Latest news with #JohnnyBench
NBC Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
The Giants place winless Justin Verlander on the IL with a pec strain
MLB Hall of Famer and Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench joins Dan Patrick to weigh in on Pete Rose's reinstatement, share why the decision came at the "perfect time," and explore what his HOF chances are. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants placed winless right-hander Justin Verlander on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a strained right pectoral muscle. Verlander left his most recent start on Sunday against the Athletics early after struggling with his velocity and command because of discomfort. He threw on the side on Wednesday and still had issues, so he was placed on the injured list before the team begins a road trip on Friday in Washington. The move is retroactive to Monday and the Giants are hopeful Verlander will be back after 15 days and missing only two starts. Verlander said the issue wasn't related to the neck problems that sidelined him for much of the 2024 season. The 42-year-old Verlander has struggled in his first season with the Giants and is still searching for his first win after 10 starts. He is 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA. The three-time AL Cy Young Award winner and 2011 AL MVP has 41 strikeouts and 21 walks for his worst ratio since 2008 and is allowing the most baserunners per inning (1.404) of any season with more than two starts. Verlander has a career record of 262-150 with a 3.31 ERA in 536 starts. The Giants have not decided on who will take Verlander's place in the rotation on Saturday at Washington. San Francisco also announced that infielder David Villar cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and elected to become a free agent.
NBC Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Former Brewers player Darin Ruf sues Reds over injury in Cincinnati that ended his career
MLB Hall of Famer and Cincinnati Reds legend Johnny Bench joins Dan Patrick to weigh in on Pete Rose's reinstatement, share why the decision came at the "perfect time," and explore what his HOF chances are. CINCINNATI (AP) — Former major league outfielder/first baseman Darin Ruf is suing the Cincinnati Reds for damages after he suffered a career-ending injury while crashing into an uncovered tarp roller at Great American Ballpark two years ago. The lawsuit filed Thursday in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas charges the Reds with negligence in failing to maintain safe field conditions and specifically cites the presence of the unpadded metal tarp roller. 'This didn't need to happen,' Ruf said in a statement. 'I wish it didn't happen. Players shouldn't have to worry about hidden hazards like that on a major league field.' Ruf was playing first base for Milwaukee when he was injured during the third inning of the Brewers' 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Reds on June 2, 2023. In the third inning, Ruf was chasing a foul pop when his knee hit the end of the tarp roller. According to the complaint, Ruf suffered 'permanent and substantial deformities to his knee.' Ruf went on the 60-day injured list and never played in the major leagues again. Ruf's complaint says the end of the tarp roller was made of sharp metal and had no protective cushioning or cap. 'This was an obvious and avoidable risk,' Tad Thomas, Ruf's attorney, said in a release announcing the lawsuit. 'There are basic safety protocols every MLB team should follow. Leaving an unpadded metal roller on the edge of the field is inexcusable.' The Reds had no immediate response to a message seeking comment. Ruf is seeking punitive and compensatory damages. The complaint says the Reds didn't take reasonable precautions to keep the stadium safe and also are liable for the negligent acts of the grounds crew's 'reckless' conduct. Ruf, 38, played in the majors from 2012-23 with the Philadelphia Phillies (2012-16), San Francisco Giants (2020-22, 2023), New York Mets (2022) and Brewers (2023). He batted .239 with a .329 on-base percentage, 67 homers and 205 RBIs in 582 career games.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Mike Schmidt on Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame: ‘There will always be a cloud'
