MLB's robot umps are (probably) actually near. Plus: José Ramírez's best season yet?
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Robot Umps Now? Well, no. But next year? It's starting to look that way …
Plus: The Red Sox are keeping Ceddanne Rafaela in center field (and he's proving them right), the Sacramento experiment isn't going well for the A's, and we appreciate the (somehow, still) underappreciated José Ramírez. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
In big news that is not at all surprising, commissioner Rob Manfred said yesterday he does plan to make a proposal to MLB's competition committee to introduce the automated ball/strike system (ABS) into regular-season games next year.
There could be some tweaks before next year, but tweaks might be all the anti-ABS folks will get. As Drellich reports: 'The league office has enough votes on the 11-person committee — which is also made up of player representatives and one umpire — to push through what it wants.'
In short, you #RobotUmpsNow people are about to get your wish.
If it helps, the challenges really don't add much delay to the game. Rather than going full huddle-up-and-headsets about it, the ABS technology comes to the home plate umpire via earpiece. It's a delay of a few seconds at most, and the most egregious calls — feel free to list your own in the comments once this newsletter is published on the site — will be overturned.
More Manfred: The commissioner expressed regret over the league's ESPN opt-out and hopes for a new partner in July.
From my latest column:
On May 13, the Athletics won the opener of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium, 11-1. The next night, in a game started by Cy Young contender Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning, 4-3. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, they collapsed. Not just that night. For the next three weeks.
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The Dodgers' five-run eighth sent the A's into a 1-20 nosedive resulting almost entirely from the failures of their bullpen. That's the baseball explanation, at least. But for owner John Fisher's vagabond franchise, wandering from Oakland to West Sacramento to the supposed promised land of Las Vegas, it's not the entire story.
Not when the A's are 9-22 at Sutter Health Park, the second-worst home record in the majors, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies' 6-22 mark. And not when they're stuck at their minor-league facility through at least 2027, unlike the Tampa Bay Rays, who are playing in a minor-league park only because of a natural disaster, and only this season.
'It's certainly daunting when you zoom out and look at it,' said the A's All-Star closer, Mason Miller. 'But a blessing of being a ballplayer is you get to show up today. Today is what matters. Nothing tomorrow is guaranteed. That, at least, is how I approach it.'
It is the right and only way to approach it. But that doesn't make playing at Sutter Health Park easier. The clubhouses are located in the outfield, instead of being connected to the dugout. And even after approximately $11 million in renovations, the A's reality is undeniable — they are playing in a Triple-A facility, and sharing it with the San Francisco Giants' top affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.
The Rays, 20-19 at home after a 9-16 start, found a way to adjust to their own unusual conditions at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees. The A's, for whatever reasons, have been less successful. Their $67 million free agent, right-hander Luis Severino, is the symbol of the team's difficult transition. Severino's ERA is 6.99 at home, 0.87 on the road.
'The circumstances are what they are. We can't change those,' said A's manager Mark Kotsay, a former major-league outfielder. 'We have to find a way to embrace and make this our home like we did in Oakland.'
More here.
It's almost a trope now: 'Why is José Ramírez so underrated?'
OK, that might be true among casual fans, but among those who play and coach in the game … he's not. Take this small excerpt from Zack Meisel's excellent profile of Ramírez:
'The suggestion that Ramírez isn't appreciated makes (Yankees manager Aaron Boone) 'want to rip my arms off and throw (them) at the TV.''
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Not sure what appendage Boone wanted to disabuse himself of last night, but Ramírez and the Guardians beat the Yankees 4-0; Ramírez went 1-for-5 with a double and extended his on-base streak to 30 games.
As Meisel points out, Ramírez — a six-time All-Star and seven-time top-10 MVP finisher — might be having his best season yet, hitting .327/.382/.550 (.932 OPS) with 11 home runs in 58 games. That would be a career high in batting average, and the last two times he had a higher OPS over a full 162-game season, he finished third in MVP voting (2017-2018).
(Another contender: Last year, when he hit .279/.335/.537 (.872), he finished one homer short of a 40/40 season — and was denied a shot at that last homer when the Guardians' last game was rained out.)
Whether you're one of those wondering why the 32-year-old Ramírez is so underrated, or if you're still not fully aware, I highly recommend Meisel's profile, which gives us the history of the rare Cleveland superstar the team has kept around (there are details in the story on how that happened, too).
If you click one link today, it should be this one.
More Guardians: With this latest wave of starters, the Guardians' 'pitching factory' might not be dead, after all.
Good timing: Chad Jennings already had a story coming today about whether Ceddanne Rafaela could be the next Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The lede there: One big reason the Red Sox haven't called up the game's top prospect, Roman Anthony, to play center field — moving Rafaela back to the infield — is that they view Rafaela as a potentially elite outfield defender.
Look, we all want to see Anthony in the big leagues, but Rafaela's numbers in center field back up the claim. As of yesterday morning, he actually led all center fielders with 11 Defensive Runs Saves (Crow-Armstrong was second, at eight).
