George Springer, Trevor Story Giving $150K to Benefit Black, Underprivileged Athletes
May 26, 2021
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 07: George Springer #4 of the Toronto Blue Jays waves to fans prior to the start of a game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on May 07, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Toronto Blue Jays star George Springer and Colorado Rockies star Trevor Story are donating $150,000 to the Perfect Game Cares Foundation.
The money will be put toward "programs that will combat the systemic barriers that many Black youth athletes and underprivileged youth face."
Perfect Game, which was originally launched in 1993 to help grow amateur baseball at all levels, began its charitable foundation in 2003.
The aims of Perfect Game Cares extend beyond baseball. Executive director Jennifer Ford said the foundation raised more than $500,000 in 2020, which went toward pediatric cancer patients and children from underserved areas.
The donation by Springer and Story focuses on what has been a longstanding issue within youth baseball.
Washington Nationals first baseman Josh bell told Al Jazeera America's Ray Glier in 2014 he believed more and more children were being priced out of the sport.
"Baseball is one of those sports that is really expensive, and the showcases are starting earlier and earlier," he said. "The competition is getting stiffer, so the need for some sort of training outside of the hitting tee in the backyard comes more and more at an earlier age."
In announcing his decision to opt out of the 2020 season, two-time All-Star Ian Desmond recounted how he had recently visited the Little League fields on which he played in Sarasota, Florida. He called the fields "run down" and "neglected."
Desmond went on to say he "felt the triumph of success" and "the love of others" through his days playing at the youth level.
"I got to experience that because it was a place where baseball could be played by any kid who wanted it," he said. "It was there, it was affordable, and it was staffed by people who cared."
Yankees' Corey Kluber to Undergo MRI After Leaving Game with Shoulder Injury
May 26, 2021
New York Yankees starting pitcher Corey Kluber (28) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Kluber, who threw a no-hitter last Wednesday, threw 58 pitches over three innings, allowing two earned runs, two hits and three walks while striking out five. The earned runs were courtesy of a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. two-run homer.
Right-handed reliever Michael King came on in relief of Kluber. Lindsey Adler of The Athletic set that scene:
The 35-year-old has gone 4-2 with 55 strikeouts and a 3.04 ERA in 53.1 innings for the Yankees.
Kluber's 2020 season lasted just one scoreless inning after he suffered a Grade 2 strain of the teres major muscle in the back of his pitching shoulder on July 26. He was placed on the 45-day injured list but did not return before the 60-game season ended.
The two-time American League Cy Young winner joined the Texas Rangers after nine years with Cleveland. He went 83-45 with a 2.85 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 in a brilliant five-year stretch from 2014 to 2018.
In 2019, Kluber posted a 5.80 ERA over seven starts. He allowed the largest hard-hit rate (37.5 percent) and second-largest walk rate (8.9 percent) of his career, per FanGraphs.
His season ended on May 2 after he suffered a broken forearm following a line drive from the Miami Marlins' Brian Anderson. He attempted a comeback and made three rehab starts in August but was pulled from his third with left abdomen tightness, per Mandy Bell of MLB.com.
Kluber played catch in September, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic, but he did not return to Cleveland.
Cleveland picked up his $17.5 million option for 2020 but eventually traded him to the Rangers for right-handed pitcher Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Delino DeShields.
Kluber signed with the Yankees on a one-year deal after the season.
Rays' Stuart Sternberg Sued by 5 Minority Owners, Allegedly Had Secret Montreal Talks
May 25, 2021
Members of the Tampa Bay Rays take batting practice at Tropicana Field before a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays Friday, July 24, 2020, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
While the Tampa Bay Rays are in first place in the American League East on the field, there is reportedly plenty of turmoil in the ownership group off it.
On Monday, Josh Solomon and Emily L. Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times reported a group of the team's minority owners filed a lawsuit against principal owner Stuart Sternberg. The suit is seeking more than $30,000 in damages and for his company to be expelled as general partner.
The lawsuit states Sternberg has schemed relentlessly to acquire more control of the Rays and in 2014 began secret negotiations to sell an interest in the team to Montreal investors.
City officials told Solomon and Mahoney that the alleged negotiations may have violated the Rays' exclusivity clause with their Tropicana Field lease, which requires the team to play all its home games there through the 2027 campaign and not negotiate to play somewhere else.
The suit states Sternberg has increased his stake in the team to 85 percent from the 49 percent he had in 2004. According to the suit, he did so by negotiating "a secret series of contracts" with previous managing partner Vince Naimoli and, as he continued to acquire stakes, began "secretly negotiating" with Canadian businessman Stephen Bronfman and his Montreal Baseball Group in 2014.
