Kirk Gibson receives lifetime achievement award from MLBPAA
The latest award that Gibson has received, the Fred Valentine Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by the Major League Baseball Player's Alumni Association.
The MLBPAA describes the award as such, along with Gibson's recipient information:
"This award honors the legacy of Fred Valentine, a founding member of the MLBPAA who embodied integrity, service in the community, and passion towards serving others. Each year, we celebrate his memory by recognizing an Alumni member who carries those same values forward. Through Kirk's impact in the community and the creation of the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson's, we are proud to celebrate him on Wednesday, June 25th, during our Alumni Day at Comerica Park!"
Congratulations to the former Spartan on his latest award.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner
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New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
A shorter MLB season on the horizon? Plus: Rules around using Ohtani in relief
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. For the last 64 years, the number 162 has been the standard. Could that change soon? Plus: Ohtani in relief is trickier than you might think, Ken tells us about Roman Anthony's spring training prediction, and: Are bullpens worse in the second half? I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup! We talked earlier this week about the commissioner's comments on expansion and geographic realignment, and even showed you Stephen Nesbitt's cool charts explaining how it might look with minimal upheaval. But Jayson Stark has an article today with an angle that — go figure, it's Jayson — I hadn't previously considered. If the league expands to 32 teams, it seems likely that it would adjust the schedule down, from 162 games to either 154 or 156. Advertisement Why? Well, it's math, so I'll let Jayson take it from here: 12 games apiece versus the other three teams inside the division. That's 36 games. Six games apiece versus the other 12 teams in your league. That's 72 games. Three games apiece versus the 16 teams in the other league. Now we're at 156. Bingo. Another reason he mentions: A 156-game schedule would also essentially ensure that every team gets at least one day off every week. It's also doable — with a little creative scheduling — to go back to the 154-game schedule that MLB used from 1908-1961. That would at least offset a little of the record-book confusion that would no doubt emerge from decreasing the number of games. There's more, of course. Jayson isn't in the habit of leaving stones unturned. Check it out here. From my latest column: 'I'll see you soon.' That's what outfielder Roman Anthony told Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora upon being informed at the end of spring training that he would open the season at Triple A. The Red Sox were in Monterrey, Mexico, for a two-game exhibition series against the Sultanes de Monterrey. It was the first time Anthony played on anything resembling a major-league stage. He was not yet 21. Anthony acquitted himself well, going a combined 2-for-8 with a triple and two walks. But after the series ended, Cora gave him the official word: He was getting sent down. Anthony shook Cora's hand. 'He said it with conviction: 'I'll see you soon,'' Cora recalled. 'And I was like, 'I know.'' As it turned out, 'soon' wasn't until June 9, a delay that, depending upon how the Red Sox's quest for the postseason turns out, the team might ultimately regret. The Sox were 32-35 when they promoted Anthony. They are 36-24 since. On Aug. 6, less than two months into his major-league career, Anthony agreed to an eight-year, $130 million extension. And starting tonight, he will play his first series at Yankee Stadium, assuming a place he will likely occupy for most of the next decade as a central figure in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Advertisement Anthony, batting .283 with a .402 on-base percentage and .837 OPS, is establishing himself as a force and just getting started. His average exit velocity would rank among the league's best if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. But his uncommon maturity is perhaps best reflected in his defining trait, his plate discipline. 'Who he reminds me of, it's hard,' Cora said. 'I don't want to say (Barry) Bonds, of course. Probably (Juan) Soto, without the flashiness, early on. It's a good at-bat. He's not going to chase. Even when he doesn't get hits, you're like, holy s—, that's a good at-bat.' More here. I've been mulling this question in my mind for a while, based on admittedly circumstantial evidence: Are relief pitchers worse in the second half? The short answer: a little bit, but not drastically so. In the first half, relievers across the league posted a 4.06 ERA in 10,510 innings. In the second half so far: 4.20 in 3,317 2/3 innings. While I did find the answer I was looking for, I also found some other interesting notes, so I can't rob you of those, right? Here are the outliers … Best first-half bullpen ERA: Giants (3.14) Worst first-half bullpen ERA: Nationals (5.88) Best second-half bullpen ERA: Padres (2.11) Worst second-half bullpen ERA: Rockies (6.82) Biggest improvement from first half to second: Athletics (5.50 to 3.27 — difference of 2.23) Biggest decline from first half to second: Blue Jays (3.57 to 5.87 — difference of 2.30) Takeaways: The conversation started when Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said on 'The Dan Patrick Show' that he could 'Absolutely' see Ohtani pitching in relief in the postseason. Prior later clarified that the team had discussed the possibility and looked into the rules. As it turns out, that's a very big part of the calculation. Advertisement The 2022 'Ohtani Rule,' as it is colloquially known, allows a starting pitcher who is also in the starting lineup to remain