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How Detroit Tigers' Casey Mize overcame 'tough thoughts' for first MLB All-Star appearance
Casey Mize is one of the calmest players on the Detroit Tigers. But it's easy to imagine the frantic tone in his voice when he called clubhouse manager Dan Ross. He had an urgent – and unusual – request. "Dan, I need nice clothes," Mize said. "I don't own any." And so Ross sent Mize to State and Liberty in Birmingham — 20 miles north of Comerica Park. There, he picked out a light gray suit and a black T-shirt off the rack. A few days later, the 28-year-old showcased his new outfit: Mize made a decked-out appearane for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Show in Atlanta on July 15, just hours before the All-Star Game. ROTATION AND RELIEF: Tarik Skubal's gifts to Tigers rookie Troy Melton "Normally, that's not my thing," said Mize, a late All-Star replacement. "I don't own nice clothes or enjoy the camera or spotlight. But it was cool for my wife and me to be able to do that." After years of physical setbacks, mental hurdles and frustrating underperformance, Mize – the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018 – has emerged from those dark days. His journey to his first All-Star Game in his five seasons has given him a newfound perspective about his life – both on and off the field – which he detailed in the American League clubhouse in July. "I'm proud to be where I am now," Mize said. "If you asked me when I was 21 how many of these I would be at, I would say a lot more than one at this stage in my career. If you asked me again when I was 25, I might say zero." Entering the All-Star break this season, Mize had a 3.15 ERA in 16 starts, up from a sub-3.00 ERA through his first 15. "I'm really proud that I was able to work through some things and perform at the level that I always knew I was capable of," said Mize, whose ERA hit 3.50 through 19 starts entering Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. "To put my belief on the field feels good, and to get rewarded for it by being here and experiencing this is pretty special." THE INJURY: Tigers' Casey Mize to undergo Tommy John surgery, might miss entire 2023 season In the Tigers' clubhouse at Comerica Park, Mize is locker buddies with left-hander Tarik Skubal. Both former top prospects pitched for the AL team in the All-Star Game. Skubal, twice sidelined by elbow surgery, has had a front-row seat to Mize's roller-coaster ride — from No. 1 overall pick to Tommy John surgery to All-Star. "I'm proud of him," Skubal said. "Everything he has gone through, ups and downs, a lot of downs, injuries, coming back from injury and not performing the way he's expected to perform, the way he expects of himself, and then going into an offseason and revamping his arsenal, and coming into spring training with not really a spot on the roster. Every start that he's had, he's earned it, and he's earned this moment. I couldn't be happier for him, not only as a teammate, but also as a friend." A sports psychologist Barely two years after he was drafted, Mize was on the fast track to becoming a frontline starter for the Tigers. Rising quickly through the Tigers' system, he made his MLB debut in 2020, then posted a 3.71 ERA across 30 starts in his first full season in 2021 — only to undergo Tommy John surgery in June 2022 to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He didn't pitch again until 2024. "I fought some thoughts," Mize said. "I feel like did a pretty good job of flushing those, but to say that I never had any doubts or never any fear of, 'My career is not going to be what I thought it was going to be.' That came into my head at times." After elbow surgery, Mize found himself buying into negative thoughts. He felt miserable. His wife, Tali, helped him build a foundation for positivity by discovering their community at church. He also began meeting with a sports psychologist employed by the Tigers. "I wanted to deal with those tough thoughts I was having about my career," Mize said. "I wanted to be able to combat those thoughts. I'm also a guy that's going to leave no stone unturned. I was like, 'I'm doing everything I can physically right now, so that when I'm back, I'm the best play I can be.' I wanted to do the same thing mentally." He started the sessions in 2023. The conversations became more frequent before spring training in 2024, as he prepared for his return to competition. They still talk to this day. "I've learned, the longer you sit on those thoughts, and the longer you let it build up, the more negatively it's going to impact you," Mize said. "I've worked through a lot of those thoughts. Now, I don't think that way anymore. I just take my career as it comes at me." The Zack Wheeler model For Mize, Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler is a symbol of hope. Wheeler, now 35, was drafted No. 6 overall in 2009 and made his MLB debut in 2013. He had a 3.54 ERA across 32 starts in 2014, his first full season — only to undergo Tommy John surgery in March 2015. After the procedure, he didn't pitch again in the majors until 2017. There are parallels to Mize's journey. "In his first year back, he see-sawed a little bit," Mize said, "and then in his second year, he took off, and it's been domination ever since, and he's still going. That's always a guy I've kept an eye on, like this is still possible for me." THE COMEBACK: After 2 years, Tigers' Casey Mize — the No. 1 pick in 2018 draft — makes MLB return In 2017, Wheeler returned from Tommy John surgery with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. In 2024, Mize made his return from Tommy John surgery with a 4.49 ERA in 22 games. For Mize, the offseason between 2024 and 2025 became a chance to revamp the way he pitches. He was determined to make a big jump in his second year removed from elbow surgery, so he traveled to Driveline Baseball in Tampa, Florida, and Maven Baseball in Atlanta, to work on his pitch mix. He added breaking balls, boosted the velocity of his splitter and chased more whiffs. "How can we get to be the best player I can be?" Mize said. "That was the mentality switch a little bit this offseason. How can I get better? Because I was tired of not being a contributor.' The overhaul worked. Mize became an All-Star for the first time at age 28 in his fifth MLB season. Wheeler didn't make his first All-Star Game until 2021, his age-31 season and his seventh in MLB. From 2021-25 – over nearly nearly 900 innings and 144 starts (entering Sunday) – the Phillies ace owns a 2.90 ERA. He has established himself as one of MLB's best pitchers — if not the best — over a five-year span. In 2025, Wheeler is earning $42 million. Meanwhile, Mize is making $2.34 million in his second of three arbitration years. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2026 season. "Maybe I won't make $45 (million) a year or whatever he's doing and logging 200-some innings every year," Mize said. "But if I look at his career, I'm like, 'There are some similarities here.' That guy gives me some hope." 'My good luck charm' The combination of hope and diligence carried Mize all the way to the All-Star Game. Before taking the mound, he spent time on the red carpet. Tali joined him. Mize found his suit and shirt off the rack. But his wife faced a more complicated challenge. Pregnant with their first child, she spent an entire day at the mall searching for something to wear. Eventually, she gave up and ordered a dress that arrived just in time, thanks to overnight shipping. "She looked amazing," Mize said. Although Mize battled negative thoughts, the past few years have been full of positives: finding a church community, learning from a sports psychologist, returning from elbow surgery, developing as a pitcher, contributing to one of the best teams in baseball and earning his first All-Star appearance. His perspective on the game has shifted. "I was away from the game for so long, and I would've done anything to play and compete," Mize said. "I keep trying to remind myself that, 'You just gave up six runs to the Mariners. You would have loved to done that in 2023, just to literally be out there playing.' When I think of my career and the things I want to do, it's much more short-term than it used to be." Above all, Mize is preparing for something entirely differnet: Becoming a girl dad. "She's my good luck charm, I think — my little girl on the way," Mize said. "It's been a great year with great things happens and great things to look forward to. It's been wonderful." Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@ or follow him @EvanPetzold. Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at Order your copy of 'Roar of 125: The Epic History of the Tigers!' by the Free Press at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Casey Mize overcame 'tough thoughts' for 2025 MLB All-Star Game
BBC News
09-06-2025
- BBC News
Annfield Plain speed campaign plea from crash victim aged nine
A nine-year-old boy who faced surgery and lengthy rehabilitation after being run over at a speeding blackspot is heading a campaign for traffic-calming was airlifted from West Road in Annfield Plain, County Durham, to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary in April last year, on what his dad Craig Ross described as one of the worst days of his local community has backed the campaign, called Silence the Loud, to force changes to the road where residents say they even hear cars speeding, especially at County Council said it had been in discussions about safety on West Road, but the ward's new councillors said it is time to "get on with building the thing". Dan was walking to the cricket club near his home when he was Ross said: "As he was unconscious, I didn't know if he was alive. He was in a bad state."The youngster stayed in hospital for six nights and had metal pins inserted into his then needed weeks of recovery in a wheelchair followed by rehabilitation using a walking frame. 