blowout and then the Felix Hall of Fame induction and then nothing else after that because I was busy getting married so I’d say it was still a pretty solid weekend
“He will inject a new energy and sense of untouchable optimism into every corner of Chavez Ravine. LA paid a whopping sum of money because, in their minds, Ohtani was worth it. They had the most to gain — and now they will.”
Wro about the Sho
@MLBONFOX
Here’s how you turn Wemby into a big leaguer:
1. Put him in the back of the batter’s box and make him a catcher’s interference machine.
2. Late inning defensive replacement at first base. 7’4 with an 8 foot wingspan? We’re STEALING bang-bang plays over there.
Hidden gem during
#Orioles
pregame tonight🫢
🔊Jim Palmer to Kevin Brown:
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨"
Then the giggling that followed 😅
#FreeKevinBrown
Phillies radio telling a story about Nick Castellanos taking Kyle Schwarber to an immersive art show called Meow Wolf as a bonding activity—and I have never wanted to go to anything so much in my life
🚨 BBQ NEWS 🚨
we are thrilled to announce
@YahooSports
as our new home for *all* of our MLB coverage -- written, video, and yes, even the podcast!
allow us to reintroduce ourselves...
My favorite thing about the AL MVP discussion is when someone includes the phrase “there’s no debate” in their argument.
There is a debate! We’re having it! Both guys are good!
James Wood has been removed from the game here in Lehigh Valley. Unsure as to why. No obvious reason.
Looked fine in his first two plate appearances, but did misplay a ball in center earlier, turning a single into a double.
Doubt it’s a call-up, but what do I know.
Bummer watching Craig Kimbrel right now, dude looks lost. Legendary career, but it's pretty yeeesh right now. Fastball command all over the place.
Hard to imagine trusting him, unless something changes, with high leverage playoff innings.
The postseason is over and I wrote a whole bunch of words that I'm really proud of.
First season covering the October mayhem and I learned quite a bit. The 2022 Phillies made it real easy.
Here's a thread of my favorite stuff from the month that was. Thanks for following along!
One passenger chewing out the lady working the gate desk after another 30 min delay tacked on.
Don’t love that. Our program doesn’t conduct ourselves that way. United employee can’t control weather. Disappointing. Can’t let adversity get to us like that. Need to be better.
Another 30 minute delay tacked on?
Not a problem.
Just an opportunity to get better. Nobody wants to face us come October, we’ll be ready. Pressure makes diamonds.
Lovely 24 hours in Pittsburgh for Skenes, but we gotta have a conversation about that airport
1st time there. Place is hilarious, a 1992 time capsule. Easily worst major airport I've seen, but I loved it
Pirates won't make the playoffs again til that airport gets a facelift tho
Rob Manfred is done as commissioner in January 2029.
"You can only have so much fun in one lifetime. I have been open with them (the owners) about the fact that this is going to be my last term."
Dave Jauss -- the human pitching machine throwing to Pete Alonso tonight -- is currently a scout/special advisor for the Nats.
Somebody on the field pre-Derby asked him about wearing a Mets uniform for the event.
He chuckles and goes: "I got Rizzo's permission."
Cheeky baserunning play there by the Phillies. First and third with two outs against a tough pitcher, you send the runner on first as bait.
If the defense throws thru that runner (Stott in this case) is taught to freeze halfway and turn back if necessary.
When Kyle Schwarber swings at the first pitch of the first inning this season (postseason included) and puts the ball in play...
5 homers
3 doubles
2 singles
3 outs
I’m so good at putting on workout clothes, going to the hotel gym and pretending to lift weights for 20 mins until I get bored. I’m the Babe Ruth of exercise ADHD.
I tore my UCL pitching in a mens league in August of 2017 and then pitched in that same league in 2018 and 2019 before I got Tommy John in 2020 so I'm not too worried about Félix Bautista
The main takeaways here:
- The Orioles are hoping Félix Bautista comes back, but they’re not depending on it.
- The advice they’re getting is he can’t hurt his UCL further by playing catch.
- They can afford to wait to make a decision on surgery because of the time of year.
None of the Padres starting players were originally drafted/signed/developed by the Padres.
It’s a fantasy team, a gaggle of baseball mercenaries.
How did that come to be and how does it impact their chances?
NEW
@MLBONFOX
It’s early, but I’m a bit worried about the White Sox.
Reasons:
1. Injuries and lack of roster depth
2. Shallow starting pitching
3. La Russa’s awful game management
4. The rest of the division is actually trying this year
Ryan was a freshman at WashU the year after I graduated. Incredibly smart, kind guy who worked his tail off.
At one point he was working for the Cards front office doing analytics while also pitching in minors.
Immensely proud of Ryan. Great day for him and the whole WashU fam.
I’ve had this Salvador Pérez postgame interview from Weds stuck in my head all week. There’s just something about they way he says “WE are the Kansas City Royals” that feels so authentic and beautiful to me.
This might shock you, but neither Spencer Strider nor Zack Wheeler have allowed a run thru three innings. It’s almost like these are the two best pitchers in baseball.
Adolis García is on fire.
Wrote about the electrifying October superstar and how his walk-off last night was his only homer of this postseason that he didn’t celebrate (kinda)