Latest news with #KirkGibson
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kirk Gibson discusses leaving Detroit Tigers' TV booth in 2025
Kirk Gibson's tenure in the Detroit Tigers TV booth ended before the start of the 2025 MLB season. In mid-March, the Tigers announced that Gibson wouldn't return to the TV booth but would remain a part of the team's front office as a special assistant while working with his foundation to continue the fight against Parkinson's disease. It was a shocking announcement, as the 68-year-old former Tigers player spent the last 10 years on the broadcast. Now, for the first time, Gibson has finally gone public about leaving Detroit's TV booth, and it was intriguing. Kirk Gibson talks departure from the Detroit Tigers' TV booth Gibson spoke to The Detroit News about his departure from the Tigers' TV booth for the first time and admitted that it wasn't the right fit anymore. When asked if he missed being in the TV booth, Gibson's answer wasn't an easy 'yes or no.' 'I mean, I enjoyed some of the things, but I didn't fit,' Gibson told The Detroit News in an interview. 'All things considered, I did what was right … One thing I learned through many people, mentors of mine along the way, was to take the high road … going back to [Sparky Anderson]. He called me out when I was young and said, 'Can you take it!?' I said, 'Take what?' He said, 'Can you take it!?' I said, 'What are you talking about?' He said, 'Can you take it?' … 'Yeah, bring it on, I can [expletive] take it.' He gave me many examples of taking it, just keeping your mouth shut for the team.' Gibson was initially announced to be in the Tigers' booth alongside play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti and other analysts. Andy Dirks and Dan Petry have taken most of the games through the All-Star break, but it's unclear how much Gibson would've been in the booth if he stayed. 'Things change over time, you know?' Gibson told The Detroit News. 'You get older, you've gotta change if you're going to be partners. You've gotta change if you're going to make it work. I'll just leave it at that.' Benetti and Dirks/Petry spoil Detroit fans, but Gibson's voice and charisma in Comerica Park are missed. Gibson has been a fixture of the Tigers' on-air commentary for over one decade, but it wasn't the right fit anymore. Times may have changed, but Detroit's love for Gibson, and vice versa, will never go Headlines '1 Percent Chance': Pirates Reporter Shares Bleak Take on Paul Skenes Extension Prospects Yankees Expected 'To Get After It' Before Trade Deadline: 6 Blockbuster Trade Targets, Including Chris Sale Top MLB reporter: Teams Will 'Laugh At' Luis Robert Jr. If He Makes This Demand Did Kyle Schwarber's All-Star Game Heroics Drive Up His Price With Free Agency Looming?
USA Today
23-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kirk Gibson receives lifetime achievement award from MLBPAA
Kirk Gibson is a well known commodity in the state of Michigan and the Michigan State community. After a very long and successful career in the MLB, following his time as a football and baseball player in East Lansing, he has continued to win a multitude of awards. The latest award that Gibson has received, the Fred Valentine Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by the Major League Baseball Player's Alumni Association. The MLBPAA describes the award as such, along with Gibson's recipient information: "This award honors the legacy of Fred Valentine, a founding member of the MLBPAA who embodied integrity, service in the community, and passion towards serving others. Each year, we celebrate his memory by recognizing an Alumni member who carries those same values forward. Through Kirk's impact in the community and the creation of the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson's, we are proud to celebrate him on Wednesday, June 25th, during our Alumni Day at Comerica Park!" Congratulations to the former Spartan on his latest award. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arellano: Welcome to the deportation resistance, Dodgers. What's next?