'Am I going to die?' Mum Jess Stephenson said the crash has had a long-term impact on her."I'm so frightened to let him out my sight. I find it difficult living so close to where it happened."We've always said it's an accident waiting to happen, but we never thought it would be one of our children."Dan's grandad David Stephenson, who started the safety campaign, said: "When Dan was lying on the side of the side of the road, he said, 'Mam, am I going to die?'"No mother should have to hear that. That's the day I was determined to get something done on this road." West Road, which is known locally as The Loud, is designated a 30mph zone but campaigners say its long, straight, downhill stretch encourages speeding and children have been killed there in decades at Dan's school, Catchgate Primary, created posters which have been displayed on the aged nine, said: "There's normally a lot of cars speeding. Cars here just go too fast."Classmate Jackson said: "We have been helping, but cars have still been going over the limit and fast."Mr Ross said: "You can see people aren't doing the correct speed. "We need something put in place to slow the traffic down. It's only a matter of time before it happens again."Durham Police said it was "aware of the community concerns" and was using speed camera vans to identify drivers breaking the campaigners want permanent measures introduced which have been estimated to cost about £50,000. 'Time to deliver' So far, the local authority and Durham's Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen have pledged £33, current councillors for Annfield Plain and Tanfield, Darren Grimes and Karen Allison of Reform UK, said they were prepared to use their local budgets to meet any said the pair "have been pushing officers to get this moving"."They're finalising detailed designs and getting contractor quotes as we speak. "We're talking weeks to have firm costs and a delivery timeline, then we can get on with actually building the thing. "The residents of Annfield Plain deserve action, not more meetings. These campaigners have done the hard work, now it's time for the council to deliver."Dave Lewin, Durham County Council's strategic traffic manager, said: "A number of discussions have been held regarding speeding concerns on West Road and, as a result, we are working hard to introduce traffic-calming measures to address the issue."We will continue to work with residents, police and the police and crime commissioner on this important issue." Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bittensor App Gets Hack Risk Cover From Nexus Mutual-Backed Insurance Firm Native
Digital-asset insurance broker Native said it arranged $25 million of blockchain-based cover against hacks for Team Rizzo, an operator of machine-learning businesses and staking validator services on Bittensor, the popular cryptocurrency-driven AI network. The London-based company acted as a broker and also an underwriter using its own syndicate and capital pool on Nexus Mutual, a decentralized insurance alternative that backed Native in October of last year. The cover protects against smart-contract hacks leading to the loss of Bittensor tokens (TAO) used to validate the network's proof of stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Hacks are a persistent worry in the crypto ecosystem, where insurance cover remains thin on the ground, particularly in more experimental and esoteric realms like staking or decentralized finance (DeFi). Last week, Bybit, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, lost $1.5 billion to North Korea-linked hackers. Nexus Mutual arrived in 2019 with an alternative form of insurance cover for the emerging DeFi sector, incentivizing a community of members to deploy assets into blockchain-based syndicates, similar in some ways to how the Lloyd's of London insurance market allows syndicates of investors to back risks. Native, which runs one of the larger capital pools on Nexus Mutual, also acts in a more traditional broker role providing access to Lloyd's for certain types of crypto-related insurance cover. The striking thing about the Rizzo validator risk on Bittensor was the speed with which Native arranged the cover, which took just four weeks, Native co-founder Dan Ross said in an interview. 'This is the first time Bittensor has been underwritten,' Ross said. 'Team Rizzo wanted to buy their own policy to attract people to come and stake to their own validator and make them feel safe. So we've been able to create a new product, underwrite a new protocol, get third party smart-contract cover with a $25 million limit in about four weeks. If we did that with traditional insurance, that's a three to six month thing at minimum — if it could be done at all.' The Bittensor policy will be followed by cover for bitcoin staking platform Babylon in the coming weeks, Ross added. 'Team Rizzo has played the long game to become one of — if not the most — consistent and performant validators on Bittensor,' said Bittensor founder Jake Steeves in a statement.
