The World Series could end in November this year. Major League Baseball can do without all the “Mr. November” jokes, so the league took a creative step last year: a flexible start date for the World Series.
It’s not easy to cram a four-round postseason in a month. But it’s even less ideal if the World Series teams roll through the league championship series, then sit around for close to a week before the World Series starts.
MLB unveiled this creative reform last year: If both World Series teams complete the league championship series in no more than five games, the start of the World Series would move up three days. Nothing kills interest in an everyday sport like a week off before the most important games of the season.
The reform did not come into play last season. Although the New York Yankees won the American League Championship Series in five games, the Dodgers needed six games to complete the NLCS.
When MLB announced its postseason schedule Tuesday, the flexible start date for the World Series was gone. With the Dodgers coming within one victory of making that happen last season, league officials and television partners had the chance to prepare for two possibilities for the start of the World Series. The uncertainty of what date to promote, and the need for alternate travel plans and hotel blocks, left the parties with the thought that a fixed date for the World Series remained a better plan.
The World Series this year is set to start on Friday, Oct. 24, with a possible Game 7 on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The wild-card round starts Tuesday, Sept. 30, with the division series round starting Saturday, Oct. 4. The teams with the top two records in each league earn a bye in the first round and advance directly to the division series.
If the postseason started Tuesday, the Dodgers (68-51) would be the No. 3 seed in the NL, behind the Milwaukee Brewers (74-44) and the Philadelphia Phillies (69-49). The wild card teams, in order of seed, would be the Chicago Cubs (67-50), San Diego Padres (67-52) and the New York Mets (63-55).
In that scenario, the Dodgers and Mets — the NLCS combatants last season — would meet in the wild-card round this season.
From Jack Harris: On the first day of spring training, at a Camelback Ranch facility adorned with ever-present reminders of the team’s 2024 World Series title, a Dodgers staff member took in the scene, then chuckled while reflecting on the club’s trek to a championship.
“Last year was not a fun year,” the staff member said. “At least, not until the end.”
Indeed, in the afterglow of the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the turbulent path getting there became easy to forget.
Last season’s Dodgers dealt with a wave of injuries to the pitching staff, inconsistencies in the lineup, and the club’s lowest full regular-season win total (98) in six years.
Fast-forward six months, and this year’s Dodgers find themselves in a similar place.
They are again navigating absences on the mound and in the bullpen over the last several weeks. Their offense has gone from leading the majors in scoring over the first half of the season, to suddenly sputtering over the last month and a half.
And after a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Monday, in the opener of a three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium, they are on pace for only 92 victories with a 68-51 record, clinging to what has dwindled to just a one-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.
Instead, the 37-year-old quarterback with a back issue was in a shiny metal Airstream-like trailer that sat next to the field and was emblazoned with the Ammortal logo. The chamber offers “absolute state of the art in restoration and rejuvenation,” according to the company’s website.
“It wasn’t anything specifically related to his back that he was doing in there,” coach Sean McVay said.
Hmm…
Stafford’s back, specifically what McVay has described as an aggravated disc, has been the overarching story for a Rams team that will be regarded as a Super Bowl contender if the 17-year pro is physically sound enough to lead them.
From Steve Henson: The pay is nonexistent, but the perk could be viewing games in the U.S., Mexico and Canada for free during the FIFA World Cup next summer.
FIFA launched the application process for the World Cup volunteers Monday. How many are needed? A staggering 65,000 across the 16 cities that will host the expanded 48-team format over 39 days beginning June 11, the largest volunteer program FIFA has ever attempted.
“Volunteers are the heart, soul and smile of FIFA tournaments,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “They get to show off their local pride, gain a behind-the-scenes view of the tournament and make memories and friendships that can last a lifetime, while supporting a historic event.
“We hope interested individuals will join us as we welcome the world to North America in 2026.”
Volunteers in the past ranged from students to seniors. No experience is required but applicants must be at least 18 years old. Interested individuals can apply at fifaworldcup.com/volunteers.
1876 — Madeleine wins two straight heats over Canada’s Countess of Dufferin to defend the America’s Cup.
1936 — Rosalind, driven by Ben White, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1937 — Shirley Hanover, driven by Henry Thomas, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1942 — The Ambassador, driven by Ben White, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in the third heat.
1953 — Helicopter, driven by Harry Harvey, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in the third heat.
1978 — Cold Comfort, driven by 23-year-old Peter Haughton, ties the International Trot mark of 2:31 3-5 at Roosevelt Raceway which makes Haughton the youngest driver to win the International.
1990 — Wayne Grady of Australia sheds his runner-up image with a 3-stroke victory over Fred Couples in the PGA Championship.
1995 — Ernie Els sets a PGA record with the lowest three-day score in a major. Els, with a 197, holds a three-stroke lead in the PGA Championship.
2000 — Evander Holyfield scores a 12-round unanimous decision over John Ruiz in Las Vegas to win the vacant WBA heavyweight title.
2007 — Tiger Woods captures the PGA Championship to win at least one major for the third straight season and run his career total to 13. Woods closes with a 1-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Woody Austin.
2008 — American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his 3rd of 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics when he takes the 200m freestyle in world record 1:42.96.
2011 — Tiger Woods misses the cut at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. With one final bogey for a 3-over 73, Woods finishes out of the top 100 for the first time ever in a major. He is 15 shots behind Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley.
2012 — The U.S. men’s basketball team defend its title by fighting off another huge challenge from Spain, pulling away in the final minutes for a 107-100 victory and its second straight Olympic championship. The victory by the men’s basketball team gives the United States its 46th gold medal in London, the most ever by Americans in a “road” Olympics.
2012 — Rory McIlroy breaks the PGA Championship record for margin of victory that Jack Nicklaus set in 1980. McIlroy sinks one last birdie from 25 feet on the 18th hole to give him a 6-under 66 for an eight-shot victory. McIlroy closes out a remarkable week by playing bogey-free over the final 23 holes of a demanding Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C.
2016 — Katie Ledecky caps off one of the greatest performances in Olympic history with her fourth gold medal and second world record, shattering her own mark in the 800-meter freestyle. Ledecky is the first woman since Debbie Meyer swept the three longer freestyle events at the same Olympics. Meyer took the 200, 400 and 800 at the 1968 Mexico Games.
2017 — Usain Bolt ends his stellar career in excruciating pain. The Jamaican great crumples to the track with a left-leg injury while chasing a final gold medal for the Jamaican 4×100-meter relay team at the world championships in London. Having to make up lots of ground on the anchor leg, Bolt suddenly screams and stumbles as he comes down with the first injury he has experienced at a major competition.
2018 — Brooks Koepka wins his first PGA Championship, playing poised and mistake-free golf down the stretch amid ear-splitting roars for Tiger Woods and a late charge from revitalized Adam Scott. Koepka becomes the fifth player to win the U.S. Open and the PGA in the same year.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1948 — In the second game of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns 26-3 with a 29-hit barrage. The Indians set a major league record as 14 players hit safely.
1964 — Mickey Mantle hit a home run both left- and right-handed in a 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. It was the 10th time in his career, a major league record.
1966 — Art Shamsky of the Cincinnati Reds connected for three home runs in a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field. Two of the homers came in the 10th and 11th innings.
1970 — Curt Flood lost his $41-million antitrust suit against baseball.
1974 — Nolan Ryan of the Angels set an American League record by striking out 19 in a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Ryan, who walked two, bettered the 18 strikeouts set by Bob Feller in 1938 and tied the major league record set by Steve Carlton in 1969 and Tom Seaver in 1970.
1984 — Perhaps one of the ugliest brawl-filled games in major league history took place in Atlanta. Atlanta’s Pascual Perez hit San Diego’s Alan Wiggins in the back with the first pitch of the game. It escalated as the Padres pitchers retaliated by throwing at Perez all four times he came to the plate. The game had two bench-clearing brawls, the second of which included several fans and 19 ejections including both managers and both replacement managers. The Braves beat the Padres 5-3. San Diego manager Dick Williams would be suspended for 10 days and fined $10,000 while Atlanta manager Joe Torre and five players each received three-game suspensions.
1986 — Don Baylor of the Boston Red Sox set an AL record when he was hit by a pitch for the 25th time for the season, breaking the record he had shared with Bill Freehan (1968) and Norm Elberfield (1911). Kansas City’s Bud Black was the pitcher as the Royals completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-5 victory.
1988 — The Boston Red Sox set an AL record with their 23rd straight victory at home, beating the Detroit Tigers 9-4. Boston surpassed the league mark of 22 set by the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.
1994 — Major league baseball players went on strike for the sport’s eighth work stoppage since 1972.
1998 — Alex Rodriguez becomes the fourth youngest player to 100 home runs in a 11-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
2010 — Casey McGehee set a franchise record with his ninth straight hit, going 4 for 4 and leading the Milwaukee Brewers to an 8-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. McGehee had a solo homer, a two-run double, an RBI single and another single.
2015 — Clayton Kershaw tied Sandy Koufax’s franchise record of six straight 200-strikeout seasons while tossing eight scoreless innings, and Los Angeles defeated Washington 3-0. Kershaw struck out the side in the second to equal the mark set by Koufax from 1961-66.
2015 — Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners throws a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Orioles. Iwakuma becomes the second Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter following Hideo Nomo.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Every man, woman and child deserves only the best fan experience at the Rose Bowl.
Too few are getting it, leading to dwindling UCLA football attendance over the last decade-plus.
The sad phenomenon is only partly attributable to mediocre teams. In 2022, the Bruins got off to a 6-0 start, rising to No. 9 in the national rankings, and still averaged just 41,593 fans for home games over the season.
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There’s an endless list of excuses for not making the drive to Pasadena. It’s too far. Traffic’s too bad. Games are too expensive. The weather’s too hot. The opponent is from the Sun Belt Conference. The Bruins are out of contention for anything meaningful. The game’s on a Friday. The game time wasn’t announced until less than a week before kickoff. The game starts too early. The game starts too late.
Since it’s not possible to move the stadium closer to campus or lower the temperature in August or September, we’re offering eight ways to make a day of Bruins football more enticing. Some of these suggestions might seem as realistic as moving the San Gabriel Mountains, but who ever imagined that UCLA would play in the Big Ten?
Give freebies: The best way to help fans stretch their entertainment dollar is to let them keep it.
Tickets are reasonably priced given they sometimes go for next to nothing on the secondary market and currently can be bought for as low as $43 for some games through UCLA, but how about offering free parking? Even if this is a cost the school has to subsidize, free parking would be a tremendous lure and goodwill gesture.
Students also should get in free. While student attendance has been robust since athletic director Martin Jarmond and his staff implemented several initiatives, it would make sense to have even more of the stadium packed with a segment of fans who tend to make the most noise and create the best atmosphere. It would also build lifelong loyalty and help pack the Rose Bowl with alumni in future seasons.
Eliminate six-day selection: Just tell us the kickoff times already. People need to plan their lives.
As of early August, the only home games with known kickoff times are the opener against Utah on Aug. 30, which starts at 8 p.m. (yikes), and a Friday game against New Mexico on Sept. 12 that starts at 7 p.m. (good luck getting to the Rose Bowl in weekday evening traffic).
The other four home games — against Penn State, Maryland, Nebraska and Washington — all come with the dreaded TBD tag.
The uncertainty is, of course, a function of television running the sports world, waiting for the best matchups to fill prime-time slots. Fox executives don’t want to miss out on possible surprises, such as undefeated Maryland coming to the Rose Bowl in mid-October to face nationally-ranked UCLA.
Some kickoff times will be announced once it becomes clear how good the Bruins are; others won’t be known until six days before the game. The indecisiveness hurts attendance given that many fans like to plan their schedules way more than a week in advance.
No more Friday night lights: This is something else that can be blamed on greedy TV execs and conference commissioners.
Fridays should be reserved for high school football, not college games that seem out of place. And the fans seem to agree.
Recent UCLA games played on Fridays haven’t generated big crowds. Even a showdown between unbeatens when the Bruins faced Washington in 2022 drew just 41,343.
When it comes to Friday college football games, just don’t do it.
Start every game in the afternoon or early evening: Nobody wants to be getting home from the Rose Bowl after midnight.
Games that start too late also miss one of the most glorious sites in college football: sunset over the San Gabriel Mountains.
Ideal kickoff times are early to mid-afternoon, which don’t make you set an alarm clock and allow you to get home in time to watch some game involving Hawaii or Boise State.
Bring in a live bear cub mascot: How much fun would it be to have a baby bear on the sideline at the Rose Bowl?
Imagine the possibilities involving “Fuzzy,” our preferred nickname. Snuggle with Fuzzy. Get your picture taken with Fuzzy. Put your fours up with Fuzzy.
Since we can feel the outrage from animal-rights activists, let’s point out that Colorado has a massive buffalo running onto the field at its home games and that UCLA once had its own live-bear mascots for games at the Coliseum into the early 1960s.
Attacked by a bear in 1932
(Los Angeles Times)
Fuzzy could probably only stick around for a season or two until he got too big and possibly tempted to chomp on someone (which actually happened in 1932). Then it would be time to introduce Fuzzy II.
Get the towel waver back on the sideline: In more than a century of UCLA football, Ed Kezirian holds the distinction of being the school’s only unbeaten coach.
OK, so he coached just one game, taking over for the Las Vegas Bowl in 2002 after the dismissal of Bob Toledo. But Kezirian is even more widely known for waving a white towel on the sideline to get players — and fans — juiced.
It was a tradition that started in 1994, coinciding with a missed Stanford field goal and a Bruins win, and formally ending in 2007 with Kezirian’s retirement as the football team’s director of academic services. It’s time to get those towels flapping again.
Wear more alternate uniforms: Fans love this stuff.
Need we remind you of all the uniform and helmet combinations at Oregon, where the Ducks sold out 110 consecutive games between 1999 and 2016?
Partnering with Nike and Jordan Brand means that there’s no shortage of cool (and marketable) possibilities for the Bruins when it comes to getting creative. Wearing all white uniforms or Gary Beban-era throwback blues once a season isn’t enough.
Bring back Geoffrey Strand on a limited basis:
Imagine the fourth quarter of a taut game, the Bruins needing to drive 75 yards for the go-ahead score against Penn State.
That would be the perfect time to unveil a secret, deafening weapon.
“All right, I need every man, woman and child on their feet!” Strand would yell through a microphone, triggering a huge roar.
The world’s oldest cheerleader hung up his tattered blue-and-yellow sweater and newsboy cap after the 2013 season, a year after he was briefly suspended for referencing the Taliban in cheers and allegedly using a golf cart without authorization.
But no one loves UCLA more, and no one could revitalize his alma mater quite like him.
Finding a new voice
Josh Lewin, UCLA’s lead radio announcer, has gone Hollywood.
Don’t worry, not in that way; he’s just taking a cue from his environment.
“This is L.A.” Lewin said, “and this is where creative things get made.”
Given an extended break in his schedule after calling his last Major League Baseball game in 2019, Lewin has pivoted to producing a series of soccer documentaries in his free time between the end of the Bruins men’s basketball season and the start of the football season.
