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Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Untimely Wins Led To White Sox Missing Out On Witt, Rutschman
CINCINNATI, OHIO - MAY 15: Andrew Vaughn #25 of the Chicago White Sox walks back to the dugout after ... More striking out in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 15, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by) Timing is everything in baseball, as in life. There are times when wins can hurt you, especially when they come against the wrong opponents. The White Sox were 62-100 under Rick Renteria in 2018, the first 100-loss season since 1970 for Frank Thomas' old franchise. But included among the 62 wins were 15 in 26 games against the Royals and Orioles. That's a .577 winning percentage versus Kansas City and Baltimore, and a .346 winning percentage against everyone else. The implications of being able to beat the Royals (11-8) and the Orioles (4-3) have been felt every time they've taken the field the last three years, and will continue to be felt into the future. As bad as the White Sox were in 2018, the Royals (58-104) and Orioles (47-115) finished with worse records. That meant they picked ahead of the South Siders in the '19 draft, when it was clear to almost all scouts that Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman and Texas high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were the top prospects in the pool. The Orioles claimed Rutschman with the first overall pick; the Royals took Witt Jr. with the second pick. That's when the draft became problematic. But University of California, Berkeley first baseman Andrew Vaughn had been the most productive college hitter for at least two seasons. He won the Golden Spikes Award as a sophomore and then was almost as impressive as a junior, hitting .374 with 15 home runs and a 1.243 OPS in 52 games. Despite the 32-year-old Jose Abreu still hitting like he was in his prime, the White Sox selected Vaughn over the likes of prep prospects Riley Greene, C.J. Abrams and Corbin Carroll and college stars JJ Bleday, Josh Jung and Nick Lodolo. While Rutschman and Witt stayed in the minors for 180 and 161 games, respectively, the White Sox rushed Vaughn to Chicago after only 57 games in their farm system. All three of those players missed a year's worth of games during the Covid-shortened 2020 season, when the minor leagues did not operate. The White Sox, who had traded Chris Sale and Jose Quintana in 2017 to trigger a brief rebuilding phase, went 35-25 under Renteria in '20, surprisingly winning the American League Central, and then fired Renteria to bring Tony La Russa out of retirement for '21. Vaughn was never far from their minds before he landed a spot on the Opening Day roster that season, hitting fifth and playing left field in a 12-8 victory over the Angels. This seemed the start of something big but it hasn't worked out that way. While Rutschman and Witt led their franchises to postseason spots last season, the White Sox have gone 249-361 with Vaughn on the field, including a 112-237 record the last three seasons. He hasn't even played to replacement level, and was hitting .189 with five home runs and a .531 OPS in 48 games when he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte last week. With below-average speed and defensive skills, Vaughn's value lies almost exclusively in his bat. Fangraphs ranks him at -1.3 WAR this season, dropping his career figure to -1.7. Witt has accrued 21.3 fWAR in his three-plus seasons; Rutschman is at 14.4 even though his production is currently in decline. The White Sox haven't had the first overall pick in the draft since 1977, when they selected Hall of Famer Harold Baines. They won't have it this year despite losing 121 games last season, the most in history. Anti-tanking rules implemented at the request of the players' union in the last collective bargaining agreement prohibit 'payor clubs' — that is, big-market teams that are required to make revenue-sharing payments — from picking in the top six in back-to-back drafts. The White Sox had the fifth pick a year ago, selecting University of Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith. They will pick 10th in the first round on July 13 but then have the first overall pick in all other rounds. There are no obvious picks like Witt and Rutschman at the top of this year's draft. Meanwhile the White Sox hope Vaughn regains his confidence in Triple-A and returns to finish the season strong. But either way he appears to be near the end of his road with the team that took him after Rutschman and Witt went off the board.
