Category: MLB

Alex Rodriguez danced along with fans on the field during fiance Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl Halftime show

He had so much fun.

The slightly bad news: for anyone hoping to see Alex Rodriguez do something funny or sweet in front of the cameras during Jennifer Lopez’s awesome halftime show at Super Bowl 54, he wasn’t seen (and that’s fine! The show belonged to J. Lo and Shakira!).

The really good news: Rodriguez helped us all out anyway and posted a video to Twitter in which he showed what he was doing during the show. He joined the crowd on the field and danced around joyfully. He added “She ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT!” continuing to be the most supportive future husband.

Here’s the video:

Looks like he’s having a good time overall:

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The Astros paused their cheating tactics the day after Danny Farquhar raised suspicions

They didn’t want to get caught.

We’re just a couple weeks removed from MLB issuing its punishment for the Houston Astros cheating scandal, and there’s still new information being uncovered about the team’s sign-stealing tactics.

It was clear that the Astros were paranoid about being caught in the act.

By now, all baseball fans know the story. Starting with the 2017 season, the Astros had a team employee relay signs to hitters from a dugout hallway by beating the hell out of a trash can — all while watching a live feed on a monitor. They won the World Series in 2017.

Still, the Astros got caught, lost draft picks and faced a maximum fine. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired after being suspended.

In a comprehensive study on signstealingscandal.com, every pitch from 2017 Astros home games (with available video) was analyzed. In the 8,200-plus pitches analyzed, the site found that a banging noise could be heard for around 1,100 pitches.

But take a look at the Sept. 21 game against the White Sox, which had 41 bangs followed by a complete drop-off on Sept. 22 against the Angels. That Sept. 21 matchup is intriguing because it was the game that the Astros nearly got caught in the act by pitcher Danny Farquhar.

At the time, Farquhar took notice to the noise and was wholly aware that the Astros had his signs with Evan Gattis at the plate and no runners on base. Farquhar conferred with his catcher to switch up the signs, and he had this to say, via The Athletic:

“There was a banging from the dugout, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack every time a changeup signal got put down,” said Farquhar, who is now the pitching coach with the White Sox’s High-A affiliate in Winston-Salem, N.C. “After the third one, I stepped off. I was throwing some really good changeups and they were getting fouled off. After the third bang, I stepped off.”

It certainly appeared that the Astros were concerned about word spreading from Farquhar’s suspicions as the team hit pause on the tactics the very next day. The Astros knew exactly what they were doing, and that it was cheating. That much was clear. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone from near-peak, trash-can banging to nothing in a day.

In all, the study is worth checking out. It includes pitch-by-pitch breakdowns with video.

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Former Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel is only a little sorry about the cheating scandal

Former Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who won a World Series with the team, offered a lame apology for the Astros’ sign stealing scheme.

White Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who won a World Series and earned an All-Star selection with the Houston Astros in 2017, offered a half-hearted apology for the team’s massive cheating scandal – but also hinted that the Astros were only doing what was customary across the league at the time. Keuchel addressed the media at a White Sox event on Friday and downplayed the Astros’ sign stealing, saying it was “it was never intended to be what it’s made to be” now – that the team has been caught and both the GM and manager have been fired.

According to Keuchel, the actions the Astros took were simply in line with “the state of baseball.”

“When there’s nobody on base, when in the history of Major League Baseball has there been multiple signs? You can go back and watch film of every team in the playoffs, there were probably six of eight teams using multiple signs. It’s just what the state of baseball was at that point in time. Was it against the rules? Yes it was. And I personally am sorry for what’s come about the whole situation. It is what it is and we’ve got to move past that. I never thought anything would have come like it did. I, myself, am sorry, but it’s we’ve just got to move on.”

Keuchel also claimed that the Astros weren’t always effective at the plate even when stealing signs, and there were some pitchers over the course of the year that the team couldn’t hit anyway. He confusingly described the system as something that “really works,” but only “a little bit.”

“So at that point that’s when the whole system, it really works, a little bit, but at the same time, there was a human element where some guys were better than our hitters.”

Keuchel also made it clear that he doesn’t approve of former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers acting as a whistleblower, citing the sanctity of the clubhouse.

Many baseball fans aren’t buying Keuchel’s attempt at an apology.

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Want to feel ancient? Let’s check in on Dusty Baker’s son who was saved at ’02 World Series

Darren Baker was saved by J.T. Snow at the 2002 World Series. He’s now a standout infielder at Cal.

One of the more random and thrilling moments of recent-ish baseball history was during the 2002 World Series. The Giants were playing the Angels, leading 8-4 in the 7th inning, and Barry Bonds was at the plate with two men on.

