players Page 15 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
One, two, three … balks, you’re out?
Is Marlins’ reliever Richard Bleier the first Jewish pitcher to be called for a balk on Rosh Hashanah? I don’t know. What is a stone-cold fact is coming into Tuesday’s game against the Mets, Bleier had made 572 professional baseball appearances over the course of 15 years — never in his seven big le...
The NFLPA has to fight its own members
The NFLPA wants a deeper look into how Tua Tagovailoa got back into Sunday’s game after wobbling like Glass Joe and having to come out after hitting his head on the turf in the first half in Miami’s 21-19 win over Buffalo....
Frances Tiafoe continues his ascent
I can’t explain why I find the Laver Cup so gripping, even beyond one of the game’s legends retiring on its stage. Perhaps it’s just how much the players get into being in a team atmosphere, and you can’t help but go along for the ride. It’s the same charm as golf’s Ryder Cup, I assume....
When was the last time Albert Pujols was this home run happy?
Last night, Albert Pujols lit baseball Twitter on fire, smacking his 699th and 700th career home runs in the same game, the same feat he accomplished for his 499th and 500th home runs. It’s been an incredible run for Pujols. One that not a lot of people saw coming, unless you’re Greg Amsinger....
It’s OK to enjoy Albert Pujols’ 700th home run
I never know how to write about the teams or players I like. I could pen 2,500 words on Albert Pujols in 20 minutes, literally breaking Mavis Beacon records along the way, and none of it would be coherent or old-time-y poetic like in the days when you had to read sports writers to see a swing. ...
Best non-MVP seasons in MLB history
The MVP Award is the pinnacle of baseball. Anybody who wins that award has cemented themselves in the annals of baseball history, and while one win doesn’t guarantee enshrinement in Cooperstown, it’s still one of the highest honors a baseball player can ever receive. The only bad thing about the awa...
The White Sox’s year finally dying the death it deserves
It’s not that you have to go back all that far for a season by an MLB team that was as disappointing, confounding, and overall just as big of a waste of time as the 2022 Chicago White Sox. It was just last year that the San Diego Padres acquired every player that wasn’t nailed down, and then finishe...
Could Ohtani fans inadvertently hand Judge the American League MVP award?
The American League MVP race is a two-horse race between the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani. Depending on who you ask, the award could go to either person. However, the adamancy of Ohtani fans is far greater than that of the fans backing Judge....
This is Aaron Judge’s year, but if Yankees win a title, Giancarlo Stanton will be the reason
Make no mistake about it, this season belongs to Aaron Judge and his historic run through MLB America....
60 is such a round number
It was a number we didn’t even think about when we were kids. Only if you were born in a specific time, where you were an impressionable youth between 1998-2003, would 60 seem reasonable, or even reachable, or something to be expected to happen semi-regularly. It was never even talked about....
Are we done being salty about the Astros yet?
Last night, the Astros clinched their fifth AL West title out of the last six. And that one they missed was the 2020 season, which basically doesn’t count. So for all intents and purposes, this is their fifth straight division title. Currently, that’s the longest streak in the majors, as the Dodgers...
Pujols hits No. 698, and the lies Cardinals fans tell themselves
No, the lie I’m referring to is not the one Max Kellerman spouted to win a fake debate on ESPN. I’m talking about the one St. Louis supporters wholeheartedly believe: If Pujols doesn’t leave the shadow of the Arch, the second half of his career plays out better. ...
Yordan Alvarez would like you to know that play time is over
There are less than 20 games left for each MLB team, and a lot of fan bases have already switched to football mode. When you mix that with these home runs races — Aaron Judge mashing balls toward the Yankees franchise record, and Albert Pujols trying to reach career home run No. 700 — it’s easy to f...
Many want Shohei Ohtani to be the best player ever, but this season belongs to Aaron Judge
The Shohei Ohtani love has officially gone off the rails....
At least we know Gabe Kapler isn't to blame for the Giants' underwhelming season
The San Francisco Giants have been one of the biggest disappointments of 2022. That was expected. We couldn’t expect Brandon Crawford to have another career year at 35 years old. Brandon Belt, Darin Ruf (no longer with the team), and Mike Yastrzemski have all had down seasons. Kevin Gausman is gone,...
Tony La Russa was every bit the human gallstone you thought he was
It could end up being the pacemaker that saved Chicago, going down in history along with other objects we revere like a lamp next to a cow, disco records, and all the dirt we moved to reverse the flow of the Chicago River to send our shit to St. Louis (where it belongs and they deserve) to name a fe...
HBO isn’t the only home for a Song of Ice and Fire
You can only hope you’re witnessing history at the moment. You obviously can’t know until the perspective of time kicks in. You tell yourself that this moment or that moment feels different than other ones you think you saw. But does it? Are you just telling yourself that? You can tell yourself anyt...
Rockies’ C.J. Cron helps baseball beat mountain traffic
C.J. Cron’s rise in Major League Baseball has been slow but steady. He’s 32 and has played for five teams and is in the middle of his second year with the Rockies. He made his first All-Star game this summer. Yet, the biggest, or should I say longest, individual play of his career took place Friday ...
Oh great, they’re letting humanoids play tennis now
The US Open could’ve fizzled out after Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal lost. Casual fans are conditioned to look for those four names when following a Grand Slam. While we weren’t watching for Williams’ pursuit of her 24th Slam, we were still watching for Serena. The men’s bracket was more of the s...