PSG inflict humiliating defeat on Real Madrid to reach Club World Cup final
For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
In An era prizing velocity, more than 20,000 curveballs a year have disappeared from MLB
Curveballs have been thrown a curve by a modern game valuing velocity over variety, disappearing from the major leagues by more than 20,000 annually. The Athletics have thrown curves on just 2.5 percent of pitches this season. The overall big league figure dropped from 10.7 percent in 2019 to 8.1 percent last year, the lowest since MLB starting tracking in 2008, before rising slightly to 8.5 percent this season. There were 22,962 fewer curveballs in 2024 than five years earlier. 'You don't really see a lot of people throwing 12-6 curveballs anymore,' Tampa Bay pitcher Shane Baz said. 'They'd rather have a hard cutter/slider. It's a lot easier for guys to throw a sweeper than it is a 12-6 curveball.' Baz's 28.1 percent is seventh in curveball use among those who have thrown at least 1,000 pitches this season. Baltimore's Charlie Morton, first at 39 percent, learned to throw a hook from his dad. 'He was reading some article or maybe he was reading some pitching book,' Baltimore's 41-year-old right-hander said. 'You basically throw it like you're re-throwing a knife.' Curveballs have been around for a century and a half. Hall of Famer Candy Cummings, a 145-game winner, is credited with inventing the curveball in 1863 when he was 14, discovering the movement when he threw sea shells into the Atlantic Ocean. Some attribute the curve to amateur pitcher Fred Goldsmith in 1870. With an average velocity of 80.2 mph, curves are the slowest and loopiest of breaking pitches, often disrupting the timing of batters set for smoke. The phrase 'thrown a curveball' has become part of the English language much like 'screwball,' more a phrase than a pitch these days. Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, and Clayton Kershaw were among the consummate curveballers, bamboozling batters as balls they gave up on dropped like hang gliders into the strike zone. 'It's become an industry of throwing over pitching,' New York Yankees senior adviser Omar Minaya said. 'When you pitch, you use different pitches. What we're seeing in the industry as a whole, especially with showcases, is people are looking more at velocity than pitchability – as a scout, I said that unfortunately.' Former pitcher Dallas Braden, now a broadcaster, longs for those days of deception. 'You almost sympathize with the hitter in the moment because you're like: 'Damn, I couldn't have hit that.' He couldn't hit that. Nobody could have hit that,' Braden said. 'The eephus is now almost like as close as we get when a position player is on the mound to an aesthetically pleasing pitch like that, just the visual presentation of the pitch starting in the clouds and ending up at the ankles.' Nike's 'Chicks Dig the Long Ball' commercial defined baseball in the Steroids Era. These days the slogan might as well be: 'Velo Rules!' There were just 214 pitches of 100 mph or more in 2008. There were a record 3,880 two years ago, and this year is on track for 3,252. In tandem, starting pitcher use has dropped. Starters have averaged just under 5 1/3 innings this season, down from 6 1/3 innings in the 1980s. Their pitch count averages 85.7, down from 97 in 2010. 'Throw as hard as you can for as long as you can' is the mantra. Average four-seam fastball velocity is a record 94.4 mph this season, up from 91.9 mph when MLB started tracking in 2008. But fastballs – four-seam, two-seam, and cutters – have dropped from 62.1 percent to 55 percent. Those missing hooks and heaters have been replaced by sliders, sweepers, and slurves. They are 22.6 percent of pitches this year, up from 13.9 percent in 2008, and their average velocity has risen to 84.8 mph from 83.4 mph. Colorado throws curves the most often at 15.6 percent, not that it has brought any success to a team that entered the break at 22-74, on track for a 37-125 finish and the post-1900 record for losses. The Athletics haven't thrown 10 percent curveballs since 2017. 'If you look around the game, swing and miss has taken more of a priority, so guys are trying to throw more sweepers with more horizontal movement, or they're trying to throw the slider really hard at the bottom of the zone,' Athletics pitching coach Scott Emerson said. 'They're worried about contact with the curveball.' Generational change in the 2020s: Veteran pitchers note the curve's decline as youngsters integrate into staffs. 'As you're an amateur going to the big leagues, guys are looking at velo. Guys are just looking at stuff,' Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said. 'Velo is important, and it pays.' Maybe because the pitchers who throw curves are committed, batters have a .225 average this season on curves, down from .263 on fastballs and up slightly from .222 on sliders, sweepers, and slurves. 'That's just how the game is trending: to throw it as hard as you can, spin it the best you can, and hope the hitter doesn't hit it,' Emerson said. 'The hitters are up there trying to swing as hard they can. If they hit it with hard contact, make 27 swings that are really hard, you got a chance to hit a homer here and there. And it's taken away from the contact-type pitchers.'