His latest project, a series on Cambridge United Football Club’s attempt to extricate itself from hard times, will air its third and final segment Saturday on CBS Sports Network. It’s the sixth documentary that Lewin has produced, including others on English and American soccer.
“I’m building the airplane as I’m flying it — I mean, I never went to film school, never went to business school,” said Lewin, who earlier this year launched Josh Lewin Productions. “I really only trained to be a play-by-play guy and that’s been great, it’s made me a nice living and I love doing it, but this is just a really interesting way to learn how to connect with fans at kind of a deeper level.”
Lewin’s first project, “Five Dollar Derby,” pitted three American owners of English soccer teams against one another in a manner reminiscent of “Trading Places” — the owners placed a $5 bet among themselves to see who would fare the best. You can watch a trailer for “Five Dollar Derby” here.
When he started making documentaries, Lewin fully immersed himself in every aspect. He wrote, produced, directed, narrated and served as musical director — “everything but key grip,” he quipped — but has since ceded some of those duties to others with more experience to enhance the production quality.
“It’s been a really interesting side hustle, I guess you could call it,” Lewin said. “I’ve learned so much about soccer, England and filmmaking, three things that I really didn’t have on my plate before all this happened.”
After calling the Rams’ game against Dallas on Saturday at SoFi Stadium for Compass Media Network, Lewin will savor the airing of his soccer documentary before preparing to shift back into his usual work flow.
“That’s the perfect time to hit the pause button,” Lewin said, “because Bruins season begins exactly two weeks later and there are 19 new starters to learn about, so it’s time to shift back into Bruins mode.”
Olympic sport spotlight: Women’s soccer
UCLA women’s soccer coach Margueritte Aozasa gets water dumped on her after winning the Division I title in 2022.
(Eakin Howard / Getty Images)
Curt Cignetti, Indiana’s football coach, once said that he wins, just Google him.
Well, Margueritte Aozasa can top that.
She only wins championships, just check her assortment of trophies.
In her three seasons guiding UCLA’s women’s soccer team, Aozasa has won one NCAA championship and two conference titles, including a Big Ten tournament championship last season that made her team the first in UCLA history to take home a Big Ten title. The Bruins went on to reach the second round of the NCAA tournament.
UCLA should be back in contention for another national championship this season thanks in part to the return of skilled midfielder Emma Egizii and forward Lexi Wright, members of the 2022 national title team who were lost for much of last season because of injuries. Also returning are defender Nicki Fraser, the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year, and midfielder Val Vargas, who was a third-team all-conference selection a year ago.
Pulling it all together will be Aozasa, one of Jarmond’s best hires. Her team will be the first on campus to open the 2025-26 UCLA sports calendar when it travels to face Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Thursday.
Mount Rushmore results
Jonathan Ogden with his bust during the induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
(David Richard / Associated Press)
A mountain of a man might be the preeminent face of UCLA football.
Jonathan Ogden was the leading vote-getter in our Mount Rushmore of UCLA football survey, the 6-foot-9, 345-pound offensive tackle named on 282 of 417 ballots. The others who made the cut were coach Terry Donahue (named on 227 ballots) and quarterbacks Troy Aikman (191) and Gary Beban (182).
The next four were safety Kenny Easley (136), linebacker Jerry Robinson (100), coach Red Sanders (93) and halfback Jackie Robinson (82).
Others named on at least five ballots: Maurice Jones-Drew, DeShaun Foster, John Lee, Marcedes Lewis, Cade McNown, Jim Mora, Ken Norton Jr., Tommy Prothro, John Sciarra, JJ Stokes, Bob Toledo, Wendell Tyler and Dick Vermeil.
Opinion time
Which UCLA football player not named Nico Iamaleava will be the team’s most important in 2025? Is it offensive tackle Courtland Ford, part of an offensive line that must protect its new quarterback? How about running back Jaivian Thomas? Wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer? Defensive tackle Gary Smith III? Linebacker Isaiah Chisom?
The last time UCLA faced Utah in a season opener, the Bruins featured a highly touted quarterback making his first start with the program.
Sound familiar?
It was 2006, and Ben Olson, who had not started a game since his senior year at Thousand Oaks High in 2001 after making a Mormon mission, lived up to the five-star hype in shredding the Utes for 318 yards and three touchdowns. You can watch highlights from the game here. UCLA went on to finish 7-6, the season highlight coming in a 13-9 upset of second-ranked USC at the Rose Bowl.
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On the first day of spring training, at a Camelback Ranch facility adorned with ever-present reminders of the team’s 2024 World Series title, a Dodgers staff member took in the scene, then chuckled while reflecting on the club’s trek to a championship.
“Last year was not a fun year,” the staff member said. “At least, not until the end.”
Indeed, in the afterglow of the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the turbulent path getting there became easy to forget.
Last season’s Dodgers dealt with a wave of injuries to the pitching staff, inconsistencies in the lineup, and the club’s lowest full regular-season win total (98) in six years.
Fast-forward six months, and this year’s Dodgers find themselves in a similar place.
They are again navigating absences on the mound and in the bullpen over the last several weeks. Their offense has gone from leading the majors in scoring over the first half of the season, to suddenly sputtering over the last month and a half.
And after a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Monday, in the opener of a three-game Freeway Series at Angel Stadium, they are on pace for only 92 victories with a 68-51 record, clinging to what has dwindled to just a one-game lead in the National League West over the San Diego Padres.
Little fun. Lots of frustration.
Monday’s game was a lost cause from the start.
Despite getting an extra day of rest this week, after flipping places in the rotation with Tyler Glasnow for Sunday’s loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in one of his worst starts in the majors.
He gave up a home run to Zach Neto on his first pitch of the night, and another run later in the first inning after two walks (one of them on a missed third strike call from home plate umpire Dan Iassogna) and a Yoán Moncada single.
Then, in the fifth, his outing completely fell apart. Five of the first seven batters of the inning reached base (four singles and a hit by pitch). Four runs crossed the plate (including two on a Mike Trout single). And after Yamamoto walked his fifth batter with two outs, manager Dave Roberts was forced into an early hook, removing Yamamoto after 4⅔ innings and six runs (the most Yamamoto has yielded in his 41-game MLB career).
The Dodgers’ lineup didn’t do much better.
Over the first six innings, they failed to figure out Angels right-hander José Soriano and his upper-90s mph sinker, managing just two hits while striking out six times.
By the time they finally put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, the deficit had grown to 7-0 on Neto’s second home run of the night (this time off Alexis Diaz). And even then, they came up empty, with Alex Freeland grounding into an inning-ending double-play against former Dodgers reliever Luis García with the bases loaded.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto runs the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning Monday night.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
Eighth-inning home runs from Shohei Ohtani (his 42nd of the season, and the 100th of his career at his old home stadium in Anaheim) and Max Muncy (a three-run drive inside the right-field foul pole) put the Dodgers on the board at long last.
But it was far too little, much too late — allowing the Angels (57-62) to improve to 4-0 against the Dodgers this season after sweeping a series at Chavez Ravine back in May.
When coupled with Sunday’s maddening loss to Toronto (a defeat that left Roberts outwardly perturbed in his postgame news conference), the last 48 hours have represented another backward step in a Dodgers’ campaign that is quickly growing full of them.
It has zapped whatever momentum was building after the team’s two series-opening victories against the AL East-leading Blue Jays last weekend. It has dropped the club to 12-19 since the Fourth of July, the fifth-worst record in the majors over that span. And, most consequentially, it has opened the door for the Padres (who have won three in a row and five out of six) to potentially take the division lead ahead of their visit to Dodger Stadium on Friday.
The only silver lining: The Dodgers overcame similar struggles last year, doing just enough down the stretch to win the division and march all the way to an unlikely championship.
But they were hoping to avoid such headaches this season, and mount a more enjoyable defense of their title.
With less than two months remaining in the season, that dream has come and gone.
The Dodgers can still win another World Series. But the road to this point has been anything but fun.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Winning two of three doesn’t feel as good when you lose the third game. But beating the team with the American League‘s best record two of three is good.
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Random thoughts
—We could talk about the bullpen again, but really, there’s nothing new to talk about. Just waiting for Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol to get healthy. And there are no guarantees then. The last two World Series the Dodgers won, there was a starting pitcher on the mound in relief for the final out. Closer Clayton Kershaw anyone?
—Kopech, Scott and Yates threw bullpen sessions Friday.
—Bobby Miller has been moved to the bullpen in the minors, because he was still having trouble as a starter. Since moving to the bullpen: Six innings pitched, no hits, no runs, one walk, five strikeouts. He could end up as a valuable bullpen addition.
—Roki Sasaki is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment with Oklahoma City this week. The plan is to build him up to five innings before he returns.
—Hyeseong Kim has resumed baseball activities and will start a rehab assignment possibly this week.
—Tommy Edman should return when rosters expand in September.
—Shohei Ohtani has 41 home runs this season. The list of Dodgers who have had 40-home-run seasons:
5 times Duke Snider (1953-57)
2 times Shawn Green (2001-02) Gil Hodges (1951, 1954) Shohei Ohtani (2024-25)
Once Cody Bellinger (2019) Adrian Beltré (2004) Roy Campanella (1953) Mike Piazza (1997) Gary Sheffield (2000)
Ohtani has the season record with 54 last season. He is on pace for 56 this year.
—Ohtani has scored 111 runs this season. It is the 54th time a Dodger has scored at least 111 runs. The top 11 in runs scored since 1901:
—That points to one reason Ohtani bats leadoff. He gets on base more often, so he scores more often. Yes, he’d probably drive in more if he batted lower, but he’d also score fewer runs. Is it a fair trade-off? Well, they won the World Series with him there last season.
—The Dodgers surprised many by bringing outfielder Justin Dean up from the minors last week, sending Esteury Ruiz down.
Dean was a 17th-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2018. He played in the minors for the Braves, and in the Mexican League, before signing with the Dodgers as a minor league free agent before this season. It has been a long road for Dean, 28.
“I had thoughts that maybe it’s not for me,” Dean told Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider. “It’s not for everybody. So I definitely had those thoughts. But I don’t know what else I would do, so I’m going to keep doing this. And my parents really encouraged me to continue to do it. They’re my backbone and who I would fall back on when things didn’t feel right, and they just continued to push for me and continued to pray for me.”
So why did the Dodgers call him up instead of other, younger players with better offensive numbers? One word, a word that has been missing in a lot of the Dodgers’ outfield this season: defense.
“Justin is a really plus, plus center fielder,” Dave Roberts told reporters. “So we’re just giving him a look out there as a defensive replacement, to pinch run, be a guy off the bench that we think there’s a lot of utility in that.”
We forget sometimes the struggles some of these players go through to reach the majors. Players such as Ohtani make it look so easy and glamorous. It’s easy to forget that for some guys it can be a grind, with many never making it. So give Dean a couple of extra seconds of applause the next time you see him.
—Since saying in Friday’s newsletter that Mookie Betts should be moved down in the order, Betts has gone five for 14 (.313) with a home run and five RBIs. I must remember to use the power of the newsletter for good and not evil.
—I get a couple hundred emails after each newsletter. I try to respond to as many as I can. If I don’t respond to yours, forgive me. I read them all, and appreciate them all, even the ones who disagree with me. Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of emails a bit anxious over the fact that the Dodgers are striking out so much. So, are they striking out more than usual? Let’s look at the strikeout percentage for each batter this season, compared to career norms. We’ll focus on the 13 Dodgers with the most plate appearances.
The average strikeout percentage for a player in the majors this season is 21.9%. In 1988, just to go back to a season we all remember fondly, the rate was 14.7% (and that was with the pitcher batting for almost half the teams).
Striking out less this season Max Muncy, -5%, 21.3%, 26.3%, 24.4% Teoscar Hernández, -3.9%, 24.9%, 28.8%, 29.2% Andy Pages, -3.6%, 20.8%, 24.4%, 22.6% Tommy Edman, -2.4%, 17.2%, 19.6%, 16.7% Michael Conforto, -1.2%, 23%, 24.2%, 23.7% Will Smith, -0.1%, 19.2%, 19.3%, 18.6% Mookie Betts, 0, 11%, 11%, 13.5%
Team strikeout % this year: 21.4% Team strikeout % last year: 22%
So, the Dodgers are actually striking out less often this year, and it’s pretty consistent across the board, no matter the game situation.
The only two people who are truly having a bad strikeout year are Freeman, who has already struck out more times this season than last season, and Kiké. Ohtani is close to career norms, and Rojas is striking out more, but still far less than most. They’ve scored 5.18 runs per game this season, 5.20 last season. If the Dodgers don’t win it all this season, it probably won’t be because of strikeouts, even if Ohtani did have a crucial strikeout with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a one-run loss to Toronto on Sunday. The final pitch was out of the strike zone.
—Dave Robertsgave a rare criticism of Ohtani after the game: “The last thing I was thinking was he was going to strikeout. We’ve got to come up with one right there. Chasing the ball down is something we can’t have happen.”
—The Dodgers travel all the way to Orange County to take on the Angels for three games starting tonight. For those of you wishing for a cheaper way to go to a Dodger game without a big traffic hassle getting in and out of the stadium, now is your chance.
—If the postseason started today, these would be the 12 teams to qualify:
NL 1. Milwaukee 2. Philadelphia 3. Dodgers 4. Chicago 5. San Diego 6. New York
AL 1. Toronto 2. Detroit 3. Houston 4. Seattle 5. Boston 6. New York
The top two teams in each league get a first-round bye. The other four teams in each league play in the best-of-three wild-card round, with No. 3 hosting all three games against No. 6, and No. 4 hosting all three against No. 5.
The division winners are guaranteed to get the top three seeds, even if a wild-card team has a better record.
In the best-of-five second round, No. 1 hosts the No. 4-5 winner and No. 2 hosts the No. 3-6 winner. That way the No. 1 seed is guaranteed not to play a divisional winner until the LCS.
It would behoove the Dodgers to finish in the top two in the NL.
These names seem familiar
A look at how some prominent Dodgers from the last few seasons are doing with their new team (through Saturday). Click on the player name to be taken to the baseball-reference page with all their stats.
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. The Times begins a nine-part series previewing Southern California’s top high school football players Tuesday. In a final sneak peek, let’s look at defensive backs and kickers/punters.
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Secondary power
Oregon commit Davon Benjamin of Oaks Christian returned three interceptions for touchdowns last season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The hardest projection this coming season involves which school has the best secondary. That’s how much depth and talent some teams have at defensive back.
Sierra Canyon has two USC commits, Madden Riordan and Brandon Lockhart, plus an LSU commit, Havon Finney Jr., and a terrific junior safety, Myles Baker.
Gardena Serra is loaded with Duvay Williams, Marcellous Ryan,Wesley Arce and Devohn Moutra Jr. Mater Dei has Cory Lavender, Aaryn Washington and Ace Leutele. St. John Bosco counters with USC commit Josh Holland, standout junior safety Isala Wiley-Ava and improving junior cornerback Dorian Franklin.
