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New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Were this year's City Connect uniforms an upgrade or downgrade? We grade all eight
Now four years into the City Connect uniform program from Nike and Major League Baseball, each of the 28 participating teams (sans the New York Yankees and the city-less Athletics) has unveiled alternate looks. When announced in 2021, MLB announced that each City Connect uniform would have a lifespan of roughly three years, which was the case for every team but the Los Angeles Dodgers, who introduced their do-over last year. A total of eight teams have introduced new uniforms this season, culminating with the Boston Red Sox last week. The City Connect uniforms have brought together not just good and bad uniforms, but also bold designs, head-scratching decisions and utterly boring looks. Some fans love the looks and some hate them, but few garner no response. There will always be differing opinions in matters of taste. For this exercise, our resident tastemakers are looking at how each team has handled its second swing at an alternate uniform. MLB writers Tyler Kepner and C. Trent Rosecrans and Culture writer Jason Jones take a look at this year's suite to assess whether teams upgraded or downgraded with their new threads. Tyler Kepner Grade: C Downgrade The Nationals' first City Connects had a tasteful homage to Washington's cherry blossom trees. The pink-and-gray color scheme was unique to the Nats, and while I didn't like the 'WSH' lettering on the jerseys, it was a very nice set overall and proved that an all-new color palette can work. The new one sort of disproves that theory. Lots of teams have light blue, so there's nothing special about it here. If they'd done it to honor the Expos' light blue, I could see it. But this set is all about DC. I like how the outline of the Capitol Dome wedges into the W on the cap, though I don't understand why there's a different W on the helmet. And while I like the concept of etching a city map on the jersey, it falls a little flat here. C. Trent Rosecrans Grade: C+ Downgrade The best part of the Nationals' new set? The old ones went on sale, and I picked up the gray Nationals cap with the cherry blossoms on the side for the price you'd pay for a New Era 5950 cap back before there was a Nationals cap. The design itself is fine, but it lacks impact after the beautiful (though not perfect — I'm looking at you 'WSH') previous model. Advertisement Jason Jones Grade: B+ Upgrade My opinion is based largely on being a fan of various shades of blue. I'm more pro-blue than anti-cherry blossoms. The blueprint design also works for me. It's better than a basic gray backdrop. If the Nationals hadn't changed, they would have been fine. But give me various shades of blue over gray any day. Kepner Grade: B- Upgrade I liked this one a lot when it first came out because it combines Houston's shooting star of the '60s with its open-sided star of the '90s. On the field, though, the STROS wordmark looks too small, and the star above it should be bolder. In other words, it's too white. And while that's better than the navy jersey over navy pants that preceded it, it's short of the 'Tequila Sunrise' explosion that an ideal Astros' City Connect needs. The colorful high socks accomplish this best, but most of the Astros, alas, still wear their pants low. Rosecrans Grade: B- Upgrade When the socks are the best part, like they were in the previous iteration, that's not a great sign — especially when the best part is routinely covered. These are better than the previous ones, but also look like a home version of the first Astros City Connect uniform. It's fine. Boring, but fine. Jones Grade: B Upgrade Just about anything was going to be better than last year's 'Space City' jerseys. I can't recall the last time someone told me they were going to Space City or were from Space City. Even knowing NASA's history in Houston, I just wasn't feeling the name. I would have kept the hat closer to the 2024 model, keeping the H for H-Town. Beyond that, this is an overall improvement. Kepner Grade: A Upgrade The ideal City Connect outfit was staring at the Red Sox from their vantage point in Fenway's home dugout. The Green Monster has a distinctive color and distinctive lettering. Why not incorporate both into the new uniforms? Green isn't a Red Sox color – but that green is. It evokes something unique to the city and team, and feels fresh and timeless all at once. This is the new City Connect standard. Advertisement Rosecrans Grade: A+ Upgrade Even as someone who liked the Boston Marathon City Connects, the Red Sox took a huge step forward. The last set required an explanation. If someone asks why the Red Sox are wearing green, all you have to do is point to the wall. The design team also did a nice job ensuring the details are fun and not forced. The yellow and white numbers tell a story and aren't distracting. The notches on the numbers? Very cool, if and when you notice them. And the team not only learned from the Rockies' initial City Connect, but improved upon it. The simple switch from green pants to white lets the rest of the kit shine. Honestly, this is not only the best of the City Connects so far, but it's also proof of concept that the City Connect program can work wonderfully. Jones Grade: A Upgrade What took so long? It's as if going with green for the Green Monster was so obvious that previous editions really overthought the design. This should have been the look from the start. If the Red Sox keep this look for years to come, it'll always be one of the better City Connect uniforms. Previous editions needed too much explaining and guessing. This is perfect. Kepner Grade: A- Upgrade I don't care what anyone says: Arizona's first City Connect outfit was inspired by The Man In The Yellow Hat from the 'Curious George' books. Now they look like the Diamondbacks should, with all sorts of fun elements. The Diamondbacks have had several insignias that utilize the snake, and the Serpientes' 'S' on the cap and jersey works well. The sleeve patch that mimics the state flag, the snakeskin gradients on the jersey front, the subtle black pinstripes, the white pants — all of it works. I wonder if it might pop better with a white outline, but that's a minor point. Well done. Rosecrans Grade: C+ Upgrade From visually boring to conceptually boring. Upgrade? Sure. Good grade? No. It's a nostalgic throwback, sure, but not a particularly good one. Jones Grade: C+ Downgrade I get the goal was nostalgia, but I was never too keen on the Diamondbacks wearing purple, especially since their division-mates, Colorado, also wear that color. The 'Serpientes' across the chest and the snake forming the 'S' on the hat are winners. I just would have liked it more on the gold-colored uniforms from last year. Advertisement Kepner Grade B+ Upgrade The Giants used only two colors in their last City Connects — white and orange — so it always sort of looked unfinished. The old logo-in-the-clouds conceit should have worked, but didn't quite get there. The new ones are a bit simple, but I like the splash of purple; it doesn't detract from the team's traditional colors, which are all still there. The groovy sleeve patch, shaped like a glove, looks like it was peeled off a poster for a '60s music festival. And the graffiti letters and numbers work well, too. Rosecrans Grade: C Upgrade The key to life? Low expectations. The 'fog' whites were an interesting first draft, but the Giants' first City Connect uniform shouldn't have advanced past the planning stages. It doesn't take much to improve upon what they had. This set, though, leans too hard into trying to be cute and appease everyone. It's the type of safe design that doesn't move people either way. It's fine. It's better than what they had, but that's damning with faint praise. Jones Grade: D Upgrade The Giants' creamsicle jerseys were one of the worst City Connect uniforms I'd ever seen. I recently saw the 2025 version in