He also allegedly forced some partners to sell their shares to him at less than their value and then transferred "the entire baseball club and franchise" to a new company under his management without telling the other partners.
Solomon and Mahoney noted the Rays and the city of St. Petersburg are negotiating about the team's future and where it will play starting in 2028. Part of the negotiation is about whether there will be a new stadium and if the club will play a split season in St. Petersburg and Montreal, which hasn't been home to an MLB team since the Expos left to become the Washington Nationals after the 2004 season.
"The residents of St. Petersburg and fans of the Rays should not be made to wait any longer for clarity related to the future of the team in Tampa Bay or redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site," St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said in a statement.
The Rays have played at Tropicana Field since their inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays.
They have reached two World Series and played in the playoffs six times. The 2021 team has an opportunity to add to that following a 30-19 start and is a half-game ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East.
Rays Top Prospect Wander Franco's Signed Card Sells for $200K at Auction
May 23, 2021
Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco, looks up after he hits a home run in the first inning during a spring training baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Port Charlotte, Fla. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Wander Franco hasn't made his major league debut, but his rookie card is already pulling in the big bucks.
A signed 2019 Bowman Red Refractor graded PSA 10 sold for $198,030 on Saturday. It's one of just five copies.
Franco, who is playing for Tampa Bay's Triple-A affiliate, is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in MLB.
The infielder has appeared in 16 games for the Durham Bulls this season, hitting .269/.333/.493 with three home runs and 10 RBI. He had not played above the High-A level since he signed with the Rays in July 2017.
The 2018 Appalachian League MVP spent the 2020 season at the team's alternate training site and was a member of the taxi squad during Tampa Bay's run to the World Series (where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers).
On Friday, Tampa Bay traded shortstop Willy Adames to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of a package that netted the Rays a pair of pitchers, which could soon make room for the 20-year-old Franco in the big leagues—though the team called up his current teammate Taylor Walls instead.
Even without Franco on the roster, the Rays have managed to edge their way past the New York Yankees into second place in the AL East at 28-19, one game behind the first-place Boston Red Sox.
When Franco does finally get the call, interest in his key rookie cards will undoubtedly reach a fever pitch.
Rays' Kevin Kiermaier Has Eye Irritation from His Eyelash: 'Feels Like... Sand'
May 23, 2021
Tampa Bay Rays' Kevin Kiermaier stands in center field after his throw to home plate was not in time to prevent Oakland Athletics' Matt Olson scoring from third on Mitch Moreland's sacrifice fly during the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Kiermaier told reporters it felt like he had sand in his eye:
"A couple minutes in, I was like, dang it, I got an eyelash in my eye. There was an eyelash in there and then we rinsed my eye, and then it disappeared or kind of went into one of these crevices or whatever. Once that happened, everything took a turn for the worse."
"I don't know how or if we scratched, that's definitely what it feels like. I keep telling people it just feels like a piece of sand on the inside of my eyelid. Every time I blink, just pressure, irritation, a scratching feeling."
Injuries have been a fairly common occurrence for the three-time Gold Glove winner. Upon becoming an MLB regular in 2014, he made 150-plus appearances once through his first six years. He then missed 11 games in the shortened 2020 campaign.
Most recently, Kiermaier sprained his left wrist in the Rays' 6-3 defeat to the Oakland Athletics on May 8. He was sliding into second base on an attempted steal when his left arm came to an abrupt stop on the knee of A's third baseman Matt Chapman.
Kevin Kiermaier appears to injure his left wrist while trying to steal second base and has to leave the game.
— Rays on FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN_Rays) May 8, 2021
By and large, Kiermaier has been a below-average hitter in MLB. He has a .309 career weighted on-base average and a 96 weighted runs created plus, per FanGraphs.
Tampa Bay will miss the 31-year-old's presence in center, though, because he remains one of baseball's best defensive outfielders. Going to Brett Phillips, who replaced Kiermaier after the sprained wrist, represents a clear downgrade in that regard.
Gerrit Cole Start vs. White Sox Gives Yankees Their Most Dominant SP Run Since 1932
May 22, 2021
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 22: Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees reacts after pitching during the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Anytime a New York Yankees team is the first to do something in franchise history since before World War II, it should immediately grab the attention of baseball fans everywhere.
Saturday in the Bronx proved to be one of those moments, as Gerrit Cole's seven shutout innings over the Chicago White Sox extended a scoreless streak by Yankees starters to 30 innings for the first time since 1932.