in the game as the DH, even after he is replaced on the mound. But that rule does not apply to a designated hitter who pitches in relief. In that situation, when the DH-turned-reliever is removed as a pitcher, he would also vacate his spot in the lineup (translation: a pinch hitter would take the next at-bat). Still, as Fabian Ardaya tells us here, Prior didn't rule out the idea of Ohtani pitching in, say, a closer's role — a last-three-outs situation, where his spot in the order wouldn't come back up. Ohtani has started all 95 big-league games he has pitched in, but that doesn't mean we haven't seen him in relief. Remember the 2023 World Baseball Classic? Ohtani entered the game in the ninth inning, striking out Mike Trout to end the game. Could we see that scenario again to finish, say, a World Series? It's not out of the question. More Ohtani: He had a rough night in Denver last night, allowing five earned runs in four innings as the Dodgers lost to the Rockies (8-2) for the second time in three games. Ohtani also took a comebacker off his thigh, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said — while the team had already planned to give him a day off today — he should be back tomorrow. The Pirates are calling up their top pitching prospect, 22-year-old RHP Bubba Chandler. He'll be in the bullpen — for now. We were ready to declare the Cubs dead. Well, they've won three in a row against the Brewers now, after a 4-3 win last night. Matt Shaw did it all, and Chicago is now within … ehhh, six games in the division. Also, an update on Kyle Tucker: Turns out he had a hairline fracture in his hand in June. Cam Schlittler took a perfect game into the seventh inning, but it took a pinch hit home run by Giancarlo Stanton to seal a win for the Yankees. Advertisement We ran out of room for GIFs in this edition (it's technical), but this home run robbery by Fernando Tatis Jr. is still pretty sick. Could Colt Keith's return to third base spell a solution — both now and in the future — for the Tigers? On the pods: On 'Rates & Barrels,' the crew discusses the Arizona clubhouse and the Orioles' young bats as Baltimore looks to the future. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Brendan Kuty and Keith Law's piece on why the Yankees drafted a player who admitted to drawing a swastika on a Jewish student's door in college. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shedeur Sanders confronts 'negative' reporter before NFL debut
Shedeur Sanders confronts 'negative' reporter before NFL debut originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Thirty-three years ago, there was a sports feud that reached the level of 'action taken'. After a known history between Deion Sanders and MLB writer Tim McCarver, the issue reached a point of no return when McCarver chose to rip Deion Sanders' 'Double Play Day' (where he played an NFL game and an MLB playoff game in the same day). McCarver's take was more of a publicity stunt by someone pretending to play baseball as opposed to how everyone else in the known world views it. As one of the greatest athletic achievements of all time. Then after the Braves won the National League Pennant, in the locker room where media people would be located inside a confined space, Deion tossed gallons of water on McCarver multiple times. A decision many fans applauded after a long run of reporting many felt was below the belt. CBS, McCarver and his producer all took serious exception to his action. This sense that a reporter or writer being on the wrong side of history and using their platform irresponsibly still exists today. Fast forward to this year and Deion Sanders has put multiple college players in the NFL. Two of which are his own children. People can say many things about Deion Sanders, but not preparing his sons is certainly not one of them. Shedeur and Shilo Sanders are two of the best media trained rookies maybe ever. Shedeur specifically found himself in a media market that tends to chew up and spit out rookies that aren't prepared for the moment. The Cleveland sports media landscape is a tale of two types. The old guard and the younger generation who are not married to an old logic. From the moment Shedeur was drafted 144th in the fifth round, one Cleveland reporter has been consistently on the wrong side of this and as recently as Thursday still refused to accept that, doubling down at every turn. Insert long time Cleveland Browns beat writer, Tony Grossi. Not to be confused with radio personality Tony Rizzo. Tony Rizzo is probably the biggest Shedeur superfan in Cleveland media. When fans outside Cleveland were picking up on lazy narratives and asking who is coming up with this nonsense, the answer was most likely Tony Grossi. He had some cohorts early, but even Mary Kay Cabot has begun to change her tune once the wind started blowing in the other direction. Grossi has a long history of this behavior. A long time print journalist, Grossi seems to still be under the impression that no one will ever see what he sees at various events, leaving him to have an arrogance in his reporting. The problem with that is we live in a technological age and it's not the 1990s anymore. Grossi shaped his reporting and narratives as if he was the only authority on what is going on at Browns camp. As if everyone else in the football watching world wouldn't see what he saw and be able to deduce his level of subjective bias. After the draft, throughout rookie minicamp and even into voluntary minicamp, Grossi could not stop himself from pushing the 'order of operations' narrative. Kenny Pickett was acquired first which must mean they like him the most. Then they signed Joe Flacco. Then they drafted Dillon Gabriel. Making Shedeur Sanders fourth in the order of priority based on that antiquated logic. The issue with that logic is that it died right about the time College Football coaches stopped picking starting QBs based on seniority and NFL teams stopped