Associated Press
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Sabonis, Valanciunas lead Kings past Suns in finale
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas each had a double-double, and Sacramento clinched homecourt advantage for the Kings first play-in game, beating the Phoenix Suns 109-98 on Sunday. Sabonis had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his 61st double-double of the season while Valanciunas had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 20 points as the Kings (40-42) ended a two-game skid. Sacramento, ninth in the Western Conference standings, hosts the No. 10 Dallas Mavericks in a loser-out play-in game on Wednesday. The Suns rested their top three players and finished the season 36-46, their worst record since going 34-39 during the Covid-shortened season 2019-20. Grayson Allen paced the Suns with 20 points. Tyus Jones scored 17 points while Ryan Dunn and Colin Gilespie each had 12 points. Key moment The Suns missed a chance to cut into a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter before Grayson Allen missed a relatively easy layup. The Kings grabbed the rebound and Sacramento's Trey Lyles followed with a 3-pointer. Key stat Playing without three key starters, Suns coach Mike Budenholzer leaned a lot on his reserves. The Kings took full advantage and outscored Phoenix's bench 50-33. Up next The Kings host the Mavericks in the first round of the play-in bracket Wednesday. The Suns will miss the postseason for the first time since 2020. ___ AP NBA:
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sabonis, Valanciunas lead Kings past Suns in finale
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas each had a double-double, and Sacramento clinched homecourt advantage for the Kings first play-in game, beating the Phoenix Suns 109-98 on Sunday. Sabonis had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his 61st double-double of the season while Valanciunas had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 20 points as the Kings (40-42) ended a two-game skid. Sacramento, ninth in the Western Conference standings, hosts the No. 10 Dallas Mavericks in a loser-out play-in game on Wednesday. The Suns rested their top three players and finished the season 36-46, their worst record since going 34-39 during the Covid-shortened season 2019-20. Grayson Allen paced the Suns with 20 points. Tyus Jones scored 17 points while Ryan Dunn and Colin Gilespie each had 12 points. Key moment The Suns missed a chance to cut into a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter before Grayson Allen missed a relatively easy layup. The Kings grabbed the rebound and Sacramento's Trey Lyles followed with a 3-pointer. Key stat Playing without three key starters, Suns coach Mike Budenholzer leaned a lot on his reserves. The Kings took full advantage and outscored Phoenix's bench 50-33. Up next The Kings host the Mavericks in the first round of the play-in bracket Wednesday. The Suns will miss the postseason for the first time since 2020. ___ AP NBA:
NBC News
06-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Alexander Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record
Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin broke the longstanding NHL record for goals scored Sunday, eclipsing the mark set by legend Wayne Gretzky more than 25 years ago. Ovechkin scored the record-setter, his 825th, against the New York Islanders in the second period. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Ovechkin has been one of the NHL's most feared offensive players since his rookie season, in which he scored 52 goals. Since then, he has scored at least 30 goals every year, excluding only the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season. Ovechkin's professional career began in Russia in 2001 with Dynamo Moscow. He was such a highly touted NHL prospect, the Florida Panthers even concocted a scheme to draft him in 2003, one year before he was officially eligible to be selected. (At the time, the Panthers argued Ovechkin was old enough to meet the league's cutoff if his age were to include leap years.) A tall, bruising forward with an incredibly strong shot, Ovechkin has since gone on to set several scoring records, including most power play goals, most overtime goals and most goals with a single team. He is also tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for most 50-goal seasons. Oveckin has also won a record nine Maurice 'Rocket' Richard trophies, given annually to the NHL's top goal getter. He has won three MVPs, and led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup win in 2018, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy that year for being the most valuable player in the playoffs. Ovechkin broke Gretzky's record despite multiple obstacles that deflated whatever his final goal count ends up being. The 2004-05 NHL season, which would have been Ovechkin's first, was canceled due to a lockout. The 2012-13 season was shortened because of another lockout, and both the 2020 and 2021 seasons were shortened because of the pandemic. In the playoffs, Ovechkin has 72 goals in 151 games. Washington has not appeared in the Stanley Cup with Ovechkin outside of 2018, however, and has not made it beyond the first round of the postseason since that year. As far as his future in Washington, Ovechkin signed a five-year contract extension in 2021 that runs through next season. In the past, Ovechkin has hinted that 2025-26 could be his final year in the NHL before a possible return to Russia.
