We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela. IF you we're living under a rock during the 80's or in a Coma that's about the only way you missed what was named at the time as “Fernandomania” which did indeed sweep through baseball in 1981 when the 20-year old rookie sensation began the season 8-0 with a 0.50 ERA.
The left handed big man capped off his incredible year by winning both the NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards while helping lead Los Angeles to a World Series title. Man he was fun to watch and while in the Minors my dad once told me that he was so good he was once now allowed to pitch in one game because the other team didn't want to face him.
And they let him hit which was a mistake as he could also swing the bat pretty darn well... All in all Valenzuela pitched 17 Major League seasons, was a 6-time All-Star, and has the most wins (173) and strikeouts (2,074) of any Mexican-born pitcher. Spending the last 22 years as a Spanish language broadcaster for the Dodgers, who retired his No. 34 in 2023.
The entire Dodger community loved him from day 1 and will miss him I'm sure. Especially what makes this even more sad is the timing as the Dodgers just beat the New York Mets to go to the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees. Maybe Fernando will bless the Dodgers from Heaven and guide them to a World series win over the Yankees. Rest in Peace he was only 63.
Hurricane Milton rips roof off Tropicana Field where the Tampa Bay Rays play and man the stadium that was used as staging site for responders really took a beating during the storm. The Roof was badly damaged Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton slammed the region. Video posted by CBS affiliate WTSP and aerial photos of the stadium show that the fabric that served as the domed building's roof had been ripped to shreds.
A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field torn open by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2024. BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
The St. Petersburg Fire Rescue has since confirmed that there were no injuries in the aftermath of the storm. It was not immediately clear how much damage there was inside the stadium but it's clear the entire roof needs to be re done, and the drone video posted on social media showed the roof completely ripped to shreds with debris all over the field.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Dave Moore also posted images of the damaged stadium on social media.
The view from our window as we ride out the storm. The roof of Tropicana Field is destroyed by the winds of #HurricaneMilton. Praying for Tampa Bay and all areas affected. Stay safe, everyone pic.twitter.com/uy0aNGMAuJ
WTSP reported that Tropicana Field had been hosting thousands of linemen and National Guard members as they prepared to respond to damage from the storm. Photos from earlier this week showed rows of cots covering the baseball diamond. Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, said in a social media post that the staging area had already been relocated before the roof was damaged. The Rays media guide, reported that Tropicana Field features the world's largest cable-supported domed roof and is "built to withstand winds of up to 115 miles per hour."
According to the National Weather Service, Albert Whitted Airport, which is located about six minutes away from Tropicana Field, recorded wind gusts up to 101 mph during the 10 p.m. hour. The stadium in St. Petersburg opened in 1990 and initially cost $138 million, according to The Associated Press. It was due to be replaced in time for the 2028 season with a $1.3 billion ballpark. After making landfall near Sarasota with a Category 3 status, Hurricane Milton weakened to a Category 1 storm as it crossed Florida, and was expected to weaken further as it moves out over the Atlantic Ocean.
WOW One of the biggest names ever to come from my country island Cuba and former Red Sox pitcher Cuban legend Luis Tiant passes away at 83. I remember as a kid my dad would talk about him A LOT as he was a major icon in Cuban baseball here in America and really did a lot to open the eyes of scouts, and people in MLB (Major League Baseball) in terms of scouting Latin America for talent.
With an amazing whirling, twisting delivery a style on his own in the history of the sport Luis Tiant turned his performances into theatrical magic. While in his prime in the 1970's, you didn’t need a radio or television to know that Tiant was pitching at Fenway Park. Throughout the packed houses he pitched in front of, cries of “Looie, Looie, Looie!” echoed around Kenmore Square and other parts of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The lovably charismatic El Tiante as he came to be known throughout his memorable career was said that “Luis had the kind of unforgettable presence that made you feel like you were part of his world,” said Red Sox principal owner John Henry in a statement. “He was a pitcher with incredible talent, accomplishing so much with a style uniquely his own. But what truly set Luis apart was his zest for life, embracing every moment with an infectious spirit, even in the face of his many challenges. He channeled everything into his love for the game and the people around him. He was magnetic and had a smile that could light up Fenway Park. Luis was truly one of a kind and all of us at the Red Sox will miss him.”
But he left behind a legacy that won’t be forgotten by those who knew him, played with him or cheered for him. "At least people still remember me and remember what I did all those years,” Tiant said in a 2017 interview with MLB.com. “I know what I've had to do with my life, and I'm lucky. I'm lucky I played all those years. God gave me the opportunity to play. What more can you ask? You can't ask for more than that." His teammates never asked for more than what Tiant gave them. “Nobody was a tougher competitor or a better teammate. He meant too much to us, and to the fans. We all loved him,” wrote Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski in the foreword of Tiant’s autobiography, “Son of Havana,” which was published in 2019. In a 19-year Major League career, the Cuban native had a career record of 229-172 with a 3.30 ERA, pitching for Cleveland (1964-69), Minnesota (’70), Boston (’71-78), the Yankees (’79-80), Pittsburgh (’81) and the Angels (’82). When fellow Cuban Tony Oliva was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, he stood on the stage on a stifling hot Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., and noted that Tiant deserved to be there also.
