Latest news with #MLBer
New York Post
16-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
A Preakness Stakes long shot is named after an obscure Met
Don't be surprised if a lot of 'Mets money' shows up on a long shot in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. That's because the No. 9 horse in the 2025 Preakness is named 'Gosger' after Jim Gosger, a journeyman outfielder who played 74 games for the Amazins, including 10 for the 'Miracle Mets' in 1969. The gray, Kentucky-bred colt is owned by Harvey Clarke Racing Stables and was named after the former MLBer thanks to a random Facebook connection with Donna Clarke, whose family owns the horse, according to Paulick Report. Gosger was tagged with 20-1 odds on the morning line, tied for the biggest price on the board with No. 5 Pay Billy. 'It's amazing,' the human Gosger told Paulick Report. 'I'm so darn excited about something like this. I had a good career playing ball. I was very fortunate. But this ranks right up at the top.' 4 Gosger works out at Pimlico ahead of the 150th Preakness Stakes. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Gosger, 82, played for six teams during his 10-year career, and although his stats may not be memorable, his story certainly is unique. He was the last batter to face Satchel Paige, and he was once declared dead by the Mets. Paige was brought out of retirement in a publicity stunt by Kansas City A's owner Charlie Finley. At age 59, Paige hurled three scoreless innings, culminating with a groundball out by Gosger. 'I grounded out, and as I was running by him to grab my glove, he grabbed my arm and it scared the [heck] out of me,' Gosger recounted to the outlet. 'He looked at me and said, 'Good luck, young man.' And that's something I will never forget.' 4 Jim Gosger during the 1969 World Series. Getty Images Four years later, Gosger joined the Mets midway through the 1969 season. He played 10 games, mostly as a defensive replacement for Gil Hodges' team, but was left off the postseason roster. He never got a World Series ring, but he was honored by the club decades later as part of the 'Miracle Mets' 50-year anniversary celebration. 4 Jim Gosger in 2022 with one of his cats. Sergio Montanez/Times Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK There was only one problem. The Mets included him in the 'In Memoriam' video during the celebrations. 'They declared me dead, honest to God,' Gosger told the Paulick Report. An official from the Mets reached out that night to apologize. 'I said, '[Expletive] you' and hung up,' he told the publication. 4 The Mets issued an apology to Jim Gosger and Jessie Hudson after including them in the 'We Remember' segment of their celebration of the 1969 World Series champions. Paul J. Bereswill Gosger retired from the major leagues in 1974 after a second stint in Flushing. He hit .226 with 16 home runs and 177 RBIs in 705 games for the Mets, Expos, Red Sox, Seattle Pilots and Athletics. With numbers like those, imagine Gosger's surprise when he found out a Mets fan wanted to honor him by naming a thoroughbred in his honor. Donna Clarke was a massive Mets fan and, along with her late husband Harvey, ran the family's stable. 'I was nine-year-old years old in 1969 and I had a big crush on Ken Boswell,' Clarke told Paulick Report. So Clarke's son, Scott, thought it would be a nice touch to name their new colt 'Boswell.' Unfortunately, that name had already been taken, so they had to pivot. It just so happened that Clarke and Gosger had struck up a friendship on Facebook a few years earlier, leading Donna to request the horse be named after the journeyman outfielder. This is not the first time that Harvey Clarke Stables have named a Triple Crown runner after an athlete. Nyquist, the winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby, was named in honor of Gustav Nyquist, then of the Detroit Red Wings. Gosger — the horse — is the son of Nyquist. Clarke and her family invited Gosger to Baltimore for Saturday's race, but the former Met respectfully declined because he has five cats and a dog to care for at home in Port Huron, Mich. Jim Gosger may not have ever got that 1969 World Series ring, but he could have his name etched into Triple Crown history on Saturday. Not too shabby for a .226 lifetime hitter.
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ex-MLBer Jayson Werth on 'fighting back puking' as Flying Mohawk owner in Kentucky Derby
Ex-MLBer Jayson Werth on 'fighting back puking' as Flying Mohawk owner in Kentucky Derby Jayson Werth is back. No, not playing Major League Baseball. The former outfielder who played for the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Phillies and Nationals will once again be an owner of a horse at the Kentucky Derby. Last year, he was a co-owner of Dornoch, who finished 10th in the field. But Dornoch did win the Belmont Stakes, which is awesome. KENTUCKY DERBY HORSE NAMES, RANKED: The best contender names for 2025 This year? The MLBer is backing Flying Mohawk along with former baseball player agent Jeff Berry, and he's once again talking about how nervous he gets before races. 'I've played with a guy who would throw up before every game, and I'd look at him like, 'What the hell is wrong with you?'" he told The Athletic. "And now here I am, fighting back puking before every race. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I have all these crazy emotions with this sport.'' Here's a video of him speaking more about the horse:
Forbes
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Tampa Bay Rays' Rookie Chandler Simpson Impressive During Win Streak