starting the rookie QB no matter what based on an elite salary. While Grossi hasn't uttered that order of operations line recently, it's evident he still believes it to some degree. As every other QB not named Shedeur Sanders took team period reps with the starting offense, Grossi again attempted to twist the knife. Every comment about Shedeur, especially during his segments on ESPN Cleveland (formerly 850 am WKNR), was dripping with condescension. It seemed to be Grossi's intention to paint Shedeur Sanders as the tagalong of the QB competition. The 'also ran' who isn't a threat to any other QB in the room. He often commented about the 'Shedeur fans' and how they are ruining this process. Also making suggestions that hype won't win the job. On a radio appearance on Tony Rizzo's 'The Really Big Show' last week, the topic of Shedeur sitting out of practice with arm soreness came up. All of a sudden, this reporting veteran of over 40 years pretended to not understand the concept of arm soreness with quarterbacks. Further suggesting, his arm shouldn't be sore due to lack of reps. Tony Rizzo pressed him for clarification. Rizzo maintained that if a guy is not getting a ton of reps and chooses to get in extra work to better prepare himself, that's a good thing. To which Grossi added, 'well it was obviously counterproductive'. Tony Rizzo, the host of the show, almost stormed out of the air studio. It wasn't until a segment he did the day before Shedeur's start vs the Panthers that he even verbally conceded that Shedeur 'maybe' could improve his standing with a good performance. After his very solid performance vs the Panthers, Shedeur Sanders found Tony Grossi in the bowels of the stadium as Shedeur departed. As Shedeur approached Grossi there was a look he gave, familiar to Buffs fans. This was the same look Shedeur gave Colorado State Head Coach Jay Norvell at the mid field handshake after Norvell took shots at Connie Knight, better known as Momma Prime or Shedeur's Grandmother. It was obvious Shedeur was there to prevent anything physical from happening. The look given to Grossi only lasted a few seconds, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, it said plenty. Once Grossi's attention was with Shedeur, that look dissipated and a polite and unthreatening look took its place. With his hand on Grossi's shoulder, Shedeur disarmed and still inquired as to Grossi's issue. 'Tony, I be hoping you got something positive to say about me," Sanders told Grossi. "You only say negative stuff. And I'm like, I ain't done nothing to you. I don't see anything positive that you've ever said. (Grossi said something not picked up my microphones that did get Shedeur to laugh, then Shedeur begins to walk away but still talking to Grossi). Come on bro. What'd I do? What'd I to ya Tony?' It's still uncertain if Grossi will come around after Shedeur's first NFL game. A performance that will assuredly lead off every single sports news show or debate show on Monday. However, there should be some positivity from Shedeur's the McCarver situation, there's nothing ESPN Cleveland or Bally Sports-Great Lakes could take issue with on Grossi's behalf because like everything else he's said to the media since becoming a Brown, Shedeur handled it as perfectly as it could be handled. It's another in a long line of evidence that all confirm the same thing. Deion Sanders prepared Shedeur Sanders for his moment. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Patrick Mahomes reveals sobering reality of father's DWI arrest just before Chiefs' 2024 Super Bowl victory
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed in a new docuseries that his father's 2024 DWI arrest, which happened just over a week before the Super Bowl, was a life-altering moment for his dad. Patrick Mahomes Sr. was arrested in February 2024 in Tyler, Texas, on a felony DWI charge, the third such charge for the former MLB pitcher. News of his arrest came just over a week before the Chiefs were due to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Mahomes fielded several questions about his father's arrest in the lead-up to the game. But in a new ESPN documentary released Wednesday, "Chiefs Kingdom," Mahomes said it was the media circus he had to face that served as a moment of clarity for the elder Mahomes. "It was during that Super Bowl. It became a story, and so, I had to answer questions about it," Mahomes recalled, via the New York Post. "I think just knowing that it hurt me woke him up to know that, like, you can't keep doing the same things." Mahomes Sr. also appeared in the episode, calling the incident "the most embarrassing" struggle he has faced. "It kind of hit home before the Super Bowl last year, when I got in trouble. For him to have to answer questions about me, you know, was probably the most embarrassing thing that I've ever been through in my life," he said. "I called him right after … I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry that it's taken away from your time and focus.' … I made a vow that he would never have to deal with anything because of drinking because of me. I haven't had a drink since then." Mahomes' wife, Brittany, also appeared in the episode. She echoed her husband's remarks, adding that their children witnessing Mahomes Sr.'s struggles added to the sobering reality of his actions. "I think it finally hit him that, you know, 'I have my kids watching me, I have my grandkids now that are watching me,'" she said. Mahomes Sr. pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2024 and was ordered to spend 10 days in jail, followed by a five-year probation period. He was criminally charged with DWI on two prior occasions, including one incident on Sept. 12, 2008, in South Dakota, and another on Feb. 26, 2019, in Smith County, Texas. Mahomes Sr. was a pitcher for six different MLB teams from 1992 to 2003, and was famously part of the 2000 New York Mets team that reached the World Series.