Though Tiant never got the call from the Hall, the three-time All-Star led the American League in Baseball Reference WAR for pitchers in 1968 and was in the top 10 in seven other seasons. That '68 season was the Year of the Pitcher and Tiant played the part better than anyone not named Bob Gibson or Denny McLain, posting a 1.60 ERA in the first of his eventual four 20-win seasons. The 1975 World Series, in which the upstart Red Sox played a compelling seven-game set before ultimately falling to Cincinnati’s vaunted Big Red Machine, turned Tiant into a household name. But for the gritty righty, the son of a Negro Leagues star (Luis Tiant Sr.), it all started in Cuba, where he was born on Nov. 23, 1940. Tiant followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming an ace in his homeland during his youth. The problem was that Cuba didn’t have professional baseball once Fidel Castro took power in 1959. For three seasons from 1959 through ’61 Tiant pitched for the Mexico City Tigers, hoping he would be noticed by a pro scout. Tiant got his wish when Cleveland purchased his contract from Mexico City for $35,000 prior to the '62 season. Any remorse Tiant might have had for fleeing to the United States straight from Mexico City was eliminated by a letter his father had written him a couple of months earlier that was quoted in Tiant’s autobiography:
“Don’t come home. Castro is not going to allow any more professional sports here no baseball or boxing. If you do come home, I don’t think you’ll be able to get out again. They are not letting many people leave the island, especially young men of military age.” Years after his father, a lefty, had dominated in the Negro Leagues, Luis Jr. carved his own path in the United States, starting with parts of three seasons in the Minors. In 1964, Tiant got his break when Cleveland needed a starter for a July 19 game at Yankee Stadium against a team that was in the middle of a dynasty. All Tiant did in his debut was fire a four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts while out dueling the legendary Whitey Ford. “I was not nervous, but had a little tension,” Tiant said in a 2009 documentary about his life, “Lost Son of Havana.” “You’re pitching against best team in baseball, you’re a rookie. That day was my day. They let me do what my father couldn’t do.” When Tiant started the ’68 All-Star Game, many Cubans including his father watched him on television as a Major Leaguer for the first time. By the time '69 came Tiant started to have arm problems and his ERA swelled to 3.71. In ’70, he started 6-0 for the Twins, but disaster soon struck. Tiant felt a popping sensation on a breaking ball during a start and learned that he had a broken scapula. Medical science not being what it would evolve into, doctors suggested to Tiant he would never pitch again.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of Luis Tiant.
Anyone who met him, on or off the mound, knew he was a true force. A fixture of Fenway and Fort Myers well beyond his playing days, El Tiante was family.
Cut by the Twins the day before camp broke in '71, Tiant was signed to the Braves’ Minor League system, but he was released after a month. The Red Sox signed him two days later, and it wound up being one of the best moves in club history. Still building his arm strength back up after the Red Sox recalled him from the Minors, Tiant went 1-7 with a 4.85 ERA in 21 appearances. There weren’t many expectations for Tiant entering '72, but that was the season he reinvented himself. Lacking the dazzling fastball he once had, Tiant recreated his delivery into one that nobody had ever seen before. Perhaps Joe Garagiola described it best to the NBC audience years later. “If you’re sitting in center field, you got to see his eyeballs. Look at that,” Garagiola said. There was a method to Tiant’s madness, which he explained in the documentary. “I knew I needed something different,” he said. “I had to do something so I could hide the ball better to keep me back more. It gave me more power. I changed my delivery completely.” For the Red Sox, Tiant turned into an utter force, winning 81 games in a four-season span (1973-76).
“Luis embodied everything we love about this game: resilience, passion, and an undeniable sense of belonging to something greater than himself,” said Red Sox chairman Tom Werner in a statement. “He was a cornerstone of the Red Sox pitching staff for years, with an unmatched grit and tenacity on the mound. His ability to rise in the most pressure-filled moments especially his complete-game performances cemented his place as a true legend." In '75, it all came together for Tiant, on and off the field. With relations between the United States and Cuba softening a little that year, United States Senator Edward Brooke from Massachusetts wrote a letter to Castro asking for Tiant’s parents to be permitted to fly from Cuba to Boston to see their son for the first time in 14 years. Senator George McGovern, who had already scheduled a trip to Cuba to discuss other business, hand-delivered the letter to Castro, who granted the request. In fact, Castro said that Tiant’s parents could remain in the United States for as long as they wished. Luis Sr. and Isabel Rovina Vega Tiant arrived in Boston in August 1975. Luis Jr., by then a husband and a father, wept with joy when his parents walked off the plane. One of the most emotional moments took place on Aug. 26 of that '75 season, when the Red Sox invited the elder Tiant to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on a night his son was starting against the Angels. While Luis Sr. fired a strike, his son held his dad’s sport coat from just behind the mound and beamed with pride.
We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of three-time All-Star Luis Tiant, who has passed away at 83.
Luis started three games for the @RedSox in the ‘75 World Series, with two complete games and 25.0 innings pitched. He accompanied @MLB on the 2016… pic.twitter.com/GHkwzwJvQI
The real fun started in October. Tiant started Boston’s postseason run with a Game 1 American League Championship Series shutout against an Athletics team that had won the World Series the three previous years. Then came the Fall Classic, which Tiant opened by not only firing another shutout against the heavy-hitting Reds at Fenway, but he also jump-started his team’s six-run rally in the bottom of the seventh with a lead off single followed by some of the most humorous base running of all time. On a sacrifice bunt by Dwight Evans, the throw by Johnny Bench to second was low. The bulky Tiant, wearing his warm up jacket, basically rolled over second base as the ball traveled into the short outfield. Tiant had Boston coaches, players and fans gasping for air when he started toward third, but somehow stumbled back into second safely. On an RBI single by Yaz, Tiant originally missed home plate, but then tip-toed back before the Reds could throw it back in as the park lit up with a combination of joy and laughter.