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Carlos Correa Is Healthy But Off To A Horrible Start For The Twins
Carlos Correa has not had anything to smile about so far this season. (Photo by Brace ... More Hemmelgarn/) This was supposed to be the year. Every year is supposed to be the year. And, truth be told, many years have been the year. But for Carlos Correa, there was great hope that 2025 was going to be the one where he and his teammates catapulted the club to the next level. When healthy, Correa can be one of the most dynamic players in baseball. From 2015 through 2017, the shortstop averaged 120 games (slightly below average), but slashed .288/.366/.498, for a 137 OPS+ and 18.4 bWAR. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2017, and was setting the stage for a potential Hall of Fame-caliber career. However, chronic back issues hampered his 2018 and 2019 seasons, when he averaged just 92 games, and slashed .255/.337/.472 for a more middling 115 OPS+. In those two years he accrued 6.7 bWAR. Skipping the Covid-shortened 2020 (93 OPS+), Correa came back with a vengeance in 2021, playing in 148 games, with a 131 OPS+. He was an All-Star, won a Gold Glove, came in 5th in MVP voting, and accrued 7.3 bWAR. Things were back on track. As a free agent in 2022, Correa signed a three-year, $105 million deal with the Minnesota Twins, which included an opt-out after the first season. True to form, he exercised that opt-out, and tried to sign with the San Francisco Giants and then the New York Mets, but his poor medicals thwarted both deals. He ended up re-signing with the Twins, agreeing to a 6-year, $200 million contract. And he picked right back up. In fact, from an offensive perspective, 2022 and 2023 were nearly carbon copies of each other: Unfortunately, since 2022, all of Correa's defensive metrics have fallen off. This may be due to an unusual number of injuries to the superstar. While Correa's balky back has always been an issue, since 2022, he has missed time due to a finger injury, contracting Covid, his back, planter fasciitis (twice), an intercoastal strain, and wrist and hand injuries. It is the planter fasciitis that has been the real bugaboo. In 2023, he played through the diagnosis in his left heel, but just wasn't himself. He slashed .230/.312/.399 for a 94 OPS+. Once that healed, the next year he was diagnosed with the condition in his right heel. This time, he could not play through the pain, missing two months from July to September. In the 86 games he did play in 2024, he was the 'old Correa,' slashing .310/.388/.517, with 14 home runs and a 152 OPS+ (just below a career-high). Coming into 2025, Correa felt great and was back to full strength. For a Twins team that continues to get bitten by the injury the bug, this was hopeful news. If they can keep Correa, Byron Buxton, and Royce Lewis healthy, the club has a strong chance to win the up-and-coming American League central. Sadly, on the eve of the season, Lewis went down with a hamstring injury, so the hits had already begun. Fortunately, both Buxton and Correa have been able to play in each of the team's first five games. Unfortunately, Correa's production to date is no different than if he was on the injured list. Through the first five games of the season, Correa is 0-for-17 with one walk. He has grounded into three double plays in 18 plate appearances. On the defensive side, he is yet to make an error, but also yet to add anything, as, per Statcast, he has exactly zero outs above average. Here is the good news: Historically, March/April have been Correa's lowest OPS month; he has more strikeouts in this part of the year than any other; he hits to fewest home runs (tied with July); has the second lowest slugging percentage (just ahead of August); and grounds into the most double plays. So, if past is prologue, Correa, a career .274 hitter, who averages 27 homers and 98 RBI, with a 125 OPS+ over a 162-game season, should progress to the mean in the coming weeks and months. But, for now, his at bats are a rough watch. The Twins have begun the year 1-4, but are only one game back as everyone else in the division is just 2-3. The baseball season is long, and small sample size is just that. However, if the Twins want to compete, Correa will need to stay healthy and get out of his current funk.