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
A mix of youth and chemistry has Red Sox rolling into all-star break on 10-game winning streak
Many of the Boston Red Sox players started wearing T-shirts during batting practice and in the clubhouse the past week with a quote from teammate Romy Gonzalez written across the front. It says: 'Tremendously locked in.' They certainly look that way heading into the All-Star break. On Sunday, Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run homer, and the Red Sox (53-45) posted their 10th straight victory with a 4-1 series-sweeping win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. 'There's two things: We're young and we're athletic, and that doesn't slump to be honest with you,' said manager Alex Cora, who reminded some of his younger players to lead with energy in late May. 'I talked to some of the kids in Atlanta, and their job is to, of course, play as hard as you can,' he said. 'I told them: 'There's no excuse for you guys not bringing the energy every single day.' It starts in the clubhouse with the music.' The 24-year-old Rafaela has joined three rookies: infielder Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony, and catcher Carlos Narváez to give the Red Sox a jolt of successful youth leading them into the break. Following a series-opening loss in New York on June 6, the Red Sox dropped to 10 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. Now, just over a month later, they're a game behind them for second place, trailing the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays. 'It's been fun the last 10 days,' said Rafaela, who is hitting .421 with five homers and 15 RBIs during a career-best 10-game hitting streak. 'Yes, we've been winning, and it's always good to win,' he said. 'I think it's the most fun I've ever had.' Veteran Trevor Story, who had struggled during three-injury plagued seasons with the Red Sox after signing a six-year, 140-million contract as a free agent in March 2022, has picked it up by playing solid defense at short with timely hitting. 'We're playing well,' Cora said. 'Trevor and Rafaela have been amazing.' The streak comes less than a month after Boston shipped Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. Story sees the club believing it has finally found its stride. 'I think we have more of an identity now,' he said. 'We're starting to believe that I think we can win in different ways. Like we've shown in this 10-gamer, we can slug, or we can win one-run games, we can steal bases. I think playing good defense is a good part of that. I think it all starts with the pitching, which has been lights out.' The pitching has been led by All-Star Garrett Crochet, who posted his first complete game shutting out the Rays on Saturday. 'Yeah, energy chemistry,' Cora said. 'Winning's better that losing. We're excited about going to the ballpark.'
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Aaron Judge is barreling toward the hallowed 500-homer club. He might be joined by several peers
Aaron Judge became the fastest player in MLB history to reach 350 career homers on Saturday, and it feels inevitable that the Bronx slugger will join the hallowed 500-homer club sometime in the next several years. He could have plenty of company. The 28-player group could swell significantly in the coming decade with Yankees teammate Giancarlo Stanton (432) Mike Trout (395) Paul Goldschmidt (370) Manny Machado (359) Freddie Freeman (353) Nolan Arenado (351) and Bryce Harper (346) all within striking distance. Lurking a little further down the active leaderboard, Kyle Schwarber (314) Eugenio Suarez (307) Mookie Betts (282) Francisco Lindor (267) Shohei Ohtani (257) and Pete Alonso (247) are piling up big numbers and still in their early 30s. And then there's Juan Soto, who already has 224 homers at the tender age of 26. Some are stronger candidates than others, given their injury history and age. The 35-year-old Stanton has battled various ailments over the past several seasons but has been productive when he's played. The 33-year-old Trout has been slowed by injuries too but hit enough homers in his 20s that it would be surprising if he didn't eventually reach the mark. This generation's group of sluggers is reminiscent of a stretch from 2001 to 2009 when Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas, and Gary Sheffield all made it to 500. The biggest difference is several of those players' accomplishments were tainted – at least to some – because it was part of a era that included widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs. The club has been relatively hard to join over the past decade. The last to reach 500 was Detroit's Miguel Cabrera on Aug. 22, 2021. Before that, Red Sox star David Ortiz slugged his 500th homer in 2015. Even among the elite sluggers, Judge stands out for the speed in which he's piling up dingers. Many forget he didn't play his first full big league season until he was 25, but the 33-year-old has needed just 1088 games to reach 350 homers. Unsung non All-Stars This group of players won't be featured at the All-Star game in Atlanta on Tuesday, but they are having great under-the-radar seasons through the first half. Ceddanne Rafaela Red Sox: The 24-year-old center fielder has blossomed in his second full MLB season and is hitting .271 with 14 homers, 48 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases, all while playing excellent defense. Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch Cubs: Hoerner continues to be one of the games best second basemen batting .283 with 18 doubles, 39 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases, all while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense. The 27-year-old Busch is batting .290 with 19 homers providing the NL Central-leading Cubs some thump. Cristopher Sanchez Phillies: The left-hander has been a big part of a stacked Philadelphia rotation with a 8-2 record, 2.50 ERA, and 122 strikeouts in 115 innings. He put an exclamation point on his first half on Sunday giving up just one run over 7 1/3 innings in a 2-1 win over the Padres. Framber Valdez Astros: The righty had a terrific first half with a 10-4 record, 2.75 ERA, and 125 strikeouts in 121 innings. Trivia Question Soto's 224 career homers lead the pack for MLB players who haven't turned 30 years old. Who are the other players in their 20s that round out the top five? Here come the Red Sox The Boston Red Sox have won 10 straight games heading into the All-Star break – their longest winning streak since 2018 – setting up an intriguing second half for a club that looked very average for most of the season's first three months. Rafaela has been one of the major catalysts for Boston's surge hitting a walk-off homer on Friday night and another two-run homer in Sunday's win. The AL East race could be a barnburner as summer turns to fall with the Blue Jays (55-41) Yankees (53-43) Red Sox (53-45) and Rays (50-47) all in the mix. Even the last-place Orioles aren't completely out of it yet sitting at 43-52 which is 11 1/2 games out of first place. Trivia Answer Rafael Devers (217) Ronald Acuna Jr. (177) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (172) are two through four. Yordan Alvarez and Austin Riley are tied for fifth at 167. Cody Bellinger has 212 homers but turned 30 on Sunday.