Then came the pure guts of Game 4 in Cincinnati in which the Red Sox needed a win to tie up the Series. It took a whopping 155 pitches from Tiant, but he got the job done, leading Boston to a pulsating 5-4 victory. "In my time, that's what we did we finished games," Tiant said in 2017. "My father used to tell me, 'What you start, you finish.' That's how you learned and you grew up that way. Now, it's different. They are protected more. I guess you have to because there's a lot of money involved. A lot of guys want to keep pitching but they come out." Boston’s 4-3 loss in Game 7 was heartbreaking, especially on the heels of the euphoria created by Bernie Carbo and Carlton Fisk a day earlier. It is surely no coincidence that all three victories the Red Sox had in that Fall Classic were started by Tiant. In his post-playing days, it became clear which of his teams Tiant identified most with: He settled in the Boston area and eventually opened up a Cuban food stand on the street outside Fenway Park, where he would smoke cigars and converse with fans.
Tiant also became a fixture at Red Sox Spring Training and loved to pass those days riding around the complex in a golf cart while laughing with former teammate Jim Rice. “Luis had a style of pitching that was as memorable as it was effective, but to me, the rarer gift was his ability to lift you up with just a smile,” said Red Sox president & CEO Sam Kennedy in a statement. “When you were with him, you were reminded of what really matters. Whether you were a teammate, a fan, or just someone fortunate enough to share a conversation, Luis had a way of making you feel special, like you were a close friend. "His legacy on the mound is undeniable, but all of us today are mourning the man, the friend, the mentor who connected generations of fans and players. I am gutted by the news of his passing and will miss him more than words can express. Spring Training won’t be the same without Luis’s infectious energy spreading throughout camp.” Poignantly, Tiant at last visited Cuba in 2007 during a celebration of his 67th birthday. It was there he visited family members, friends and teammates he hadn’t seen in 46 years. Many scenes from that trip were included in the '09 documentary, which originally aired on ESPN.
As he headed back to his second home of Boston after the emotional trip, Tiant offered this: “I feel better, my heart is better, my head is better. I guess I can say, I can close my book now. If I die, I die happy. Now, I’m a free man. I feel free inside of me. Full of good inside of me. That’s a feeling nobody can take away from me now.”
First in franchise history the Texas Rangers have just won the world series in a 5-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks who had a no hitter going into the 7th until the Rangers began to break through and ended up winning on Arizona home field. One of the best runs in MLB history the Rangers were one of 7 teams in the majors to have never won it all. Now it's down to 6.
The Rangers have had some historical players and never won! From Nolan Ryan to Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmero, Juan Gonzalez, Jose Canseco in the 90's and not a single series win. They have always had a strong hitting ideology but it took a Miami Marlins ex pitcher in Nathan Evaldi and another player they signed who was a free agent in Corey Seagar that they are now winning it all. Also can't forget the great manager they got in Bruce Bochy who came out of retirement to win a ring with Texas on his first year there... Once more we can say. "Don't Mess with Texas!" This time it's them winning the World Series. So once again! Congrats to them, the franchise, and their fans.
"I’m so proud of this team. We fought through adversity, injuries, and we came out on top. I don’t know what else to say." Gallen and Eovaldi staged a World Series-worthy pitchers’ duel that was a welcomed tonic after the bullpen-palooza that had played out the previous night. They also proved that zeroes come in many forms.
For Gallen, it was efficient, almost effortless out after out after out. He became the first pitcher in World Series history to pitch six no-hit innings with his team facing elimination. Eovaldi, on the other hand, had to sweat his way to success. He had baserunners abound, allowing four hits and five walks in six innings. But the D-backs went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position against him to strand all nine of those runners. They had two aboard with none out in the third, when No. 3 hitter Gabriel Moreno questionably put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, and nothing came of it.
In short, the Snakes let Eovaldi off the hook and, in the process, left themselves vulnerable to anything short of perfection by their ace. "I kind of joked around that I didn’t know how many rabbits I had left in my hat," Eovaldi said. "I didn’t really help myself out in some of those situations. Other times, they put together quality at-bats and were able to find the whole. A lot of the credit goes to Jonah back there behind the plate. He called a great game. We were on the same page for the most part. We were able to come out on top. That was the main thing."
Gallen finally bent in the seventh, and it began in an ironic way. Seager broke up the no-no, but he didn’t do it in the style that suited him all series. Rather, it was a softly hit grounder to the opposite side a ball that would have been harmless if third baseman Evan Longoria hadn’t been shifted toward shortstop. The ball reached the outfield grass, and the Rangers had life.
Reflecting a theme of this series, the Rangers seized the moment in a way the D-backs did not. Evan Carter ripped a double to put two runners in scoring position. And after a consultation on the mound with pitching coach Brent Strom, Gallen gave up a ground-ball single up the middle to Garver to bring Seager home with the game’s first run. "Gallen was unbelievable tonight, but we came through," Semien said. "Once Corey got the first hit, everybody kind of woke up." Though Gallen recovered to strike out Josh Jung and October relief hero Kevin Ginkel came on to record the last two outs and escape a bases-loaded jam of his own making in the eighth, the D-backs were made to pay for their early inability to cash in at the plate.