For Dodgers fan, it's all about the moments on the field. Kirk Gibson's Game 1-winning World Series home run in 1988. Freddie Freeman doing the same last year. Koufax's four no-hitters. Fernandomania. Shohei Ohtani anytime he's at the plate or on the mound. Advertisement It's outside the baseball diamond where the team has usually stumbled. And right now, the team finds itself in the middle of an unforced error that they're trying to recover from. That's the best way to describe how the Boys in Blue have acted as the city emblazoned on their hats and road jerseys battles Donald Trump's toxic alphabet soup of federal agencies that have conducted immigration sweeps across Los Angeles over the past two weeks. Read more: Federal agents denied entry to Dodger Stadium parking lot: Here is what really happened They stayed quiet as rumors circulated that la migra was using the Dodger Stadium parking lot as a staging and processing area for their raids. They ignored calls for days by some fans and community leaders to issue a statement, any statement, in defense of immigrants. Advertisement After offering my my fellow Times columnist Dylan Hernández a "no comment," the team finally told our colleague Jack Harris on Wednesday that they planned to assist 'immigrant communities impacted by the recent events in Los Angeles' without offering details. Then they paused in light of Thursday's dramatic events, which saw the Dodgers dragged into a fight with the Trump administration over what actually happened when federal agents were spotted near the stadium that morning. The team posted on social media that they denied a request by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to 'access the parking lots.' 'False,' ICE blared on social media. The Department of Homeland Security chimed in to claim Customs and Border Protection agents just happened to be near the stadium gates 'unrelated to any operation or enforcement' — this, even as local television news footage showed a U.S. citizen caught earlier that morning at a Home Depot just up the 101 freeway being transferred from one unmarked vehicle to another. 'We'll get back to you soon with the timing' about how the Dodgers will help immigrants, president Stan Kasten told Harris Thursday. No, Stan. The moment is now. Federal agents stage outside Gate E of Dodger Stadium on Thursday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) For decades, the Dodgers have gotten away with being the Flamin' Hot Cheetos of Major League Baseball – a corporate entity with an undue, even unhealthy following by too many Latinos. Each brand does little more than offer quick thrills to fans while taking their money, yet both have turned into markers of latinidad in Southern California à la lowriders and guayaberas. Advertisement The Dodgers have pulled this off even as they're the same franchise that refuses to put up any marker acknowledging that their home stands on the site where L.A. officials razed three barrios in the 1950s for a housing project that never materialized, then sold the land to the Dodgers for basically nothing. That didn't retire Fernando Valenzuela's number until the last years of his life. That will sell bland, overpriced tacos and micheladas at the stadium and not blink — hey, at least Flamin' Hot Cheetos are still cheap. They've put one arm around Latino fans while picking their pockets with the other for so long because they have been able to get away with it. Talks of boycotts over the years never worried executives because they knew other fans would quickly fill in any new seats. Fans booed while stadium security recently booted out attendees who brought signs to games decrying ICE, but Kasten and his crew knew no one would walk out in solidarity. All the Dodgers have to do is keep winning, stage an occasional giveaway night — wow, look! Another Valenzuela bobblehead on July 19! — or have organist Dieter Ruehle play a few bars of 'La Chona' and all is forgiven by too many too often. Sports teams have no obligation to take stances on the issues of the day and probably shouldn't. They're capitalist endeavors, not charity cases, whose stated mission is to provide bread and circuses to the masses while making as much profit as possible in the process. Social justice-minded followers too often willfully forget this. But they and the rest of us deserve to hold the Dodgers to a higher standard because that's how they have always marketed themselves. Advertisement They're the organization that broke baseball's color barrier with Jackie Robinson. That expanded the game's international reach with Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park. That established baseball academies across Latin America and fostered a Latino fan base unlike any other in U.S. professional sports. Read more: Granderson: For Dodgers, the fight against racial injustice is driven by the past and present Besides, the Dodgers have waded into political morasses before. They played Robinson as Jim Crow still ruled the United States. They rightfully proclaimed 'Black Lives Matter' in the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020. The team in 2023 bestowed a Community Hero award to a drag troupe in the face of protests from conservative Catholics, although the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were relegated a ceremony held hours before the start of a game when the stands were nearly empty. Other immediate members of the Dodgers family heard the call to stand with L.A. early on. Valenzuela's daughter, Maria Valenzuela, told Fox 11 that her father 'would be really disappointed' with what's going on, adding, 'He pitched for every immigrant who believed they belonged.' Broadcasting Hall of Famer Jaime Jarrín decried on his Instagram account the 'injustices and heartbreak we've witnessed' and blessed all the peaceful protests that have sprung up in response, telling those who are taking to the streets: 'Do not be afraid. Stay strong. Keep showing up. Let your voice be heard.' Advertisement But the only current player who has said anything about Trump's raids — this, in a squad whose roster is chockablock with visa holders — is Kiké Hernández. The Puerto Rican-born journeyman posted on Instagram that he 'cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart." Guess his teammates are still too thrilled to have met Trump at the White House earlier this year to muster up the energy to say anything? On Friday afternoon, the Dodgers finally announced something: They would coordinate with the city of Los Angeles to commit $1 million in financial assistance to families impacted by Trump's raids, and promised aid to trusted L.A. institutions like the California Community Foundation to help in the matter. "We have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected," Kasten said in a statement. That's a good start — but I hope the team sees it as just a start. Trump has already promised that the same rage he's inflicting on L.A. will soon come to Chicago and New York, cities with large immigrant populations and their own historic baseball teams. That's why the Dodgers need to summon the moral courage of their past even more and once again set an example others want to follow. Advertisement The moment is now. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Welcome to the deportation resistance, Dodgers. What's next?