Beginning with Corey Kluber's no-hitter over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, New York starters have been nearly perfect.
Between Kluber, Cole, Domingo German and Jordan Montgomery, Yankees starters have allowed 14 hits and four walks with 32 strikeouts over the last 30 innings. That's helped New York outscore opponents 20-5 during its five-game win streak.
According to ESPN, that type of dominance on the mound hasn't happened for the Yankees (27-19) since May 11-16, 1932, when Johnny Allen, George Pipgras, Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez combined for four straight starts of seven shutout innings.
Cole—the Yanks' ace—had the most trouble among his teammates while keeping the scoreless streak alive Saturday.
Early control issues from the righty saw him pitching through traffic as New York's defense came to the rescue. Cole induced ground-ball double plays in three straight innings of work to keep the first-place White Sox (26-18) at bay during a 7-0 win.
It's the eighth shutout of the season for the Yankees, who lead the league in that category. Not since 1958 has New York thrown eight shutouts through its first 46 games.
Jameson Taillon is on the bump Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET against the White Sox as the Yanks look to make it through a full turn of the rotation without giving up a run. He enters with a 5.73 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and plenty of momentum created by his teammates to keep the streak alive.
Yankees’ Corey Kluber Throws No- Hitter vs. Rangers; MLB's 2nd No-Hitter in 2 Days
May 20, 2021
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - MAY 19: Corey Kluber #28 of the New York Yankees throws against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Globe Life Field on May 19, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
One night after Detroit Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull tossed the fifth no-hitter of the 2021 MLB season, New York Yankees star Corey Kluber joined the club with a 2-0 victory over the Texas Rangers in which he gave up no hits and just one walk while striking out nine.
It's the first time there have been 2 no-hitters within a 2 day span since Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Stewart each threw a no-hitter on June 29, 1990. pic.twitter.com/5rjdQO8JkQ
With Kluber's feat, MLB is now one away from tying the modern era record of seven individual no-hitters in a season. All well before June.
In fact, it's the first time since 1917 MLB has seen more than five no-hitters before June. After Turnbull's accomplishment in Seattle, baseball was on pace for 19 no-hitters in 2021. That number continues to rise. The all-time MLB record remains at eight no-hitters, which were completed during the 1884. Seven no-hitters were thrown during the 1990, 1991 and 2012 campaigns.
Kluber needed just 100 pitches to finish off the Rangers at Globe Life Field on Wednesday and complete the 12th no-hitter in Yankees history.
New York Yankees starter Corey Kluber just finished the sixth no-hitter of the 2021 season, shutting down Texas. The first of his awesome career.
It’s the second no-hitter inside of 24 hours and brings the 2021 total to within one of the record seven for an entire season. Wow.
He joins John Means, Carlos Rodon, Joe Musgrove, Wade Miley and Turnbull among hurlers to go a full nine innings without giving up a hit.
Kluber, who attended high school in the Dallas suburb of Coppell, is the first Yankees starter to toss a no-hitter since David Cone threw a perfect game against the Montreal Expos in 1999.
It's the second no-hitter thrown against the Rangers this year after the club was previously no-hit by Musgrove and the San Diego Padres on April 9 and the 311th no-hitter thrown in MLB history.
Update: MLB pitchers this season have 14 complete games in 9-inning games. 6 of the 14 (42.9%) have been no-hitters.
Already a two-time American League Cy Young-winner, Kluber's no-hitter felt unlikely if only because the idea of the righty consistently throwing in later innings seemed far-fetched to begin with at this point in his career.
The Yankees signed the veteran on a one-year, $11 million deal in January to help fill out the rotation after two injury-plagued seasons that threatened to cut his time in the Majors short. In 2019, Kluber battled through a fractured arm and an abdomen ailment. He made just seven starts for Cleveland that year, but none after May 1.
Kluber wouldn't step on a Major League mound again until July 26, 2020 for the same Texas Rangers club he no-hit on Wednesday.
Despite trading Delino DeShields Jr. and closer Emmanuel Clase to Cleveland for Kluber and cash, the three-time All-Star lasted just one inning as a Ranger before a torn teres major muscle ended his season early for the second consecutive year.
Aaron Boone on Corey Kluber's no-hitter: "Corey has come here and become entrenched in our culture, embraced in the clubhouse, beloved by everyone. I'm excited for him and his story, and what he's been through." #YankeesZoomRoompic.twitter.com/1isggXCfcs
Wednesday was a return to form for Kluber with a third-inning walk to Charlie Culberson serving as the only blemish on an otherwise perfect night.