It was just a few weeks ago, a major-league source told The Athletic, that the commissioner of baseball, Rob Manfred, got on a Zoom with some men you may have heard of: Johnny Bench … and Mike Schmidt … and a small group of iconic Hall of Famers and former teammates of Pete Rose. Given the events of this week, you can probably guess the topic: a fellow named Pete Rose. Advertisement Rose's death last September, at age 83, had unleashed yet one more chain reaction that had landed in the commissioner's already overcrowded lap. So was this the right time, he had been wondering, to reinstate Rose and find an escape hatch of sorts from this debate? It was a question worth raising with these men who knew Rose so well. The fact that Manfred held this conversation at all gives us important insight into how thorough and deliberative a process he embarked upon before making one of the most momentous decisions of his tenure — to remove Rose and 16 other deceased people from baseball's permanently ineligible list. And once the commissioner launched that process, how could he not include Schmidt, Rose's one-time teammate in Philadelphia who has long credited the Hit King with changing the arc of his career? When reached Tuesday night by The Athletic, Schmidt declined to confirm that he'd talked with Manfred. But Schmidt spoke eloquently about the consequences of Manfred's decision — a moment he'd convinced himself might never arrive. In a statement released Tuesday by the Phillies, Schmidt had called Rose's newfound eligibility for the Hall of Fame 'a great day for baseball.' But Schmidt is well aware that not everyone in baseball agrees. When asked by The Athletic if he thought this decision would lift the cloud over Rose's head, Schmidt acknowledged that he sees the other side of this issue as clearly as the rest of us. 'No, I think Pete is always going to have a cloud following him around, God rest his soul,' Schmidt said. 'You know, Pete's no longer with us, but there will always be a cloud above any discussion about Pete Rose.' In his Hall of Fame speech 30 years ago, Schmidt openly campaigned for Rose's election to the Hall. As he stood at the podium in Cooperstown, N.Y., that day, he revealed that the Hit King was his grandmother's favorite player. So 'I join her, and millions of baseball fans, in hoping someday soon — someday very soon — Pete Rose will be standing right here,' Schmidt said, to rousing applause. But now that he can see a future in which the Hall's Classic Baseball Era Committee could be voting on Rose's candidacy as soon as December 2027, Schmidt isn't convinced that the debate about the Hit King has changed a whole lot, even after Manfred's decision. 'I think the Pete Rose question is always going to be divided, 50-50,' Schmidt said. 'Even in terms of the Hall of Fame, I think if you posed the question to all of the living Hall of Famers right now, I think it would almost be 50-50. That's my guess.' Advertisement He knows he is viewed as one of Rose's biggest cheerleaders. So it was surprising to hear Schmidt say: 'I don't have any hard-core feelings on either side.' 'I see both sides,' he said. 'I see that he squandered so many opportunities to change his life and go forward and do what commissioner (Bud) Selig asked him to do (in a then-secret 2002 meeting arranged by Schmidt and the late Joe Morgan). 'There wasn't remorse there,' Schmidt continued. 'He didn't show any atonement for his admission to betting on baseball. But at the same time, Pete Rose is one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, without question. Statistically and for what he did in his career, he would be a unanimous Hall of Famer.' But now, even after all these years, there is nothing remotely unanimous about the way any group in baseball views Rose. So the same heated Hall of Fame debate, which has been lurking for three decades, has now roared back to life. And it is certain to rage again when the members of the Classic Era Committee assemble to likely vote on him and others in 2027. So Schmidt was asked if he thinks those 16 committee members will be able to step into that room that day, forget about all the other Rose plot lines and just vote on Pete Rose, the baseball player. Schmidt shifted his gaze out into the future — and even he couldn't convince himself that was where this is leading. 'Absolutely not,' he said. 'No, I don't think that can happen. Let me just say no to that (question). There's a cloud. There's always going to be a cloud. There's always going to be the issue of Pete Rose off the field. You could debate this until you're blue in the face, and it's really hard to find a pat answer to this. It's very difficult. I've never really found one myself in the thousands of times I've been asked this question.' Advertisement And what about the living Hall of Famers? If Rose's Induction Weekend were to arrive in 2028, how would they look at that induction? 'I think I'd draw an analogy to the whole steroid issue,' Schmidt said. 'I think it's very similar. Because I think the Hall of Fame members are divided down the middle on that issue, too. … And that's just another question that most members really don't want to get involved with. They don't want to incriminate anybody. They don't want to mention names. 