Murrieta Valley has the Johnson brothers, Derrick Johnson Jr., an Oklahoma commit, and junior Darius Johnson. Long Beach Poly has juniors Julius Johnson and Donte Wright Jr. Rancho Cucamonga has cornerbacks Joshua Mensah and Justin Lewis, both committed to UCLA.
There’s top defensive backs throughout the region, from Jeron Jones of Mission Viejo to Davon Benjamin of Oaks Christian. Sophomore Jalen Flowers of Palos Verdes is coming off an exceptional freshman season and keeps getting better and better. Sophomore Jordan Slye Jr. of Salesian is someone to keep your eye on because of his athleticism and size. Sophomore Micah Hannah of Simi Valley already has proven himself as a freshman.
They can kick
San Pedro junior kicker Dylan Moreno was seven of nine on field goals last season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The band of kickers and punters keeps getting better aided by an army of private coaches.
Aiden Migirdichian of Orange Lutheran was nine of nine on field goals last season. Jacob Kreinberg of Loyola could be doing double duty after making 11 field goals.
Dylan Moreno of San Pedro is headed for All-City honors for his accuracy. Oscar Reyes Ramirez of Hemet returns after making 15 field goals as a junior. Jackson Shevin of Mira Costa is headed toward averaging better than 40 yards on punts. Washington commit CJ Wallace of St. John Bosco reaches his senior year ready for a big season.
Sophomore Jerry Shifman has left Agoura for Mater Dei and junior Carter Sobel has left Chaminade for Sierra Canyon. Each has shown strong kicking skills. Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake is a junior who figures to receive lots of kicking opportunities. Carter Montgomery of Claremont holds a school-record 48-yard field goal.
Top 25 preseason rankings
Mater Dei coach Raul Lara receives Division 1 championship plaque after win over St. John Bosco last season.
(Craig Weston)
Drum roll, please. The Times’ top 25 preseason football rankings are out, and Mater Dei starts out as the No. 1 team.
The Monarchs went unbeaten last season and there’s no reason they can’t go unbeaten again. Their receiving group is exceptional but there are top players throughout positions.
Los Alamitos and Inglewood will open the football season on Friday night at Inglewood in an official game a week ahead of most schools. Los Alamitos has a game scheduled in Hawaii on Aug. 22, so it gets to have a double zero week game. Simi Valley is playing Spanish Springs at Simi Valley. Santa Monica is traveling to Honolulu to play Kaimuki on Saturday.
Long Beach Millikan is also opening on Friday in Nevada against Foothill in Henderson. Most schools will be playing scrimmages this week, such as Corona Centennial hosting Sierra Canyon on Thursday night. Scrimmages are considered practices, so players who won’t be eligible because of a sit-out transfer period are allowed to play.
The Moore League, led by Millikan and Long Beach Poly, held its first media preview session. Here’s a report.
The Meeker twins, quarterback Liam (left) and receiver Luke, are key players for Mira Costa.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Mira Costa is turning to twins Liam and Luke Meeker, surfer and football dudes. Here’s a report.
The Tri County League held a media day in Ventura. Here’s a report.
The Marmonte League held its media day at Oaks Christian. Here’s a report.
Narbonne is engaged in another rebuilding year after an exodus of players because the team is banned from the playoffs for the next three years. Here’s a report.
Dymally has canceled its scheduled season opener against Palisades on Aug. 22 for lack of players.
Orange Lutheran quarterback Makena Cook throws a pass.
(Steve Galluzzo For The Times)
The flag football season has begun with new rules and new pressure on quarterbacks to adapt to having defensive players only one yard away from the line of scrimmage to start a play instead of seven yards.
Jesic to Nelson for first ever TD in sports history. Jesic follows up with a pick six and then the dynamic due Jesick to Nelson strikes again! 18-0 over Calabasas with 2:50 left in the first quarter pic.twitter.com/1O6VvOQaE5
Panorama has some key players returning and could be a factor in the City Section. Here’s a report.
Anthony Barr retires
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Anthony Barr (51) warms up in 2022.
(Ashley Landis/AP)
Former Loyola High, UCLA and NFL linebacker Anthony Barr, 33, has retired from football.
His coach at Loyola in 2009, Jeff Kearin, said, “He was real pleasure to coach. High level and high profile and he knew his hard work would get him to where he wanted to be. Never felt a need to thump his own chest or transfer three times to feed his own ego. And believe me, the sharks were swimming around. His mom and family were well grounded. Different time. And different kind of guy.”
Transfers in California during the 2024-25 school year totaled 17,041, according to CIF stats. That’s down from the record 17,068 the previous school year. . . .
Final totals are in for prep sports transfers in California for 2024-25. For second straight year, they exceeded 17,000. Last year was a record 17,068. This past school year, it was 17,041. Southern Section led the way with 7,139. City Section had 1,085. San Francisco had 163.
The CIF announced a record number of students — more than 820,000 — participated in high school sports during the last school year in California. . . .
Brock Livingston, Crespi’s long-time lacrosse coach, has resigned to move back east to take care of his family. . . .
Max Luchs is the new boys lacrosse coach at Chaminade. . . .
Mater Dei and Santa Margarita have won the Southern Section Commissioner’s Cup for boys and girls sports as the top athletic programs for 2024-25. . . .
Pitcher Grayson Martin of Temecula Valley has committed to Cal Baptist. . . .
The girls volleyball season begins this weekend with teams traveling to Hawaii for the Ann King Invitational. Top teams entered include Mira Costa, Sierra Canyon, Redondo Union, JSerra, Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach and Harvard-Westlake. . . .
Golfer Hill Wang from La Serna has committed to Pepperdine. . . .
Standout girls soccer and flag football quarterback Makena Cook of Orange Lutheran has committed to Georgia. . . .
Pitcher Juju Diaz-Jones from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to Cal. . . .
Junior pitcher Roy Kim from Great Oak has committed to Stanford. . . .
Softball pitcher Liliana Escobar of JSerra has committed to Florida. . . .
Outfielder Ethan Price of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Santa Clara. . . .
Cory Skinner is the new softball coach at Chaminade. . . .
Standout junior guard Grayson Coleman is leaving Calabasas for Milken. His father, Ryan, will take over the Milken program after being head coach for many years at Shalhevet. . . .
Incoming Harvard-Westlake freshman baseball players Louis Lappe and Mateo Mier have made the U.S. 15U national baseball team. Also selected was Mira Costa sophomore Kekoa Delatori. Lappe was the hero on El Segundo’s championship Little League team in 2023. They will compete at the U-15 Pan American Championship in Mexico Sept. 13-18. . . .
Former Mira Costa and UCLA third baseman Kyle Karros made his major league debut for the Colorado Rockies on Friday and got a single and RBI in his first at-bat.
From the archives: Giancarlo Stanton
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame baseball coach Tom Dill with his former pupil, Giancarlo Stanton.
Stanton will go down as one of the three greatest athletes in Southern California high school history, having been All-CIF in football, basketball and baseball.
From FIBA basketball, a story that shows former Harvard-Westlake guard Robert Hinton playing for Taiwan.
From Gpb.org, a story on a high school in Georgia opening its $62 million stadium.
From Newstribune.com, a story on a high school football player in Tacoma who got too big to be a UFC fighter.
Tweets you might have missed
The fan who hit the home run as a walk-on player was former Thousand Oaks standout Eli Steinhaus, who happens to play Division III baseball at Lewis & Clark. A great ringer. https://t.co/2hGCihzDXb
The Coliseum has confirmed that San Fernando’s football team will play Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley Classic on Friday, Oct. 17. There also will be JV boys game and girls flag football game on the same day at the Coliseum.
Thank you to the Los Angeles Dodgers @Dodgers and Bosco Baseball alum, Nomar Garciaparra for recognizing our accomplishments this 2025 season. First-class treatment from a first-class organization! pic.twitter.com/vGZQawDe9G
David Hilton, the parent of a Loyola football player, was planning to address Southern Section Executive Committee today. Then his son broke his leg last night. Here’s what he was going to say. pic.twitter.com/eTVCBDAAtu
The Los Angeles-based Dodgers Dreamteam won the RBI World Series 13-15 division in Florida with 5-2 win over Detroit. Lennex Minor tossed two innings of shutout relief with three strikeouts. Marc James had two RBIs. Minor finished with nine RBIs in the tournament.
Let me be blunt. I don’t write about players simply because they have stars next to their name. I write about people who are good players, good students, good teammates, good citizens. That’s my mission.
Serra at Servite scrimmage on Thursday at 5 pm. I’ll never forget the best scrimmage I ever went to between the two teams years ago. There were so many future pros. Most intensity ever for a scrimmage.
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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Sunday was one of those cloudless late-summer Dodger Stadium afternoons in which the flags in center field stirred lazily in the slight breeze and the air felt far hotter than the thermometer said.
The temperature was 83 degrees at the matinee’s first pitch, yet many fans crowded into the top rows of the reserved and loge levels and stood atop the outfield pavilions in search of shade from an unrelenting sun that hovered directly overhead.
As for the Dodgers, they were just as hot as the weather until the bullpen gate swung open at the start of the eighth inning Sunday, with relievers Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia giving up three solo home runs in the span of six batters in a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The deciding run scored when second baseman Ernie Clement drove Vesia’s first pitch over the wall in left field for this eighth homer of the season, ruining another splendid outing from starter Tyler Glasnow and a big offensive day from Shohei Ohtani, who reached base four times before striking out against reliever Mason Fluharty with the bases loaded in the ninth.
Mookie Betts followed by grounding into a force out, the second time in as many innings the Dodgers left the bases loaded. The Dodgers had 10 hits and 13 walks on the afternoon but were one for 10 with runners in scoring position, stranding 16.
Even more important: The loss, combined with the Padres’ win over the Boston Red Sox in San Diego, cut the Dodgers’ lead in the National League West to two games.
The Blue Jays came to Los Angeles after a three-game sweep of the Rockies in Colorado in which they scored 45 runs and had 63 hits. Against the Dodgers, Toronto scored just three times and had just 17 hits entering the fifth inning. Glasnow did his part, giving up two runs and four hits through 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight. It was his fifth stellar start in six outings since returning from an inflamed shoulder last month and he left with a 3-2 lead, the first time since his first start of the season in March that he left a game with a chance at a win.
But the bullpen couldn’t hold it, with Treinen giving up back-to-back homers to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger with one out in the eighth. After the Dodgers came back to tie the score on a bases-loaded walk to Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the inning, Vesia gave the lead right back in the ninth.
Glasnow, as he has all season, deserved a better fate. He has given up more than two runs just once in his last nine starts and has given up just 20 hits in 34 2/3 innings since returning from the injured list. Yet he has little positive to show for it, with nine of his 11 starts ending with no decision despite a 3.06 ERA and .172 opponents’ batting average.
“I really like the way that he’s got the blinders on it, and nothing’s affecting him,” Dodger manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “To say a player, specifically Tyler, is unflappable is a big compliment, and I think that that’s something he’s worked on because he gets emotional.
“There’s things that you can’t control at times, and his ability to kind of lock back in, he’s been really, really impressive.”
Glasnow got off to a slow start, getting an out on his first pitch then missing the strike zone on five of his next six before Guerrero — who came in hitting .364 lifetime against Glasnow — drove a run-scoring double to the wall in center field.
But by the time Glasnow came out to start the second inning, he had a lead. Ohtani evened the score, lining his 23rd career leadoff home run into the right-field bleachers to run his hitting streak to nine games, matching his season high. Two outs later, Freeman put the Dodgers in front, slicing an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left-center for his 14th homer of the season.
Glasnow, who continued to struggle with his control, nearly gave the lead back, loading the bases on two walks sandwiched around a double by Joey Loperfido. But after a mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior, the right-hander got Nathan Lukes to ground into an inning-ending double play.
That allowed the Dodgers to extend their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second when Freeman walked with the bases loaded.
Glasnow wouldn’t be in trouble again until the sixth, when Bo Bichette led off with a single and came around to score on a two-out flare to right by Ty France, cutting the lead to 3-2. That drove Glasnow from the mound an out short of the seventh inning.
The Dodgers missed a chance to add to that lead shortly after Glasnow left when Ohtani was thrown out at third on the front end of a double steal with two on and two out and Freeman at the plate to end the sixth. That proved costly when Treinen, the fourth reliever summoned to close out the game, coughed on the lead on the back-to-back homers.
Freeman wouldn’t be denied his next opportunity, drawing his second bases-loaded walk of the game, and the fourth walk of the inning, on a full-count pitch to tie the score with two out in the eighth.
But while the Dodgers would load the bases again the ninth, they would get no more.
It took until August, but the starting rotation the Dodgers envisioned in spring training is intact and delivering.
Vowing not to revisit the predicament they found themselves in last postseason, when only two true starters and a stacked bullpen somehow patched together enough innings to win a World Series, the Dodgers added two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell to a rotation that already boasted four potential aces and several other candidates coming off injuries or ascending from the minor leagues.
Snell complained of shoulder inflammation April 2 after his second start and took his sweet time recovering — four months, to be precise. But if his performance against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium is a fair indication, the wait was worthwhile.
Snell struck out 10 in five scoreless innings of a 9-1 Dodgers victory, living up to the Snellzilla nickname he stole from his older brother as a brash 11-year-old and still uses as his Instagram handle. In two starts since coming off the injured list, the left-hander has 18 strikeouts in 10 innings.
The Dodgers offense was fueled by the long ball early on, with Max Muncy belting a two-run, opposite-field home run in the fourth inning and Shohei Ohtani absolutely crushing his 40th homer of the season 417 feet to dead center in the fifth with nobody on base.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits his 40th home run of the season Saturday against the Blue Jays.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
A six-run rally an inning later put the game away. Two hit batters and two walks set the table, and Dalton Rushing and Mookie Betts each delivered two-run singles with none out. Andy Pages drove in the last two with a two-out double, his second hit of the inning.
The win was the second in a row against Toronto (68-50), which remain in first place in the American League East. The series concludes Sunday with another formidable starter — Tyler Glasnow — taking the mound for the Dodgers (68-49).
Glasnow took a similar if less pronounced path than Snell this season, going on the injured list before the end of April and not returning until July 9. He has given up only one run in four of his five starts since returning and most recently went seven strong innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s clear that Snell and Glasnow are healthy, their arms as fresh and live as would be expected coming out of spring training. The same is true of Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw, two future Hall of Famers whose recoveries from injuries also were methodical and unhurried. Both are pitching well.
And so is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the only starter whose health hasn’t cost him time off. He’s made 22 starts, going 10-7 with a 2.51 earned-run average and leads National League starters with eight scoreless outings.
The Dodgers employ a sixth starter to give Ohani and Yamamoto five to seven days off between starts. The job belonged to Dustin May until he was traded to the Red Sox at the deadline, creating an opportunity for Emmet Sheehan, who was impressive over 60 innings as a rookie in 2023, but had Tommy John surgery in May 2024.
