Dodgers-Padres rivalry weekend, along with lots of silly bat designs

New York Times

15 hours ago

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Buckle up: The Padres and Dodgers are going head-to-head this weekend.
Plus: Players Weekend is here, we have our Baseball Card of the Week and Ken points out that the best teams in baseball aren't the ones we expected. I'm Levi Weaver, welcoming back Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
I know we already told you recently about the Padres overtaking the Dodgers for first place in the NL West by a game, but they're playing each other this weekend (and next weekend, too!) and I'm not sure there's a bigger story in the sport.
This rivalry is a good one, even if just for pure baseball reasons. The Padres have made the playoffs three times since 2020. Twice, they were eliminated by the Dodgers. The Dodgers have won two World Series over that same period, but were eliminated by the Padres in the 2022 NLDS.
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But it's not just on-field reasons. Last offseason, the Padres were a favorite to sign Roki Sasaki. He went to the Dodgers.
Perhaps most importantly, these two teams do not care for one another.
Remember all the hit-by-pitches over the last couple years? The Crying Kershaw meme? Remember last year's NLDS, when Manny Machado threw a ball toward the Dodgers dugout in an 'unsettling' fashion? Remember this June when the benches cleared multiple times in a series, concluding with the two managers yelling at each other over the melee?
The Dodgers— built for utter and unquestionable domination — are struggling. The Padres lead the division by a game. This should be fun. Starts tonight at 10:10 p.m. ET on MLB Network.
Identifying the best teams in baseball is typically not all that difficult. The question might cause an argument or two, but usually the choices are fairly obvious. This season? The answer depends on the month. Sometimes even the day.
At various points in the first half, the Tigers, Cubs, Mets and Yankees were the talk of the sport. Then the Brewers went on an astonishing 51-16 run, blowing past the Cubs. The Blue Jays, striking out less than any team in the majors, took advantage of yet another midseason swoon by the Yankees. And the Phillies, after falling 6 1/2 games behind the Mets on June 12, benefited from New York's rotation going from the league's best to one of its worst.
An even more astonishing reversal occurred in the NL West, where on July 3 the Padres trailed the Dodgers by nine games. In a span of 41 days, including the All-Star break, the Padres gained 10 games, claiming the division lead. During that period, Padres general manager A.J. Preller also addressed every one of his team's needs at the trade deadline, deepening his offense by adding Ramón Laureano, Ryan O'Hearn and Freddy Fermin and making the league's best bullpen even better with his stunning acquisition of Mason Miller.
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Finally, the Astros zipped to the AL West lead despite losing designated hitter Yordan Alvarez in early May and at one point carrying 18 players on the injured list, including eight starting pitchers. On July 10, their lead over the Mariners was seven games. But the Astros, too, suddenly face a major battle, trying to stave off a Mariners club that bulked up at the deadline with their additions of first baseman Josh Naylor, third baseman Eugenio Suárez and reliever Caleb Ferguson.
So, which teams are the best in the sport? Don't ask me, I'm the knucklehead who picked the Rangers and Braves to meet in the World Series. In fairness, the Braves had the second-highest odds to reach the Series, behind only the Dodgers, according to Fangraphs' preseason estimates. But that's the beauty of baseball, right? It can be rather unpredictable. And heaven knows what awaits in October.
From 2017-19, in correlation with the Little League World Series, MLB started an event called Players Weekend, which originally allowed players to choose nicknames to put on the backs of their jerseys (with mixed results).
When the pandemic shortened the 2020 season, Players Weekend was scuttled, and the league just sorta forgot to bring it back over the next few years. But in 2024, the fun was back.
This year, there aren't any nicknames on the jerseys, but players will have their numbers on their caps (meh) and will be allowed to wear custom cleats (OK, I'm listening) and custom bats.
Caleb Mezzy has a sneak peak of a few of the best bat designs, which range from avocados, cheesesteaks and hamburgers to cartoon characters and geographic hat-tips — including George Springer's Hartford Whalers bat (!!)
I'm all for the weekend to encourage players to express their individuality, showcase some artists, and pay homage to Little League baseball. But — going back to our first story — it is going to be so funny if the benches clear and the next guy to the plate is hitting with, like, a SpongeBob Squarepants bat.
Players Weekend will wrap on Sunday, with the Mariners and Mets facing off in Williamsport, PA.
I'm a sucker for the basically worthless 1988 Topps series, because it was not only my introduction to baseball cards, but my introduction to the sport — my dad bought me a pack, and the rest is history.
I don't have a cool story about meeting Valenzuela as a kid and having him sign this card — that didn't happen. I found it at an estate sale earlier this year. It was one of the items listed in the promotional photo, and I decided to check it out.
It was the right move. For $10, I got this one, plus three other signed Valenzuela cards (1989 Topps, 1990 Upper Deck, 1991 Donruss) and about a dozen other autographs in a ziplock bag of roughly 100 junk wax-era cards. What a deal!
Valenzuela passed away last October, three days before the start of the World Series in which the Dodgers would win their first (full season) championship since … 1988.
For the first time in more than a week, a Mets starter (Kodai Senga) completed five innings. The Mets still lost, thanks to an uncharacteristic meltdown by the bullpen.
Speaking of the Mets and starting pitchers, Tim Britton has a profile on prospect Nolan McLean, who is set to make his big-league debut this weekend.
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The Giants have been extremely bad at home lately. Grant Brisbee gives us context on just how bad. (It's bad.)
Two stories on stars returning to teams out of contention: Pablo López explains why he wants to return to the mound this year, and David O'Brien discusses the recently hot Braves getting Ronald Acuña Jr. and Chris Sale back in a lost year.
The MLB broadcast-rights saga seems like it will never end. The latest: The league is in negotiations with Netflix, ESPN, Apple TV and NBC for various national broadcasts, including playoff games.
A fellow writer sent me a text with a small correction to yesterday's newsletter: the 1924 World Series was won by the Washington Senators, not the Nationals. As it turns out … we're kinda both right!
Brewers win-streak counter: Milwaukee had the night off ahead of ahead of a weekend series in Cincinnati. A fun note from our Reds writer C. Trent Rosecrans: The Reds are the only team in the league that hasn't been swept yet this year. The Brewers are on a 12-game winning streak.
Also, Tyler Kepner's 'Sliders' column features Brewers rookie Isaac Collins this week.
On the pods: On Rates & Barrels, DVR, Eno and Trevor consider the Phillies' claim to the title of 'best team in baseball.'
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: A story from March on New Era's latest hat blunder.
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