Because he was Barry Bonds and exceptionally good at hitting baseballs, Bonds ripped a triple off the wall. Cool moment, definitely. The crowd loved it.

What happened at home plate was what made the moment last, however. That was when J.T. Snow reacted in an instant to grab Dusty Baker’s toddler son, Darren, who had managed to get on the field and tried to run into the direct path of large, sprinting men on the basepaths.

It was an odd, out-of-place moment of humanity in a major sporting event, and it’s stayed with many of us.

You can see Bonds’ reaction when he reaches third base — he doesn’t celebrate, but instead is concerned for the young Baker, and a bit confused as to what happened.

Anyway, it was a real moment, one that baseball fans will undoubtedly remember for a long time. That’s not why we’re here, though. We’re here to feel old. Really old.

Here’s Darren Baker now:

The great Bomani Jones pointed it out on Twitter, and for that we thank him, and will now go back to feeling ancient and miserable.

Darren Baker was drafted in the 27th round three years ago by the Nationals, but instead decided to honor his commitment to Cal, where apparently he’s doing quite well for himself. Last year the infielder slashed a .367 / .335 / .702 line with 21 stolen bases in 52 games.

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WATCH: Mets hire Luis Rojas as manager, replacing Carlos Beltrán

The New York Mets have their new manager less than a week after parting ways with Carlos Beltran following his inclusion in the Astros sign-stealing investigation.

The New York Mets have their new manager less than a week after parting ways with Carlos Beltran following his inclusion in the Astros sign-stealing investigation. The Mets announced Wednesday that they have hired Luis Rojas as field manager, promoting from within to fill the role.

Rojas spent last season as the team’s quality control coach and outfield instructor (in his first season on a major league staff).

The 38-year-old has spent 13 seasons in the Mets organization and interviewed for the managerial position before the organization hired Beltran to the role in November 2019.

“Luis earned this job. He has literally trained his whole life to be a manager,” Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said. “He comes from a legacy family. … he is respected by the players. He is trusted by the players. And he’s someone that we have great confidence in. (…) we think that he has the ability to be consistent, to be calm under pressure and to understand the opportunity that this team has as we head into 2020.”

Rojas is the son of former Giants and Expos manager Felipe Alou.

WATCH: Astros players will apologize for role in sign-stealing scandal at spring training

The Houston Astros players are set to apologize for their roles in the team’s sign-stealing scandal at spring training, that revelation via owner Jim Crane.

The Houston Astros players are set to apologize for their roles in the team’s sign-stealing scandal at spring training, that revelation via owner Jim Crane.

MLB.com reports that Crane explained Tuesday that the team will address the situation once the players are geographically together. The report follows the Astros FanFest weekend, which was this past weekend.

“We’ll all get them together and they’ll come out with a strong statement as a team and, I think, apologize for what happened and move forward,” Crane told MLB.com. “A couple of guys that have been interviewed have been holding back a little bit. We need to get them a little more time to get together.”

During FanFest, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman were the most prominent players speaking to media, but neither player addressed the scandal in a particularly apologetic manner.

Bregman called the accusations that the pair wore buzzers at the plate “just stupid,” according to Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart, and Altuve assured fans that the team would return to the World Series.

Astros pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Thursday, Feb. 13, the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 17.

“Quite frankly, we’ll apologize for what happened, ask forgiveness and move forward,” Crane said.

The Astros tweeted out some awards they won and yeah, it went as expected

The Houston Astros didn’t need to celebrate this.

The Houston Astros, to put it nicely, just need to shut up for a while and do their best to back away from any more chances of bringing unwanted attention their way.

Because this whole sign-stealing scandal has been an absolute mess for the franchise, and rightfully so. And how they’ve been handling it has been, well, awful.

Sure, they fired their GM and manager moments after MLB punishments were handed out. But then last weekend they had Jose Altuve and others out there for a FanFest event and it went as one would it expect it too.

Then on Tuesday night the team tweeted out a few local awards some members of the franchise won, which doesn’t sound like a good thing to do:

Here’s an idea: The Houston Astros didn’t need to announce those awards to the world. How about you just let the awards happen and then move on, without sharing the “news” with anyone outside of the team.

Because that Tweet, which had to be sent by some poor member of their social media team, did not go over well:

Patrick Mahomes among fans upset about Derek Jeter falling 1 vote shy of unanimous HOF pick

Derek Jeter got 396 of the 397 votes.

Derek Jeter, to the surprise of no one, was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

There was one somewhat surprising thing about the announcement however – he wasn’t a unanimous selection as Jeter got 396 of the 397 votes.

He will be joined by Larry Walker, who was inducted in to the HOF in the final of year that he will be on the ballot, which is cool.