He’s pitched well, posting a 3.00 ERA over 30 innings, giving the Dodgers a luxury they haven’t enjoyed in recent memory: trotting out a starting pitcher every night that can prevent runs through the middle innings.
That leaves the bullpen to finish the job, and injuries and inconsistency continue to riddle the relief corps. Roberts said help is on the way, with several key relievers on the mend. If they return as effective as the starters, pitching could be a Dodgers strength entering the postseason.
At the end of the 2019 minor-league season, Alex Call looked at his hitting numbers, then looked himself in the mirror.
A former third-round draft pick who had already changed organizations once, he knew he had just had the kind of year that typically portends a short professional career.
As a 24-year-old outfielder at the double-A level in the Cleveland Guardians organization, Call had taken 325 plate appearances that year with the Akron RubberDucks. In 93 of them — a rate of nearly 30% — he recorded a strikeout.
It wasn’t the only ugly stat in a season that saw Call bat just .205, reach base at a .266 clip and hit only five home runs. But it was the biggest sign of a fundamental flaw plaguing the right-handed hitter’s game.
“That,” he recalled recently, while reflecting on what became a turning point moment in his career, “just wasn’t gonna get it done.”
Six years later, Call joined the Dodgers as a trade deadline addition last week with a polar opposite reputation. Now, the defensively versatile outfielder is one of the harder outs in all the majors. Since the start of last season, his .297 batting average ranks eighth among MLB hitters with at least 350 plate appearances. More important, over that same span, he ranks top 60 in strikeout rate and walk rate (with a 55-to-39 ratio overall), and 22nd in chase rate; consistently putting together some of the better at-bats in all the sport.
“This guy’s just a straight grinder, works at-bats,” general manager Brandon Gomes said after the Dodgers acquired Call from the Washington Nationals in exchange for two pitching prospects. “Playing against him, he’s always incredibly frustrating to try to game plan for and get out.”
“I’ve faced Alex a few times,” added future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw. “He’s tough against lefties, a great defender. A good add, for sure.”
The Dodgers, of course, could have made splashier adds at the deadline. They were linked to All-Star caliber names, including Steven Kwan of the Guardians, but didn’t splurge to pay such inflated deadline prices.
Instead, they settled for Call, who was a smaller name but came with team control through 2029. They put their faith in his overhauled offensive skill set, hopeful a personal transformation more than half-a-decade in the making will make him a key piece in their pursuit of a second straight World Series title.
“That is my whole game,” Call said on the day he arrived with the club. “I am going to grind out at-bats, put the ball in play, take my walks, make it tough on the pitcher, lengthen out the lineup.”
The origins of that mindset date to that 2019 season, and the pandemic-altered year that followed.
Entering 2020, Call committed to a change at the plate. In what was a crowded pipeline of outfielders in the Guardians system — highlighted at that time by Kwan, who has since blossomed into one of the best left fielders in the game — he recognized he needed a new identity. If he was going to reach the majors, it was going to start with simply working better at-bats.
“It’s a bad feeling,” he said, “having a cloud hanging over your head after a season like that.”
The only problem: COVID-19 came, the 2020 minor league season was canceled, and Call (like so many other minor-league long shots clinging to big-league dreams) was left effectively on his own.
So, he found different ways to improve his bat.
As the baseball world shut down, Call bought a portable Junior Hack Attack hitting machine with a self-feeding ball dispenser. And everywhere he went that year — from spring training housing in Phoenix to his childhood home in Wisconsin to his family’s offseason residence in Indiana — he sought out any place “I could find a hitting cage and an outlet” to use it, he said laughing.
His focus was simple. Work on hitting fastballs up in the strike zone. Eliminate what had been one of the biggest holes in his swing.
“For me, it’s just about having that mentality to where, it doesn’t matter if I have two strikes or if it’s an 0-0 count,” he said. “Believe I’m comfortable in every situation. I’m going to put the ball in play.”
By that winter, Call sought out a more advanced piece of training technology as well.
Over the previous couple years, a company called Win Reality had begun manufacturing virtual reality hitting goggles — using data-driven models, actual video and computer-generated images to recreate virtual at-bats against real pitchers from a hitter’s point of view inside Oculus-style headsets.
A handful of MLB teams, including the Dodgers, had invested in the system for their teams. In the months leading up to the 2021 season, Call decided to do the same for himself, buying the $300 product (and paying for its annual $200 software program) to help couple his new swing with a more discerning approach.
“[I was] just really practicing the zone,” Call said. “Knowing what pitches are my strengths and what pitches I don’t want to swing at until two strikes. Developing that plan and developing that approach.”
The training paid off.
At the start of the 2021 season, Call was sent back to double-A Akron. When he arrived, he was informed by manager Rouglas Odor that he would only be slated to play 2-3 games per week — a quick reminder of how far down the organization depth chart he’d fallen.
“I remember him being very disappointed,” Odor, now the Guardians’ big-league third-base coach, recalled this week. “But he took ownership of his career, and didn’t let what I told him affect him.”
Call’s chance arrived that May, after Kwan went down with a hamstring injury. And almost immediately, his COVID-year changes took effect. Over 180 plate appearances, Call hit .310, drew 21 walks and — just as he’d hoped — cut his strikeout rate by half, punching out only 26 times.
“He was a totally different hitter,” said Odor, who had also been Call’s manager during his dismal 2019 campaign. “Defensively, he was already to play in the big leagues. He made some unbelievable plays … But offensively, he found his stroke. His plate discipline was more consistent. And he had an unbelievable season.”
By the end of the season, Call had been promoted to triple-A. The next July, he earned a promotion to the majors.
The ascent from there wasn’t linear. In August 2022, he was designated for assignment and claimed off waivers by the Nationals. In 2023, he played in 128 big-league games but hit only .200, sending him back to triple-A for most of last year.
Alex Call bats against the Houston Astros on July 28 as a member of the Washington Nationals.
(Karen Warren / Associated Press)
Still, his plate discipline didn’t waver (he struck out only 78 times in his 439 plate appearances in 2023, an 18% rate, while also drawing 53 walks). His VR routine only became more ingrained, seeing upward of 54,000 simulated pitches (or, essentially 25 seasons’ worth of throws) through his headset each year, as he told the Washington Post last month.
It all has clicked over the last calendar year, with Call following up a productive return to the majors at the end of 2024 with his best full-season performance this term.
“The type of player that I am, I can hit the ball over the fence, but it’s not really my full game,” Call said. “So for me, it was about trying to create as many opportunities to get on base as possible … I have to be able to hit the ball at good angles.”
Call is one of only four players with at least 200 plate appearances this season (along with Kyle Tucker, Gleyber Torres and Geraldo Perdomo) who strikes out less than 15% of the time, chases less than 20% of the time and whiffs less than 20% of the time. He has hit .236 with two strikes (better than everyone else on the Dodgers except Hyeseong Kim).
He had his first standout game with the Dodgers on Wednesday, when he singled, doubled and made a catch while crashing into the left-field wall to save an extra-base hit.
Eight at-bats into his Dodgers career entering Friday’s game, he has also yet to strike out once.
“I’m always proud of players like Alex, because he wasn’t this big prospect, but he became an everyday big-league player,” Odor said. “He had the urgency to make something happen in order to reach his goal, and his dream.”
And now, Call is aiming to take his career one step further — to be not just a productive big-league bat, but one capable of playing an impactful role on a title-contending club in Los Angeles.
“I always knew that I could do it and be an established major leaguer,” Call said. “It’s just, sometimes it takes a little bit of time. And I’m grateful that I was given that time, and just continued to get better.”
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. My third grandchild, Paisley, was born this week. Things like that give Brock Stewart pitching poorly the proper perspective.
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The Dodgers season was going along just fine. We had grown accustomed to the pitching doing poorly, and being injured, and were just waiting for the start of the postseason. But, no, the Dodgers had to thrown in a new wrinkle: The offense is now terrible too.
So what has happened to the offense? Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández stopped hitting. Max Muncy was injured. It seemed that only Will Smith could still get the key hits when needed.
Let’s take a look at the team’s hitting in July:
Alex Freeland, 1 for 2 Will Smith, .349/.461/.587, 22 for 63, 3 doubles, 4 homers, 7 RBIs, 12 walks, 15 K’s Michael Conforto, .273/.342/.485, 18 for 66, 5 doubles, 3 homers, 7 RBIs, 6 walks, 15 K’s Freddie Freeman, .253/.327/.352, 23 for 91, 6 doubles, 1 homer, 13 RBIs, 9 walks, 32 K’s Miguel Rojas, .250/.361/.481, 13 for 52, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs, 9 walks, 9 K’s Andy Pages, .247/.299/.382, 22 for 89, 3 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBIs, 6 walks, 26 K’s Teoscar Hernández, .232/.284/.362, 3 doubles, 2 homers, 11 RBIs, 5 walks, 20 K’s Mookie Betts, .205/.261/.325, 17 for 83, 4 doubles, 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 6 walks, 14 K’s Shohei Ohtani, .204/.321/.505, 19 for 93, 1 double, 9 homers, 19 RBIs, 16 walks, 32 K’s Hyeseong Kim, .193/.207/.211, 11 for 57, 1 double, 3 RBIs, 1 walk, 24 K’s Esteury Ruiz, .190/.261/.333, 4 for 21, 1 homer, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 8 K’s Dalton Rushing, .179/.200/.214, 5 for 28, 1 double, 2 RBIs, 8 K’s Tommy Edman, .156/.239/.230, 2 homers, 6 RBIs, 5 walks, 15 K’s James Outman, .067/.176/.133, 1 for 15, 1 double, 1 walk, 5 K’s Max Muncy, 0 for 5 Kiké Hernández, 0 for 9 Team, .226/.302/.375, 31 doubles, 30 homers, 80 walks, 226 K’s, 3.79 runs per game
That’s pretty brutal (however, note how well Conforto has been hitting for over a month now). Let’s look at the team rankings in July among the 30 MLB teams:
They were last in doubles and triples, 15th in home runs.
Things have picked up slightly in August. Freeman is hitting .458 with power, Ohtani is hitting .400, Teoscar is hitting .250 with power. The only one still not hitting is Betts, who is hitting .174 in August. They are only 3-3 in August and are 13-17 over their last 30 games.
Betts is having the worst season of his career, and it’s not even close. Let’s look at his OPS+ each season (remember, OPS+ compares a hitter to the league average. An OPS+ of 120 means the hitters is 20% better than league average, an OPS+ of 80 means they were 30% worse.
His best season, 2018, was the year he won AL MVP with the Red Sox.
With the move to shortstop, the Dodgers have gone from having a perennial Gold Glove and MVP candidate in right field, to an average (at best) fielding, below-average hitter at shortstop. I checked at Baseball Reference, and looked for Dodgers shortstops who had a career OPS+ near 85 and similar fielding stats. The answer: Greg Gagne and Bill Russell.
And, when you think about it, Betts is playing about the same as Russell did, only 50 years later in a much different game.
Betts talked to Times columnist Dylan Hernández before and after Tuesday’s game, and had some interesting quotes. Betts said it wasn’t the position switch or the illness just as the season began that triggered his slump. It started when Betts broke his left hand in June last season.
“I really haven’t been right since I came back from my hand last year,” Betts said. “Think about it. Go and look at it. I haven’t been right since.”
OK, so let’s look at it.
Before his hand was broken, Betts was hitting .304/.405/.488 last season. After that, he hit .263/.314/.497. Lower average, a lot fewer walks, but more power. He hit .290 in the postseason with five doubles and four homers.
Then there’s this season, where he has fallen off a cliff.
There was hope Tuesday when Betts went three for four. But that came on the heels of an 0 for 20 skid, and he followed it up by going one for four Wednesday as the Dodgers lost two of three from the Cardinals.
Betts has continued to work hard to improve, taking extra batting practice and doing anything and everything to get better, so the effort is not in question. And it’s hard to think of a player who was at the level Betts played at who just stopped hitting all of a sudden. There’s usually a gradual decline. Adrián González stopped hitting suddenly, but he wasn’t quite at Betts’ level, and the shift played into that some.
But here’s the thing. When the Dodgers moved Ohtani to the leadoff spot, the reasoning was they wanted to give their best hitter the most at bats. Some didn’t like it, but they won a World Series with Ohtani leading off.
Betts had a .314 on-base percentage last season after his hand was broken. He has a .308 on-base percentage this season. He is batting second. That is not giving the most at bats to your best hitters. It’s time to move Betts down to the bottom half of the order. Dave Roberts isn’t going to do that, but it’s time. For a full season now, Betts’ on-base percentage has been subpar. One of the jobs of your top two hitters is to get on base. And maybe Betts will relax a little lower in the order. Who knows. We’re not in the Dodgers clubhouse every day to get an emotional read on everyone. Maybe moving Betts down would destroy his confidence. I can’t speak intelligently as to those things. But on paper, he needs to move down to sixth or seventh. Maybe try Alex Call in the two spot against lefties. He has a .371 on-base percentage this season and is a guy GM Brandon Gomes called “a grinder.” He works the count. The Dodgers have fallen out of the habit of doing that. Maybe a fresh look at the top of the lineup will get things going again.
Because one thing is for sure. The Padres are looming large in the rear-view mirror. I still believe the Dodgers will make the postseason, but better to do it as a division winner than a wild-card.
But, despite this brutal, no-good, very bad season, keep in mind an important fact:
Last season at this time, the Dodgers were 66-49 and had a three-game lead over San Diego and Arizona in the NL West. They had just gone 11-13 in July and were 3-3 in August at that time. Some readers and fans online were saying this team would never win the World Series.
This season, the Dodgers are 66-49 and have a two-game lead over San Diego in the NL West. They have just gone 10-14 in July and are 3-3 in August. Some readers and fans online are saying this team will never win the World Series.
Check out what Jack Harris has to say about the offense by clicking here.
Notes
—Ohtani got his 1,000th major league hit on Wednesday. 1,405 players have reached the 1,000-hit mark. Remember Amed Rosario, whom the Dodgers acquired via trade twice in the last couple of seasons and then cut loose relatively quickly? He has 1,001 hits (in 100 more at bats).
—Ohtani is on pace for 55 home runs this season, one more than he hit last year. However, he has only 16 steals, compared to 59 last year. That’s what pitching will do. Have to protect those legs.
—Readers ask why Ohtani is striking out so much. Compared to his career norms, he really isn’t (a 1.2% increase). However last season, a magical season for him, was his career low in strikeouts, making this season seem worse than it is. His career high is 189, in 2021 with the Angels. He’s on pace to strike out 192 times this season, but in 100 more plate appearances than in 2021.
—Brock Stewart has given up two runs in 2-2/3 innings with the Dodgers. Apparently they accidentally acquired the 2019 Stewart.
—Roki Sasaki has a three-inning simulated game Friday, after which he could go out on a minor-league rehab assignment.
—The Giants released former Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, who went eight for 39 (.205) in the minors with them.