person and didn't care too much for it. Reminds me of a logo that belongs on Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine, which was probably the goal — to give us something that feels like Woodstock. Still not my favorite, but much better than the previous edition. Kepner Grade: C Downgrade The Rockies' license plate jerseys were one of the charms of the first City Connect wave, especially when the team paired them with white pants. Alas, now the Rockies are struggling in this area, too. I'm fine with the pullover look — a first for the City Connect series — but they should have gone all in with that. Pullover jerseys were popular in the '70s and '80s, before MLB came to Denver. How would the Rockies have looked back then? Tampa Bay tried this years ago with its fun 'fauxback' style, and I'd have liked to see Colorado do it, too. Instead, Nike gives us 'a palette that pays homage to that perfect transition between day and night,' which apparently happens only in Denver. Advertisement Rosecrans Grade: B- Downgrade The orange and pink look great on the light blue. But a good color palette isn't enough. The entire look feels like a rough draft and I'm not even sure what the assignment was. The biggest problem with this isn't the uniform itself, it's just that the previous look was among the best City Connects. Alas, time moves on without us. Jones Grade: C- Downgrade Some teams needed to change things up. The Rockies were not one of those teams. The green license plate models from 2022 were elite. (We even had them at No.1 in our uniform rankings.) Now the Rockies look like part of a spring display at a grocery store. I don't see the Denver sunset, I see dye for Easter eggs. Kepner Grade: C- Downgrade Hey, look, the White Sox are dressing like the Bulls. Did you know that Jerry Reinsdorf owns both teams? Do you think we'll see the reverse when the Bulls start up again in the fall? The White Sox have worn red before, and they wear black now, but it just feels like a Reinsdorf vanity project. The cap logo is great: an homage to the 'Go-Go Sox' of 1959, the only team besides the Yankees to win an AL pennant from 1955 to 1964. But it drowns in all the Bulls nostalgia. Rosecrans Grade: D Downgrade The first White Sox City Connect uniform garnered some rave reviews and served as proof that the program could work. The second attempt? Well, the logo on the hat is cool. The rest? The jersey looks like a Chicago Bulls baseball jersey you'd find at a T.J. Maxx. At the very least, they could've made them sleeveless like a basketball jersey. In the end, it just seems like it's an ode to Reinsdorf, something that I'm sure every baseball fan can appreciate. (Sadly, The Athletic doesn't have a sarcasm font, so I'll just have to go ahead and point out my joke was a joke, which in itself is always a good indicator of the quality of a joke.) Advertisement Jones Grade: D+ Downgrade I don't hate these, but they feel unnecessary. It isn't 1996. And the red with the black pinstripes is just way too Bulls. The sock logo with the wing? Looks like the logo for some knockoff Air Jordans. Reminds me too much of a Cincinnati Reds uniform, too. Kepner Grade: B- Upgrade This makes me want to eat a Miami Subs sandwich while watching 'Miami Vice.' I don't know if that's advisable, or even possible anymore. But I have a low bar for Marlins uniforms, and this one clears it. The franchise that once paired black letters with black jerseys now boldly declares itself 'MIAMI' in teal letters with a neon pink outline on a black backdrop. Gotta love that. And while I don't like numbers on a cap, folks from Miami sure seem to love their 305 area code. For a team that always struggles to connect to its city, that seems like a good thing. JUST IN: The Marlins have revealed their new City Connect uniforms 🎆 — MLB (@MLB) April 30, 2025 Rosecrans Grade: D- Downgrade There's a big 'dog ate my homework' vibe with this one. It looks like the Marlins forgot their assignment and went through the files from the last uniform redesign and submitted a rejected idea. Not only that, the one thing they turned in that resembles anything new is the hat, but that, too, backfired. Using an area code on an official MLB hat is like using ChatGPT to write your report and still leaving your prompts in. The gradient piping on the pants and the pink hem on the sleeves just slightly help bring up the grade for me. This one doesn't just fail to live up to its predecessor, it fails to show up at all. Jones Grade: C- Downgrade The Miami Heat already have the 'Miami Vice' look covered and they did it better. The cap is the best part, but the Marlin inside of the '305' doesn't work and the brim of the hat reminds me of cotton candy. The hat, however, isn't terrible. Remove 'Marlins' from the jersey and this could be something to wear for a night of dancing. That's the only justification for those random horizontal pinstripes. Even then, I'm only doing that if it's last minute, Marshalls is closed and I haven't done laundry. (Top photo of Chicago's Luis Robert Jr.: Matt Dirksen / Getty Images)
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Presenting the MLB All-Quarter Century Team, the very best in baseball since 2000
Wait. It's 2025 already? Boy, that 21st century is flying by, isn't it? So here at The Athletic, we had a fun idea. Let's pick a baseball All-Quarter Century Team. And guess what? We're going to let you pick one, too. Elsewhere on this site, Tyler Kepner will lay out the ballot we came up with, and explain how you can vote. We're figuring you'll have some thoughts on the best players of the 2000s. Advertisement But in the meantime, somebody — like me, for instance — has to write a column that sets the tone for this project. So … based solely on 21st century stats, I've picked the starters and the pitching headliners … and I'm taking a wild guess that (bold prediction coming) I also might get thousands of you so annoyed by my picks that you'll cast your own ballots, simply to straighten me out. So let's do this. Here comes my MLB All-Quarter Century Team. Feel free to disagree — and remember to direct all your disagreement toward my good friend Tyler Kepner. Let's kick this off with an easy one. I think we've had six Hall of Fame (or Hall-destined) first basemen working their magic in the 2000s: Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Todd Helton, Freddie Freeman and Paul Goldschmidt. It would be more than six if we included Joe Mauer, Jim Thome and Bryce Harper. So why did I pick Albert? Oh, no particular reason … other than that he ranks first among this group in pretty much everything. We're talking over 700 homers and 3,300 hits, 101.3 WAR (according to Baseball Reference) and the most total bases in history (6,211) by anyone not named Henry Aaron. Want to argue that any of those other first basemen were greater? Sure. Go for it. But Pujols was the easiest pick, for me, on this whole ballot. #Legend Full confession: I'm dinging Robinson Canó here for being a two-time offender for performance-enhancing drugs. And since that's the case, this feels like a choice between Altuve and Chase Utley. Disagree? I knew that would happen. We have no hard and fast rules on this team for how to handle the PED mess — and I'll run into it again later in this column. When I do, let's just say my choices down the road are going to tick off the Robbie Canó Don't Ya Know Fan Club. Advertisement But enough on him. Why Altuve, despite his hazy association with the Astros' trash-can scheme and whatever the heck went on with Buzzer-gate? Because he's on a Cooperstown path himself. Altuve has already passed Canó in FanGraphs' calculation of WAR (58.0 to 57.5). And I think his career offensive accomplishments outweigh Utley's by almost any measure. So that's three batting titles, two stolen-base titles, four 200-hit seasons … and I hope you noticed that Altuve actually has the same career slugging percentage as Utley (.465). I'll admit I was really tempted to pick Utley, a guy I've already