Pete Rose is asking MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for another chance.
Pete Rose is asking MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for another chance.
USA Today Sports is reporting that Rose and his representation sent a 19-page letter to Manfred on Wednesday, asking for his name to be removed from MLB’s ineligible list. He was banned for life from baseball in 1989 for betting on games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.
Rose’s argument points to the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and Manfred’s hesitance to punish active players for their participation in a scheme that almost certainly changed the outcome of games.
Here’s an excerpt of the letter sent to Manfred from Rose’s representation:
“However, in recent years, intentional and covert acts by current and past owners, managers, coaches, and players altered the outcomes of numerous games, including the World Series, and illegally enhanced both team and player performance. It has never been suggested, let alone established, that any of Mr. Rose’s actions influenced the outcome of any game or the performance of any player. Yet for the thirty-first year and counting, he continues to suffer a punishment vastly disproportionate to those who have done just that.”
Rose petitioned Manfred to be reinstated in 2015 but was denied. If Rose were to be reinstated, he would be eligible for consideration for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Red Sox traded away their best player on Tuesday night.
The Boston Red Sox, who currently don’t even have a manager, put the finishing touches on a dreadful offseason Tuesday night when they agreed on a trade that will send Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This deal instantly makes the Dodgers one of the favorites to win the World Series while it makes the Red Sox the favorites to be looking up to the Yankees in the AL East for years to come.
Betts was the AL MVP in 2018, a year in which he helped lead Boston to a World Series win over the Dodgers.
The Dodgers, Red Sox and Minnesota Twins have agreed on a three-team trade that will send outfielder Mookie Betts and starter David Price to Los Angeles, according to an official with direct knowledge of the discussions.
The official spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet finalized.
Boston’s return package will include outfielder Alex Verdugo from Los Angeles as well as pitching prospect Brusdal Graterol from the Twins. Minnesota will get right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda from the Dodgers.
Twitter and Red Sox fans crushed the Red Sox:
The Red Sox are really trading Mookie Betts—one of baseball's best players and most accomplished players at just 27 years old. John Henry should be ashamed of himself. Absolutely pathetic. pic.twitter.com/zvgUZ610nn
Other than hitting for average, power, playing elite defense, running the bases well and being a homegrown player who is beloved by all, Mookie Betts doesn’t do much well.
The Red Sox have the most valuable team in Boston, play in a sport with no salary cap, won a championship one year ago and somehow now have the worst team in the city
I’m a huge Red Sox fan and I am so excited about their sub-luxury-tax payroll moves and cost-conscious roster construction! That’s why we’re in this, fans! Amazing job by them. Gonna buy a jersey that says “LuxTaxReset” on the back.
Analyzing the 2020 World Series betting odds, with MLB futures picks, tips and best bets.
Major League Baseball spring training is just around the corner so it’s time to dive into the 2020 World Series odds and make our picks and best bets for who’ll be crowned MLB champions in late October or early November. Here’s a look at four teams with a chance to overthrow the Washington Nationals and become 2020 World Series champs.
2020 World Series favorites
Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies. (Photo Credit: Jeff Curry – USA TODAY Sports)
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Atlanta Braves (+800)
The Braves won a second straight National League East crown in 2019, but both seasons ended in disappointing NLDS losses. Last year’s early exit can be blamed largely on an injury to star 1B Freddie Freeman hampering the team’s offensive output. While 3B Josh Donaldson was allowed to leave via free agency this offseason, OF Marcell Ozuna was added and bolsters the offense.
Cole Hamels was the marquee addition to the pitching staff. The veteran cements a rotation led by Mike Soroka (21 years old), Mike Foltynewicz (27) and Max Fried (25). It would be best to monitor the Braves’ odds over the first 1-2 months of the season in hopes of catching a higher number if they get off to a slow start.
New to sports betting? A $10 futures bet on the Braves to win the 2020 World Series would return a profit of $80 should the Braves win it all.
Minnesota Twins (+1400)
The Twins landed Donaldson in free agency, and add him to a group that led MLB with 307 home runs in 2019. Pitching will again be the biggest question mark for the reigning AL Central champs.
The Twins’ path to the division crown remains relatively clear. The Cleveland Indians have taken a step back following the departures of starters Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer, while the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers all have a long way to go to get into contention after finishing no fewer than 28.5 games back of the Twins last year.
Place a sports bet on the 2020 World Series winner at BetMGM.
2020 World Series longshots
Angels slugger Mike Trout. (Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox – USA TODAY Sports)
Los Angeles Angels (+3300)
Mike Trout should finally return to the postseason for the first time since the 2014 ALDS, and for just the second time in the three-time MVP’s career. Offseason additions of 3B AnthonyRendon, and SPs Julio Teheran and Dylan Bundy surround him with the best supporting cast he’s had to date.
Dual-threat Shohei Ohtani will also return to full health and has been cleared to lead the pitching staff.
San Diego Padres (+4000)
The Padres stand to be one of baseball’s most improved teams this year following additions of OF Tommy Pham and INF Jurickson Profar. Young prospects Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Mejia have also graduated to full-time roles and will be big factors this season.
San Diego missed out on a much-needed top-tier starter in free agency, meaning the young Chris Paddackwill lead a steady stable of veterans including Garrett Richards and Zach Davies. They’re stuck in the elite NL West, but they’ll push for a wild-card spot behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Want some action the 2020 World Series? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
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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:
AMAZING!! She ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT! Wow, that was so fun!
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.
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.”
Dallas Keuchel: "It's also the other side of the equation is hey I know these teams are using multiple signs.What are they doing those for? It just happened to come out with the Astros.There's a lot of people that are sorry in that organization,including myself for what happened" pic.twitter.com/yHje6BCMe5
“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.
Dallas Keuchel on Mike Fiers: "That's a tough subject..It sucks to the extent of the clubhouse rule was broken. That's where I'll go with that." pic.twitter.com/k673bFBW85
Dallas Keuchel is getting accolades for "manning up" and being the "first to apologize" but what he actually said was probably one of the stupidest apologies I've heard in a long time. pic.twitter.com/Z2pI0wUFZP
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.
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.
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.
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 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:
Guys! I fixed it! Athlete of the Year: Trash Can Moment of the Year: Buzzers Coach of the Year: the TV in the dugout