—Dustin May made his first start for the Red Sox on Wednesday, giving up three runs in 3-2/3 innings of a loss.
—Max Muncy hit two homers Tuesday, his 19th multi-homer game with the Dodgers, tying him for the most in L.A. Dodgers history with Mike Piazza.
—Muncy has 205 home runs with the Dodgers, fourth in L.A. history behind Eric Karros (270), Ron Cey (228) and Steve Garvey (211). He’s still well off the franchise record, held by Duke Snider (389).
—As far as position player injuries go, Hyeseong Kim could be back soon, while the return date for Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández remains murky.
—Only 20 pitchers have struck out at least 3,000 batters. Two of them, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, start against each other Friday. You have to appreciate these moments when they happen.
—The Toronto Blue Jays come to town next. They just scored 45 runs and had 63 hits in a three-game sweep of the Rockies. And yes, the Rockies are historically bad, but still…
Up next
Friday: Toronto (Max Scherzer, 2-1, 4.39 ERA) at Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw, 5-2, 3.29 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Toronto (Chris Bassitt, 11-5, 4.12 ERA) at Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 1-1, 3.21 ERA), 6:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Toronto (*Eric Lauer, 7-2, 2.59 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 10-7, 2.51 ERA) 1:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
From Kevin Baxter: Only one player in the last 110 years has tried to do what the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is doing this season, which is to pitch and hit successfully at the big-league level.
Babe Ruth twice won more than 20 games and led the American League in ERA and starts before the Red Sox, then the Yankees, decided pitching was distracting from Ruth’s hitting and put him out to pasture in right field.
Over the next three seasons, Ruth broke the major league record for home runs three times.
The Dodgers and Ohtani insist he’ll remain a two-way player for the time being, but recent performances suggests both the Red Sox and Yankees may have been on to something when they took Ruth off the mound.
Ohtani made his eighth start of the year Wednesday and it was his best as a Dodger, with the right-hander giving up just a tainted run on two hits and striking out a season-high eight in four innings. Perhaps more important, he also slugged his first home run in 10 games in the third inning of a 5-3 matinee loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
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ANGELS
Junior Caminero hit his 29th and 30th homers, Christopher Morel had a go-ahead shot and six Tampa Bay pitchers combined to strike out 16 in the Rays’ 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.
Caminero hit a career-long 447-foot shot with a man on in the first, and had a solo homer in the third. Morel was 0 for 6 with six strikeouts in the series before hitting his solo homer in the seventh.
It was Caminero’s third two-homer game this season and he reached 101 RBIs for his career.
From Kevin Baxter: A woman will umpire a major league game for the first time Saturday when Jen Pawol works the bases during Saturday’s doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and visiting Miami Marlins at Truist Park.
For Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, that announcement Wednesday brought one response: It’s about time.
“That’s great. I’ll be watching,” he said of Pawol, who will work behind the plate Sunday. “It’s good for the game. It’s fantastic.”
The NHL is the only major U.S. pro sport that hasn’t used female officials. The NBA was the first league to break the gender barrier, with Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner calling games in 1997. MLS followed a year later with Sandra Hunter and Nancy Lay-McCormick refereeing separate games on the same day. The NFL’s first woman official was line judge Shannon Eastin, who made her debut in 2012.
Like Ohtani, Son Heung-min has been the most popular athlete in his home country by a wide margin for close to a decade. Like Ohtani, Son has a pleasant disposition that has endeared him to people from a wide range of backgrounds.
Son was introduced as the latest addition to LAFC at a news conference on Wednesday at BMO Stadium, and he was everything he was made out to be.
He came across as sincere.
He was warm.
He was funny.
“I’m here to win,” Son said. “I will perform and definitely show you some exciting …
“Are we calling it football or soccer?”
None of this means Son will turn LAFC into the Dodgers overnight, of course. By this point, Major League Soccer and its teams understand that profile players aren’t transformative figures as much as they are building blocks. Son will be the newest, and perhaps most solid, block that will be stacked on the foundation established by the club’s first designated player, the now-retired Carlos Vela.
1952 — Bion Shively, 74, drives Sharp Note to victory in the third heat of the Hambletonian Stakes.
1982 — Speed Bowl wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats with 25-year-old Tom Haughton in the sulky, the youngest to win the Hambletonian.
1983 — Norway’s Grete Waitz takes the women’s marathon in the first world track and field championships at Helsinki, Finland.
1992 — Sergei Bubka, the world record-holder and defending Olympic champion, fails to clear a height in the pole vault.
2005 — Justin Gatlin dominates the 100 meters at the track and field championships in Helsinki. The Olympic champion wins in 9.88 seconds, finishing 0.17 seconds ahead of Michael Frater of Jamaica. The margin of victory is the largest in the 10 world championships held since the meet’s inception in 1983.
2012 — Aly Raisman becomes the first U.S. woman to win Olympic gold on floor. She picks up a bronze on balance beam on the final day of gymnastics at the London Olympics and just misses a medal in the all-around.
2016 — Jim Furyk becomes the first golfer to shoot a 58 in PGA Tour history. Three years after Furyk became the sixth player on tour with a 59, he takes it even lower in the Travelers Championship with a 12-under 58 in the final round.
2016 — American swimmer Katie Ledecky sets a new world record with a time of 3:56.46 to win the gold medal in the women’s 400m freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
2021 — Kevin Durant with 29 points leads USA to his third and the team’s 4th consecutive Olympic men’s basketball gold medal with an 87-82 win over France in Tokyo.
2021 — Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra wins his country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1907 — Walter Johnson won the first of his 417 victories, leading the Washington Senators past the Cleveland Indians 7-2.
1922 — Ken Williams of the St. Louis Browns hit two home runs in the sixth inning of rout over the Washington Senators.
1923 — Cleveland’s Frank Bower went 6-for-6 with a double and five singles as the Indians routed the Washington Senators 22-2.
1956 — The largest crowd in minor league history, 57,000, saw 50-year-old Satchel Paige of Miami beat Columbus in an International League game at the Orange Bowl.
1963 — Jim Hickman of the New York Mets hit for the cycle in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at the Polo Grounds. Hickman’s cycle came in single-double-triple-homer order.
1985 — The strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association ended with the announcement of a tentative agreement. The season resumed Aug. 8.
1999 — Wade Boggs became the first player to homer for his 3,000th hit, with a two-run shot in Tampa Bay’s 15-10 loss to Cleveland. Boggs already had a pair of RBI singles when he homered off Chris Haney in the sixth inning.
2004 — Greg Maddux became the 22nd pitcher in major league history to reach 300 victories, leading the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 victory over San Francisco.
2007 — San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit home run No. 756 to break Hank Aaron’s storied record with one out in the fifth inning, hitting a full-count, 84-mph fastball from Washington’s Mike Bacsik. Noticeably absent were Commissioner Bud Selig and Aaron. The Nationals won 8-6.
2016 — Ichiro Suzuki tripled off the wall for his 3,000th hit in the major leagues, becoming the 30th player to reach the milestone as the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 10-7.
2016 — Manny Machado became the second player in major league history to homer in the first, second and third innings, driving in a career-high seven runs in a 10-2 victory over Chicago.
2018 — Bartolo Colon of Texas became the winningest pitcher from Latin America in the Rangers’ 11-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. After six tries, the 45-year-old right-hander got his 246th career victory and finally broke the tie with Nicaragua’s Dennis Martinez. Colon gave up four runs and eight hits in seven innings and improved his record to 6-10.
2021 — Host nation Japan wins its first ever gold medal in Olympic baseball by defeating the United States 2-0.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. On Friday, we’ll look at the struggling offense. Until then, here’s a bonus edition of the newsletter.
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Top 10 third basemen
Here are my picks for the top 10 third basemen in Dodgers history, followed by how all of you voted. Numbers listed are with the Dodgers only. Click on the player’s name to be taken to the baseball-reference.com page with all their stats.
1. Ron Cey (1971-82, .264/.359/.445, 121 OPS+, 6-time All-Star)
Cey is one of the most underrated players in the history of baseball, let alone the Dodgers. He was unfortunate in that he was a direct contemporary of possibly the two greatest third basemen in history (especially up to that time) in Mike Schmidt and George Brett, so Cey often went overlooked.
If you ask fans who was the best player on the Dodgers from 1977-81, most would name Steve Garvey or Reggie Smith. But let’s take a look at the numbers:
From 1977-81
Most homers: Cey, 122; Garvey, 118; Dusty Baker, 102.
OPS+: Smith, 154; Cey, 129; Garvey, 126.
WAR: Cey, 22.4; Smith, 16.7; Garvey, 16.3
Cey, of course, was nicknamed “The Penguin,” because his knees were about six inches off the ground, giving him a stiff-legged run. He never seemed slow though, just awkward looking.
He was co-MVP of the 1981 World Series, the Series during which he was famously hit in the head by a Goose Gossage fastball, still the only game (Game 5) I have watched where I was convinced someone had just been killed. Cey was taken to the hospital and had a concussion. You can watch it here. He played in Game 6.
‘’I heard it hit the helmet,’’ Gossage said after the game. ‘’If he doesn’t have a helmet on, he might be dead.’’
The Dodgers traded Cey to the Chicago Cubs after the 1982 season for Dan Cataline and Vance Lovelace. They traded him too soon, for players that didn’t pan out. Cey went on the have four productive seasons with the Cubs, leading them to the NL East title in 1984. He was released by the Oakland A’s during the 1987 season and never played in the majors again.
2. Pedro Guerrero (1978-88, .309/.381/.512, 149 OPS+, 4-time All-Star)
Let’s get the negative out of the way first: Guerrero was born to be a DH. He was a bad third baseman, a bad first baseman and a bad outfielder. But he may be the best hitter in Dodger history. He is second in OPS+ in Dodger history (minimum 3,000 plate appearances), trailing only Mike Piazza. and he had around 1,000 more plate appearances than Piazza. He hit .320 in 1985, then blew out his knee on an ill-advised slide in spring training of 1986. He came back in 1987 to hit .338. He had power, hitting 30+ homers three times (back when that really meant something) and had a good eye at the plate. He was not a good fielder at third, and hated playing there, but you have to give him credit for going out there whenever he was asked. On April 3, 2017, Guerrero had a stroke while in New York. According to his wife Roxanna Jimenez, doctors said Guerrero was in a coma, declared him brain dead and asked her to consider taking him off life support. She refused. Two days later, Guerrero woke up and has made a miraculous recovery. He still has memory problems and moves slower than he used to, but he makes appearances at autograph shows.
Turner remains a fan favorite, as every offseason I get emails from readers hoping the Dodgers will bring him back.
Turner had a middling career with the Orioles and Mets (.260 career average in 318 games) before signing with the Dodgers before the 2014 season in a transaction that few paid attention to. The Dodgers and Turner unlocked something in his swing though, because he was a revelation in 2014, hitting .340/.404/.493 in 109 games. He became the heart of the offense, and his hard-nosed style of play endeared him to fans. If there was a clutch situation, Turner was the one you wanted up at the plate. Remember this clutch moment against the Cubs in the 2017 NLCS? And even though he is on the downside of his career with the Cubs this season, he still has his clutch moments. He’s one of those guys you hope retires as a Dodgers.
4. Max Muncy (2018-current, .232/.358/.484, 127 OPS+, 2-time All-Star)
Muncy has never captured the hearts of Dodgers fans the way other players the last few years have. He hits for a low average, but draws a lot of walks and has a lot of power. The offense this season went into the tank about the same time he was injured. And while he will never win a Gold Glove, he usually battles the position to a draw. The streakiest of streak hitters, he set a record for most consecutive times reaching base in the NLCS last season, then followed it up by going 0 for 16 in the World Series. A big part of the Dodgers’ success since he joined the team.
5. Adrian Beltré (1998-2004, .274/.332/.463, 108 OPS+)
How is a Hall of Famer fifth? He wasn’t a Hall of Famer when he was with the Dodgers. In fact, he was considered a bit of a disappointment until an amazing 2004 season, when he hit .334 with 48 homers and 121 RBIs. He finished second in MVP voting that year. Sadly, that would be his last year as a Dodger, as management at the time (owner Frank McCourt and general manager Paul DePodesta) didn’t make a big effort to sign him. “I think it was more the GM than anything,” Beltré said later in his career. Beltré blamed himself for telegraphing that he didn’t want to leave. “It was a mistake on my part to show it too much, that I wanted to stay back then. They wanted to use that against me in the negotiation.” (Read more about Beltre and his time with the Dodgers here.) Beltré was the best fielding third baseman in team history, and the Dodgers spent many years seeking an adequate replacement for him, something they were never able to do until Justin Turner came along.
Lavagetto had an incredible batting eye, walking 370 times while striking out only 155 times from 1937-41. His career was derailed by World War II, as he served four years in the Navy during what would have been his prime. When Lavagetto was young, Oakland Oaks owner Cookie DeVincenzi took an interest in him and signed him to a contract, so Lavagetto’s new teammates started calling him “Cookie’s Boy,” which eventually was shortened to just “Cookie.” His real first name was Harry. When he returned from the Navy, his skills had eroded enough to where he played only two seasons. But he had one great moment in him still. In Game 4 of the 1947 World Series, Bill Bevens of the Yankees had a no-hitter against the Dodgers in the ninth inning. Bevens had walked eight Dodgers, and the Yankees led 2-1. With one out, Bevens walked Carl Furillo, then got Spider Jorgensen to foul out. Al Gionfriddo ran for Furillo and stole second. Bevens intentionally walked Pete Reiser, and Eddie Miksis ran for Reiser. Manager Burt Shotton then sent up Lavagetto to pinch-hit for Eddie Stanky. Lavagetto hit Bevens’ second pitch off the right-field fence, scoring Gionfriddo and Miksis with the winning runs and ending Bevens’ no-hitter. Lavagetto died in 1990 at the age of 77.
Vaughan is in the Hall of Fame, as a shortstop wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates cap. That’s where he spent the first 10 seasons of his career.
You might see that gap in his career and think “military service interrupted his career,” but no. Vaughan hit .277 and .305 in his first two seasons with the Dodgers.
On July 10, 1943, Dodgers manager Leo Durocher suspended pitcher Bobo Newsom for insubordination. The next day, Vaughan read a newspaper story in which Durocher belittled Newsom. He confronted Durocher when he arrived at the ballpark. Durocher stood behind what he said. According to teammate Billy Herman, “Arky didn’t say another word. He went back to his locker and took off his uniform — pants, jersey, socks, cap — made a big bundle out of it, and went back to Leo’s office, telling Leo, ‘Take this uniform and shove it right up your… If you would lie about Bobo, you would lie about me and everybody else. I’m not playing for you.’
And Vaughan left. Some of his teammates left with him. Durocher and general manager Branch Rickey convinced all of the players to return for that day’s game except Vaughan. He returned the next day and played the rest of the season, but quit baseball at the end of the season.