'And in Pete's case, it's much the same. I think we're divided down the middle — in terms of the area you played in, and the people you knew, and the people you played against, and who was your friend. I mean, there are so many tentacles to this thing, it's unbelievable.' It's now 46 years since Rose became a Phillie and took it upon himself to give Schmidt a jolt of confidence that would elevate him to another level in his career. Schmidt hasn't forgotten any of that. But it's now 36 years since commissioner Bart Giamatti ascended the stage, in a ballroom in New York, and announced that Rose had agreed to a lifetime suspension from baseball — after an investigation found he had bet on his own sport while he was managing in Cincinnati. Schmidt hasn't forgotten any of that, either. So he continues to wrestle with decades worth of Hit King storylines that never seem to get less complicated. And all these years later, Schmidt said, he's still wrestling. 'I get two questions everywhere I go: Who's the toughest pitcher you ever faced? And should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?' Schmidt said wistfully. 'I've got a pretty good answer to the pitcher part of it. (That would be Nolan Ryan.) But the Pete Rose question is a tough one. And I still don't have an answer.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Bob Kesling, Johnny Bench to serve as co-grand marshal for NASCAR Bristol Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway will have some orange and red to help start the Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race. Bob Kesling, the former "Voice of the Vols," and Cincinnati Reds great Johnny Bench will be co-grand marshals for the NASCAR race on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FS1). Kesling and Bench will give the command to start engines. Steve Early, the vice president and general manager of the Vol Network will be the honorary starter, waving the green flag at the start of the race. 'It is a great honor to be selected as co-grand marshal for the prestigious Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway,' Kesling said in a release. 'It is truly one of the most iconic annual sporting events in our state. As a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan, it is equally special to share this special honor with Hall of Famer Johnny Bench. Food City is a fantastic community supporter and has been an equally great partner with the University of Tennessee during my career.' Early has served as the vice president and general manager of the Vol Network since 2004, helping oversee marketing, partnerships and broadcasts for Volunteer games and events. Food City, the title sponsor for Sunday's race, has been a Tennessee Vols partner for nearly 30 years. BRISTOL INFO: Where is NASCAR racing this weekend? TV schedule, location for Food City 500 at Bristol 'There's really no way to put into words how exciting it is to be the honorary starter for the Food City 500,' Early said. 'I haven't been able to put it out of my mind since the call came. To get to be part of a race of this magnitude and a venue this iconic is beyond special. This event has amazing tradition and uniqueness, so it is truly a dream come true. Sunday can't get here fast enough.' Bench collected 2,048 hits, 1,376 RBIs and 389 home runs in a decorated MLB career as a catcher. He was named an All-Star 14 times, won 10 Gold Glove awards and won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975-76. 'The excitement of Bristol is like no other,' said Bench, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. 'I have experienced the action and found myself mesmerized by the drivers and their ability to race on a track like no other. The crowd was on the edge of their seats and the thrills were nonstop. Food City, I'm honored to be a part of it.' Steven Smith, Food City president and CEO said having an all-star lineup of dignitaries is exciting for the race. 'Food City is proud to be the official supermarket of Bristol Motor Speedway and University of Tennessee athletics." Smith said. "We're excited to bring those two long-time partnerships together for the upcoming race weekend." The Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series is set for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway will be broadcast on FS1 with Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick in the broadcast booth. Friday, April 11: Weather Guard Truck Race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1) Saturday, April 12: SciApps 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race, 5 p.m. ET (The CW) Sunday, April 13: Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race, 3 p.m. ET (FS1). Bob Kesling retired officially following the men's basketball season. He was the "Voice of the Vols" for over 25 seasons. BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY HISTORY: NASCAR Bristol race embraces tradition of over 60 years of history at storied racetrack Mike Keith, the former "Voice of the Tennessee Titans," was hired to replace Kesling. The Reds and the Atlanta Braves will play a regular season game Aug. 1, 2025 at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be the first regular season MLB game in the state of Tennessee. We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: NASCAR Bristol race: Bob Kesling, Johnny Bench co-grand marshal