For Dodgers fan, it's all about the moments on the field. Kirk Gibson's Game 1-winning World Series home run in 1988. Freddie Freeman doing the same last year. Koufax's four no-hitters. Fernandomania. Shohei Ohtani anytime he's at the plate or on the mound. It's outside the baseball diamond where the team has usually stumbled. And right now, the team finds itself in the middle of an unforced error that they're trying to recover from. That's the best way to describe how the Boys in Blue have acted as the city emblazoned on their hats and road jerseys battles Donald Trump's toxic alphabet soup of federal agencies that have conducted immigration sweeps across Los Angeles over the past two weeks. They stayed quiet as rumors circulated that la migra was using the Dodger Stadium parking lot as a staging and processing area for their raids. They ignored calls for days by some fans and community leaders to issue a statement, any statement, in defense of immigrants. After offering my my fellow Times columnist Dylan Hernández a 'no comment,' the team finally told our colleague Jack Harris on Wednesday that they planned to assist 'immigrant communities impacted by the recent events in Los Angeles' without offering details. Then they paused in light of Thursday's dramatic events, which saw the Dodgers dragged into a fight with the Trump administration over what actually happened when federal agents were spotted near the stadium that morning. The team posted on social media that they denied a request by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to 'access the parking lots.' 'False,' ICE blared on social media. The Department of Homeland Security chimed in to claim Customs and Border Protection agents just happened to be near the stadium gates 'unrelated to any operation or enforcement' — this, even as local television news footage showed a U.S. citizen caught earlier that morning at a Home Depot just up the 101 freeway being transferred from one unmarked vehicle to another. 'We'll get back to you soon with the timing' about how the Dodgers will help immigrants, president Stan Kasten told Harris Thursday. No, Stan. The moment is now. For decades, the Dodgers have gotten away with being the Flamin' Hot Cheetos of Major League Baseball – a corporate entity with an undue, even unhealthy following by too many Latinos. Each brand does little more than offer quick thrills to fans while taking their money, yet both have turned into markers of latinidad in Southern California à la lowriders and guayaberas. The Dodgers have pulled this off even as they're the same franchise that refuses to put up any marker acknowledging that their home stands on the site where L.A. officials razed three barrios in the 1950s for a housing project that never materialized, then sold the land to the Dodgers for basically nothing. That didn't retire Fernando Valenzuela's number until the last years of his life. That will sell bland, overpriced tacos and micheladas at the stadium and not blink — hey, at least Flamin' Hot Cheetos are still cheap. They've put one arm around Latino fans while picking their pockets with the other for so long because they have been able to get away with it. Talks of boycotts over the years never worried executives because they knew other fans would quickly fill in any new seats. Fans booed while stadium security recently booted out attendees who brought signs to games decrying ICE, but Kasten and his crew knew no one would walk out in solidarity. All the Dodgers have to do is keep winning, stage an occasional giveaway night — wow, look! Another Valenzuela bobblehead on July 19! — or have organist Dieter Ruehle play a few bars of 'La Chona' and all is forgiven by too many too often. Sports teams have no obligation to take stances on the issues of the day and probably shouldn't. They're capitalist endeavors, not charity cases, whose stated mission is to provide bread and circuses to the masses while making as much profit as possible in the process. Social justice-minded followers too often willfully forget this. But they and the rest of us deserve to hold the Dodgers to a higher standard because that's how they have always marketed themselves. They're the organization that broke baseball's color barrier with Jackie Robinson. That expanded the game's international reach with Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park. That established baseball academies across Latin America and fostered a Latino fan base unlike any other in U.S. professional sports. Besides, the Dodgers have waded into political morasses before. They played Robinson as Jim Crow still ruled the United States. They rightfully proclaimed 'Black Lives Matter' in the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020. The team in 2023 bestowed a Community Hero award to a drag troupe in the face of protests from conservative Catholics, although the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were relegated a ceremony held hours before the start of a game when the stands were nearly empty. Other immediate members of the Dodgers family heard the call to stand with L.A. early on. Valenzuela's daughter, Maria Valenzuela, told Fox 11 that her father 'would be really disappointed' with what's going on, adding, 'He pitched for every immigrant who believed they belonged.' Broadcasting Hall of Famer Jaime Jarrín decried on his Instagram account the 'injustices and heartbreak we've witnessed' and blessed all the peaceful protests that have sprung up in response, telling those who are taking to the streets: 'Do not be afraid. Stay strong. Keep showing up. Let your voice be heard.' But the only current player who has said anything about Trump's raids — this, in a squad whose roster is chockablock with visa holders — is Kiké Hernández. The Puerto Rican-born journeyman posted on Instagram that he 'cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart.' Guess his teammates are still too thrilled to have met Trump at the White House earlier this year to muster up the energy to say anything? On Friday afternoon, the Dodgers finally announced something: They would coordinate with the city of Los Angeles to commit $1 million in financial assistance to families impacted by Trump's raids, and promised aid to trusted L.A. institutions like the California Community Foundation to help in the matter. 