The Rangers came out swinging in the ninth against Arizona closer Paul Sewald with consecutive singles from Jung and Nathaniel Lowe. Heim ripped a single to center that Thomas misplayed. The ball scooted toward the wall, as Jung and Lowe hustled home and Heim streaked to third. Two outs later, Semien went deep for the second time in as many nights to make it 5-0, igniting a Texas-sized soiree, 52 years in the making. "This is the biggest moment, the World Series," Semien said. "Put up four runs in the ninth inning to be up 5-0 after being no-hit, it just felt so good. [I] just looked over to the bench and screamed. It’s just an unbelievable feeling."
Miami begins its quest for a third World Series title in team history and it's now clear after the D-backs' (84-78) loss to the Astros. The Marlins (84-77) secured the fifth seed (second National League Wild Card) by remaining a half-game ahead in the standings. Since Miami won the head-to-head tiebreaker, taking four of six in the season series, resuming Thursday’s suspended game against the Mets on Monday in Queens wouldn’t affect the seeding.
That means the Marlins will head to Philadelphia to face the fourth-seeded Phillies in a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series, beginning on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. It will mark the first time the NL East rivals have squared off in the postseason.
What's fantastic about them going is that other than the 2020 plandemic season this is the first time in years they're in the playoffs. First two times lead to world series runs which lead to wins. IN both 1997 and 2003 I remember my dad and myself going to all the home games in 97 for each game of the playoffs, and world series. Great memories and now with today's kids I hope they get to have that here with the current Marlins team. Which on paper has a nice line up top to bottom.
The main concern again is the starting pitching...
Not exactly scary on paper but those arms all have tons of talent... Cueto is old and has done nothing this year... Maybe this will be his one shining moment for 2023. We shall see... Due to need he's probably going to be in the roster pitching 3rd like on the list there.
Either way it's an exciting time to be a Miami Marlins fan... Wish them well.
Shohei Ohtani is no doubt the biggest baseball star today and was at this moment setting an example of everything right in sports. The two way superstar is setting stats so elite that word is that he's on pace to break free agency becoming the sports first half billion dollar player.
But now the future is on hold, and his contract looks to be also as he has a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will not pitch again this season, Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday night in Anaheim, California, a shocking twist in the lead-up to arguably the most highly anticipated free agency in baseball history.
Ohtani exited his start in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds earlier Wednesday after recording just four outs and throwing only 26 pitches. A subsequent MRI revealed the tear, though Minasian said he did not know the severity of it. Ohtani nonetheless insisted on serving as the designated hitter in Game 2, ultimately going 1-for-5 in the Angels' 7-3 loss, and will seek secondary opinions to determine his next step.
One option, of course, is a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow the same one done in October 2018 and one that would keep him off the mound for the entirety of the 2024 season. This is best case for him health wise but this development would significantly affect a free agent sweepstakes that many expected to yield like I said a $500-plus million contract.
"As far as plans and details, I don't have those yet," Minasian said at Angel Stadium. "I've been in contact with his representation. Obviously he hit the second game. He's played with this, in '18, but with that being said we'll take it day by day and see where it goes. Obviously disappointing news. I feel terrible for him. But it is what it is. If anybody can bounce back, it's him."
Recently The Angels decided not to trade Ohtani at the deadline and they hoped to sign to a lucrative extension with him, and have gone 5-16 since the Aug. 1 trade deadline, on pace for a franchise-record eighth consecutive losing season.
The team is riding a four-game losing streak and the other superstar, Mike Trout, who returned from a seven-week absence because of a hamate fracture earlier this week, will return to the injured list because his attempts to swing in Tuesday's game "didn't go well," Minasian said.
Now The Angels can at least hold out hope that Trout will return this season. To me they should both be sent home to heal and let other players take their spot. This would let them get ready for 2024 as a hitter as Ohtani probably won't be able to pitch until 2025 at best.
Ohtani previously battled a cracked nail and blister on his right middle finger. Also in recent weeks, he also has navigated through cramping issues. When asked to skip his previous start because of what Angels manager Phil Nevin described as "arm fatigue." It's the same term the Angels initially used to describe the reason for Ohtani's early exit Wednesday, his first start in 14 days.
His fastball was down to an average of 93.1 mph, nearly four ticks slower than his season average. Minasian said the Angels were not aware of any issues before Wednesday. "He never complained about anything," Minasian added about Ohtani, who was not made available to reporters.
"He had cramps, he was dehydrated, but today is the day. He came out of the game and said, 'Hey, I've got pain in the elbow area.' It's the first day we've heard of any type of pain."
Ohtani, 29, was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain of his UCL in June of his rookie season in 2018 and hoped to combat the need for Tommy John surgery with platelet-rich plasma and stem-cell therapy. He remained in the lineup throughout that process, then was told he needed Tommy John surgery on Sept. 5 and he hit two home runs later that night.
Ohtani put off the procedure until the early part of the offseason, spent all of 2019 rehabbing as a pitcher -- while serving as a full-time DH -- and struggled in both aspects during the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020.
His prowess as a two-way phenomenon began in 2021, a year that saw him win the American League's Most Valuable Player Award unanimously. He would have won the hardware again in 2022 if not for Aaron Judge's record-setting home run campaign.
And in 2023, he looks like the easy favorite again even with the Angels once again out of the playoff picture, and even with another UCL tear ruling him out as a pitcher for the final six weeks.
