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New York Times
28-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Marlins' Ronny Simon grateful for support after teary, 3-error game: ‘I just try to keep working hard'
SAN DIEGO — Until Tuesday night, Ronny Simon was a relatively anonymous second baseman who had traveled a winding road in professional baseball. He signed with the Chicago Cubs for $10,000 in 2018, was traded twice in the span of a year, signed a minor-league contract in November, and last month, reached the majors with the Miami Marlins. Then, in his 19th big-league game, he attracted widespread attention with a disastrous defensive effort and his response to the disappointment. Advertisement After supplying an RBI single in a six-run first inning for the Marlins, Simon committed three errors over the next three innings, unintentionally helping the San Diego Padres rally to an 8-6 win at Petco Park. In the bottom of the fourth, the rookie shed tears. When the inning ended, Simon jogged off the field, out of the game and into the visiting clubhouse as teammates and coaches tried to console him. On Wednesday, Simon addressed the worst performance of his young career. It prompted a wave of encouragement, including a phone call from eight-time All-Star second baseman Robinson Canó and text messages from Luis Castillo, the most decorated second baseman in Marlins history. 'Right now, I feel really supported from everybody,' Simon, 25, said before the Marlins' series finale against the Padres. 'It's amazing. I know the only thing I can do is the same thing. Work hard. It doesn't matter what happened over there. Just keep your head up. Help my team. And that's going to happen in the game.' Simon's struggles began in the second inning on Tuesday. He dove for a grounder, the ball deflected off his glove for an RBI single, and after he retrieved it, he made an errant throw toward home plate, allowing another run to score. In the top of the third, Simon hit a long fly out to the warning track in center field. His misfortune continued in the bottom of the inning, as Simon whiffed on a ground ball while Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill ran in front of Simon on his way to second base. The misplay was initially ruled as another error, but the official scorer later changed it to an RBI single for Xander Bogaerts. The bottom of the fourth brought more trouble and an outpouring of emotion. Another routine grounder skipped off Simon's glove, resulting in his second error. The next batter sent another ball Simon's way. This time, instead of starting a potential double play, he flipped the ball well over second base. Advertisement Later that inning, after former Marlins infielder Luis Arráez delivered an RBI single to tie the game 6-6, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough went to the mound to chat with Simon, who was crying by then. Javier Sanoja moved from shortstop to second base to replace Simon in the fifth. 'Things just started to kind of snowball a little bit,' McCullough said after the game. 'It was tough. And (we) just thought, for us and him, just in that moment, making the change there was prudent just with kind of how things had transpired.' After a brutal sequence of defensive mistakes, Ronny Simon is out of the game in the bottom of the 5th inning — Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) May 28, 2025 The next morning, Simon expressed gratitude for the support he received from inside and outside his clubhouse. Arráez, Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and San Diego third baseman Manny Machado had texted him, he said. Tatis publicly supported Simon after Tuesday's game, calling him a 'great player.' The two first met playing winter ball against each other in their native Dominican Republic. 'It happens. It's baseball,' Tatis said. 'Everybody who has won a Gold Glove or Platinum Glove has had one of those nights.' Machado, who has won two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove, had one of those nights just last week. For the first time in his career, in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, he committed three errors in one inning. 'I know he's the best defender at third base right now,' Simon said. 'If he made three errors, I'm just going to keep working hard, but that's going to happen again. A lot of emotion yesterday because the game is important. … I feel bad and sad for that one, but that's going to happen in the game. I just try to keep working hard every day, just going to the field and trying (to) be better every day. Advertisement 'A lot of people told me … that's in the past. Turn the page, and tomorrow is another day. Just keep shining. I'm always happy. I'm trying to help my team. I'm going to enjoy the game and have fun.' Late Tuesday, Merrill offered a similar scouting report. 'He's a funny dude. Good energy. Smiling always,' said Merrill, who played against Simon in the Arizona Fall League in 2022. 'He smashed that ball to center, too. I think he hit it, like, 106 (mph). Just an unlucky night.'