Rickey talked to him every year, trying to get him to return, but Vaughan refused. Until Rickey said he needed a veteran leader like Vaughan on the bench in 1947 because of the debut of Jackie Robinson. Vaughan returned. Vaughan hit .325 off the bench for the Dodgers and helped them reach the World Series, his first. He played in 1948, hit .244, and retired for good.
On August 30, 1952, he and a friend, Bill Wimer, went sailing on Lost Lake in northern California. The boat sank. Wimer couldn’t swim, so Vaughan tried to carry him along as he swam to shore. Witnesses at the time said they made it to 25 yards from shore when they both sank and drowned (why these witnesses didn’t help is lost to the annals of time). Their bodies were recovered the next day. Vaughan was 40.
At Vaughan’s funeral, Robinson said, “He was one of the fellows who went out of his way to be nice to me when I came in here as a rookie. Believe me, I needed it. He was a fine fellow.”
Cox was a member of the “Boys of Summer” Dodgers but had the misfortune of being traded to Baltimore just before the 1955 season, when Brooklyn finally won the World Series. Cox was a great fielder but below-average hitter. He served for four years in the military during World War II as a member of the 814th Signal Corps. The Signal Corps laid wire and set up communication centers for the advancing troops, which meant he was often in the middle of combat zones. One time, while playing for the Pirates, the sound of a fireworks display that was set off while he was on the field reminded him of his time in the military and he ran to the dugout for cover. And how good was Cox on defense? Perhaps teammate Carl Erskine put it best: “He had such quick hands that it seemed as though he had four gloves instead of one.” Cox started smoking when he was overseas during the war, and it eventually took its toll. He died of esophageal cancer in 1978. He was only 58 years old. The baseball field in his hometown of Newport, Pa., is named for him.
Stripp had a solid bat and was a Gold Glove-level defender, though they didn’t give that award out when he played. After Stripp retired, he opened up a baseball school in Orlando, Fla., which was considered one of the best baseball schools in the country in the 1940s and ’50s. Stripp died in Orlando in 1989 at the age of 86.
There isn’t a lot known about Stripp, who is one of those guys who just sort of faded away after he retired. He was born 122 years ago and played in the majors for 11 seasons. It’s nice to remember him here.
10. Mike Sharperson (1987-93, .287/.363/.373, 108 OPS+, 1-time All-Star)
Sharperson was more of a utility player than a third baseman, appearing at every infield position and in right field with the Dodgers. His best season was 1992, when he hit .300 and made his only All-Star team. He was a guy you could put in for a player who needed a day off and know you were going to get a solid performance. Those types of players are very valuable to a team over the course of 162 games. On May 26, 1996, Sharperson was killed in a one-car crash at the junction of the 15 and 215 freeways. He was driving from Las Vegas, where he was playing for the triple-A Las Vegas Stars, to San Diego, which had just recalled him from the minors. Witnesses said it appeared he was about to miss the turn onto the 215 connector and tried to get over at the last second. His car hit a dirt median and Sharperson was ejected through the sun roof. Sharperson was only 34.
Once you get down to around ninth or 10th place, there are a lot of guys who are interchangeable there. You could make a case for Billy Grabarkewitz or Casey Blake or Ken McMullen or George Pinkney or Tim Wallach or a host of others. The Dodgers have not had a lot of great third basemen.
The readers’ top 10
1,286 ballots were sent in. First place received 12 points, second place nine, all the way down to one point for 10th place. For those of you who were wondering, I make my choices before I tally your results. Here are your choices:
1. Ron Cey, 791 first-place votes, 13,429 points 2. Adrian Beltré, 321 first-place votes, 10,510 points 3. Justin Turner, 74 first-place votes, 10,189 points 4. Max Muncy, 25 first-place votes, 7,345 points 5. Pedro Guerrero, 23 first-place votes, 7,232 points 6. Billy Cox, 3,438 points 7. Cookie Lavagetto, 3,335 points 8. Tim Wallach, 1,731 points 9. Arky Vaughan, 42 first-place votes, 1,657 points 10. Bill Madlock, 1,483 points
The next five: Juan Uribe, Mickey Hatcher, Todd Zeile, George Pinkney, Joe Stripp.
Top 10 left fielders
Who are your top 10 Dodgers left fielders of all time (including Brooklyn)? Email your list to [email protected] and let me know.
Many of you have asked for a list of players to consider for each position. Here are the strongest left fielder candidates, in alphabetical order.
Sandy Amorós, John Anderson, Dusty Baker, Rube Bressler, Bill Buckner, Gino Cimoli, Kal Daniels, Vic Davalillo, Tommy Davis, Len Gabrielson, Augie Galan, Kirk Gibson, Gene Hermanski, Todd Hollandsworth, Lou Johnson, Brian Jordan, Joe Kelley, Joe Medwick, Wally Moon, Manny Mota, Darby O’Brien, Lefty O’Doul, Andy Pafko, AJ Pollock, Manny Ramirez, Jimmy Sheckard, Gary Sheffield, George Shuba, Chris Taylor, Danny Taylor, Andrew Toles, Jayson Werth, Zack Wheat.
A reminder that players are listed at the position in which they played the most games for the Dodgers, which is why Joc Pederson (center field) and Ron Fairly and Teoscar Hernández (right field), for example, will be listed at those positions.
And finally
Pedro Guerrero goes three for five with five RBIs in 1981 World Series Game 6. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
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Only one player in the last 110 years has tried to do what the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is doing this season, which is to pitch and hit successfully at the big-league level.
Babe Ruth twice won more than 20 games and led the American League in ERA and starts before the Red Sox, then the Yankees, decided pitching was distracting from Ruth’s hitting and put him out to pasture in right field.
Over the next three seasons, Ruth broke the major league record for home runs three times.
The Dodgers and Ohtani insist he’ll remain a two-way player for the time being, but recent performances suggests both the Red Sox and Yankees may have been on to something when they took Ruth off the mound.
Ohtani made his eighth start of the year Wednesday and it was his best as a Dodger, with the right-hander giving up just a tainted run on two hits and striking out a season-high eight in four innings. Perhaps more important, he also slugged his first home run in 10 games in the third inning of a 5-3 matinee loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
It was the first truly Ruthian two-way performances for Ohtani since he joined the Dodgers but it was one the team’s defense and bullpen wasted, with three relievers combining to yield four runs on 10 hits over the final five innings.
The two most important ones came in the eighth, when the Cardinals turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead, greeting Alex Vesia with a pair of singles before a two-out hit from Jordan Walker drove in the tying run and the winning one scored on a throwing error by third baseman Alex Freeland.
“It never feels good,” manager Dave Roberts said of the loss, his team’s 17th in 30 games since July 1. “Is there a level of frustration the way the second half has started off? Yeah. We just haven’t synced up. We just can’t get on track offensively. We’re not playing great.”
That can’t be said of Ohtani, although the effort he gave at the plate Wednesday equaled what he’s been doing on the mound recently. He has posted a 2.37 ERA and struck out 25 in 19 innings in his eight starts, yet in the same eight games he’s batted .219. In his last six starts on the mound, he’s gone just three for 24 at the plate.
That’s part of a slump that began in mid-June, when Ohtani made his pitching debut for the Dodgers. At the time he led the majors in runs and led the National League in homers and slugging percentage. Since then, his strikeout rate has risen, his average has plummeted more than 20 points and he’s clubbed just 14 homers, one fewer than he had in May alone as a designated hitter.
Ohtani said he can’t explain the difference.
“I don’t really try to think too differently on days that I pitch and hit and on days that I only hit,” he said through a translator. “I’m thinking of adjusting how I work out and do my work in between my outings. Especially now that I’m going to be throwing more innings.”
Ohtani both pitched and hit on his way to two MVP awards with the Angels. But last season, the first in five years in which he didn’t pitch while recovering from a second elbow surgery, Ohtani sent career highs in virtually every offensive category and led the NL in runs (134), homers (54) and RBIs (130) while becoming the first player in history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a single season.
That won him a third MVP award and a World Series ring, replicas of which were handed out Wednesday to the 44,621 sun-splashed fans who came to see Ohtani pitch. But in 2021, when he topped 10 starts for the first time with the Angels, he hit a full-season career-low .257 and struck out a career-high 189 times.
For Ohtani, the manager said, the challenge now is finding comfort in the crowed new routine.
“It’s not the norm,” he said. “It’s been over two years since he’s done this, so he’s still sort of getting adjusted to this lifestyle, as far as kind of the day to day.”
“I don’t think he’s there yet. It’s only going to get better as he gets more time doing it.”
Ohtani breezed through his longest start as a Dodger, topping 100 mph multiple times and retiring the first six Cardinals in order. It would have been seven but shortstop Mookie Betts and second baseman Miguel Rojas lost Walker’s popout in a high sky leading off the third. That went for a hit and Walker came around to score on a stolen base, a ground out and Brendan Donovan’s infield single.
Ohtani struck out the next four hitters he faced while giving his team the lead in the third, following Alex Call’s leadoff double — his first hit as a Dodger — with a two-run homer to center. The hit was the 1,000th in the majors for Ohtani while the homer was his 39th of the season.
The Dodgers added another run in the fourth when Andy Pages led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third and continued home when the throw from catcher Pedro Pagés hit the bat of Miguel Rojas and ricocheted toward the Dodger dugout.
Then came the daily bullpen meltdown, with the Cardinals pushing a run across against Justin Wrobleski in the sixth, setting the stage for their eighth-inning rally against Vesia. Brock Stewart gave up the final run in the ninth.
“If you look at the last couple weeks, I think our bullpen has been good,” Roberts said of a relief corps that has failed to covert a third of its 52 save opportunities. “We didn’t finish it off today. But I think in general, the bullpen in the last couple weeks has been pretty stable.”
Parking at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, is a distinctly different experience than parking at Dodger Stadium.
It’s about to be similar, however, when it comes to price.
City crews installed about 400 signs in downtown San Diego last week to let drivers know about new street parking-meter rates taking effect Sept. 1, calling it a special event zone. The hourly rate will increase from $2.50 to $10 starting two hours before games or concerts at the stadium, and will remain at that rate for six hours.
Getting to the stadium an hour before a three-hour game and perhaps enjoying a drink or meal at one of the establishments in the Gaslamp Quarter a short walk from the stadium can lift the cost of parking from $15 to $60.
And it could get worse. The variable parking rate policy change that the San Diego City Council approved in June allows the city to charge as much as $20 an hour, but officials are starting with $10.
The Padres were taken by surprise by the city’s action and objected to the increase, complaining that it was implemented without significant input from the team.
“We look forward to better understanding the city’s plan,” Padres spokesperson Vanessa Dominguez said.
Watching the kerfuffle must be amusing for Dodgers officials, who long have taken it on the chin for seemingly exorbitant parking fees and an enormous, barren parking lot that has all the charm of, well, an enormous, barren parking lot.
Parking at Chavez Ravine is not nearly as fun as at Petco Park, where the dozens of nearby restaurants, bars, shops and music venues make it akin to attending a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
General admission parking at Dodger Stadium is $35 if prepaid and $40 at the gate, but it’s a long hike to the seats. Preferred parking — translation: a shorter walk — is $60, the same as the six-hour meter charge will be at Petco.
Dodgers fans have their complaints about parking — primarily a postgame snarl to get out of the Stadium that makes navigating the 405 seem like a breeze — and drama too often colors the experience.
A tailgating ban is enforced so diligently that fans can’t even enjoy an El Ruso taco leaning over the trunk of their car without being scolded by a security officer. Safety is difficult to ensure as well: Fans have been beaten senseless walking to or from their cars.
And through no fault of the Dodgers, a procession of vehicles identified as federal agents attempted to enter the stadium on June 19, a day immigration raids capped two weeks of roundups by arresting “30 illegal aliens in Hollywood … and nine illegal aliens in San Fernando and Pacoima,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
Federal officials said the gathering of vehicles was to conduct a briefing, and the Dodgers denied the vehicles entry into the stadium.
Parking near Petco Park is relatively safe, with well-lit lots and streets part of the fabric of a neighborhood packed with revelers. And Padres fans don’t require a metered street spot to park. The team runs several lots a few blocks from the stadium where parking can be reserved ahead of time. Rates range from $10 to $40.
The quadrupled special-event metered rate changes near Petco were included in a sweeping package of new parking rules throughout San Diego designed to increase revenue.
No more free parking on Sundays. Soon, no more free parking at the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park and Mission Bay Park. Free beach parking will be a perk of the past.
The city doubled meter rates to $2.50 an hour in most places. And meter hours around the city will be extended by at least two hours later this summer. The increase is expected to bring in about $4 million through the remainder of the fiscal year, and at least $9.6 million annually starting next fiscal year, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
“This city is a playground for folks,” San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera said at a recent meeting. “It is really important to me that San Diegans not be subsidizing the vacations of tourists who have the financial capability of coming here and enjoying this city.”
Most Padres fans are San Diego-area residents, although when the Dodgers visit the city to their south the crowd is noticeably peppered with folks wearing Dodgers gear. As the rivalry between the teams has grown in recent years, Petco has become a favorite destination for Dodgers fans.
Groups like Pantone 294 — the Dodgers official blue-tone color is listed as Pantone 294 — organize “takeovers,” with hundreds of Dodgers fans purchasing tickets in the same section of an opposing ballpark. For the short trip to San Diego, fans can join others on tour buses or drive their own cars.
When it comes to parking those cars, fees will have risen. Savvy fans who don’t mind taking the time can reduce the cost by parking near a San Diego trolley or MTS bus station: The fare remains $2.50.
From Jack Harris: It might be a cliché this time of year, how injured players who return after the trade deadline can serve as de facto deadline acquisitions themselves.
Immediately after Muncy went down with a knee injury in early July, the club’s lineup entered a deep midseason slump. Its actual deadline acquisitions, which included only one hitter in outfielder Alex Call, had underwhelmed the fan base.
Thus, when Muncy returned to action Monday night, the Dodgers were desperately hoping the veteran slugger could provide a spark.
Twenty-four hours later, he did it with two thunderous swings.
In the Dodgers’ 12-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Muncy officially christened his comeback with a four-for-five, four-RBI performance that included a pair of no-doubt home runs off Miles Mikolas — picking up almost exactly where he left off before suffering a July 2 knee injury that he feared would end his season.
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ANGELS
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and Jake Mangum had a two-run single during the Tampa Bay Rays’ seven-run fourth inning in a 7-3 victory over the Angels on Tuesday night.
Yandy Díaz scored a run and drove in another during the decisive inning in Tampa Bay’s third win in 13 games.
Ryan Pepiot (7-9) yielded five hits and two earned runs while pitching into the sixth inning for Tampa Bay, breaking his five-start winless streak.
From Ira Gorawara: The Indiana Fever arrived in Los Angeles draped in momentum: Five straight wins, a knack for winning without Caitlin Clark and betting lines tilting their way. Their tear was proof they could keep pace even with their franchise centerpiece in street clothes.
But another storyline might’ve been tucked beneath Indiana’s.