Ohtani, who hit his major league-leading 44th home run moments before exiting his start, is slashing .304/.405/.664 this season but also boasts a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts in 132 innings. His 8.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement easily leads the majors.
The Angels still don't know whether Ohtani will hit the rest of this season. "We're going to go day to day and just see how it goes, see how he feels," Minasian said.
"I think as we get more information, as far as recovery time and all those types of things, we'll have more information down the road."
Ok so in some MLB News as you know I am a life long fan of the sport and one person who is has all fans in awe these days is Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani who just reached another superhuman achievement, striking out 13 batters to reach 500 in his career, which made him just the second player in AL/NL history to record 500 strikeouts as a pitcher and 100 homers as a hitter, joining Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. But Ohtani also showed he’s human, as he struggled through a three-run fourth inning and gave up four runs over five innings in a second straight tough outing. But Jake Lamb and Mike Trout both homered in the ninth to lead the Angels to a 6-4 win and help Ohtani avoid the loss against the Cardinals on Wednesday at Busch Stadium. Angels manager Phil Nevin called it the best win of the year for the Angels, who saw Lamb tie it with his pinch-hit solo blast and Trout hit his first go-ahead homer in the ninth since July 7, 2015.
“It’s just one of those late ones that finally goes our way,” Nevin said. “We had a lot of great performances tonight. Just a great, great win.” Ohtani, though, has been a strikeout machine this season, as he tied a career-high with his 13 punchouts and leads the Majors with 59 strikeouts in 39 innings. He became the first pitcher in MLB to reach 13 strikeouts in a game this season. He made history with his 13th strikeout by becoming the 10th Japanese-born pitcher to reach 500 strikeouts. And, of course, he joined Ruth in the 500 strikeout/100 homer club. Ruth hit 714 home runs and was credited with 501 strikeouts as a pitcher, per the Elias Sports Bureau. (Ruth's totals on mlb.com and other sites show 488 career strikeouts, but that does not match up when adding up the totals from his official game logs.) Ohtani's also just the fifth player in the Modern Era (since 1900) with 500 career hits and 500 career strikeouts, joining Smoky Joe Wood, Red Ruffing, Walter Johnson and Ruth, per ESPN Stats. Ohtani had a strange start outside of his strikeout total, however, as he allowed four extra-base hits, walked a batter, hit another and threw two wild pitches. It marked only the third time in his career he has given up four extra-base hits and he had allowed just five on the season coming into his start. He also surrendered five hits, snapping his streak of 10 straight outings of allowing three hits or fewer, which was tied for a Major League record with Jacob deGrom in 2021.
So while it was special for Ohtani to reach yet another milestone, he was frustrated he only made it through five frames. “I gave up a couple homers and I wanted to get through six or seven innings, minimum,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “So more than the strikeouts, I’m just disappointed I couldn’t pitch deeper in the game.” He had also gone 12 straight starts without giving up a homer until surrendering two against the A’s in his last outing. He matched that total against the Cardinals, as he gave up a solo homer to Nolan Gorman in the first and a go-ahead two-run shot to Dylan Carlson in the fourth.
The Angels led by two runs heading into the fourth and Ohtani helped his own cause at the plate with an RBI single as part of a two-run third. But Ohtani was greeted by back-to-back doubles from Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras to open the fourth. After striking out Alec Burleson, Ohtani served up a two-run homer to Carlson to give the Cardinals the lead. “Those are good hitters over there,” Nevin said. “Gorman jumped on that first-pitch heater in the first inning and then in the [fourth] he hung a couple sliders over the plate. But he finished up strong and he had three hits. So it was a really nice performance by him.”
The Cardinals attacked him early in the count that inning, as Arenado's double came on an 0-1 sweeper, Contreras' double came on a first-pitch sweeper and Carlson’s homer came on 0-1 sweeper. “I feel like they were sitting on certain pitches on certain counts,” Ohtani said. “They guessed right and got all of those extra-base hits. I just have to do a better job.” Ohtani and the Angels appeared headed for a disappointing loss, only for Lamb and Trout to play hero in the ninth after a strong performance from the bullpen. Trout said he hopes it’s a spark for the 17-14 Angels. “It means a lot,” Trout said. “These ones you look back at the end of the year, they add up. We have to take this momentum into tomorrow.”
Well he was my favorite player growing up as a massive fan of the Yankees, and Donnie Baseball it was a dream to watch him play and for the last seven years he managed the Miami Marlins.
While I loved as a player I can say he wasn’t as great a manager but good enough to keep during the growing pains of rebuilding, and wishing he would get better over those seven years.
Three dismantlement, and rebuilding later and he’s still not good and this past season is by far one of the worst in team or MLB history. A team loaded with talent which seems like it was fighting to end up in last place not first.
He made a lot of bad moves as a manager but he was mostly often failed by bad moves in the front office and this past year was the same! Forced to tale on 3 big bloated contracts from OF which couldn’t hit all year he was forced to play these guys over young talented rookies which would have done a better job at these positions. Also if you’re in rebuild mode why would you spend all that money on these 3 contracts which A is a catcher known to NOT be able to hit but has a swell glove? You already had a better option in a Nick Fortes who can hit, and also sports a nice glove. Sure not a GOLD ONE yet but give him time. Also with a plethora of OF Depth why would you sign “Soler, and Garcia” ? These moves make no sense. Jeter left town cause he didn’t like these moves either but he wanted to throw Millions at NICK CASTELLANOS who also would have been a bad move from looking at it. They should have just developped OF from the players they had, and saved the money to keep their pitching.