'We have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,' Kasten said in a statement. That's a good start — but I hope the team sees it as just a start. Trump has already promised that the same rage he's inflicting on L.A. will soon come to Chicago and New York, cities with large immigrant populations and their own historic baseball teams. That's why the Dodgers need to summon the moral courage of their past even more and once again set an example others want to follow. The moment is now.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mantelpiece Stories: Inside one collector's passion for PSA 1 cards
One of the best things about collecting is that it's a different experience for everyone, and no one can tell you if it's right or wrong. At Mantel's pre-Fanatics Fest trade night at Bleecker Trading, we met a collector, Steve Loff of Throwback Cards, who embodies this perfectly. His passion? Cards graded PSA 1, typically the lowest grade possible. Advertisement His goal? Own the world's largest collection of PSA 1 cards. Intrigued by his unique collection, we sat down with him to dive into the world of 'imperfectly perfect' cards. How did this unique collection begin? Steve: It all started when I saw a guy posting random PSA 1s on Instagram. I found it hilarious yet intriguing. Interestingly, my own journey actually began with a PSA 3, not a 1. I got a 2019 Pete Alonso #475 back from PSA expecting a 10, but it was a 3 due to an accidental fold in the card. I laughed, looked at the pop report — Pop 1, none lower — and decided, 'I'm keeping this card.' Then I thought about iconic cards I'd always wanted in high grades, like the '93 Jeter SP. Curious, I checked and saw a Pop 1 in PSA 1, found it immediately on COMC, and snagged it for $195. It remains my most expensive PSA 1 to date. That card changed my entire collecting approach. 1993 SP Derek Jeter PSA 1 (Via Mantel) Do you mostly buy your PSA 1 cards or grade them yourself? Steve: Around 95% are already graded as PSA 1. I often wonder how they ended up that way. Were they treasured by someone for a long time, graded out of curiosity, or a grading newbie's submission? Occasionally, when I can't find a Pop 1 or Pop 2 card I really want, I'll intentionally submit a beat-up card myself, hoping for a PSA 1. What's the secret to consistently getting PSA 1 grades? Steve: It's funny — just like spotting a PSA 10, you need an eye for a 1. It takes practice. I've aimed for 1s and sometimes ended up with 2s, which felt like overgrading! A perfect PSA 1 has good centering and registration but clearly visible creases and worn corners. My 1981 Topps Kirk Gibson is an ideal example: childhood-loved, pocket-worn, yet charmingly intact. 1981 Topps Kirk Gibson PSA 1 (Via Mantel) Do you ever intentionally damage cards for a lower grade? Steve: Occasionally, yes. However, I don't usually like taking shortcuts like pinholes —though I confess I did it once with my 1989 Topps Traded Barry Sanders. I let my kids play with it, creased it up, but wasn't confident it would grade a 1, so I added a pinhole. That card graded PSA 1 and has since become a centerpiece of my collection. I've even declined offers for it that exceeded PSA 10 prices! Which cards in your collection mean the most to you? Steve: The Sanders, despite the pinhole, because of the memorable story around its grading. The Jeter SP as my first PSA 1. The Kirk Gibson card for its ties to my childhood. Also, my junk wax-era PSA 1s — cards like the 1986 Canseco Rated Rookie, the 1987 Topps Bo Jackson Future Stars, and the 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn. I particularly love my 1969 Victoria Stevie Wonder, Pop 1, none lower! 1989 Topps Barry Sanders PSA 1, 1990 Topps Ken Griffey Jr. PSA 1 and 1990 Fleer Michael Jordan PSA 1 (Via Mantel) What might surprise people about the pricing of PSA 1 cards? Steve: PSA 1 cards are often rarer than higher grades, so there's a surprising premium sometimes. For example, my Barry Sanders card has drawn offers higher than PSA 10 counterparts. Generally, PSA 1 collecting is affordable and fun, but certain low-population cards can unexpectedly outpace mid-level grades in value. Any cards still on your wishlist? Steve: Definitely! I'd love an '86 Jordan, '79 Gretzky, or '58 Jim Brown, even though they're relatively common in PSA 1. My true wish list includes modern iconic cards you rarely see graded PSA 1, like the 2018 Prizm Luka Doncic or Tom Brady Bowman Chrome rookie. But at the very top are the 1984 Topps or Donruss Don Mattingly and the 1996 Topps Kobe Bryant — both hard to find and pricey. Any final thoughts you'd like to share? Steve: It is the best conversation starter. One fun thing is bringing these PSA 1 cards to shows and displaying them prominently. Collectors always react positively, often amazed or amused. As quirky as it sounds, PSA 1 collecting is incredibly rewarding — it's affordable, personal, and brings genuine joy and conversations every single time. Do you have a unique collection you would like featured on Mantelpiece Stories? Let us know on Mantel.