Chandler Simpson stood in front of his locker where roughly a half dozen media members assembled to ask the outfielder about his arrival in the majors. The Rays' No. 7 prospect (MLB Pipeline) noted how he has proven himself at each rung of the minor league ladder and there was no reason to think his performance would be anything to the contrary in the big time. 'I want to prove to everybody that my game plays,' said the 24-year-old, who was summoned from Triple-A Durham when outfielder Richie Palacios was placed on the injured list with a right knee sprain. 'I know there are some doubts, but I have proved it at every level. What's one more?' Simpson, a second-round selection of the Rays in 2022, spoke a couple of hours after arriving at Steinbrenner Field during the early innings of an April 18 game against the Yankees. It was the end of a long day of airports and connecting flights before making his MLB debut the following afternoon. Though the sample size is small, Simpson has since been nothing but impressive. 'He adds an element to any lineup with how fast he is, his (ability to make contact), so I think he can get an opportunity here, a little bit of a runway,' said manager Kevin Cash, whose club was 8-12 prior to Simpson's debut and 6-2 since. 'I don't know if it will be a short stint, long stint.' It might be lengthy. Simpson has started all eight games since his debut and is 12-for-30 (.400) with a double, three walks, five runs, three RBI and three stolen bases. The 5-foot-11 and 170-pound center fielder, who Cash has slotted in the leadoff spot four times, was at the heart of a couple of late-inning rallies during a 5-1 trip to Arizona and San Diego that concluded Sunday. In fact, in the eighth and ninth innings combined Simpson is 6-for-8 with all three of his runs batted in. 'Nothing seems to faze him and he has just continued to gain more confidence as he goes,' said Cash. 'He has really impacted our offense and defense.' Simpson, who was hitting .301 with eight stolen basses in 17 games at Durham, had a highlight-reel impact Saturday when he robbed Manny Machado of a seventh-inning home run to preserve a two-run lead in what would be a 4-1 Tampa Bay win over the Padres at Petco Park. 'It was big in the moment,' said Cash. 'I asked him when he came (into the dugout) if he had ever robbed (a player of) a home run, and he said in A ball.' Simpson is an Atlanta native who played his final season of college baseball in 2022 close to home at Georgia Tech after transferring from UAB, where he began his collegiate career during pandemic-shortened 2020. He hit .433 in his lone season with the Yellow Jackets and became the first Tech player to bat .400 since former MLBer Mark Teixeira in 2000. Simpson, who played second and short in college before the Rays converted him to an outfielder, stole 104 bases while hitting a minor-league best .355 last season between High Class-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. The fact he has only 38 extra-base hits in 994 minor league at-bats is a minor detail given what he has done and might continue to do for the Rays. After all, his game is making contact at the plate and putting pressure on the defense with his impressive speed. 'It's been a long journey,' said Simpson. 'You have to work hard to get to this point and (being in the majors) is a testament to all the hard work and resiliency that (I have shown) in my career."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Above the Mantel: Happy Opening Day, Collectors
Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls 1984-1985 game-worn and signed 'Preseason Debut' rookie jersey is on display during a public exhibition at Sotheby's New York gallery on March 21, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images) (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU via Getty Images) Happy Opening Day, Collectors, a day where fans of all 30 teams think their squad has a shot at winning a pennant, and every prospect is a sure-fire lock for Cooperstown. Before reality comes barreling down faster than a Tarik Skubal four-seamer, we sifted through Spring Training stats to see which players made waves, and saw their card prices start to follow . Have a hunch on which MLBer will have a breakout 2025? Join the Mantel Baseball Cards Group and let us know your thoughts for a chance at a hobby box of 2024 Topps Update. A winner will be chosen on April 1st, no joke! Imagine pulling a signed card of Lionel Messi from a Topps pack, only for PSA to deem the autograph a fake— a nightmare situation experienced by collector Nick Bruce and his son. With rumors swirling that Messi's brother may have signed some cards, Topps offered to replace Bruce's card. The controversy highlights growing concerns over authentication in the sports card industry, as collectors have long trusted manufacturers to guarantee autograph legitimacy. The massive, 560-pound blue bird logo that once adorned Twitter's San Francisco headquarters has found a new owner, fetching $34,000 at RR Auction. This sale is part of Elon Musk's ongoing efforts to liquidate assets from the company's rebranding to X. The hefty sign joins a list of Twitter relics that have hit the auction block, including furniture, coffee makers, and other office fixtures. Where the new owner will place the sign is still a question. Michael Jordan's first game-worn Bulls jersey, donned during his 1984 preseason debut, has been sold at auction for $4.2M. Only 2,000 people attended the game, played in Peoria, IL, and Jordan wore a recycled jersey. While the big sale showed a sizable increase from the $800 the piece originally sold for back in 1985, it's not the most expensive game-worn Jordan jersey to sell — that title is still held by his 1998 NBA Finals Game 1 jersey, which sold for $10.1M in 2022. Advertisement A bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle bourbon broke the record for most expensive post-Prohibition American whiskey sold at auction, hammering for $125,000. The bottle, a 'Van Winkle Selection', is a blend of 15-to-20-year-old whiskeys that was originally auctioned off for charity back in 2007. The whiskey was blended by Julian Van Winkle, who's son Preston designed the bottle's label, and the sale crushed the initial estimate of $50,000 Live e-commerce and card breaking platform Loupe has launched 'Loupe Market,' a new in-app marketplace focused on mid-to high-end single sports cards. Sellers on the platform must be approved and undergo a vetting process, and fees on the platform, which decrease for higher priced items, start at 10%. This expansion aims to create a comprehensive card-collecting ecosystem within the Loupe app. A long-lost Omega Speedmaster, once owned by Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, has surfaced in the collection of his family. This particular Speedmaster wasn't the one he wore on the moon—NASA-issued timepieces stayed with the agency—but it was a personal watch that he wore frequently. With vintage Omega Speedmasters already commanding high prices in the collector's market, an Armstrong-owned piece will be considered a grail-level acquisition when it hits auction. Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel and subscribe to the Above the Mantel newsletter today.
