Retired (MLB)

Former All-Star shortstop Omar Vizquel has been accused of sexually harassing a bat boy in 2019 in a lawsuit filed in Alabama.

Per Katie Strang and James Fegan of The Athletic, a former bat boy of the Chicago White Sox's Double-A affiliate stated in the complaint filed Friday that he was "targeted for sexual harassment because of his disability."

Strang and Fegan noted the bat boy has autism and worked for the team when Vizquel managed the Birmingham Barons during the 2019 season.

According to the complaint obtained by Strang and Fegan, Vizquel "repeatedly exposed his erect penis to (him) and forced (him) to wash his back in the shower."

The White Sox provided a statement to Strang and Fegan: 

After first learning of an alleged incident in late August 2019, the Chicago White Sox conducted an internal investigation that resulted in the termination of the organization's relationship with Omar Vizquel. Because this is active litigation, at this time the White Sox will not comment further regarding the allegations included in this lawsuit.

The complaint also stated the bat boy experienced additional "trauma and humiliation" because his supervisors and coaches on Vizquel's staff "laughed" at the alleged harassment.

The White Sox announced after the 2019 season that Vizquel would not return as the Birmingham manager.

When Strang and Rosenthal reported in December that Major League Baseball was investigating Vizquel amid domestic abuse allegations by his estranged wife, Blanca Vizquel, they noted he had been fired by the Barons with one month remaining on his contract because of "an incident" with a male team employee.

Vizquel issued a statement denying the domestic violence allegations. MLB is investigating both allegations against Vizquel.

A three-time All-Star, Vizquel played 24 seasons in MLB with six different teams from 1989 to 2012.    

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's board of directors voted unanimously to deny a request by former pitcher Curt Schilling to have his name removed from the 2022 ballot on Thursday. 

In a statement announcing the election of Craig Biggio, Tom Glavine and Ken Griffey Jr. to the Hall's board of directors, officials in Cooperstown said Schilling will remain on the ballot for the 10th-and-final time in 2022. 

The former Boston Red Sox star fell 16 votes short of entry to the Hall of Fame on last year's ballot and published a response on Facebook demanding he not appear on the ballot next year.

"I will not participate in the final year of voting," Schilling wrote. "I am requesting to be removed from the ballot. I'll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player. I don't think I'm a hall of famer as I've often stated but if former players think I am then I'll accept that with honor."

Eligible players must receive votes on at least 75 percent of ballots submitted. Players who receive less than five percent of the vote are dropped from the ballot the following year. Players who are not elected after 10 years on the ballot are also dropped from future elections. 

The Hall of Fame's veterans committee may elect players not selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America on the general ballot. 

That's the committee Schilling is hoping will finally grant him entry to baseball's most hallowed grounds. While Schilling has the statistical resume to make it into the Hall, his public statements and actions have impacted how many in the sport view him.

The 54-year-old was suspended by ESPN in 2015 from his broadcast duties for sharing an offensive tweet that compared Muslims to Nazis. Schilling was later fired by the broadcaster in 2016 after he shared an anti-transgender post on Facebook.

It's unclear what Schilling's chances of being elected to the Hall of Fame are in 2022 or whether or not the veterans committee would take up his case should the BBWAA voters keep him out for a tenth year. 

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it is entering the NFT market with the auctioning of a 1-of-1 NFT featuring New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.

According to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, MLB Executive Vice President of Business Development Kenny Gersh said: "When you think about NFTs, there is this concept of it being a fad. What we're looking to do, with the Candy [Digital] people, is to build a long-term sustainable business. What better person to symbolize durability and long-term success than Lou Gehrig?"

Specifically, the NFT will focus on Gehrig's famous "Luckiest Man" speech, which he gave at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, shortly after his ALS diagnosis.

Per Davidoff, MLB is planning to hold the auction for the Gehrig NFT around July 4, the 82nd anniversary of the Iron Horse's speech.

Davidoff noted that MLB is working with Candy Digital on the Gehrig NFT release. Candy Digital is a new digital collectible company that features executive chairman of Fanatics Michael Rubin as one of its heads.

Rubin said: "For me, I'm thinking long term: How do we take a league like Major League Baseball, with its tremendous legacy and history, so much content and [take it into the world of digital assets]? We could do NFTs for jerseys, for so much more. We haven't scratched the surface yet."

