players Page 49 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Joe Maddon thinks David Fletcher is great, but shouldn’t be throwing others under the bus about it
David Fletcher is a nice, solid ballplayer. Since debuting with the Angels in 2018, he’s played all over the field and been above-average defensively wherever he goes, while posting a .292/.346/.386 line with 10 homers and 13 steals in 283 games....

Yankees’ Zach Britton shows pro athletes the proper response to teammates who abuse others
It isn’t very often that we see an example of professional athletes expressing their discomfort with a teammate accused of domestic violence, but Zack Britton, relief pitcher for the Yankees, is providing us with such a moment regarding his fellow reliever, Domingo Germån. It’s wildly refreshing....
![Mariners President Kevin Mather unleashes torrent of stupidity on Zoom call, then resigns [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/f8v7lpmxrtbk1w9nn2df.jpg)
Mariners President Kevin Mather unleashes torrent of stupidity on Zoom call, then resigns [Updated]
Yet another baseball executive stepped in a big ol’ pile yesterday....

Breaking News: Trevor Bauer is still an ass
Hey, remember when Trevor Bauer sat at his introductory presser with the Dodgers and said he’d learned from his social media fuck-ups and was doing his best to be better? Well, if you had “one week” in your “When Will That Be Proven As Utter Horseshit” pool, please collect your winnings at the windo...

Ian Desmond opts out of MLB season for second straight year
Today, Ian Desmond announced that he will opt out of the 2021 season “for now.” The veteran outfielder will miss his second straight year of baseball to be with his family. He announced his decision Sunday morning via Instagram, writing:...

FAU freshman hits back-to-back grand slams in one inning… in his first two at-bats
Sports fans, meet Caleb Pendleton. We already mentioned him in The Mourning After, but I think he deserves his own story....

Naomi Osaka is one of the swaggiest athletes we’ve ever witnessed
Naomi Osaka could be on the verge of becoming a cultural icon....

It took all of a week for Trevor Bauer to get stupid on social media again as Noah Syndergaard lays the hammer down
We already know that Trevor Bauer is a huge jerk and that the Mets lucked out when he spurned them to take the Dodgers’ $102 million, but the reigning National League Cy Young winner went ahead on Friday and demonstrated once again that he’s a lot dumber than he thinks he is....

Red Sox 'Idiot' Johnny Damon busted for DUI in Florida, wife charged with battery on an officer
Johnny Damon looks like he had a rough night....

31 of the top 100 MLB players are Latino, which needs to be embraced, not just celebrated
The American baseball fan’s median age as of last season was 57-years-old, or, as Dan Le Batard occasionally jokes, death. And it doesn’t require a Pulitzer-worthy investigative search to discern Major League Baseball’s whiteness. ...

With millennials headed for the nursing home, let’s revisit the Osaka-Williams rivalry and other great generational clashes
Naomi Osaka has faced Serena Williams five times now, and the 23-year-old’s straight-sets victory in Thursday’s semifinal at the Australian Open marked the third win for the three-time (so far) major champion over the 23-time (so far) major champion, including both of their meetings at Grand Slam ev...

Let Serena Williams sit back, enjoy greatness, and close out her career on her own terms
We all know the end is nearing for Serena Williams’ career....

Tim Tebow went from All-American to America’s Biggest Bust — twice over
Tim Tebow’s career was a bust....

It’s clear, after dismantling Serena at Aussie, Naomi Osaka’s game just doesn’t give a…
It’s fair to say that Serena Williams has met her Serena Williams in Naomi Osaka....

Fernando Tatis Jr. signs 14-year, $340 million deal with Padres and that’s awesome
Pitchers and catchers reported to training camps on Wednesday, and the San Diego Padres marked the traditional passage of spring by turning the baseball world on its head by announcing they had signed Fernando Tatis, Jr. to a staggering 14-year, $340 million contract, according to reports....

Daniil Medvedev broke Andrey Rublev on a point he lost
The big story out of Melbourne today is that Rafael Nadal actually looked like he’s in his mid-30s last night, as he blew a two-set lead to Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the latter looking much the fresher in the fifth set. That sets up a semifinal match with Daniil Medvedev, who when he hasn’t been yell...

Brett Gardner isn’t a Yankee right now and it makes zero sense
Brett Gardner was the Yankees’ third-round pick in the 2005 draft, debuted in pinstripes in 2008, and has been in the Bronx ever since. He’s the last remaining player with the Yankees from their last championship team in 2009… except that right now, even he’s not remaining....

Hold on to your Grapefruits, it’s time for pitchers and catchers
Spring training starts this week, with pitchers and catchers day arriving on Wednesday for eight teams, and the rest of the majors getting going on Thursday or Friday. Hopefully, this year’s ramp-up to the season will go more smoothly than 2020, when the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues had to shut dow...

It’s been a wacky Australian Open, even if no one’s around to see it
As we’ve previously stated, the Australian Open has a surreal quality, at least on these shores, where an already-niche sport takes place in the dark for only the truly dedicated/bewildered. It’s even more so this edition, as on Friday the live spectators were shooed out of the tournament altogether...

Inebriated fan flips bird and curses out Rafa Nadal because Australia gets to have nice things like that
I’ve missed sports fans....