New York Post
06-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Some signs the Yankees' pipeline for hitters is getting better
The Yankees have spent most of the post-Core Four-plus-Bernie-Williams period unable to develop average or better position players in any group fashion. They would hit on a Robinson Cano or a Brett Gardner or an Aaron Judge, but not accumulate much in volume at one time. Lately, it appears they are doing better in this realm — not only getting homegrown position players to the majors, but, notably, more lefty hitters. And they also are helping themselves more internally than in recent years. In the past 10 162-game seasons (so, not counting the COVID-impacted 2020 season), just three lefty swingers drafted by the Yankees have qualified for the batting title: Gardner six times, Ben Gamel in 2017 and Josh Smith last season. Only Gardner did it for the Yankees. Through the weekend, three lefty hitters drafted by the Yankees were qualifying for the batting title — Trey Sweeney, Ben Rice and Austin Wells; Rice and Wells were playing for the Yankees. Smith — a Ranger who was just short of qualifying with a .311 average and .864 OPS — is the regrettable one that got away in the ill-fated Joey Gallo trade. Those four were picked in Yankees drafts between 2019-21. Another lefty hitter, Spencer Jones, was the Yankees' first pick overall in 2022 and currently is doing a Gallo imitation at Double-A: power, athleticism and lots of strikeouts.
Fox Sports
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Mexican Baseball League's recent growth in attendance now rivals soccer clubs
Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing Major League Baseball in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he feels there's something special about his recent stint with the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican Baseball League. He's not alone. Mexico's summer league will open it's 100th season on Thursday aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the Mexican national team's surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and now is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico's national team was eliminated in the first round in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, turned their attention to baseball and many of them appear to have stayed for the long haul. 'We are constantly striving for growth and this season is not going to be different,' league president Horacio de la Vega told The Associated Press. 'Our growth has to do with the fact that we are not selling just baseball, but a whole experience.' In Mexico City, the 'baseball experience' happens in the $160 million Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium, a venue that opened in March 2019 and seats 20,000. Even though the ballpark is small compared to MLB standards, the carnival-like atmosphere stands out. 'This a special city, where the fans come to each game weather it is day or night,' Canó told the AP. 'As a player, it is a big motivation to see the park full of fans supporting baseball.' The 42-year-old Dominican, who appeared in eight All-Star Games, played in the United States for five franchises, among them the New York Yankees. He was a key player to lead Diablos Rojos to the championship last season and he recently agreed to return for a second one. Thorough his career, Canó has played for the Dominican Republic's Estrellas Orientales and participated in several Caribbean Series, a team tournament played each year in different countries around Mexico and Central America. 'The atmosphere in Mexico is somewhat like the Caribbean Series, but in there you are playing for your country and it is short tournament,' Cano said. 'Here, it's a long season and yet the fans are still there every night.' Las season, the Diablos Rojos topped the average attendance in the league with 11,694, followed by Toros de Tijuana (11,354) and Sultanes de Monterrey (9,092). Soccer clubs Pachuca (10,713), Santos Torreon (9,421), Mazatlan (9,522) and Ciudad Juarez (8,980) have worse attendance despite playing in bigger stadiums. The team with the best attendance in the Mexican soccer league is Monterrey with 43,544. 'We have a great group of owners even though they are rivals on the field. Off it they work as allies and share all kinds of things, from how to clean bathrooms, how to have better food courts and even to sell beer,' De la Vega said. Mexico City has three soccer stadiums: Ciudad de los Deportes, Olimpico Universitario and Azteca, but none of them has great facilities. There are no elevators, escalators or even food courts. Azteca is currently closed for renovations and might have them for the 2026 World Cup. The same thing happens in most of the other Liga MX stadiums. The most fan friendly venues are Estadio BBVA in Monterrey and the Akron in Guadalajara. Both were chosen to host games in the next World Cup. 'We have been growing steadily and this being a special season we are aiming at a record 5 million fans in total attendance,' De la Vega said. After the World Baseball Classic in 2023, 4.734 million fans set the league attendance record for a season. Last year, the number dipped, but only by 93,000 fans. And the fans are getting younger, too. According to Othon Diaz, the Diablos Rojos president, nine years ago 53% of the team's fans were 55 years or older and now 74% of them are under 45. Also, they averaged 3,000 fans per game and now it's up to 11,000. ___ AP MLB: recommended