Given that the Gehrig NFT marks the start of MLB's entry into the market and that it is a 1-of-1, it figures to go for huge money at auction.

The winning bid on the will go entirely to charity with the Healey Center for ALS, the ALS Association and the Lou Gehrig Society all receiving some of it.

Even 80 years after his untimely death at the age of 37 in 1941, Gehrig is still considered one of the greatest players in baseball history.

During his 17-year MLB career, all of which was spent with the Yanks, Gehrig was a six-time World Series champion and two-time American League MVP. He also held the record of 2,130 consecutive games played before it was broken by Cal Ripken Jr.

Gehrig was a .340 hitter during his illustrious career with 493 home runs, 1,995 RBI, 1,888 runs scored and 2,721 hits.

Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mike Bolsinger refiled a lawsuit against the Houston Astros as he continues to argue the team's sign-stealing scandal cost him his job as a Major League Baseball player.

Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reported the news, noting the pitcher is seeking more than $1 million in damages and alleges the signs were considered trade secrets under Texas' Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

He filed his initial suit that was eventually dismissed by a judge in February 2019 and listed Astros owner Jim Crane and baseball operations employee Derek Vigoa among the defendants.

The new lawsuit lists the Houston Astros, LLC as the sole defendant.

Bolsinger, 33, has not pitched at the major league level since he allowed four runs and four walks in 0.1 innings during an August 2017 loss to the Astros. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment following that performance and took him off the 40-man roster.

Houston won the game 16-7, and Rome explained that fan Tony Adame compiled data that revealed the Astros banged a trash can as a method of informing batters what pitch was coming a season-high 54 times during that contest.

Judge David Cowan of the Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed Bolsinger's first case in part because he believed the pitcher chose the state of California with the hope of capitalizing on any lingering resentment Los Angeles Dodgers fans, who could have been jurors, held toward the Astros.

Houston defeated the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series.

"There is no single contact between California and this case," the judge said, per Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. "I don't think you took a state out of the blue, you took the Los Angeles Dodgers out of the blue and perhaps thought it was, that perhaps the jury or even the judge could feel badly about the fact that the Houston Astros won the World Series."

Houston did not go unpunished for its scandal, as the league fined the team $5 million, stripped it of its first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 and suspended general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for one year.

The Astros eventually fired Luhnow and Hinch.

Florida prosecutors have offered former MLB outfielder Johnny Damon a plea deal that would drop the misdemeanor DUI charge he received following a February arrest if he completes the terms of the agreement.

TMZ Sports reported Thursday that Damon has entered a pre-trial diversion program, which requires him to make a donation to charity and complete community service in order to close the case.

Per TMZ, Damon was arrested around 1 a.m. on Feb. 19 and police said subsequent tests showed his blood alcohol content was .30, which is almost four times the legal limit for driving in Florida (.08).

Although the 47-year-old Kansas native has reached the plea agreement, his wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, still faces two felony charges related to the alleged battery of police officers during the traffic stop. She's pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to TMZ.

"I really can't say much because it's an ongoing thing, but I will never put myself, my loved ones or put anybody in harm's way getting behind a vehicle," Damon said after he was released from custody in February.

Stuart Hyman, the former MLB player's lawyer, confirmed the plea deal to TMZ but didn't specify the donation amount or how much community service his client must complete to satisfy the terms of the deal.

Damon played 18 seasons as a member of the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland. He last played in 2012.

He was a two-time All-Star for Boston and won a pair of World Series titles, one with the Red Sox (2004) and one with the Yankees (2009).

Former Major League Baseball All-Star Mark Grudzielanek is under police investigation for alleged child abuse.

According to police documents TMZ Sports obtained, authorities are looking into allegations involving a 12-year-old boy said to have occurred in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 26. 

TMZ reported a source said "the allegations stem from a physical altercation."

Grudzielanek played 15 MLB seasons from 1995-2010. He was an 11th-round draft pick by the Montreal Expos in 1991.

After playing 78 games as a rookie in 1995, Grudzielanek was named to the NL All-Star team in 1996. He also won a Gold Glove award as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 2006.

Grudzielanek spent time with six different teams during his career. In addition to the Expos and Royals, he played with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.