The 35-year-old had previously taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning with 18 strikeouts in 2015. With half the amount of Ks in nine innings against Texas, Kluber checked off another box on his ever-growing resume and moved MLB to the brink of tying one of its longest standing records.
Orioles' Chris Davis to Miss Rest of 2021 Season After Surgery on Hip Injury
May 19, 2021
Baltimore Orioles' Chris Davis looks on after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Baltimore. The Orioles won 5-3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis will miss the rest of the season after having arthroscopic surgery on his left hip, general manager Mike Elias announced Wednesday.
This is another setback for Davis after he played just 105 games in 2019 and 16 games during the shortened 2020 season. He started the 2021 campaign on the 60-day injured list, which will result in him not making a single appearance this season.
The 35-year-old first baseman turned heads in 2013 as an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner when he tallied a .286/.370/.634 slash line and drilled 53 home runs and added 138 RBI. While his batting average dropped to an unsightly .196 the next year, he bounced back with 47 long balls in 2015 and 38 in 2016.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, Davis has struggled to live up to the seven-year, $161 million contract he signed in 2016. His average has not been above .180 since 2017, and it hasn't eclipsed the .221 mark since 2015. Meanwhile, he has a total of 28 home runs since the start of the 2018 campaign.
Davis is owed $17 million this season and $17 million in 2022.
MLB Trade Rumors: Twins SP Jose Berrios a 'Name to Watch' for Blue Jays
May 19, 2021
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MAY 08: Jose Berrios #17 of the Minnesota Twins throws a first inning pitch against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 08, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios is a "name to watch" if the Toronto Blue Jays begin to pursue ways to strengthen their staff, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
Berrios is 3-2 with a 3.74 ERA and 3.53 FIP in eight starts so far, per FanGraphs.
The first question is why Minnesota would want to trade one of its best pitchers.
The Twins own the worst record (14-26) in the American League, but the door isn't totally closed on the playoffs. FanGraphs gives them an 8.8 percent chance of reaching the postseason, while Baseball Prospectus is a little more optimistic at 20.7 percent.
Berrios is arbitration-eligible for one more year, with the bulk of the current roster signed or under team control through at least 2022. Should the organization miss out on the playoffs, the front office doesn't need to blow it up and start over.
But general manager Thad Levine might see sometime before the July 30 trade deadline as the best time to move Berrios since Minnesota's trade leverage will only dwindle the closer the 26-year-old gets to free agency.
The Blue Jays are second in the East at 23-17, 0.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox. The top four teams in the division are separated by just 1.5 games, so it promises to be a tight race.
Because of that, acquiring a starting pitcher would be a sensible move. Toronto's starters are collectively 21st in FIP (4.39) and 27th in home run rate (1.67 per nine innings), per FanGraphs.
Yankees' Aaron Judge Has Become Every MLB Pitcher's Worst Nightmare
May 18, 2021
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge gestures after hitting a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Bruce Zimmermann during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 16, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Imagine, if you will, a gigantic hitter with extraordinary home run power and weaknesses that are gradually turning into strengths. If you're a pitcher, that's not someone you want to face.
Which brings us to Aaron Judge.
Now in his fifth full season with the New York Yankees, Judge is fresh off earning American League Player of the Week honors after he went deep four times in three games against the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend.
The last of those was a true exclamation point. Though his clout on Sunday was his second-fastest of the 2021 season at "only" 114.7 mph, it was nonetheless his longest at 443 feet:
With 12 long balls to his name, Judge is now tied for second on the major league leaderboard behind only Shohei Ohtani (13). He thus has a shot at a second AL home run title to go with the one he secured with a then-rookie record 52 blasts in 2017.
But even as great as the '17 version of Judge was, the '21 version is greater.
After taking his lumps in a 27-game audition with the Yankees in 2016, Judge took the league by storm with a 1.139 OPS and 30 home runs in the first half of 2017. It looked then like the 6'7", 282-pounder was on his way to lasting superstardom.
But then he "regressed" to a .939 OPS and 22 homers in the second half of '17 as he battled a left shoulder injury that eventually necessitated surgery. Injuries to his right wrist, left oblique and right calf sidelined him for 37 percent of the Yankees' games from 2018 to 2020. Notably, that's not even counting last year's right rib injury.
Even when Judge played in that three-year span, he limited his offensive upside with the fourth-highest strikeout rate among hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances. On a per-swing basis, only Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo made less contact.