The Sparks had ripped off six wins in their previous seven outings, probably fueled by the rare luxury of having every piece of their roster back for the first time in more than a year. And by night’s end at Crypto.com Arena, they had won seven of eight, the Sparks grinding out a 100-91 victory.
“Tonight was a great step in the right direction,” guard Kelsey Plum said. “That’s an incredible team, and they’re as hot as anyone. … They got everything it takes to make a run for a championship. So for us to come out and have that level of intensity, I was really proud.”
Keenan Allen, who racked up more than 10,000 receiving yards during an 11-season stint with the Chargers before being traded away in a salary-cap move, agreed to a deal with the team Tuesday.
“Obviously, we know how good he’s been throughout his career,” Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said, “and he’s out there on the market still, and [it was the] chance to bring someone of his caliber back we know can help us win games.”
From Gary Klein: Kyren Williams spent Tuesday morning meeting with his agent and the Rams to work out the final details of a contract extension.
The Rams running back finished the day dashing, darting and diving on the field during a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys.
“Life is good,” Williams said after the workout. “Life is good.”
It’s certainly richer.
Williams, a fourth-year pro, received a three-year extension. Terms of the deal were not announced but Williams is guaranteed about $23 million, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person requested anonymity because the contract has not been processed.
From Kevin Baxter: LAFC’s signing of South Korean national team captain Son Heung-min appears to be one of those rare acquisitions that checks every box and helps everybody. Not only is it one of the most significant signings in MLS history, but it instantly makes LAFC better while boosting the World Cup hopes of the Korean national team and the profile of Korean soccer in the U.S.
But in few places will the influence of the signing, which is expected to be completed Tuesday, be felt more directly than in Southern California’s Korean community, the largest in the U.S.
“The Korean community has been buzzing ever since rumors of Son Heung-min’s potential move to LAFC began to spread,” said Kyeongjun Kim, a writer with the Korean Daily, the largest Korean-language media outlet in the U.S. “The fact that a player of his caliber is coming to L.A. is monumental event.
From Jad El Reda: Don’t call him a traveler. Chad Baker-Mazara said that his journey through four universities allowed him to land in the place he had been looking for since the beginning of his college basketball adventure.
Baker-Mazara, 25, arrived at USC in May. The veteran is hoping to help lead young players in the locker room and on the court after joining his fifth team since 2020.
He began his journey with at Duquesne in 2020-21, then moved on to San Diego State for the 2021-22 season in search of a better fit on the roster. He fell behind academically in San Diego and was dismissed from the team when he couldn’t catch up on classwork. Baker-Mazara then traveled to the East Coast to play for Northwest Florida State College during the 2022-23 season while getting back on track academically before landing a spot on the Auburn roster during the 2023-25 seasons.
It has been a unique journey, but he is confident that he will write the most important chapter of his basketball career with the Trojans during the upcoming season.
1958 — Glen Davis of Columbus, Ohio, sets a world record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 49.2 in Budapest, Hungary.
1966 — Muhammad Ali knocks out Brian London in the third round to retain his world heavyweight title.
1972 — South African Gary Player wins his second PGA golf championship with a two-stroke victory over Jim Jamieson and Tommy Aaron.
1978 — John Mahaffey beats Tom Watson and Jerry Pate on the second playoff hole to win the PGA Championship.
1984 — American athlete Carl Lewis wins long jump (8.54m), his second of 4 gold medals at Los Angeles Olympics.
1991 — Debbie Doom of the U.S. pitches her second consecutive perfect game in women’s softball at the Pan American Games. Doom threw a perfect game at the Netherlands Antilles in the opener and matches that performance against Nicaragua, winning 8-0.
1992 — Carl Lewis leads a U.S. sweep in the long jump in the Olympics with a mark of 28 feet, 5 1-2 inches on his first attempt. Mike Powell takes the silver and Joe Greene the bronze. Kevin Young demolishes one of track’s oldest records with a time of 46.78 seconds in the 400 hurdles. Bruce Baumgartner becomes the first American wrestler to win medals in three straight Olympics, taking the gold in the 286-pound freestyle division.
1994 — Jeff Gordon wins the Brickyard 400, the first stock car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1995 — Canada’s Donovan Bailey wins the 100 meters at World Track and Field Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, marking the first time since 1976 an American fails to win a medal in the event at a major meet.
2001 — Two-time champion Marion Jones is disqualified and has her string of 42 consecutive 100m final victories snapped by Zhanna Pintusevich-Block of Ukraine at the World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
2006 — Tiger Woods (30) becomes the youngest player with 50 PGA Tour wins after a 3 stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open.
2006 — Floyd Landis is fired by his team and the Tour de France no longer considers him its champion after his second doping sample tested positive for higher-than-allowable levels of testosterone.
2006 — Sherri Steinhauer wins the Women’s British Open for the third time, and the first since it became a major.
2008 — Sammy Villegas, a former University of Toledo basketball player, is charged with point shaving. Villegas is accused of shaving points during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.
2008 — Kim Terrell-Kearney wins the first pro championship match featuring two Black bowlers, beating Trisha Reid 216-189 in the U.S. Bowling Congress’ U.S. Women’s Open. Terrell-Kearney collects her second U.S. Women’s Open title and third career major title.
2010 — Tyson Gay upsets the defending world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt in a race between the two fastest runners in history. Gay beats the Jamaican at the DN Galan meet in 9.84 seconds at the same stadium where Bolt last lost a race two years ago. Bolt finishes second in 9.97.
2015 — Ryan Lochte becomes the first man to win the 200-meter individual medley four consecutive times at the world swimming championships. Lochte comes home strong on the freestyle lap and touches first in 1:55.81 in Kazan, Russia.
2017 — I.K. Kim won the Women’s British Open, hanging on with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory over Jodi Ewart Shadoff and her first major championship.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1908 — John Lush threw a six-inning, rain-shortened no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0. It was Lush’s second no-hitter against the Dodgers.
1933 — Pinky Higgins of the Philadelphia Athletics hit for the cycle and drove in five runs in a 12-8 win over the Washington Senators.
1952 — Satchel Paige, 46, became the oldest pitcher in major league history to pitch a complete game or a shutout when he beat Virgil Trucks and the Detroit Tigers 1-0 in 12 innings.
1972 — Hank Aaron hit his 660th and 661st career home runs to break Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs with one club. The 661st came in the 10th inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 4-3 triumph over the Cincinnati Reds.
1981 — As a result of a seven-week strike, major league baseball players approved a split-season format. The New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers were declared the first-half champions and automatically qualified for the divisional series.
1985 — The Major League Baseball Players’ Association went on strike.
1986 — The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 13-11 in a record-setting battle of grand slams. Texas’ Toby Harrah hit a grand slam in the second inning before Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer connected for grand slams in Baltimore’s nine-run fourth.
1988 — Rich Gossage registered his 300th career save, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4.
1999 — Tony Gwynn went 4-for-5, singling in his first at-bat to become the 22nd major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits, as the San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos 12-10.
2001 — Boston’s Scott Hatteberg performed the ultimate baseball opposite. Hatteberg hit a grand slam one at-bat after lining into a triple play as the Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 10-7. Hatteberg lined into a triple play in the fourth inning and in the sixth he hit his second career grand slam to move Boston ahead for good.
2002 — At 32, Robb Nen became the youngest player to record 300 saves, as San Francisco beat the Chicago Cubs 11-10. Nen became the 16th member of the 300-save club.
2007 — St. Louis tied a major league record with 10 straight hits in a 10-run fifth inning, with pitcher Braden Looper and Aaron Miles getting two apiece in a 10-5 victory over San Diego.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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It might be a cliché this time of year, how injured players who return after the trade deadline can serve as de facto deadline acquisitions themselves.
Immediately after Muncy went down with a knee injury in early July, the club’s lineup entered a deep midseason slump. Its actual deadline acquisitions, which included only one hitter in outfielder Alex Call, had underwhelmed the fan base.
Thus, when Muncy returned to action Monday night, the Dodgers were desperately hoping the veteran slugger could provide a spark.
Twenty-four hours later, he did it with two thunderous swings.
In the Dodgers’ 12-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Muncy officially christened his comeback with a four-for-five, four-RBI performance that included a pair of no-doubt home runs off Miles Mikolas — picking up almost exactly where he left off before suffering a July 2 knee injury that he feared would end his season.
“As I was laying there on the ground that night, I thought for sure this is it,” Muncy recalled this week, after not only recovering from what proved to be just a bone bruise, but doing it two weeks faster than the initial six-week timeline the team had expected.
“It’s hard to stay positive in a moment like that,” Muncy added, while reliving Michael A. Taylor’s slide into his left knee a month earlier. “But extremely thankful and blessed to be back on a baseball field this year.”
Muncy did have some rust to knock off, going hitless in three at-bats with a walk and strikeout in his first game back Monday night against crafty Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray.
On Tuesday, however, Mikolas gave him the chance to do some long-awaited damage.
In the first inning, after Shohei Ohtani doubled and scored on a Freddie Freeman sacrifice fly, Muncy clobbered a center-cut, first-pitch sinker 416 feet into the right-field pavilion, giving the Dodgers a quick 2-0 lead.
In the third, after the Cardinals leveled the score on Nolan Gorman’s two-run homer off Emmet Sheehan an inning earlier, Muncy went deep again, whacking an elevated fastball 404 feet for a two-run blast.
The Dodgers (66-48) wouldn’t relinquish the lead again, going on to their first double-digit scoring effort since June 22 thanks to a five-run rally in the seventh, when Muncy also added an RBI single, and two more runs in the eighth, when Muncy tacked on his fourth hit.
There were other positive signs for the Dodgers’ recently scuffling lineup on Tuesday.
Mookie Betts, who was mired in a career-long five-game, 22 at-bat hitless streak, recorded three knocks: A double right before Muncy’s second homer in the third, a line-drive single in the fifth, and a seeing-eye grounder in the eighth.
Andy Pages, who was batting just .211 since the All-Star break, made hard contact on doubles in the sixth and the seventh.
And Teoscar Hernández, who was hitting just .213 since returning from a groin strain in May, came roaring to life with a two-homer game, going back-to-back with Muncy on a solo home run in the third before smashing a game-sealing three-run drive after Muncy’s RBI single in the seventh.
Leading up to the deadline, manager Dave Roberts cited that subset of slumping hitters as potential quasi-deadline additions in their own right. Part of the reason for the team’s relative inaction at the deadline was its trust that the healthy, but scuffling, members of its lineup would get back on track down the stretch.
Still, Muncy’s eventual return had long been seen as the Dodgers’ biggest potential boon, especially after they went from leading the majors in scoring before he got hurt to ranking last in runs over the 25 games he missed.
“We’ve certainly missed him,” Roberts said ahead of Muncy’s return Monday. “The night he came off the field, you’re starting to think of it potentially being season-ending. So to get him back in a month, we’re all excited. He’s put in a lot of work to get back with this timeline. And yeah, we’ve needed him.”
Two games in, the importance of his return is already being felt.
Between now and October, the Dodgers will be evaluating their increasingly healthy pitching staff, trying to identify the best 13 arms for their World Series push.
And for now, they remain hopeful that rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki could be part of that mix; writing an unexpected end to what once seemed like a lost 2025 campaign.
After being one of the biggest stories of the Dodgers’ offseason this winter, Sasaki has become more of an afterthought in the eight months since.
Back in January, the Dodgers’ acquisition of the Japanese phenom felt like a coup. The 23-year-old right-hander was billed as a future star in the making. He came advertised with a 100-mph fastball, devastating splitter and seemingly limitless potential as an ace-caliber pitcher. Most of all, he was a bargain addition financially, requiring only a $6.5-million signing bonus (for six years of team control) after making a rare early career jump from Japan.
The reality, to this point, has been nowhere near the expectation.
At the start of the season, Sasaki made eight underwhelming starts — with wild command and declining fastball velocity contributing to a 4.72 ERA — before being sidelined by a shoulder impingement.
Since then, he has sat on the injured list and largely faded into the background. An important piece of the Dodgers’ long-term plans, sure. But a wild card, at best, to contribute to their World Series defense this fall.
Lately, however, the narrative has started to shift again.
Over the last month, Sasaki has finally started progressing in a throwing program, twice facing hitters in recent live batting practice sessions. He has another three-inning simulated game scheduled for Friday, after which he could go out on a minor-league rehab assignment.
And after his early-season struggles to locate pitches or reach triple-digit velocities, the Dodgers have been encouraged with the changes he has made to his delivery and pitch mix. In a bullpen session Tuesday, Sasaki hit 96 mph with his four-seam fastball while also showcasing a two-seamer he has added during his time injured.
“I’m expecting to see pounding of the strike zone, conviction behind the throws, and just a better performer,” manager Dave Roberts said of Sasaki, who could rejoin the active roster near the end of August.
“At the end of the day, I just think that Roki has got to believe that his stuff plays here, which we all believe it does.”
The team’s title chances, of course, don’t exactly hinge on Sasaki. If their current rotation stays healthy, they should have more than enough starting pitching depth to navigate another deep October run.
But getting Sasaki back would provide some welcome pitching insurance.
He could also be a candidate to eventually shift to the bullpen, with Roberts leaving open the possibility of using him as a hard-throwing reliever come the end of the season (even though they intend to stretch him out to six innings as starter for now).
“We’re gonna take the 13 best pitchers [into the playoffs],” Roberts said. “If Roki is a part of that in some capacity, then that would be great. And if he’s not, then he won’t be.”
For much of the summer, it seemed like a long shot the Dodgers would be having such conversations about Sasaki at this point.
For all the hype that accompanied his arrival, the results made him look like more a long-term project.
In his eight early-season starts, his fastball averaged only 96 mph, and was punished by opposing hitters for its flat, relatively easy-to-hit shape. His slider was a work-in-progress, leaving him without a reliable third pitch.
His go-to splitter did induce the occasional awkward swing from opponents, and garnered much praise from teammates. But Sasaki failed to consistently use it to generate chase out of the strike zone.
As a result, he pitched from behind in the count too often (evidenced by his 24-to-22 strikeout-to-walk ratio). He seemingly lacked confidence to attack opposing hitters over the plate (and gave up six home runs in just 34 ⅓ innings when he did). And once he went down with his shoulder injury (which was similar to one that had bothered him during his Japanese career), the early stages of his rehab did not go smoothly, with Sasaki requiring a pain-relieving injection in June almost two months after initially going on the IL.
Since then, though, Sasaki has finally turned a corner.
He told reporters Tuesday that he now has “no pain” and is feeling “better about being able to throw harder” upon his return.
He has used his recent ramp-up as an opportunity to reset his mechanics, and clean up an arm path that Dodgers personnel believed was affected by his shoulder problems at the start of the season.
“What we saw early on is probably not indicative of what everybody expects and has seen from him in the past when he’s been 100%,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.
While out injured, Sasaki has also had an opportunity to sit back and watch big-league games up close, something Roberts and Prior insisted would be beneficial for a young pitcher who came to the majors with only 394 career innings over four seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league.
“He’s down there in that [dugout] stairwell when we’re at home pretty much all nine innings,” Prior said. “You can’t not learn by just watching and at least having some experience … I think he understands now the importance of, ‘I’ve got to be ahead. I’ve got to attack the strike zone.’ He doesn’t necessarily need it to be executed precisely, but it’s got to be in the strike zone. You can’t be living behind in counts.”
There may be no bigger sign of growth than Sasaki’s embrace of the two-seam fastball.
Before he got hurt, it was a pitch that people within the organization thought could help keep hitters off his diminished four-seam heater. Prior said that, before Sasaki was shut down, the coaching staff had initiated a conversation about adding it to his repotoire.
“Clearly, everybody would love a fast, high-riding four-seam,” Prior said. “But even that being said, these [hitters] have gotten a lot better and know how to attack those things. So just giving them different looks and stuff to lean into and keeping the righties honest, just gives him some flexibilities and some options.”
The hope is that it will help Sasaki be more competitive when he returns, and complement the rest of his highly-touted arsenal.
That, when coupled with improved health and refined mechanics, will trigger a late-season resurgence capable of making him an option for the postseason roster.
“My every intention is to get back on the major league mound and pitch again,” Sasaki said through interpreter Will Ireton. “With that being said, I do need to fight for the opportunity too. I don’t think that I’ll just be given the opportunity right away.”
LAFC’s signing of South Korean national team captain Son Heung-min appears to be one of those rare acquisitions that checks every box and helps everybody. Not only is it one of the most significant signings in MLS history, but it instantly makes LAFC better while boosting the World Cup hopes of the Korean national team and the profile of Korean soccer in the U.S.
But in few places will the influence of the signing, which is expected to be completed Tuesday, be felt more directly than in Southern California’s Korean community, the largest in the U.S.
“The Korean community has been buzzing ever since rumors of Son Heung-min’s potential move to LAFC began to spread,” said Kyeongjun Kim, a writer with the Korean Daily, the largest Korean-language media outlet in the U.S. “The fact that a player of his caliber is coming to L.A. is monumental event.
“Son’s move to the LAFC is as exciting — if not more so — than when Chan Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu joined the Dodgers.”
Luring Son, 33, away from Tottenham of the English Premier League, where he spent the past 10 seasons, came at a high price. Although financial details of the signing were not announced, a league official with knowledge of the negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly said the transfer fee easily topped the MLS-record $22 million the Atlanta United paid to Middlesbrough in February for the rights to striker Emmanuel Latte Lath.
ESPN, citing unnamed sources, put the price at $26 million, more than LAFC’s total payroll of nearly $22.4 million, which is sixth highest in the league. Yet, strangely, that could still prove to be something of a bargain and represents another signing coup for general manager John Thorrington who, over the past four seasons, has signed Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud, players with the most appearances and goals for the French national team, respectively; Giorgio Chiellini and Gareth Bale, captains of the Italian and Welsh national teams, respectively; and Denis Bouanga, who led the MLS in goals in the past two full seasons.
Thorrington didn’t have to break the bank to do any of it.
LAFC earned $10 million from its participation in this summer’s Club World Cup, money it then invested in Son. And despite the massive transfer fee, the team could actually profit financially from the deal since it has long believed a Korean star playing in Los Angeles would more than pay for itself in marketing and sponsorship deals, much the same way the Dodgers have profited off Japan’s Shohei Ohtani.
Kim said that’s a very good bet.
“The passion and influence of Korean and Korean American soccer fans should never be underestimated,” he said, noting that major European clubs with Korean players have begun posting online content in Korean.
“Korean broadcasters,” he predicted, “may seek to acquire broadcasting rights and new business opportunities could emerge. Son’s arrival at LAFC will benefit not only the club but also the league as a whole.”
The influence won’t be limited to the Korean community, however. Son, who was one of the most popular players in the Premier League, speaks English well and has a positive and humble personality, which will make him easy to market across ethnic boundaries.
LAFC tried this once before, signing defender Kim Moon-hwan to much fanfare in 2021. But Kim, who had played his whole life in Korea, never really adapted to Los Angeles and returned home after 13 months, having played in just 28 games in MLS. Homesickness won’t be a problem for Son, who dropped out of high school to join an academy team in Hamburg, Germany, at 16.
Son will become the ninth Korean to play in MLS and the fourth to play this season. That’s a small number for a country that has played in 10 straight World Cups — something the U.S., Italy, the Netherlands and France haven’t done. If he is successful, it could open the way for more Koreans to play in MLS.
“Many in Korea believe Son raised the profile of Korean soccer through his efforts in Europe,” Kim said. “Son’s transfer presents a rare opportunity to boost the visibility of MLS, which has traditionally drawn less attention from Korean fans.”
Then there’s the on-field impact. Son scored more than 120 goals for Tottenham, reaching double digits in goals in eight of his past nine seasons at Tottenham and sharing the EPL Golden Boot with Liverpool’s Mo Salah four years ago. No Asian player had ever done that before, so his addition could go a long way toward reviving a slumbering LAFC offense that has scored more than one goal from the run of play just twice in its last 10 games in all competition heading into Tuesday’s Leagues Cup match with Tigres.
As for the South Korean national team and Son, its captain, the timing of the move to MLS couldn’t be better. The Koreans have already qualified for next summer’s World Cup, which is returning to North America for the first time since 1994, and playing in the U.S. will help Son, a three-time World Cup performer who is second in national team history in goals and third in appearances, adjust to the time, the weather and the travel, all things players complained about during the Club World Cup.
“When Son announced his departure from Tottenham, he mentioned that the 2026 World Cup might be his last,” Kim said. “As the captain, this is a pivotal time for him. I believe he will do everything he can to prepare thoroughly and being at LAFC will help him adapt to the local environment.”
It’s hard to imagine a signing with the potential to be so positive in so many ways. For LAFC and MLS, it looks to be well worth the price.
From Kevin Baxter: Brock Stewart slumped in front of a mostly empty locker in the middle of the Dodgers clubhouse Monday afternoon, a stall that used to belong to pitcher Dustin May, as clubhouse attendants rushed over with boxes of brand new size 13 cleats.
A week ago Stewart was pitching for the Minnesota Twins, who wear red cleats. The Dodgers don’t, so Stewart needed a makeover.
“I got blue gloves coming too,” he said.
Getting dressed properly isn’t the only thing players have to worry about when they change teams in the middle of the season. Stewart had a home and family in Minnesota to pack up and move when he learned Thursday that he had been traded from a team with a losing record to one chasing a second straight World Series title.
By late Monday evening, Stewart found himself in the middle of that pennant race when he took the mound in the ninth inning of a tie game. It didn’t end well, with Stewart (2-2) surrendering a run on three hits while getting just two outs in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
It was a rude homecoming for the right-hander, who was drafted by the Dodgers in 2014 but waived five years later after pitching 36 times over parts of four seasons. After he remade himself during a six-year sojourn in which dropped down to independent ball, Stewart was brought back to Los Angeles to stabilize an overworked, injury-plagued bullpen that has struggled.
In his first appearance at Dodger Stadium in the home uniform since 2019, he added to those struggles, giving up hits to the first two batters he faced, then falling behind 2-0 to pinch-hitter Yohel Pozo, who flared a single over the infield to drive in the go-ahead run.
For manager Dave Roberts, one bad outing won’t change Stewart’s role.
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ANGELS
Jo Adell hit a two-run homer, Yusei Kikuchi surrendered four hits in six innings and the Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 on Monday night.
The Rays (55-59) struck in the opening inning when Yandy Díaz doubled to right and scored on Junior Caminero’s sacrifice fly to center field. Kikuchi (5-7) escaped without further damage and finished with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Angels pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts.
Yoán Moncada reached on a fielder’s choice for the Angels in the second inning before Adell launched a 428-foot homer to left-center off Adrian Houser (6-3), putting the Angels (55-58) ahead 2-1.
From Anthony De Leon: The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office will not pursue charges against Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman, who was arrested on suspicion of felony weapons possession Friday night, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Dept. records.
Perryman was arrested after deputies allegedly discovered five firearms — including two assault-style weapons — in his vehicle during a traffic stop Friday night, the agency said in a statement. He was released from jail Monday afternoon and his arrest will be listed as a detention on his record.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh publicly addressed the situation Monday, saying he visited with the veteran linebacker in jail over the weekend.
“He’s working through the legalities along with his representation,” said Harbaugh before Perryman’s release from jail. “Had a chance to see him yesterday, whenever I visited, and he was in good spirits. And love Denzel. He’s always done right. He’s never been in trouble. They’ve got a beautiful family.”
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the president plans on creating the task force by executive order on Tuesday, telling The Times that Trump “considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle.”
“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,” Leavitt said. “Sports is one of President Trump’s greatest passions, and his athletic expertise, combined with his unmatched hospitality experience will make these Olympic events the most exciting and memorable in history.”
It is unclear whether the executive order will provide relief as city leaders and the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the privately funded nonprofit organization known as LA28 that is planning the Games, negotiate key issues including security costs.
1936 — At the Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens wins his third of four gold medals, winning the 200-meter race in an Olympic-record 20.7 seconds.
1954 — The first election for the Boxing Hall of Fame is held. Twenty-four fighters are elected, with the most noteworthy from the modern era Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis and Henry Armstrong. Fifteen are selected from the pioneer era including John L. Sullivan, Gentleman Jim Corbett and Jack Johnson.
1967 — The Denver Broncos beat the Detroit Lions, 13-7, in a preseason game, for the first AFL victory over an NFL team.
1984 — American Joan Benoit wins the first Olympic marathon for women in 2:24:52, finishing 400 meters ahead of Norway’s Grete Waitz.
1991 — Sergei Bubka becomes the first to clear 20 feet outdoors in the pole vault, breaking his own world record by a half-inch at the Galan track meet in Malmo, Sweden.
1997 — Michael Johnson wins his third straight 400-meter title at the world championships in Athens, Greece, capturing the gold medal in 44.12 seconds.
2005 — Jason Gore shoots a 12-under 59 in the second round of the Nationwide Tour’s Cox Classic in Omaha, Nebraska.
2006 — Warren Moon becomes the first Black quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio; joined by Troy Aikman, John Madden, Rayfield Wright, Harry Carson and Reggie White.
2007 — Lorena Ochoa wins the Women’s British Open — the first women’s pro tournament played at venerable St. Andrews — for her first major title.
2012 — Jamaica’s Usain Bolt claims consecutive gold medals in the marquee track and field event at the Summer Games in London. Only about fifth-fastest of the eight runners to the halfway mark, Bolt erases that deficit and overtakes a star-studded field to win the 100-meter dash final in 9.63 seconds, an Olympic record that lets him join Carl Lewis as the only men to win the event twice.
2012 — Britain’s Andy Murray cruises past Roger Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in the Olympic tennis singles final at Wimbledon. Serena and Venus Williams win the doubles title, as Serena becomes tennis’ first double-gold medalist at an Olympics since Venus won singles and doubles at the 2000 Sydney Games. Ben Ainslie earns another gold medal in the Finn class to become the most successful sailor in Olympic history.
2014 — The San Antonio Spurs hire WNBA star Becky Hammon as an assistant coach, making her the first woman to join an NBA coaching staff.
2017 — Justin Gatlin spoils Usain Bolt’s farewell beating him in the 100 meters at the world track championships in London. Bolt gets off to a slow start and Gatlin holds him off at the line in 9.92 seconds. American sprinter Christian Coleman takes silver in 9.94 seconds and Bolt took bronze in 9.95.
2018 — The Springfield Lasers win their first World TeamTennis title edging the Philadelphia Freedoms 19-18. The Lasers were 0-5 in WTT championship finals and winless in three meetings with the Freedoms during the 2018 regular season.
2018 — Georgia Hall of England catches Pornanong Phatlum in a final-round duel at Royal Lytham & St. Annes to win the Women’s British Open for her first major title.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1921 — Pittsburgh radio station KDKA and announcer Harold Arlin provided listeners with the first broadcast of a major league game. The Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5.
1927 — Philadelphia’s Cy Williams hit for the cycle, drove in six runs and scored three times to lead the Phillies to a 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1931 — For the second time in his career, Jim Bottomley got six hits as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 16-2 in the second game of a doubleheader.
1932 — Detroit pitcher Tommy Bridges lost his bid for a perfect game on a bloop single by the 27th Washington batter, pinch-hitter Dave Harris. The Tigers beat the Senators 13-0.
1933 — Sammy West of the St. Louis Browns had four extra-base hits in a 10-9, 12-inning win over the Chicago White Sox.
1942 — Don Kolloway’s two-out steal of home in the fifth inning was the only run as the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 1-0.
1969 — Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell became the only player to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium. Stargell’s shot off of Alan Foster cleared the right-field pavilion and landed 506 feet from home plate.
1973 — Phil Niekro of the Atlanta Braves pitched a 9-0 no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. He walked three and struck out four in recording the first no-hitter by the franchise in Atlanta.
1975 — The first eight batters for Philadelphia Phillies got hits for a major league record, en route to a 13-5 win over the Chicago Cubs.
1984 — Cliff Johnson of the Blue Jays hit his 19th career pinch homer to set a major league record as Toronto beat the Orioles 4-3 at Memorial Stadium.
1999 — Mark McGwire became the 16th member of the 500-home run club, hitting two homers — Nos. 500 and 501 — in the St. Louis Cardinals’ loss to San Diego.
2001 — The Cleveland Indians tied a major league record and became the first team in 76 years to overcome a 12-run deficit to win, defeating the Seattle Mariners 15-14 in 11 innings.
2005 — Albert Pujols became the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs in each of his first five seasons, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 11-3.
2006 — Trevor Hoffman set a major league record with his 11th 30-save season and the San Diego Padres defeated the Washington Nationals 6-3.
2007 — Tom Glavine earned his 300th victory in an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The 41-year-old left-hander became the 23rd pitcher with 300 victories and only the fifth lefty to win 300.
2013 — Alex Rodriguez was suspended through 2014 (211 games) and All-Stars Nelson Cruz, Jhonny Peralta and Everth Cabrera were banned 50 games apiece when Major League Baseball disciplined 13 players in a drug case — the most sweeping punishment since the Black Sox scandal nearly a century ago. Ryan Braun’s 65-game suspension last month and previous punishments bring to 18 the total number of players disciplined for their relationship to Biogenesis of America, a closed anti-aging clinic in Florida accused of distributing banned performing-enhancing drugs.
2019 — Jonathon Villar of the Orioles hits for the cycle in a 9-6 loss to the Yankees.
2021 — Team USA is headed to the Olympic Gold Medal Game for the first time in 21 years, beating South Korea, 7 – 2 at the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Teenager Eui-lee Lee holds the U.S. to two runs in five innings, one a mammoth homer by Jamie Westbrook, but five relievers are called on in the 6th when the U.S. scores five times. Jack López drives in two for the U.S. while Hyeseong Kim goes 3 for 3 in a losing cause. Ryder Ryan gets the win in relief of Joe Ryan.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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