Besides ACE Sandy Alcantara the team is loaded with good young arms which are still going thru growing pains and developing. Oh It’s find Don is leaving after all Jeter left so might as well start new next year so with that said can we ditch the rest of this horrible front office? Bruce Sherman if you won’t sell the team AT LEAST ditch [general manager] Kim Ng, She’s horrible.
Now here is the press out off MIAMI: Manager Don Mattingly and the Marlins have mutually agreed that he will not return for the 2023 season, the team announced on Sunday afternoon.
“We are fortunate to have had Don Mattingly leading our team on the field over the last seven years,” chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said in a statement. “He has represented the Marlins, our players, our fans, and the South Florida community with unmatched dignity and pride. Over the course of our recent conversations with Don, we both agreed not to pursue a new contract for the 2023 season and that the time is right for a new voice to lead our clubhouse.”
“After meeting with Mr. Sherman and discussing with [general manager] Kim Ng, all parties agreed that it was time for a new voice for the organization,” Mattingly said in a statement. “I am proud and honored to have served as manager of the Marlins for the past seven years and have enjoyed my experiences and relationships I’ve developed within the organization. I look forward to spending time with my family in Evansville, and to any future endeavors.”
But a rebuilding stage began under the current ownership group soon after, and Mattingly didn’t reach the playoffs with Miami until the 2020 COVID-19-shortened campaign, helping the franchise snap a 16-year postseason drought in its only winning season under his tutelage. He went on to win National League Manager of the Year that season.
In September 2019, Mattingly signed a two-year contract extension with a mutual option for ’22 (it was his idea to have a deadline for it) that was exercised July ‘21, meaning he is not under contract for next season.
It has been a disappointing 2022 for the Marlins (63-89), who expected to contend in the competitive NL East but sustained a multitude of injuries to the likes of All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. and more, as well as the underperformance of marquee signing AvisaÃl GarcÃa.
Asked whether the outcome might have been different had the season gone differently, Ng said it’s “always a consideration” because it’s an “outcomes-based industry.”
“When you have a season like this one, where everyone is really disappointed at the end of the year, the outcomes, I think you reflect quite a bit — and a lot of self-reflection, I think, on everybody’s part,” Ng said. “It was through conversations we all just got to the same place, which is that Donnie wasn’t going to pursue a contract for ‘23 and we were not going to pursue a contract for ‘23.”
When asked about Sherman mentioning a new voice to lead, Ng later added, “I didn’t sense any disconnect. I watched the club intently the last couple of months, and they’re still playing hard. But sometimes somebody new adds a little bit something different, and that clicks. Again, I think between all parties, this was just the way we decided to go.”
What this means for the rest of Mattingly’s coaching staff has yet to be determined because the organization’s focus had been on the conversations that led to Sunday. As for the next manager, Ng said it is important but not a prerequisite that they have Major League experience. The Marlins want someone in as soon as possible.
So why Sunday with 10 games left in the season?
“I don’t know that there’s ever a good day for this type of thing,” Ng said. “In order for Don to also say goodbye to people, it’s hard to do the day after the season. So today was fine, and tomorrow’s an off-day. It gives everyone a little bit of a chance to breathe.”
Remember this one sport named Major League Baseball? I do…. I grew up watching it. As a kid my first love were the Oakland A’s, and New York Yankees in the American League, the LA Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves in the National. Now why those two teams? Well before there was the Miami or Florida Marlins which started in 1993 I found myself rooting for them, and the first player I really wanted to be like as a kid playing ball myself was Hammering Hank Aaron! The real king of MLB baseball’s all time homerun crown. Before the steroid era he was simply a humble god of the sport.
For all the BLM/Antifa and riots, and movements today these kids have it easy compared to what Hank Aaron lived through. These kids today are just stupid compared to what he dealt with. There indeed was institutional racism in many parts of the country in his youth, and when he became a big name in the sport, and as he got closer to the record held by the great bambino Babe Ruth his mortality was shown. People wanted the man dead just because of the color of his skin.
When I was a 9th grader in High school for black history month one year they asked us to pick anyone in the black community we liked, and write a paper on them. This was for my “English Class” little did I know then that one day I would be posting about the death of my hero Hank Aaron. But here we are. He is now gone to the great beyond, and has left this world which was both cruel, and generous to him for the talent, and wisdom he brought at a time when the country really needed to heal, and come together. He helped do that with just one simple thing. Playing the game the right way, and being humble, and true to himself. He was no diva for the cameras, and he was not some corporate sellout to CHINA like some people today. (LeBron James)
Aaron is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His 755 career home runs broke the long-standing MLB record set by Babe Ruth and stood as the most for 33 years; Aaron still holds many other MLB batting records. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on its list of the “100 Greatest Baseball Players”. In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Aaron was born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama. Aaron had seven siblings, including Tommie Aaron, who played major-league baseball with him. He appeared briefly in the Negro American League and in minor league baseball before starting his major league career. By his final MLB season, Aaron was the last Negro league baseball player on a major league roster.
Aaron played the vast majority of his MLB games in right field, though he appeared at several other infield and outfield positions. In his last two seasons, he was primarily a designated hitter. Aaron was an NL All-Star for 20 seasons and an AL All-Star for 1 season, and he holds the record for the most All-Star selections (25), while sharing the record for most All-Star Games played (24) with Willie Mays and Stan Musial. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner, and in 1957, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBIs) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Aaron is also in the top five for career hits (3,771) and runs (2,174). He is one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits. Aaron is in second place in home runs (755) and at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game’s key career power hitting records.