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And then this is a beat writer's dream: In the last game before this story was published (yesterday), Rafaela, 24, hit a walk-off home run against the Angels. But it wasn't just any walk-off home run — it was juuuuuust fair, inside the Pesky Pole in right field at Fenway Park.
At 308 feet, it was — per MLB.com's Sarah Langs — the shortest walk-off home run in the Statcast era.
CEDDANNE RAFAELA TUCKS IT INSIDE THE POLE FOR A #WALKOFF HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/Hl5T74OLjK
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2025
More Red Sox: Before the game, Angels starter Tyler Anderson and Red Sox first-base coach José Flores had some heated words. Neither side offered much in the way of explanation after the game.
More like Mick 'Stable,' get it? Get it? No?! C'mon, the story literally uses 'stability' in the headline. I'm not sorry! Anyway, it was a wild night (derogatory) for the Phillies.
I misspoke when I said the fan vote 'concluded' our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Here's the White Sox version from Jon Greenberg, who added some bonus roster spots. Stay tuned for more …
Despite a few factors to raise suspicions to the contrary, Jose Altuve is staying in left field, says Chandler Rome.
Years ago, fantasy sports helped fuel a reunion by indie legends Pavement. Yesterday, members of the band threw out the first pitch in Cincinnati. (The Reds still lost to the red-hot Brewers). Meanwhile, Hunter Greene is (back) on the IL.
Speaking of the IL … Marcell Ozuna isn't on it. He's battling through a hip injury with Atlanta. Twins starter Pablo López, on the other hand, is going to miss eight to 12 weeks.
Chicago may be 'the place quarterbacks go to die,' but Cubs pitcher Cade Horton is thriving.
Imagine being named GM, then having to cut a former teammate. That's what happened in San Francisco, with Buster Posey making the decision to move on from Lamonte Wade, Jr.
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No Yu Darvish, no Michael King, no problem … so far. The Padres are doing their best to weather a big test to their rotation.
Jim Bowden makes his early picks for an All-Star from each team.
On the pods: On 'Rates & Barrels,' Eno, Jed and DVR discussed the debut of Jac Caglianone and park effects that park factors may not account for.
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: … was a link that didn't exist yet. Whoops! It should work this time: Keith Law's biggest risers and fallers in the top 50 prospects.
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Forbes
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AI Safety: Beyond AI Hype To Hybrid Intelligence
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Associated Press
20 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Sovereignty vs. Journalism in the Belmont gives horse racing a Kentucky Derby rematch
Horse racing is getting a Kentucky Derby rematch in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday to close out the Triple Crown. Derby winner Sovereignty and runner-up Journalism, who won the Preakness two weeks later, headline the field of eight in the Belmont. Add in Baeza, and the top three finishers from the first Saturday in May are involved. 'We're delighted to have the first three horses out of the Derby challenging each other again,' said Michael Banahan of Godolphin, which owns Sovereignty. 'It's a quality race. ... It should set up well, and may the best horse win.' Journalism opened as the 8-5 morning line favorite with Sovereignty the second choice at 4-1. Journalism won the Preakness run without Sovereignty after owners and trainer Bill Mott opted to give their horse extra rest. The intent was to focus on the Belmont rather than chase the chance for Sovereignty to become the sport's 14th Triple Crown champion and first since Justify in 2018. 'We felt that the best thing for him and to have a career through the whole season, and maybe into next year as well, was spacing his races a little bit,' Banahan said. 'Bill Mott, who's trained horses for us for a long time, is very judicious about where he wants to place his horses. And we put a lot of faith in the recommendations that he would give us.' Michael McCarthy-trained Journalism is the only horse running in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. And he is the favorite for a reason. 'Journalism is a very tough horse,' said John Shirreffs, who trains Baeza. 'One thing about Journalism, (if) he runs his race (like in) Kentucky, Pimlico, he's very tough. He's solid. So, it's going to be a very difficult horse to beat.' Shirrefs said Baeza is emerging and developing, hoping the half-brother of last year's Belmont winner, Dornoch, can stride along and get past Sovereignty and Journalism this time. 'Hopefully we get out of the gate well and get a nice pace,' Shirrefs said. 'It's just the how the race unfolds and him not getting into any trouble.' Long shot Heart of Honor is running again after finishing fifth in the Preakness three weeks ago. New to the Triple Crown trail are Hill Road, Uncaged, Crudo and Rodriguez, who was scratched from the Derby with a minor foot bruise that also caused him to miss the Preakness. Banahan expects Rodriguez to go to the lead, as so many of Hall of Fame and two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert's top horses do, and provide the main speed. 'That horse is going to be ready,' Chad Brown, trainer of Hill Road, said of Rodriguez. 'You can be assured of that. And it sure looks like he's by far the fastest horse in the race.' Brown has won the Preakness twice but never the Belmont. After going to Saratoga with his parents while growing up and getting into horse racing as a result, he's hoping to end his drought at his home track. 'We have a very unique time in history where there'll be three Belmont Stakes run total at Saratoga before you'll never see another one again,' Brown said. 'So, to be part of history with that, that would be extra special.' ___ AP horse racing:
