The Red Sox refused to sit around and do nothing. Torii Hunter, a former major league outfielder who retired after the 2015 season, recently revealed he was subjected to racist taunts while playing at Fenway Park during his MLB career, even prompting him to place clauses in his MLB contracts ensuring he wouldn’t be traded…
The Boston Red Sox refused to sit around and do nothing. Torii Hunter, a former major league outfielder who retired after the 2015 season, recently revealed he was subjected to racist taunts while playing at Fenway Park during his MLB career, even prompting him to place clauses in his MLB contracts ensuring he wouldn’t be traded to Boston. The Red Sox, taking Hunter’s comments very seriously, released a powerful statement Thursday night in which they acknowledged such incidents have occurred at Fenway Park and vowed to continue using their platform as a way to fight racial injustice. The Red Sox’s statement caught the attention of former major leaguer Adam Jones, who dealt with his own racist incident at Fenway Park in 2017 while playing for the Baltimore Orioles. Jones, who now plays baseball in Japan, applauded the message before then sharing a story about how Red Sox president Sam Kennedy and team owner John Henry handled the 2017 situation. Huuuge. https://t.co/4vWZiTIisE — 10 (@SimplyAJ10) June 11, 2020 I’ll never forget my convos the next day with Sam Kennedy (President of Baseball Ops) and the Owner John Henry. Much respect for them for coming into the visiting clubhouse and hearing my story. That was huuuuge!!! https://t.co/4vWZiTIisE — 10 (@SimplyAJ10) June 11, 2020 As the Red Sox noted in their statement, there’s still a lot of work to be done. However, the club clearly is committed to making Fenway Park a better place and, most importantly, doing whatever it can to combat racial inequality.
In 2009, MLB moved its draft into a primetime television slot, and aired the first round live from the MLB Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey. San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg was the big name going into the draft. He and other first-round hopefuls were invited to attend the event in person. The thought…
On his way to being touted as one of the best pure hitters available in Major League Baseball’s 2020 draft, Austin Martin developed a reputation as a terrific contact hitter with a side order of power. Read More
There have been no regular season Major League Baseball games in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the annual MLB Draft will take place on June 10 and 11 in a scaled-down version that will see just five rounds take place instead of the usual 40.
The Detroit Tigers hold the first overall selection with the Toronto Blue Jays holding the fifth overall pick.
Baseball Canada will be provide live updates each time a Canadian-born player gets selected on our Twitter (@baseballcanada), Instagram (baseballcanada) and Facebook pages with a recap of the day’s action on baseball.ca.
WHAT: The annual Major League Baseball Draft (or Rule 4 Draft) gets underway on Wednesday (7pm ET MLB Network/MLB.com) with the first 37 selections (First Round, Competitive Balance Round A) and continues Thursday with the second through fifth rounds. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MLB has reduced the 2020 Draft to five rounds, down from the usual 40 rounds.
WHO: There are generally three groups of players that are eligible for the MLB Draft:
High school players, if they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed
Countries eligible for the draft include Canada, Puerto Rico, the United States and US territories. Players from other countries are considered international free agents and must adhere to MLB’s international signing rules.
HOW TO FOLLOW: MLB Network/TSN 3/MLB.com will carry the first 37 selections live Wednesday from their studio in Secaucus, New Jersey beginning at 7pm ET…MLB Network/TSN 2/MLB.com will carry rounds two through five on Thursday beginning at 5PM ET…Live coverage of all five rounds along with a Draft Tracker will be available at MLB.com…Baseball Canada will be provide live updates each time a Canadian-born player gets selected on our Twitter (@baseballcanada), Instagram (baseballcanada) and Facebook pages with a recap of the day’s action on baseball.ca.
Canada has been a “draft region” since 1991. Prior to that, Canadians playing in Canada were Free Agents, while Canadians playing at US Colleges or Universities were eligible for the draft.
The first player drafted out of Canada was Jason Wuersch from Leamington, Ontario when the New York Yankees used their 11th round selection (282nd overall) to take the outfielder in 1991.A record 48 Canadians were selected in the 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft, marking the highest total since Canadians became eligible for the draft in 1991.
The 2002 draft produced the highest ever selection for a Canadian born player as the Baltimore Orioles selected Surrey, BC native Adam Loewen with the fourth overall selection. The 2002 draft also produced the highest number of Canadians who went on to play in the big leagues including Jeff Francis (Rockies), Joey Votto (Reds), Jesse Crain (Twins), Chris Leroux (Devil Rays), David Davidson (Pirates), Luke Carlin (Tigers), Scott Mathieson (Phillies), Russell Martin (Dodgers), George Kottaras (Padres) and Chris Robinson (Mets).
Ten years ago, in 2010, there were 31 Canadians selected in the MLB Draft headlined by Kellin Deglan, a catcher from Langley, BC who went in the first round (22nd overall) to the Texas Rangers, current New York Yankees starting pitcher James Paxton, who was a fourth round selection of the Seattle Mariners and former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Dalton Pompey who was taken in the 16th round.
In 2019, 20 Canadians were selected in the MLB draft led by Junior National Team outfielder Dasan Brown (Oakville, ON) who was the first Canadian chose when the Toronto Blue Jays used their third round selection on him, 88th overall.
Since 1999, players that have played with the Junior National Team program have accounted for 368 draft selections.
NAMES TO WATCH:
Canadians on Baseball America’s Top 500 draft prospects list:
#67 OF David Calabrese (Maple, ON) Junior National Team #140 SS Trei Cruz (Toronto, ON) Rice University* #180 OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, ON) Junior National Team #197 OF Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, ON) University of Michigan* #248 RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, ON) Liberty University #402 RHP Theo Millas (Burnaby, BC) Junior National Team #413 OF Jason Willow (Victoria, BC) UC Santa Barbara #414 OF Cooper Davis (Mississauga, ON) Vanderbilt University #417 RHP Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, ON) Junior National Team #454 RHP Jack Seward (Coquitlam, BC) Junior National Team #466 RHP Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, BC) University of Hawaii #478 RHP Logan Hofmann (Muenster, SK) Northwestern State
By RONALD BLUM NEW YORK — Baseball players moved toward teams but remained far apart economically in their latest proposal for starting the pandemic-delayed season, adamant they receive full prorated salaries while offering to cut the regular season to 89 games. The proposal by the players’ association, given to Major League Baseball electronically Tuesday evening…
NEW YORK — Baseball players moved toward teams but remained far apart economically in their latest proposal for starting the pandemic-delayed season, adamant they receive full prorated salaries while offering to cut the regular season to 89 games.
The proposal by the players’ association, given to Major League Baseball electronically Tuesday evening without a negotiating session, was detailed to The Associated Press by a pair of people familiar with the negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcements were authorized.
MLB did not appear to view the proposal as productive but made no comment. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that one ownership source’s reaction to the proposal was, “We’re nowhere.”
Players made their move one day after management cut its proposed schedule from 82 games to 76. The union proposed the regular season start July 10 and end Oct. 11 — the day before a possible Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
The union accepted MLB’s plan to expand the postseason from 10 teams to as many as 16. However, if management announces a schedule without an agreement, it would not be able to alter the established postseason format.
The players’ plan would have the World Series end in mid-to-late November, and players said they would accept MLB’s proposal to have the ability to shift postseason games to neutral sites.
Teams say they fear a second wave of the coronavirus and do not want to extend the World Series past October. Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem told the union a 76-game schedule could not be staged unless players agreed to a deal by Wednesday.
Players continue to insist on full prorated salaries as specified in the March 26 agreement between the perpetually feuding sides. The deal gave players service time in the event no games are played this year along with a $170 million salary advance.
MLB says that because the season likely would be played in empty ballparks without fans, the absence of gate-related revenue would lead to a loss of $640,000 for each additional game played, a figure the union questions. MLB’s proposal would guarantee players 50% of prorated salaries and another 20% if the postseason is completed, and teams would fund a $50 million pool for players’ postseason shares even if no or few tickets or sold. MLB also would forgive 20% of the salary advance.
Players had been set to earn about $4 billion in salaries this year before opening day was pushed back from March 26 due to the new coronavirus, and the union’s initial economic proposal on May 31 called for a 114-game schedule running through October and salaries totaling $2.8 billion. The shorter schedule in the new plan lowered the amount to about $2.2 billion.
MLB’s offer Monday was for just under $1.3 billion in salaries, but only about $1 billion would be guaranteed. The rest is contingent on the postseason’s completion.
Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole, the highest-paid players with $36 million salaries, would get $19,777,778 each under the union’s plan. MLB’s offer would guarantee each $8,723,967 with the chance to increase to $12,190,633 apiece if the postseason is completed.
A player at the $563,500 minimum would earn $309,577 under the union plan and up to $244,492 from MLB’s offer. Those at $1 million — about half those on current active rosters — would get $549,383 under the union proposal and up to $389,496 in the MLB formula.
A 50-game schedule with prorated salaries would total just over $1.2 billion and leave Cole and Trout at $11,111,111 each.
Players proposed that $5 million from joint management-union funds be marked toward supporting non-union minor leaguers and social causes. Players would agree to participate in events such as an offseason All-Star Game and/or Home Run Derby and to broadcast enhancements such as wearing microphones during games.
The union did not accept management’s offer to suspend free-agent compensation this offseason, which would eliminate the qualifying offers that cause some teams to decline to pursue players.
Players accepted MLB’s proposal that high-risk players could opt out of this season while receiving salary and service time, but that other players who opt
Kristi Hendriks is Oakland A’s pitcher Liam Hendrik’s wife. Kristi also is the Founder of For The Field Apparel. Liam has played for the Twins, Blue Jays, Royals, and the Oakland A’s. In 2019, Liam was a pitcher for the American League in the All Star Game. Fun Facts about Kristi She grew up with 17 […]
Baseball continues to be “baseball” by quietly coming to a stand still to the point where the season is in serious jeopardy. The MLBPA and owners cannot come to an agreement as to what should be done about the regular season and a prorated salary. The players feel they signed a guaranteed contract and deserve […]
The owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils are looking to expand their sports empire to baseball. Josh Harris, the billionaire co-founder of Apollo Global Management, and David Blitzer, an executive at private equity firm Blackstone, are among the suitors for the New York Mets, according to people familiar with the matter. The…
This would undermine players’ ability to file grievances against the league in the event that they are placed in unsafe working conditions.
Report: owners want players to sign an “acknowledgment of risk” waiver before playing — HardballTalk | NBC Sports Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports that Major League Baseball’s proposal to the players includes a revision to the league’s Operations Manual which would require players to sign an “acknowledgment of risk” waiver before playing. The players, quite reasonably, believe that the waiver is aimed at undermining their ability to file grievances against the league in the event that they are placed in unsafe working conditions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I mean, why else would they be proposing it now? Either way, given how much uncertainty there is regarding what safe practices may be once play resumes, shifting all of the risk onto the players, while a predictable aim of the owners, is not a reasonable one. The only way for baseball to work during the pandemic will be if everyone is truly incentivized to make conditions as safe as possible for everyone in and around the game. A waiver does the opposite of that. This is especially troubling given that Major League Baseball has claimed that it intends to contact and coordinate with local health departments on its safety protocols but, per Bradford William Davis’ reporting in the New York Daily News, they simply haven’t done so. Between this and counteroffers that continue to want to pay players cents on the dollar, it’s almost as if Major League Baseball is looking for a way to get out of playing a 2020 season altogether. Follow @craigcalcaterra
TORONTO – On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays organization cut 26 minor league players, including four that spent time with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2019.
Perhaps the most famous name on the list is first baseman Kacy Clemens, son of former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens.
Kacy began the season platooning at first base for the Fisher Cats, but went back down to Advanced-A Dunedin after putting up a .145/.247/.169 slash line over 24 games with New Hampshire, collecting just two extra-base hits and seven RBI, with a strikeout to walk rate of nearly 3:1.
Another first baseman, Christian Williams, was also on the list. Williams came to New Hampshire from Dunedin in May, just as Clemens was heading in the opposite direction. During his 79 appearances with the ‘Cats, Williams wasn’t much better offensively (.228/.276/.342)
Whenever the season finally starts, the Fisher Cats will still have options at first base. Nash Knight has played just under half of his five-year minor league career at first (127 games), and can fill in at second even though he’s played mostly at the hot corner.
Cullen Large and Deiferson Bareto could also theoretically step in, with each playing two games each at first during their minor league careers, and Ryan Noda may get a shot after he supplanted Clemens as the primary first baseman in Dunedin last year (.238/.372/.418), leading the team in homers (13), doubles (27) and RBI (74) over 117 games, also collecting 14 stolen bases and 74 walks.
The other two cuts included pitcher Turner Larkins, who threw one inning of relief for the ‘Cats last season and infielder Jake Brodt, who went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts in two games in Manchester in late August.
The view from left field 