Gulf Today
27-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Dubai to host Baseball United's inaugural season from November 14
Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, announced the official dates and schedule for its debut season. The league's first season will run from November 14 to December 14, with all games played at Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai. After making history with three signature baseball events over the last three years, Baseball United will now commence the first professional baseball season in the history of the region. The season will feature the league's founding four franchises, the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves, and Mid East Falcons. The teams will each play nine regular season games ‑ facing each other three times each ‑ followed by a best of three United Series beginning December 12 to determine the league champion. Overall, 21 games will be played over 30 days at Baseball United's new ballpark in Dubai. 'Our team has worked so hard, for so long, to make this news official,' said Kash Shaikh, Baseball United Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder. 'We are so grateful for the support of our Dubai and UAE partners, our investors, and all the fans around the world who've helped make BU the most well-known internationally-based professional baseball league in the world. 'We've received all that support through several special events and big milestones since our launch in November of 2022. And now, we get to reward our fans with a full season. Everything starts small, but we believe this will be the beginning of a new chapter in baseball history.' The season will begin with the subcontinent series, November 14-16, between the Mumbai Cobras and Karachi Monarchs. This historic series will mark the first time Indian and Pakistani franchises have ever faced each other in baseball. The two large countries - with 1.8 billion people between them - enjoy one of the most passionate rivalries in all of sport. The highly anticipated India vs Pakistan cricket match in the ICC Champions Trophy event last month garnered a record 600 million viewers - that is 5 times more viewers than the Super Bowl. Baseball United's recent UAE Series event between the Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons was watched by 12 million unique viewers, including 3.3m unique viewers per game in Pakistan A Sports. The viewership numbers are more than any MLB regular season game played in the United States last year. With two billion people in the Middle East and South Asia - one billion of which are cricket fans - Baseball United has a massive market to introduce America's Pastime. Baseball United has also garnered strong viewership in baseball hotbeds globally, including the United States, Japan, and Latin America. Full rosters for the season will be announced later this spring. To date, 65% of Baseball United's players were originally drafted by Major League Baseball teams, including 8x MLB All-Star, Robinson Cano, 4x MLB Gold Glover, Andrelton Simmons, and 3x MLB World Series Champion, Pablo Sandoval. Karan Patel - the first player of Indian descent ever drafted by an MLB team and the #1 overall pick by the Mumbai Cobras in the league's 2023 draft - will pitch for the Cobras, while former Atlanta Braves All-Star, Jair Jurrjens will pitch for the Wolves. Each team will have 26 players. Baseball United built its new ballpark at The Sevens sports and entertainment complex in Dubai in just 38 days last fall, and since then has hosted the largest international amateur baseball tournament in the history of the region, the Arab Classic, along with last month's UAE Series. The ballpark is the first professional baseball field in the history of the region.
Dubai Eye
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Dubai Eye
Baseball United unveils schedule for historic first season
Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent, has announced the official schedule for its debut season. The season will run from November 14 to December 14, with all games held at Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai. It will feature the league's four founding franchises, the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons. The teams will each play nine regular season games - facing each other three times each - followed by a best of three United Series beginning December 12 to determine the league champion. Overall, 21 games will be played over 30 days. The season kicks off with the historic Subcontinent Series, where the Mumbai Cobras will face the Karachi Monarchs from November 14-16, marking the first-ever Indian vs Pakistani franchises' baseball matchup. Full rosters for the season will be announced later this spring. The league is also set to reveal its broadcast partners this summer, aiming for global coverage. With Major League Baseball (MLB) stars like Robinson Cano, Andrelton Simmons and Pablo Sandoval joining the league, Baseball United's debut season promises to make history in the region. — Baseball United (@BaseballUnited) March 25, 2025
