minorleaguebaseball Page 17 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Royals Prospect Wil Myers Demolished An ESPN Camera During Last Night's Futures Game
The MLB Futures Game is one of baseball's hidden treasures; while officially part of the All-Star Break festivities, it's held the day before the break actually starts, and thus tends to be ignored by the baseball public. That's a shame, as it's a rare time ESPN puts analyst Keith Law—one of the ...
Get Ready For A Drug-Induced Minor League Home Run Derby
If you have five minutes to kill, watch this thing. It's a Home Run Derby, except I don't think you are supposed to hit home runs. Instead they are putting some kind of insane obstacle course or, like, a Dave and Buster's restaurant on the field....
Minor League Mascot Placed On DL With Third-Degree Costume Burns
Uncle Slam, mascot for the Class A Potomac Nationals, was placed on the 60-day disabled list and will miss the remainder of the season. The release, from the baby Nats:...
Instagram Photos From The Brooklyn Cyclones' "Williamsburg Night"
It was Williamsburg Night at MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, a hipster-friendly mashup of the usual minor league quirkiness and a particular local flair. (And probably super-familiar for attendees, since they all moved to Brooklyn from the Midwest three years ago, amirite?) Among the promot...
Minor League Coach Banned For Full Year After Intentionally Losing 18-Inning Game
Two weeks ago, the Stockton Ports lost 7-6, in 18 innings, to the Modesto Nuts. It wasn't a typical game for the Athletics' Single-A affiliate. For one, the regular manager was on vacation, leaving former MLB player and current Oakland hitting instructor Todd Steverson in charge. For another, it wen...
Pitching Prospect Stops Line Drive With Face
Scary moment last night for Gerrit Cole, the No. 1 overall choice in last year's MLB draft. Cole was making just his second start for the Altoona Curve, the Pirates' Double-A affiliate, when what you see in the video above happened in the first inning. Cole somehow finished the inning by facing th...
Game Ends As Raul Mondesi Jr. Forgets To Touch Home Plate After Game-Tying Home Run
Yes, that Raul Mondesi, Jr. He's in the Brewers organization, at Rookie League Helena. Mondesi came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th with the Brewers down 2-0 to the Missoula Osprey, the Diamondbacks' affiliate. With one on and two out, he cranked the pitch over the left field wall for what ...
The New Best Place For A Home Run Derby: An Aircraft Carrier
This morning I lamented that our country is falling woefully behind in the "playing sports where sports aren't meant to be played" arms race. Several readers were quick to point out that I was wrong, and America continues to rock faces. Yesterday, the Class A South Atlantic League held the first r...
Heavy Wind Nearly Propels Grounds Crew Worker Into Orbit
Keep your eye on back row of grounds crew workers in the video above, specifically the fourth person from the left. Even if you can't find him right away, you certainly will by the six-second mark, when the wind launches him several feet off the ground. That's Kyle Smith, the general manager of th...
Minor League Home Run Derby To Be Held On Flight Deck Of Old Aircraft Carrier
The Naval aircraft carrier USS Yorktown participated in Pacific Theater battle campaigns during both World War II and the Vietnam War. Next month, the old battleship will serve as a launching pad of a different kind....
Down And Out In Baseball's Indie Leagues; Or, What Made Tommy John Want To Rake The Infield?
A dispatch from our correspondent with the Bridgeport Bluefish, an unaffiliated team in the Atlantic League....
Wally Backman Says "Fuck" 35 Times In Postgame Speech That Lasts Less Than Two Minutes
When last we left minor league manager Wally Backman, he was swearing at umpires, swearing at his own team, and swearing at umpires some more. So, yeah, this latest clip of Wally working his motivational charms is decidedly NSFW....
The D Train Is Off The Rails: Dontrelle Willis Goes AWOL From Orioles' AAA Team
Look at that tall left-handed man up there. Does he look happy to you? Or does he look like an irritated guest of that cartoon bird?...
Man Charged With "Felony Secret Peeping" For Hiding Camera In Minor League Locker Room
The Carolina Mudcats are the Indians' single-A affiliate, and as a single-A baseball team may not have much in the way of locker room security. But staff members noticed an unfamiliar face poking around the visitors' locker room during a game Tuesday night—a man claiming to be a cleaning employee....
Minor League Baseball: The Last Bastion Of Acceptable Exploitation In Professional Sports (Not Counting The NCAA)
For every top-flight prospect apprenticing in the minors after receiving a multi-million dollar signing bonus, hundreds of players are drafted every year and get $1,000, tops. Salaries start at $1,100 a month, and the checks only come for half a year. As Lily Rothman says over at Slate, most of thes...
Minor Leaguer Suspended For Refusing Drug Test Says Testers Went To The Wrong Address: "I'm 28 Years Old. I Don't Live With My Mom!"
Yesterday, MLB announced that minor leaguer Justin Dowdy is suspended for 50 games for refusing to take a drug test. Dowdy, a former White Sox pick who spent most of last season with the Giants' AAA Fresno Grizzlies, signed last month with the independent Grand Prairie (Texas) AirHogs and so will ha...
Here's How You Get A 50-Game Suspension Without Failing A Drug Test
Refuse to take one! Deceptively simple. Via Hardball Talk:...
Ladies And Gentlemen, The Cubs Of Tomorrow
The Idaho Cubs, presented without comment, but with "Party Rock Anthem." [via Big League Stew]...
Meet The Minor Leaguer And Scam Artist Who Sold A Pittsburgh Pirate To Australia
Surely it was a surprising development when Pirates outfielder Xavier Paul agreed to sign with the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League this season. But his agent dotted the I's and crossed the T's, and Brisbane rolled out the red carpet for Paul to make his debut last week....
Scenes From The Arizona Fall League: Lizards Go Down Easier With Mountain Dew
Baseball is boring. Being a pitcher is worse. Being a reliever on an Arizona Fall League team with a 20-man bullpen leaves you with so much free time, you're probably insane if you don't spend your afternoons swallowing geckos....