Catching you up on the latest news and notes from around baseball.
Good day friends! Let’s get to it.
In Mariners news…
- 15-year-old Hometown Nine fellow Xavier Austin is getting to live out his dream as a baseball broadcaster with the Mariners.
Around the league…
- Former Oregon State Beaver and current Cardinals pitching prospect Cooper Hjerpe will miss the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
- Cubs infielder and National League Rookie of the Year favorite Matt Shaw is headed back to Triple-A after a rough start to the season.
- Former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks opened up to The Athletic’s Sam Blum about his terminal cancer diagnosis and his mindset on living life while he’s got it. ($)
- Dayn Perry at CBS Sports outlined all of the ways baseball bats have grown and changed over the years.
- A Braves television broadcaster used live airtime to ask a fan for her phone number, which led to some fan backlash.
- On Jackie Robinson Day, Lex Pryor at The Ringer wrote about Jackie’s legacy and reflected on how things have taken a turn for the worse when it it comes to racial equity in sports.
- Dodger Stadium will reportedly serve as the main venue for baseball competition during the 2028 Olympic Games.
- Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranked the best starting pitchers in the sport. ($)
Anders’ picks…
- Paul A. Thompson highlighted the best and worst of Coachella, in which he ripped apart the musicality and performance of Monroe, Washington’s own Benson Boone (I am inclined to agree with his take).