Latest news with #FergieJenkins
CTV News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Baseball icon Fergie Jenkins honoured by hometown team
Former MLB star Fergie Jenkins was honoured by his hometown Chatham-Kent Barnstormers on Saturday, June 8, 2025. (Source: Riley Smids) Canadian baseball icon Fergie Jenkins was honoured by his hometown Chatham-Kent Barnstormers on Saturday evening. Jenkins further solidified his presence in baseball immortality with his number 31 being retired by the organization. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and widely considered one of the greatest Canadians to ever play the sport, the decision to honour Jenkins was considered a 'no-brainer' for Barnstormers management. 'We wanted to honour him more than anything because it's important, like, you don't see many major leaguers or even professional athletes [come] from a town,' said the team's owner Dom Dinelle. 080625 - Fergie Jenkins Former MLB star Fergie Jenkins was honoured by his hometown Chatham-Kent Barnstormers on Saturday, June 8, 2025. (Source: Riley Smids) Ahead of Saturday night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League, Jenkins threw out the first pitch before his number was unveiled in the outfield. Dinelle said the 82 year old was thankful for the recognition and stayed to watch the game, as he often does when in town. In their inaugural season, the Barnstormers retired number 42 for former big leaguer and team ambassador Bill Atkinson. 'it was important to deal with that because we didn't want anybody to say, 'Hey, I want 42, I want 31,' No way, no way, no way we were going to do that,' Dinelle said. 'These two icons are really important for the organization and for Chatham.' Dinelle said it's significant for players and young fans to be able to see the success from the Chatham-Kent baseball community. The game saw 1,037 people show up in what proved to be a 14-5 Barnstormers win.
Fox News
05-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins believes torpedo bats could lead to higher batting averages
Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins joined the ongoing discussion this week about the use of torpedo bats that has taken the big leagues by storm after the New York Yankees' strong outing over opening weekend. During an appearance on OutKick's "The Ricky Cobb Show," Jenkins, 82, discussed how torpedo bats have become the latest innovation in the sport and could favor hitters. "Well, when you look back at the game when I played in the '60s, '70s, '80s, the pitcher was pretty much dominant, and now we are like second-class citizens. Everything has been done for the hitter. Like, you say the clock, the bases are bigger, you have an over glove which gives you an extra 3–7 inches sliding into the bag ahead of the throw," Jenkins said. In addition to the rule changes that favor hitters, Jenkins said the torpedo bats are just the latest thing in baseball that will help them. "There is more of a hitting surface for the hitter, and I think it might increase the batting average a little bit, but you will get a better piece of wood on the ball and the ball will maybe travel a little further," he said. "Who knows? A couple of extra base hits, and now one hitter sees one of his teammates use it. Now, he wants to use it. I can believe before the All-Star break every ball club is going to have a half-dozen hitters using that torpedo bat." While the overall hitting surface is not increased with the torpedo bat, the barrel of the bat is moved to a different location. The goal of shifting the barrel is to move the thickest part of the bat to where the player makes the most contact. Jenkins said players who use the torpedo bat could see an increase in their numbers. "I think the batting average, you might see maybe an extra 20 points on each player's batting average. Instead of them hitting .255, .260, it might be .280," Jenkins said. While the bat has taken baseball by storm this season, New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton used a torpedo, including in the postseason, when he mashed seven home runs in 14 games. Jenkins, who pitched from 1965-1983, did not have to deal with any of the new rules in his days. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies in his 19-year career. Jenkins won the 1971 NL Cy Young with the Cubs and was named an All-Star three times. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