cast two Hall of Fame votes for. But is there really a wrong answer between those two? Let's go with no. You have no idea how close I came to typing the name Francisco Lindor in this space. Jimmy Rollins hung over me for a long time, too, especially while I was strongly considering making his longtime amigo, Utley, at second base. Then there was Alex Rodriguez. But he's on this ballot at third base. So don't A-Rod me — until the next category. With all due respect to Troy Tulowitzki, Miguel Tejada, and all the talented shortstops playing now, I think the debate here is among three names: Jeter, Lindor and Rollins. And once I got down to Jeter versus Lindor, I was surprised by how tempting it was to pick Lindor, since only 21st-century stats count in our exercise. Lindor is still just 31, and he already has more WAR just in the 2000s than Jeter (or Rollins), as measured by both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. That shocked me at first — considering that Lindor could get another 1,000 hits and still not catch Jeter's totals since 2000: JETER 2000-14 — 2,658 hits LINDOR 2015-24 — 1,548 hits So picking Lindor would have been a fun episode of Hot Take Theater. But I just couldn't do it — even though I'm not allowed to count the 1995-99 chunk of Jeter's career. Advertisement There's a Hall of Fame plaque to consider! And four trips to the World Series in the 2000s. … And so many vintage, Jeter-esque October moments, plus a .301/.366/.467/.833 postseason slash line. … So overlooking all that didn't feel cool, no matter how curious I was to see the reaction to a Lindor was better than Jeter take. Guess I'll never know. Did I get this pick right? I'm still not sure. My first inclination was to go with Chipper Jones — and I almost got there … until it hit me that his only MVP trophy, all of his team's best October moments and his one World Series title happened in the previous century. But Beltré versus Chipper was only one ring in this circus. This was a field with three Hall of Famers: Beltré, Jones and Scott Rolen. And that group could eventually reach six, as Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado and José Ramírez keep doing their thing. Then there's A-Rod. What the heck. One of the greatest players of modern times. But another two-time PED scoundrel who tarnished so many of his on-field accomplishments. So in the end, how could this not be Beltré, who fell just short of 3,000 hits and 500 homers on this side of the Y2K line, while redefining what elite third-base leatherwork looked like? Still I'm happy to take your alternative suggestions. Anthony Rendon anyone? Hold on one minute. I have to slip on my noise-canceling ear buds to drown out all the whining from the A-Rod/Robbie Canó crowd. All right, you've got me. I'm a hypocrite. I'm the king of the double standard. I'm an activist judge, looking the other way at PED suspects like Bonds while handing out selective life sentences to other dudes in my court. But there is a difference between Barry and those other guys, you know. Bonds obliterated Mark McGwire's single-season home run record before this sport imposed serious PED testing and punishment. And he never did test positive afterward, or do anything more than look really guilty in Game of Shadows. Advertisement So there's that. But also … if it's not Bonds in left field on this team, then who? Manny Ramírez? Ryan Braun? They don't earn any sainthood points, either. I had some Juan Soto thoughts. But he and Bonds have almost an identical number of games played in the 2000s — and Soto isn't even close, on any meaningful line on the stats sheet. I tried to talk myself into Matt Holliday – but before I traveled too far down that road, I got stuck on this thought: How can I leave the greatest player I ever saw play off this team? Bonds played 12 seasons before the 2000s (and rolled up 103.7 bWAR plus 445 homers) — versus only eight seasons from 2000-07. But he still was the runaway leader in this position at WAR in the 2000s, with 59.0, meaning he averaged nearly 7.4 WAR per season even in the 'down' years of his career. So Barry it is. Sorry, Robbie. Sorry, Alex. It's my ballot. Do yourself a favor and pretend the aches-and-pains-filled 2021-25 edition of Mike Trout never happened. Just dream on the 2011-20 edition, and this choice gets easier every minute. With all due respect to Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Jim Edmonds and Andrew McCutchen, those first 10 seasons of Trout were epic. He could easily have won seven MVP awards. And he averaged 9.6 WAR per 162 games. He piled up more WAR in those years (74.0) than Tony Gwynn, Eddie Murray or Miguel Cabrera were worth for their entire careers. And how many Face of the Sport bonus points should we add? We'll take your votes for literally anybody else. But good luck winning that debate. So this was fun. Could we maybe just have a whole team full of right fielders? Think about it. Ichiro Suzuki could lead off. Mookie Betts would bat second. Then how about a middle of the order with Judge, Harper and Vlad Guerrero Sr.? Our bottom of the order would be some combination of Gary Sheffield, Bobby Abreu, young Giancarlo Stanton and Sammy Sosa. And I can't believe there was no room for the prime years of José Bautista, the Houston model of George Springer or Ronald Acuña Jr. Advertisement Right field. Loaded. I told a few people I was leaning toward Judge, and they all tried to talk me out of it. Ichiro has 2,000 more hits in this century than Judge. And that doesn't even include his Japan stats. So was I sure about this, they asked? Well, no, actually. I wasn't sure. But I just finished writing a column that argued that Judge is the greatest right-handed hitter of the last 100 years … and that he's doing things we've literally never seen. His weighted Runs Created+ — a metric based on the premise that the average player is graded at 100 — is now at 207 over a period that includes the last four seasons. So am I trying to prove my own point by putting him on this team? Maybe. But it's my point — and I'm sticking to it. My apologies to all my friends on the other side of the Pacific. Did I really just overlook Joe Mauer's whole first-ballot Hall of Fame career? I did. Did I seriously then bypass Buster Posey, the face of a three-time World Series champion? I did that, too. I overlooked those men because I watched the impact Yadier Molina had on the Cardinals for nearly two decades. It was real. And it was spectacular. I ran this by a scout who once played in the big leagues. He didn't even hesitate. 'It's Yadi,' he said. 'It's got to be Yadi. End of story. I don't care about the numbers. Yadi has all the nuanced stuff you can't measure. Go look at all those Cardinals pitching staffs that got better when he was behind the plate. And the second he left, they have not been the same. So it's Yadi. It's got to be Yadi.' There are no numbers that would tell us that. But you know what? I agree! Leaving Shohei Ohtani off this team might have been the worst part of this entire exercise. Just the thought of that made me want to invent a whole different 'position' just for him: DH/ace/superhero/international man of mystery? Advertisement I'm pretty sure if that was the question, he was the answer. Unfortunately for him, that was not the question in this All-Quarter Century election. So eight seasons of Ohtani's multitasking brilliance did not equal Ortiz's 14 humongous curse-busting, life-changing seasons in Boston. Those seasons shifted the arc of the entire Red Sox franchise. And the one mammoth presence in the middle of all of it was Big Papi. Once again, I extend my heartfelt apologies to the entire population of Japan. Anyone have any issues with the first four old-school aces on this list? How the heck could you? I had their boxes checked in like 45 seconds. But who's the fifth starter? I can hear you out there, spitting out the names: CC Sabathia, Pedro Martínez, Zack Greinke, Johan Santana, Curt Schilling, Félix Hernández, Adam Wainwright, Chris