After his retirement, Aaron held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves, including senior vice president. In 1988, Aaron was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia’s founders. Aaron resided near Atlanta.
For more information on the amazing life of Hank Aaron check out his Wiki page here.
WOW This is sad to hear as like millions of others I grew up loving the Legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. I lived in California for years, and loved to see his Dodgers play and at many know for lots of years he was the best thing the Dodgers had.. But after a short season the Dodgers won it all in 2020, and now as the new season is coming up we hope we hear of the horrible loss of Tommy who just died at the age of 93.
“When Walter Alston retired at the end of the 1976 season after 24 years as the manager of the Dodgers, the great Vin Scully interviewed Alston’s replacement. How much pressure, Scully asked, would the new manager be under, following a legend?” To which Tommy Lasorda said, “I’m not worried about the guy I am following. I’m worried about the guy that is going to have to follow me.”
It was vintage Lasorda, and as usual, he was right. Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1977 to 1996 and compiled a winning percentage of .526, won four pennants, won the World Series in 1981 and 1988 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. He used to say that he “bleeds Dodger blue,” and he meant it. He spent 71 years in the Dodgers organization as a player, a coach and then the most famous manager in club history.
“The funny thing is, Bill Veeck was going to move his team from St. Louis to Baltimore in 1953 for $5 million, and he was going to take me with him,” Lasorda said. “I was going to pitch for Baltimore, but the Yankees wouldn’t give their approval for the move, so they didn’t move until the next year. The next year, I was with the Dodgers. But if that move had been made the previous year, my whole life would have [been] much, much different.”
Lasorda brought Hollywood to the Dodgers. He loved the celebrity lifestyle; he loved that he became friends with movie stars, singers and other glitterati, greats such as Frank Sinatra. But mostly, he loved baseball and he loved the Dodgers. During spring training 2013 in Glendale, Arizona, Lasorda, then 85, came to the Dodgers’ camp virtually every day to help the organization in any way he could, and to be Tommy Lasorda.
He loved being Tommy Lasorda.
“Most people my age,” he said, “are dead or in a nursing home. I make speeches all over the country. But it’s not work. When you love what you’re doing, it never feels like work.”
No one loved baseball more than Lasorda. Jo, his wife of more than 60 years, once told him that he loved baseball more than he loved her, and he agreed, then playfully added, “But I love you more than I love football or basketball.”
Lasorda loved the game, and he loved to manage. And he was very good at it, in part because of the positive reinforcement he consistently gave his players.
“I made guys believe; I made them believe they could win,” he said in the course of a conversation that spring of 2013. “I did it by motivating them. I was asked all the time, ‘You mean baseball players that make $5 million, $8 million, $10 million a year need to be motivated?’ They do. That’s what I did.”
“Cardinal O’Connor, who performed the memorial mass for my mother, asked me once to talk about motivation,” Lasorda continued. “The day I knew I could motivate players was in Spokane in the Pacific Coast League. We were playing in Tucson. We had a little left-hander on the mound named Bobby O’Brien. He had two outs, bases loaded, late in the game. I went to the mound to talk to him. I said, ‘Bobby, I want you to look up at the Big Dodger in the sky. I want you to look at this as maybe the last hitter you will ever face in your life. If you give up a hit, you will die. You will face the Lord knowing that you failed, and you died. But if you get this guy out, you can face the Lord knowing that you got this guy out. So what do you want to do, get this guy out, or die?’ He said, ‘I want to get this guy out!’
“So I left the mound, and he gave up a two-run single. I went back to the mound and said, ‘Bobby, what happened?’ He said, ‘I was so afraid of dying, I couldn’t concentrate on what I was doing.’ That’s when I knew. I actually convinced him that he might die if he didn’t get this guy out. Now that’s motivation!”
Like Bobby O’Brien, Lasorda was a little left-hander during his playing days.
“My stuff wasn’t very good,” he said, “but I loved to compete.” He pitched 58 innings in his major league career for the Dodgers and A’s, going 0-4 with a 6.52 ERA. “I thought I might have a chance to pitch for the Dodgers when Walter [Alston] got the job [in 1955],” Lasorda said. “In 1956, I was 14-5 in the minor leagues. I won more games than [Carl] Erskine. I won more games than [Ed] Roebuck. I got called up in June of 1956. I sat on the bench the rest of the year. I never got in a game.”
During that time, according to Lasorda, one of his teammates, Don Zimmer, overheard a conversation between Dodgers pitching coach Ted Lyons and Alston in which Lyons told the manager that Lasorda should get in a game.
“But,” Lasorda said 57 years later, “Walter said to Ted, ‘We need him more in the dugout. He adds great life to the dugout.’ I went to Walter and said, ‘What am I, a cheerleader? I want to pitch. Put me in the game. I can do this.’ I never really got the chance. … Ah, but none of that matters now.”
What matters is that Lasorda was a highly successful manager for the team he loved the most. “Let me show you something,” Lasorda once said, and he took a writer into the office of then-Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. On the wall was a picture of every Dodgers manager in the club’s glorious history. “Look,” he said, “most of these guys only lasted a couple of years. A few went a little longer. It’s amazing to me. Here are all of them, and so few of them managed the Dodgers for very long.”