The fact that guys like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still aren’t in the HOF, however, makes this whole thing feel a really silly. But hey, two new former stars will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 26.

MLB fans – including Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes – really want to find out who the one person was who didn’t vote for Jeter:

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Baseball Hall of Fame voting: How it works and who is on the ballot for 2020

Derek Jeter could become the second unanimous choice for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Tuesday evening, and the baseball world is waiting to see if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will finally garner enough support to earn their spot in Cooperstown.

Derek Jeter is a lock to join the 2020 Hall of Fame class, and he could become just the second player in history to earn 100 percent of the vote. Fellow Yankees superstar Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous choice in 2019.

When will the voting results be announced, and how does the process work? We’re here to help.

The 2020 Hall of Fame voting results will be announced at 6:00 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

How voting works: Players are eligible to receive votes five years after the end of their career, provided they played for a minimum of 10 seasons. A Baseball Writers’ Association of America screening committee votes to determine which players who become eligible each year will make the ballot. A BBWAA voter can vote for a maximum of 10 players to make the Hall of Fame each year.

Players who earn at least five percent of votes each year will be included on the next year’s ballot, up to a maximum of 10 years of eligibility. To earn election into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a player must be named on 75 percent of all ballots cast.

Players on the ballot for the first time in 2020 (via baseballhall.org):

Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Heath Bell, Eric Chávez, Adam Dunn, Chone Figgins, Rafael Furcal, Raúl Ibañez, Paul Konerko, Carlos Peña, Brad Penny, J.J. Putz, Brian Roberts, Alfonso Soriano and José Valverde.

Returning players on the ballot:

  • Curt Schilling (60.9% in 2019)
  • Roger Clemens (59.5% in 2019)
  • Barry Bonds (59.1% in 2019)
  • Larry Walker (54.6% in 2019)
  • Omar Vizquel (42.8% in 2019)
  • Manny Ramirez (22.8% in 2019)
  • Jeff Kent (18.1% in 2019)
  • Scott Rolen (17.2% in 2019)
  • Billy Wagner (16.7% in 2019)
  • Todd Helton (16.5% in 2019)
  • Garry Sheffield (13.6% in 2019)
  • Andy Pettite (9.9% in 2019)
  • Sammy Sosa (8.5% in 2019)
  • Andruw Jones (7.5% in 2019)

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What’s going on with Nolan Arenado and the Rockies? An explainer

The star third baseman isn’t happy.

Welcome to FTW Explains: A guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world.

Hoo boy. Nolan Arenado, the star third baseman who is a five-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glover and who’s led the National League in dingers three times in his seven Major League seasons, is mad at the Colorado Rockies.

That would seem weird a year after he signed an eight-year contract extension worth $260 million with the franchise he’s called home for his entire career. But nope! It’s an understatement to say Arenado and the Rockies aren’t seeing eye-to-eye at the moment, so let’s break down the situation.

What’s going on here?

After two straight postseason appearances, the Rockies finished 71-91 in 2019. Suddenly, at MLB’s annual Winter Meetings, Arenado’s name came up a bunch in trade rumblings, perhaps because the third baseman sounded pretty disappointed in a September interview with The Athletic:

“These guys have a great opportunity to show what they have and go into spring training with the upper hand. They should take every game seriously,” Arenado said. “And I need to lead by example.

“But it sucks that that’s what it feels like,” he said. “It feels like a rebuild.”

What happened next?

There were reports that the Cardinals, Braves and other teams were interested, but nothing really came of that, perhaps because of that ginormous contract attached to his name.

So general manager Jeff Bridich told The Denver Post that “we have listened to teams regarding Nolan and really nothing has come of it” and “we are going to move forward pretty much as we expected, with Nolan in the purple and black and as our third baseman.”

That seems fine.

It did! Until Arenado texted this MLB.com:

“There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.”

Whoa.

Yeah!

It seems like star players are occasionally discussed in trade rumors all the time. What’s so different here?

Something bigger, according to more from MLB.com:

In reaction to Bridich’s announcement, Arenado elaborated.

“You ask what I thought of Jeff’s quotes and I say I don’t care what people say around there,” Arenado said. “There is a lot of disrespect.”

Asked what was said that he found particularly disrespectful, Arenado said, “No. I won’t get into the details.”

Arenado clarified his statement later, adding, “I’m not mad at the trade rumors. There’s more to it.”

My take: maybe he’s mad that the Rockies didn’t do much in the offseason, which is bad news for a team with a rotation that struggled a lot last season.

What could be next?

Arenado could publicly demand a trade — assuming his disgruntled statements above aren’t the beginnings of that move — which could be trouble for Colorado. Or he could hammer this out with management and just play for the Rockies until after the 2021 season, when he has an opt-out clause that winter.

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