Sale, Mark Buehrle, Cole Hamels, Mike Mussina … and on and on. I know the answer, in a purely data-driven world, should be Greinke, who ranks in the top four in both the Baseball Reference and FanGraphs versions of WAR among all starters in the 2000s. He pitched 20 excellent seasons in this century. And his counting numbers crush the numbers of my pick, Randy Johnson. I totally got the memo that the 2000s were merely the back end of the Unit's career. And five of the 10 seasons he pitched in the Y2K era were nothing special. But what about those other five! I'm awarding massive bonus points for three Cy Young awards. For three straight seasons (2000-02) in which he averaged 351 strikeouts a year. For cinematic World Series heroism in 2001. And, frankly, for becoming (probably) the last pitcher in history to reach 300 wins. So you can fill out your All-Quarter Century rotation any way that makes you happy. I'll take next-level greatness. Always. Advertisement I'm forced, by the rules of this fun little exercise, to overlook the first five seasons of Mariano's career. And it's still no contest. I shouldn't need to remind you that this guy was The Man. But 14 seasons in the 2000s with an ERA barely over 2.00 (at 2.05) … along with a sub-1.00 WHIP (0.95) … plus 65 postseason appearances with a 0.86 ERA, against the best teams in baseball … would be a thing that no other closer on this planet could compete with. So enter Sandman … and drive home safely. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Top photos: Harry How, Jason Miller, Mike Stobe, Sean M. Haffey, Donald Miralle / Getty Images)
New York Times
06-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Greatest revenge games in sports, from Mikko Rantanen's Game 7 to Brett Favre to Luka Dončić
By Sean McIndoe, Mike Jones, Tyler Kepner and Christian Clark We love a good revenge game, don't we folks? It's an irresistible sports trope. A player leaves a team under murky circumstances — maybe against their will or maybe there's a footprint on their back as they head out the door — then, inevitably, they get to face their former team, and they teach them a lesson. And the lesson is: You done messed up. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's glorious. And if it comes with frequent shots of an owner or general manager looking miserable, even better. We saw a classic example over the weekend in the NHL, with the Dallas Stars' Mikko Rantanen breaking the hearts of his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, in Game 7 of their playoff series. It wasn't his first game against the Avs — he'd faced them once in the regular season back in March — but it was easily the most important meeting and the biggest opportunity for revenge. And let's just say he delivered. Inspired by Rantanen's performance, we assembled writers from a handful of sports, asking them to share the greatest revenge game they can remember. The list is subjective and not meant to be comprehensive. Have your own favorite? Feel free to share the memories in the comments section. Mikko Rantanen's Game 7 versus the Avalanche Call it taking the easy answer, or accuse me of recency bias, but I don't see how the NHL's answer for 'greatest revenge game in the sport' can be anything but Rantanen absolutely decimating the Avalanche late in Saturday's Game 7. Let's look at the scenario that just played out. Rantanen doesn't want to leave Colorado and is reportedly willing to take less than market value to re-sign. He thinks he is close on a new contract. Then the team shocks him with a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he is unproductive and miserable, at which point he is flipped again to the Stars. Dallas then faces his former team in the best matchup of the first round, but with 15 minutes left in regulation, it looks like the story is going to end with a whimper. Colorado is up 2-0, about to steal Game 7 in Dallas and move on. That's when Rantanen puts together quite possibly the greatest period in NHL postseason history, scoring three times and adding an assist as Dallas completes the comeback and wins 4-2. Rantanen ends up leading the series in scoring. He has two four-point periods, something only Mario Lemieux had ever done twice in the playoffs in a career, except Rantanen did it twice in 48 hours. Oh, and he seems to have plunged his former team into a full-fledged existential crisis of doubt and loathing. I mean, short of flying to Colorado and burning the arena to the ground, then going door to door to punch all their fans in the groin, I'm not sure what else he could have done to drive the point home. I'm going out on a limb, but I feel like the Avalanche might want a do-over here. — Sean McIndoe Brett Favre's first game against the Packers When it comes to revenge games, the NFL has certainly seen its fair share. But none proved more poetic than quarterback Brett Favre's first game against the Green Bay Packers after 16 legendary seasons as the face of the team. After one season with the New York Jets, Favre signed with the Packers' NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, in 2009. In Week 4 of the regular season, Favre and the Vikings welcomed the Packers and former Favre understudy Aaron Rodgers to Minneapolis, and No. 4 showed he still had something left in the tank, completing 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-23 victory. For good measure, Favre also bested the Packers in his return to Green Bay in Week 8, throwing four touchdown passes and for 244 yards in a 38-26 win. Favre wasn't the only quarterback to exact revenge against his former team. In 1994, Joe Montana made the 49ers pay for turning to Steve Young as their starter. The spurned Montana signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and in his only game against San Francisco passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 victory. And who could forget Tom Brady's return to New England in 2021 as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? A year earlier, Patriots coach Bill Belichick had concluded Brady's Super Bowl-winning days were behind him and let him leave in free agency. Brady signed with the Bucs and promptly led Tampa Bay that season to a Super Bowl LV win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Then, in Week 4 of the 2021 regular season, Brady made his return to Foxboro and directed the Bucs to a 19-17 victory to complete the revenge circle. — Mike Jones Roger Clemens sticking it to the Red Sox How dominant was Roger Clemens for the Boston Red Sox? When the team let him go after the 1996 season, Clemens was tied for the franchise's career wins record — with Cy Young himself. The Toronto Blue Jays landed the Rocket with the richest pitching contract in baseball history — more than $8 million per season — and Dan Duquette, then the Red Sox GM, wished him well in the 'twilight of his career.' The comment was cutting but reasonable. In his last four seasons with Boston, Clemens made no All-Star teams, collected no votes for the Cy Young Award and went 40-39. With Toronto, though, Clemens embarked on a personal crusade to make the Red Sox regret their indifference. He returned to Fenway Park on July 12, 1997, with a revenge statement for the ages: eight innings, one run, no walks — and 16 strikeouts, then a record for a Blue Jays pitcher, in a 3-1 Blue Jays victory. 