He didn’t need to complete the thought. Only Alston managed the team longer than Lasorda’s 21-year tenure. And the guy who replaced Lasorda? That was Bill Russell. He lasted three years. Lasorda was right back in 1976. It wasn’t easy having to follow him.
But finally, in 2020, 32 years after the Dodgers last won the World Series, they won again, beating the Rays in six games. Tommy Lasorda, the last manager to win a World Series for the Dodgers, was there, in a private suite at Globe Life Field, surrounded by friends and family. He had been flown in for the clinching Game 6.
“He was cognizant, he knew exactly what was going on when the last out was made,” said Bobby Valentine, a former Dodger, a former manager and a dear friend of Lasorda’s. “So when the final out was made, we all stood up in the suite and yelled, with Tommy, ‘Oh, yeah!’ Because that’s what Tommy always said after a big win, ‘Oh, yeah!’ Then we got a picture taken with him after the Dodgers had won. Of all the records that Tommy holds, he holds the record for most pictures taken with him of anyone in the world. I’d say it’s 500,000. It’s probably much more. Moms who had their son’s picture taken with him in the grocery story. He was always accessible. That was Tommy.”
Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has died at the age of 93, the team announced. He suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home Thursday night and was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Lasorda was hospitalized on Nov. 8 with heart issues and didn’t return home until Tuesday. He managed the Dodgers from 1976 to 1996, winning two World Series titles, four National League pennants and eight division crowns. He was named NL Manager of the Year twice and won 1,599 career games.
Lasorda was born on Sept. 22, 1927, and he grew up in the blue-collar city of Norristown, Pennsylvania, located just outside of Philadelphia. In 1945, at the age of 18, the left-handed pitcher got his big break by signing with the hometown Phillies organization. “I did not have a lot of ability, but I’ll guarantee you one thing, when I stood on that hill of thrills, I didn’t believe that there was any man alive who could hit me,” Lasorda said in 1997. “And if they did hit me, which they did, I thought it was an accident.”
Lasorda’s baseball career was interrupted in 1946 and 1947 because of military service with the U.S. Army. Lasorda returned in 1948 and didn’t miss a beat; on May 31 that year, he struck out 25 batters in Schenectady’s 15-inning win over Amsterdam and singled in the deciding run. After that season, Lasorda was selected by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the minor league draft, beginning a longtime relationship with the franchise.
Lasorda reached the majors in 1954 and played with the Dodgers in 1954 and 1955. He also pitched for the Kansas City Athletics in 1956, but he never played in the big leagues again after that season. He retired from pitching in 1960. With his playing career finished, Lasorda remained with the Dodgers. He was a scout for the team until becoming a minor league manager from 1965 to 1972. Seventy-five players Lasorda managed in the minors went on to play in the big leagues.
In 1973, Lasorda was the third-base coach for the Dodgers under Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. When Alston retired in 1976, Lasorda was named his replacement.
Lasorda quickly found success in Los Angeles. In 1977 and 1978, he led the Dodgers to the National League pennant but lost to the Yankees in the World Series both seasons. In 1981, Lasorda finally got his first World Series title as the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in six games. The Dodgers also won the World Series in 1988 under Lasorda. He was in attendance for the team’s Game 6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in October that sealed the Dodgers’ first World Series championship since Lasorda’s 1988 team.
After 20 seasons, Lasorda retired as Dodgers manager in 1996 because of health concerns. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997 by the veterans committee, but Lasorda remained active in the sport. He served various roles with the Dodgers and he was manager of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 over favored Cuba. Lasorda was also the official ambassador of the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.
“His passion, success, charisma and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature that he used to grow our sport,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement Friday. “Tommy welcomed Dodger players from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere — making baseball a stronger, more diverse and better game.”
Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully, who was the voice of the Dodgers for 67 years, fondly remembered Lasorda’s energy and effort.
“There are two things about Tommy I will always remember,” Scully said in a statement. “The first is his boundless enthusiasm. Tommy would get up in the morning full of beans and maintain that as long as he was with anybody else.
“The other was his determination. He was a fellow with limited ability and he pushed himself to be a very good Triple-A pitcher. He never quite had that something extra that makes a major leaguer, but it wasn’t because he didn’t try. Those are some of the things: his competitive spirit, his determination and above all, this boundless energy and self-belief. His heart was bigger than his talent, and there were no foul lines for his enthusiasm.”
A distant relative of Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza, and the godfather to Piazza’s brother Tommy, Lasorda was instrumental in influencing the Dodgers to select Piazza in the 62nd round in the 1988 draft. Piazza went on to become a 12-time All-Star with a .308 career batting average, one of nine NL Rookies of the Year to play for the Dodgers under Lasorda. Piazza finished with 427 home runs, including a record 396 as a catcher.
In 2009, Lasorda had his portrait hung in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. Lasorda’s No. 2 was retired by the Dodgers in 1997 and the main street that leads to the entrance of the Dodgers complex in Vero Beach, Florida, was renamed Tommy Lasorda Lane that year.
This is heart breaking for us all who grew up loving to watch his goofy antics, and lovable grandpa like personality. My uncle was, and still is a big LA Dodgers fan, and we used to watch a lot of their games together when I was a kid… My dad loved them also and liked to watch them just not when they had bad seasons. But we all agreed on one thing. We all loved Tommy! When he retired it was sad to see him leave the game but we’re all here for a short time. He got to stay for 93 glorious years, and I thank him for the great memories, and send my condolances to his family, friends, and the entire LA Dodgers franchise.