In these respects, Judge has offered a much-needed change of pace in 2021.
He's appeared in 38 of the Yankees' first 41 games and helped them to a 20-16 record in his 36 starts. Maybe this is a sign that the changes to his offseason training regimen—i.e., less lifting and more yoga—are working. Or, maybe his improved durability simply has to do with his finally making it through the offseason and spring training without any major injury scares.
Yet there's also more to Judge's resurgence than just good health.
When looking at his underlying stats, it's easiest to notice he's averaging an absurd 96.5 mph on his batted balls with a well-above-average 14.0 walk percentage. But because Judge was known for his prodigious power and eye for the zone even before 2021, those are also merely variations on a theme.
A bigger story is that his strikeout rate is a career-low 26.1 percent and that he has the contact rate to show for it:
2017: 67.6%
2018: 65.9%
2019: 65.1%
2020: 67.3%
2021: 74.7%
From the perspective of Yankees first baseman Luke Voit, Judge's shift toward contact has everything to do with his approach: "He's not missing mistakes, he's controlling the zone and really making the pitchers make good pitches."
Owen McGrattan of FanGraphs noticed in late April that Judge was settling in to an approach that was appropriate for someone his size. Rather than continue to reach for them, he was letting low pitches go while continuing to attack those in the middle and upper portions of the zone.
Even better is how he's fine-tuned this approach for specific pitch types. Whereas he's been more passive against off-speed and breaking stuff at and below his knees, he's been more aggressive against fastballs in the upper two-thirds of the zone and above it:
So far, Judge's aggression against fastballs is proving to be as good in practice as it is in theory. He's slugging .737 against the hard stuff, which is both a personal high and the fourth-best mark this season.
Thus has Judge generated not only 12 home runs but also a .291/.395/.597 batting line and a career-best 179 OPS+. And the scary part is that certain advanced metrics suggest he's actually underachieving.
What Could Go Wrong?
If there's one "yeah, but" that must be applied to Judge's surge, it's that he's doing something we'll call "Gleybering."
As in, he's making like Gleyber Torres did in 2019 and beating up on the Orioles while posting more modest production against everyone else:
vs. Baltimore: 2.010 OPS, 7 HR
vs. Others: .743 OPS, 5 HR
Obviously, Judge's dominance against the AL East's resident cellar-dweller still counts. But with 10 games against Baltimore already down, New York will offer only nine more chances for Judge to pad his stats against the O's.
If other teams don't humble Judge, the injury bug might. Because while he hasn't yet had to go on the injured list, he has sat with separate cases of soreness in his left side and lower body.
In fairness, the cautious approach the Yankees have taken to his playing time is by design. Judge has clearly learned from his past bouts with injuries, telling Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News in mid-April, "Any soreness, based on track record, instead of missing a month, why not miss one game or two games?"
Even still, the more serious injuries Judge suffered before 2021 and the minor ones he's had this year strongly hint that his massive frame has a downside: There's simply a lot of him that can get hurt.
But What If Judge Does Keep This Up?
As Judge has gone, so have the Yankees.
This is true not only to the extent that the Bronx Bombers are 7-2 in the nine games in which Judge has gone yard but also in how his own hot streak has corresponded with the team's shaking off its slow start. He's hit .339/.423/.758 with eight home runs since April 27. The Yankees have won 13 of 19 games during that span, thereby climbing out of the hole they dug with a 9-13 start.
This is to say that Judge is building a case for AL MVP that isn't strictly tied to what's on the back of his baseball card. And the narrative aspect of his case could only get stronger, as the Yankees will need as much help from him as they can get now that fellow slugger Giancarlo Stanton (left quad) and center fielder Aaron Hicks (left wrist) are freshly on the injured list.
If Judge can get them there, the Yankees will also need all they can get from him in the postseason. Though an 11-year absence from the World Series wouldn't be an outrage for many other clubs, it is for an organization that played in at least one Fall Classic in every decade from the 1920s to the 2000s.
What's more, continued excellence on Judge's part could make managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman rethink what Bryan Hoch of MLB.com described in February as a "wait-and-see" approach regarding the slugger's contract status.
With his free agency looming after 2022, the clock is already ticking for an extension. If Judge maintains MVP-caliber production throughout 2021, he could have just the leverage he needs to negotiate a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the meantime, he just needs to keep doing what he's been doing. Because even if he isn't the best hitter in baseball right now, his gargantuan power and matured sense for how to tap in to it might just make him the league's scariest hitter.