'He came to make a point,' Boston slugger Mo Vaughn said later, 'and he did.' Fans who had jeered Clemens before the game rose in appreciation after he fanned Vaughn to end the eighth. As he strutted off the mound toward the visitors dugout, Clemens glared at the Red Sox executive suite. His twilight would burn bright, with more Cy Young Awards after leaving Boston (four) than he had won with the Red Sox (three). Clemens' late-career surge would later be tainted by ties to steroids. But with the Yankees in 2003, as he reflected on his career while approaching his 300th victory, Clemens still relished the moment he stuck it to Duquette and the Red Sox: 'I didn't need motivation. One guy made a decision. He made a wrong decision. He critiqued the wrong guy.' — Tyler Kepner Luka Dončić's return to Dallas In Luka Dončić's return to Dallas, tears flowed, and so did the stepback 3s. On April 9, the Slovenian superstar got to play at American Airlines Center for the first time since the Dallas Mavericks surprisingly traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers more than two months earlier. The Mavericks welcomed Dončić back with a tribute video that stirred up so much emotion, Dončić's eyes welled with tears as he sat on the Lakers' bench and watched it. When the ball finally tipped, Dončić showed a side of himself that Mavericks fans knew well: the ruthless competitor. He scored 14 points in the first quarter, and he had 31 points by halftime. Every time Dončić touched the ball, Mavericks fans cheered him. And almost every time a Mavericks player shot free throws, those same fans chanted 'Fire Nico!' Their ire was, of course, directed at Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who initiated the Dončić trade talks with the Lakers and was watching his former star player's return from a tunnel near midcourt. Dončić finished with 45 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Anthony Davis, the centerpiece of the package Dallas got back for Dončić, underwhelmed with 13 points. The Lakers beat the Mavericks 112-97, and Dončić declared afterward that he was ready to turn the page on the trade that had upended his life. 'I love the fans,' Dončić said. 'I love this city. But it's time to move on.' — Christian Clark (Photo: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)
New York Times
27-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
One bold prediction for each MLB team, from an all-Dodgers Cy Young ballot to Ichiro's mic-drop comeback
It's that time of the year again. The chill of winter has faded away and a new season of baseball is set to begin in earnest. It also means it's time for bold predictions, the kind of predictions you hold over the heads of your colleagues when you're right and pretend they don't exist when you're wrong. Advertisement We went through this process on Opening Day last year, too, though most of our writers would rather forget their 2024 predictions. We'll chalk it up to being a little too bold, which is the whole point of the exercise, right? The results as follows: It turns out, we all can't be Stephen Nestradamus, err, Nesbitt. That said, we're putting the past behind us. It's 2025 and we're here with more bold predictions, one for each team. The rating system is simple. More fire emojis means the bolder the prediction. Much like players who claim to be in the best shape of their lives, our writers already seem to be in midseason form. So much so that I asked my editor if we could create a whole new category for even bolder predictions. The answer was, no. Sorry, Tyler Kepner. The baseball is back. The predictions are bold. And the vibes are immaculate. Let's begin. This year's bold prediction: The Diamondbacks, whose bullpen ERA ranked 23rd last season at 4.41, have a top-5 bullpen this season thanks to a deep rotation that keeps arms fresh, a full season of AJ Puk and the continued rise of Justin Martinez. — Tyler Kepner Boldness level: 🔥 Last year's bold prediction: A year after becoming the first Diamondbacks player to win a Rookie of the Year award, Corbin Carroll becomes the first Diamondback to win the MVP – and the first to have a 30/30 season. Outcome: Carroll did swipe 35 bags, though he only slugged 22 homers, as his 2025 was a far cry from his rookie of the year season. He needed an outrageous second half (.919 OPS) to finish with 3.4 bWAR. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Spencer Strider will pick up where he left off in 2023 when he led the majors with 20 wins and 281 strikeouts. The Braves won't overwork him coming back from internal brace elbow surgery, but Strider and Chris Sale will be baseball's best 1-2 starter combination and lead a potentially devastating playoff rotation. — David O'Brien Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: The Braves' offense won't be as prolific as it was in 2023, but their pitching will be better. The net result will be a third consecutive 100-win season and seventh straight NL East title, followed by a return to the NLCS for the first time since 2021 and a rematch there with the Dodgers. The Braves win the pennant, then win a second World Series title in a four-year span. Outcome: The banged-up Braves won the World Series of MRIs, and their run of six straight NL East titles came to an end. Atlanta did somehow make the postseason, though. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: The core of homegrown position players will keep the Orioles in the hunt for four months, at which point it will be painfully obvious that, to go much further, the Orioles will need a top-of-the-rotation arm. No team will get more attention at the trade deadline as the Orioles have Coby Mayo, Samuel Basello and Heston Kjersted to dangle as bait — Chad Jennings Boldness level: 🔥 Last year's bold prediction: There's so much Orioles hullabaloo focused on the quality (and quantity) of their young position players, you might not have noticed all the ace pitchers going down with injuries across the league. So, while you're wondering whether Jackson Holliday will be called up in time to win Rookie of the Year, Corbin Burnes is going to steal the show by winning his second Cy Young just in time to hit the free agent market this winter. And that always works out, right Blake Snell? Outcome: Double boo here. Holliday did not win the AL Rookie of the Year. And Burnes did not win the AL Cy Young. He did still cash in during free agency (six years, $210 million). Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: The Red Sox win the division. The Yankees are saddled with long-term injuries to Luis Gil and Gerrit Cole and the Orioles still need to prove themselves after a lackluster winter, meaning the Red Sox have at least a chance to push for the AL East title for the first time since 2018. — Jen McCaffrey Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, then here we are. Everyone is predicting the Red Sox to finish last in the division for what would be a third straight season. Is it bold enough (perhaps a little crazy?) if we make the same prediction that they'll somehow have enough here to snag a wild-card berth? Outcome: The Red Sox avoided the cellar. But at 81 wins, they also avoided the playoffs. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: The Cubs will finish slightly north of 83 wins, capturing the division title after trading for Sandy Alcantara in a blockbuster deadline deal with the Miami Marlins. — Patrick Mooney Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins will make some of the biggest moves at the trade deadline, using one of the game's top farm systems to acquire Shane Bieber and Kenley Jansen and try to win the National League's blah division. Outcome: Hoyer and Hawkins did indeed make some of the biggest moves... of the winter. Chicago added Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly in two separate deals with the Houston Astros following another 83-79 finish. Grade: ✅ This year's bold prediction: The White Sox will win more games than last year. To quote former Chicago baseball man Lee Elia, you can take that downtown and print it! GMs don't like making predictions but I did get Chris Getz to say he was confident they'd win more games. I'm saying they win 56 in honor of Mark Buehrle, who is getting a statue at the park this year. — Jon Greenberg Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: The White Sox finish ahead of expectations and win a resounding 65 games. Manager Pedro Grifol gets a contract extension after the team finishes three consecutive games without an error. GM Chris Getz signs Zack Grienke in May to bolster the team's ex-Royals vibe, but passes on bringing back Andy Sisco and Mike MacDougal. Outcome: The 2024 White Sox would have been thrilled to win 65 games. Instead, they won 41 and lost an astounding 121. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Not only does Chase Burns appear in a playoff game for the Reds, he does so in a game started by Rhett Lowder. Lowder made his big-league debut the year after being drafted by the Reds and Burns could do the same. — C. Trent Rosecrans Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Rhett Lowder starts a playoff game for the Reds. Lowder, last year's first-round pick, should be in the big leagues sooner rather than later and it's not as if the Reds, at this point, have a roster full of no-doubt Game 1 starters. Outcome: The Reds, in fact, did not make the playoffs. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Gavin Williams, one year after an injury-riddled season that included an ERA approaching 5.00, finishes in the top five in the balloting for the AL Cy Young Award and becomes the first Cleveland pitcher with at least 200 strikeouts since Shane Bieber in 2019. — Zack Meisel Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: José Ramírez wins the AL batting title. He ranked seventh in the AL with a .282 mark last season, his highest in a full season since 2017, but he ranked in the 96th percentile in expected batting average. He makes a ton of contact, rarely strikes out and if he can harness his chase rate a bit, he can yank fastballs past defenders who can't shift against him the way they used to. Outcome: Close but no cigar. A member of the Cleveland Guardians did compete for the AL batting title. It wasn't JRam, though. Instead, Steven Kwan flirted with .400 at one point before finishing with a .292 average. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: After a sizzling spring training, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar cuts down on his strikeouts and comes into his own at age 23, unseating Francisco Lindor as the NL's Silver Slugger shortstop. — Tyler Kepner Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: The Rockies' pitching takes a pounding in the punishing NL West, and the team finishes with a 5.86 highest ERA, an MLB record for the 2000s. Outcome: The Rockies were dangerously close to a 5.86 ERA, having finished with a 5.47 mark. Grade: ✅ This year's bold prediction: The Tigers will hover around the .500 mark for most of the first half. If they can remain within striking distance in the AL Central race, they will be aggressive buyers at the trade deadline, making a serious run at an infielder such as Bo Bichette from the Blue Jays. — Cody Stavenhagen Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Javier Báez will be a platoon player by season's end. Báez was the second worst qualifying hitter in baseball last season with a 61 wRC+. He was moved down in the Tigers order, and despite talks of an offseason overhaul, Báez struggled at the plate in the spring. The Tigers aren't going to eat his contract this year, but they won't tolerate his struggles forever. By season's end, Báez will only be starting against left-handed pitching. Outcome: By season's end, Báez was a non-factor for the resurgent Tigers, largely because he was hurt. Grade: ✅ This year's bold prediction: Top prospect Cam Smith, who seized a corner outfield job over the spring, slugs a go-ahead home run on the final day of the regular season to secure a wild-card berth. — Chandler Rome Boldness level: 🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Yordan Alvarez will become the first player to win MVP while playing the majority of his games at designated hitter. Getting Shohei Ohtani out of the American League — and Alvarez into the second spot of the Astros' batting order — should create a path to the award. Outcome: Someone did win the MVP while playing the majority of his games at DH. It wasn't Alvarez, though. No. It was Shohei Ohtani who authored MLB's first 50/50 season. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Bobby Witt Jr. will clear 10 fWAR for the second consecutive season. This time, he'll win AL MVP. Unfortunately for Royals Nation, Witt will also have more WAR than the rest of the Royals' Opening Day lineup combined. — Stephen Nesbitt Boldness level: 🔥 Last year's bold prediction: For the first time in seven years, the Royals will send three players to the All-Star Game: shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and pitcher Cole Ragans, who will take extra pleasure in returning to Globe Life Field, the home ballpark of his former team. Outcome: It was four all-stars: Witt, Ragans, Seth Lugo and Salvador Perez. Not too shabby, Nestradamus. Grade: 🔮 This year's bold prediction: José Soriano will get Cy Young Award votes. Ron Washington went with Yusei Kikuchi for Opening Day, saying the choice was 'obvious.' But Soriano might beg to differ. His campaign went under the radar last season, due to the team's poor record, a few bad outings, and an inability to finish healthy. But when Soriano was on, there were few pitchers in baseball who looked better than him. A second full season as a starter could bring big dividends. He might not win the award, but he'll get some very positive national recognition this year. — Sam Blum Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Mike Trout will call out Arte Moreno. We saw some budding frustration at the beginning of spring training when Trout said he'd been pushing ownership to acquire high level free agents. Despite being linked to many free agents, the Angels didn't sign anyone more expensive than Robert Stephenson (3 years, $33 million). They cut payroll by more than $40 million. If the team isn't in the playoff mix again, Trout might have to speak out more than he has before. Outcome: Mike Trout to The Athletic on Sept. 23, 2024. 'A couple additions in the offseason could make a big difference. It's all up to the owner. I think that's where we're at." Grade: 🔮 This year's bold prediction: The Dodgers will have multiple pitchers receive Cy Young votes. It's not a question of talent, but workload. Blake Snell already has two Cy Young Awards on his mantle. Behind him, the Dodgers have a ton of talent despite injury concerns — would it surprise anyone to see Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow or even Roki Sasaki jump into the voting mix? — Fabian Ardaya Boldness level: 🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Mookie Betts will have the highest WAR season of his Dodgers tenure. The bar is high – he was worth 8.3 WAR by both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs a year ago, and he's in his age-31 season. But he's coming off an MVP-caliber offensive campaign, and if his glove is able to handle the move to shortstop, the positional adjustment could help him rack up more value. It's already bold that he's playing shortstop now. But what if he makes the decision look like a no-brainer? Outcome: Betts finished with 4.8 bWAR/4.4fWAR, and the decision to play him at short was far from a no-brainer. The perennial All-Star ended back up in the outfield by season's end. Perhaps round two will be more successful. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Coming off Tommy John surgery, Sandy Alcantara will be in prime form and in Cy Young contention until he's traded to an American League team in late July. — Stephen Nesbitt Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Jake Burger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. become the second Marlins teammates with 35 homers in a season, a mighty feat achieved in 2017 by Giancarlo Stanton (59) and Marcell Ozuna (37). Outcome: Chisholm finished with 24 homers (13 with the Marlins) and Burger slugged 29. Neither is with the Marlins anymore. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: No Willy Adames, no problem. Jackson Chourio and William Contreras will both be top-20 MLB hitters by WAR this season. — Stephen Nesbitt Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: As the club's new No. 1 pitcher, Freddy Peralta will author the best season by a Brewers starter in recent memory. Reminder: Corbin Burnes won the Cy Young Award in 2021. Another reminder: Brandon Woodruff has been pretty good, too. Yeah, he will top what both have done. Outcome: Peralta led the Brewers in innings pitched, but it was teammate Tobias Myers who had the more memorable season. Myers posted a 3.00 ERA in 27 games (25 starts). If not for some late inning heroics from Pete Alonso in the NL Wild Card Series, it was Myers who put the Brewers in position to move on with five scoreless innings in Game 3. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Much like in 2023, when the Twins won the division title and snapped a two-decade playoff losing streak, starting pitching will carry them. Last year's rotation ranked 11th in ERA among AL teams. This year's starters will have a top-five ERA. — Aaron Gleeman Boldness level: 🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Sophomore second baseman Edouard Julien will lead the American League's non-Yankees hitters in walks and finish in the league's top five for runs scored. Outcome: We think Julien would like a do-over for 2024. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: For the first time in franchise history, the Mets will have three players hit at least 30 home runs (and four with at least 25 long balls). — Tim Britton Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Francisco Alvarez will be the best catcher in the National League. J.T. Realmuto owned that title for a while, and William Contreras, Sean Murphy and Will Smith provide stout competition. But Alvarez showed long enough flashes of excellence both at and behind the plate last year, as well as an impressive track record of swift improvement through his professional career, to expect another leap in his second season. Outcome: The best catcher in the league last season was Contreras, who posted 5.4 fWAR. Alvarez finished ninth — just behind Realmuto. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: With added muscle over the offseason, Ben Rice, the projected fill-in at designated hitter in place of Giancarlo Stanton, will hit at least 30 home runs and be in contention for making the American League All-Star Game. — Chris Kirschner Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Juan Soto wins the American League MVP, hitting no less than 50 homers. That's not all. He does the Soto shuffle in an appearance on 'Saturday Night Live.' Outcome: Soto finished third in MVP voting, hitting 41 homers. While he didn't actually make an appearance on 'Saturday Night Live,' he does get portrayed by Marcello Hernández in a cold open Church Chat sketch. Grade: 🔮 This year's bold prediction: The A's crash the playoff party as a wild card, and while MLB wants them to use Oracle Park in San Francisco for postseason home games, the A's refuse. They're having too much fun selling out games in Sacramento. — Tyler Kepner Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: The A's break the 70-win threshold. The discourse around the team is deservedly bleak and they still won't be a good team, but the starting pitching will be better, Mason Miller will have his own Pitching Ninja thread, and a full season of Zack Gelof, Lawrence Butler & Co. will improve the offense over last year's dismal showing. Outcome: Oh, so close. The A's finished with 69 wins. But Miller was very much a Pitching Ninja darling, and Butler did show out, so much so that he inked a seven-year, $65.5 million contract extension over the winter. Grade: 🔮 This year's bold prediction: Andrew Painter arrives on June 30 for his major-league debut, then makes 14 starts that are great enough to propel him to a second-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting — behind Los Angeles' Roki Sasaki. — Matt Gelb Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Trea Turner wins the National League MVP. The $300 million shortstop redeemed his first season with the Phillies by hitting .337/.389/.668 in the final 48 games. The overall picture showed a star who underachieved, and Turner fought pressure to fulfill the expectations that came with a massive deal. With that burden eased, Turner can just be himself – one of the best players in the sport. It's not audacious to think this is his year. Outcome: It turns out, it was a little audacious to think 2024 would be Turner's year. He didn't earn an MVP vote, but he did make it to the All-Star team. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Now comfortable in center field, Oneil Cruz will finally put it all together in Pittsburgh, turning in his first 30-30 season while cutting his strikeout rate below 30 percent for the first time in his big league career. — Stephen Nesbitt Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Mitch Keller will be the pitching staff's WAR leader, but rookie Jared Jones will have the rotation's best ERA, 3.93. With sharpness early in the season providing sufficient rotation certainty, the Pirates will wait to call up Paul Skenes until June. Jones will finish seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Outcome: Nope and nope. It was Skenes who was Pittsburgh's WAR leader (4.3) and its ERA king (1.96). And it was Skenes who received Rookie of the Year votes, enough to win the dang award while also finishing third in NL Cy Young Award balloting. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Luis Arraez, with his left thumb surgically repaired and free agency potentially looming, becomes the first player to hit .360 or better in a full season since Joe Mauer in 2009. — Dennis Lin Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Michael King becomes the latest player the Padres sign to a contract extension, albeit at a significantly more affordable price than Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Jake Cronenworth, etc. Outcome: King did not ink a contract extension. He also spent much of the winter the subject of trade speculation. He is, however, San Diego's Opening Day starter, and after a standout 2024, he's in line for a payday. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Robbie Ray is one of the six National League pitchers who finishes with Cy Young votes. The only question is if he'll get them while he's still with the Giants, or if he's the best pitcher traded at the deadline. That's up to his teammates, but it's OK to be bullish on Ray. He's looked sharp this spring, and his new changeup is in the best shape of its life.— Grant Brisbee Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Jung-Hoo Lee hits .314. Technically, he'll hit .3143322476, (193 for 614) but it'll be rounded down. This will be good for second in the National League, behind Luis Arraez, and the Giants will start selling windmill hats to take advantage of his nickname, Grandson of the Wind. Outcome: Lee hit .262. He was limited to 37 games because he hit the outfield wall, and then hit the IL with a season-ending shoulder injury. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first player in history to use his Hall of Fame speech to announce his comeback as an active player. The Mariners add him to the roster and surge to the AL West title. — Tyler Kepner Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: The Mariners win the first pennant in franchise history as Logan Gilbert wins the Cy Young Award, Julio Rodriguez wins the MVP and Jerry Dipoto wins the trading deadline by pulling off his biggest acquisition yet: Juan Soto. Outcome: This is why they call them bold predictions. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: The Cardinals hover around .500 for most of the first half, leading John Mozeliak to buy at the trade deadline — even if that path isn't best for the organization's long-term player development goal. — Katie Woo Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: After the most disappointing season of his career, Nolan Arenado goes full revenge tour and finishes top-three in NL MVP voting. Last year was the first full-season since 2014 where Arenado did not record at least 30 homers and 100 RBI. It also ended his streak of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves — he'd won the award every year since he debuted. Someone has to propel the Cardinals out of last year's cellar. It's going to be Arenado. Outcome: Arenado posted arguably the worst full season of his MLB career. He spent the winter trying to leave St. Louis, but after nixing a trade to the Astros, Arenado remains a Cardinal, at least through July, or even sooner. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: The biggest storyline heading into October is the potential of the Rays hosting a World Series in a spring training ballpark. Shane McClanahan returns quickly from a spring training injury scare, Junior Caminero emerges as a top-five third baseman in baseball, and the Rays are scaring everyone as a wild-card team with the biggest home field advantage in the sport — a home field that happens to be the Yankees spring training facility, which the Rays have embraced as an extension of their scrappy, find-a-way ethos. — Chad Jennings Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Low and behold – or should that be Lowe and behold – the Rays have an offense, too! Well known for their ability to develop pitchers, the Rays actually are going to hit themselves into contention in the first half. Second baseman Brandon Lowe is healthy again, right fielder Josh Lowe is coming off a strong second half, and the Rays will have a top-five offense to keep themselves afloat until some of their injured arms return in time to make a playoff run down the stretch. Outcome: How does bottom-five offense sound, Chad? The Rays finished with a team-wide .668 OPS, and if the White Sox weren't horrifically miserable, then Tampa Bay would likely have laid claim to the league's worst offense. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: New first baseman Jake Burger slams a career-high 40 home runs, inspiring the chefs at Globe Life Field to their most popular culinary creation since the Boomstick: The Jake Burger. — Tyler Kepner Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter (in that order) become the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the AL Rookie of the Year voting since Alvin Davis and Mark Langston of the 1984 Mariners. Outcome: A pair of teammates nearly did finish 1-2 in the voting. But that team was the Yankees — though Langford did get a few votes. Grade: ❌ This year's bold prediction: The Blue Jays will not only extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — 15 years, $600 million with deferrals — but will ride his bat to a Wild Card berth and the club's first ALDS appearance since 2016. — Stephen Nesbitt Boldness level: 🔥🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Bold, eh? Well, how about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. replicates his 2021 season, where he finished with a 1.002 OPS and MLB-leading 48 home runs. But this season, the Blue Jays slugger won't be blocked by Shohei Ohtani's two-way ways. Guerrero will win the American League MVP and cement himself as one of today's great hitters. Outcome: Guerrero finished sixth in MVP voting. His 2024 season (30 homers, .940 OPS) wasn't as good as his otherworldly 2021. But by one measure it wasn't that far off, either. He posted a 167 OPS+ in 2021 — 166 OPS+ in 2024. Not bad! Grade: ✅ This year's bold prediction: The Nationals will again lead the majors in stolen bases. Dylan Crews will swipe 50, CJ Abrams and Jacob Young 40, and James Wood 30. — Stephen Nesbitt Boldness level: 🔥🔥 Last year's bold prediction: Nats top prospect James Wood will have a 30-30 season, between Triple A and the majors. He'll occupy an outfield spot in Washington by early June. His first homer, 447 feet, will be on a sizzling Spencer Strider first-pitch fastball. I have spoken. Outcome: Wood was closer to 20/20 between Triple-A Rochester and Washington. His first homer was on a less than sizzling 93 mph fastball from Lance Lynn. It was also well short of 447 feet. Grade: ❌ (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Rich Storry, Justin K. Aller / Getty Images, Matt Kartozian / Imagn Images)
New York Times
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Love or hate the Astros' newest City Connect uniforms? Our panel weighs in
On Wednesday, The Houston Astros revealed the latest edition of uniforms in the somewhat-maligned City Connect collaboration between Nike and Major League Baseball. The Bat Signal of a new uniform has been projected into the sky, and so The Athletic's Sartorial Superfriends once again convene at the virtual Hall of Justice to render their judgment. Advertisement It can be hard to get baseball writers to agree on much, but in this case, they did. These uniforms are good. Going against what has been common practice around the internet for the last 30 years or so, you will find only praise and consensus from our Mr. Blackwellian roundtable — made up of Stephen J. Nesbitt, C. Trent Rosecrans, Tyler Kepner and Jason Jones — which just last year picked the Colorado Rockies' City Connect as the best of the bunch. C. Trent Rosecrans: I went from thinking these weren't too bad, to thinking maybe they're good, to talking myself into these being the best of the cursed bunch. Could these perhaps start a trend of good City Connects? Am I giving Nike and MLB too much credit based on one example of a job well done? Maybe. Heck, I even saw a new Dodgers City Connect cap in the wild the other day and thought it looked good. Maybe in my old age, I'm turning into an optimist? Get on my lawn? GO DEEPER A year after uniform fiasco, players arrive at Spring Training with issues mostly ironed out Back to the topic at hand, these could low-key be a great regular design, not just a City Connect. This design has elements of former Astros uniforms — the clean simplicity of their original 1960s uniforms, the color and spirit of the '70s and '80s classics, the look and feel of the '90s uniforms that were a product of their time — without beating you over the head. Too often nostalgia is used like a blunt instrument — see Atlanta's attempt at the City Connect — but here it's used well. Stephen Nesbitt: I was way higher on the Astros' 'Space City' City Connect unis than the rest of this panel, but even I had to admit then: 'The dark blue background steals from all that goodness. If Nike reprints this as a white jersey, it would soar up these rankings.' Well, well, what have we here! A smashing white jersey. The futuristic logo makes the cap a great standalone item, and it pairs well with the dark blue and orange uniform accents. I liked the old City Connect set. I love the new one. It's exactly what you want from an alternate jersey. Tyler Kepner: The first of the 2025 City Connects is easily the best version yet. A sure way to win me over is to modernize a look from the past, and the Astros do it twice with this sleek outfit, blending their shooting-star uniform of the 1960s with the open-sided star of the 1990s. (As a bonus, the star features orange gradients, a nice callback to the 'Tequila Sunrise' uniforms of the 1980s.) Advertisement The cap logo is a sharp update on an unused prototype. The space-age font works. The stripes, the sleeve patch, the HTX on the belt — I love it all. And the best part? Even Nike, it seems, is finally tiring of its dark-jersey-over-dark-pants style, which always looks wrong on a baseball field. Jason Jones: The 2025 version of the Astros' City Connect uniform is a win from head to toe. At first glance, the cap reminds me of the Arizona Diamondbacks' A, but it's still a good look. It's even better when you see the jersey goes with 'Stros' instead of Astros. If you're looking for the 'A,' go to the cap. The HTX detail on the belt loop is unique and the socks are a winner. A much-needed upgrade for the 'Space City' jerseys. The color scheme is the right mix of nostalgia and a modern look, too. (Photos of Jeremy Peña, Jose Altuve, and uniform details courtesy of the Houston Astros)
