Major League Baseball 2024 (1 Viewer)

[Madmarsha]

Nobody's excited at the prospect of a Dodgers sweep?

 

[SystemShock]

Dodgers star Fernando Valenzuela, who changed MLB by sparking Fernandomania, dies at 63

Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born pitcher who led the Dodgers to a World Series win and vastly expanded MLB's Latino fan base, dies at age 63.

www.latimes.com

Valenzuela played for the Yucatán Lions. It was here in Mérida where Mike Brito saw him play while scouting Ali Uscanga. Incidentally, Uscanga died a couple of years ago, apparently from COVID.

I remember watching Fernando pitch that rookie season in MLB... at first it was weird to watch him play in MLB after seeing him play for the Lions at the now gone Carta Clara Stadium, and even booing him on a couple of occasions ( as good as a 12 year old boos), then as the no hitters started coming, getting annoyed and wondering why the hell he didn't pitch like that here.

He married a local girl here in Mérida, in a low key ceremony, and the local paper made a big deal of a letter Ronald Reagan sent to him to congratulate him on the wedding.

It was sad to see him those last days, a man who was nicknamed the bull, waste away from the disease.

If you have ESPN+, the 30 for 30 about Fernandomania is worth a watch, not just for the baseball part, but the cultural impact Valenzuela had.

 

[kcirdor]

Nobody's excited at the prospect of a Dodgers sweep?

I hate the yankees the most in baseball... and im an othani fan... so yes.

Yes i hate the dodgers.. i also hate the Lakers and was a Shaq fan..

 

[Saintman2884]

I hate the yankees the most in baseball... and im an othani fan... so yes.

Yes i hate the dodgers.. i also hate the Lakers and was a Shaq fan..

New York looks like a team that hasn't played in a World Series since 2009 and IMHO, quite a bit of their momentum, self-confidence and poise got shaken when Freeman hit that grand-slam home run winner in the bottom of the 10th with 2 outs and an opportunity to win the first game in their opponents' home field wasted affected them psychologically that I'm not sure they've recovered. Albeit, it's still a very painful, agonizing dagger that would test even the strongest, hardest of most teams' resolve admittedly.

Plus, one has to keep in mind that this Yankees squad is still relatively "young-ish", over the past 7-8 seasons, every time they got close to a WS appearance, Houston for the most part, out-played, out-matched them in most major aspects. Guys like Judge, Soto, Stanton don't look comfortable or give me the same " championship stride" past Yankees teams had like the diehard, highly professional, yet consistently killer instinct late 90's/2000 Yankees of Jeter, A-Rod, Aaron Boone, Riviera, " Godzilla". Meanwhile, by contrast, this is L.A.'s 4th WS appearance in 8 seasons and their one win away from clinching their 2nd title in 5 years. They look, act and behave like a collection of guys who've been here before and know how to win. Every meaningful metric that makes up the major on-field aspects Dodgers have dominated: pitching, hitting, great situational defense, minimizing mental errors and mistakes and in so far as it relates to context of this World Series, Dave Roberts has run circles around Aaron Boone so far.

 

[Brandon13]

As a Braves fan I really forking hate that guy who used to be Freddie Freeman's agent.

 

[superchuck500]

Freeman is

 

[Saintman2884]

As a Braves fan I really forking hate that guy who used to be Freddie Freeman's agent.

Did he play hardball or was unreasonable in his contract demands that the Braves FO and management just let him walk?

 

[superchuck500]

Ejected

 

[nolastyle]

Yankees bats finally showing up in game 4.

 

[Brandon13]

Did he play hardball or was unreasonable in his contract demands that the Braves FO and management just let him walk?

He reportedly never told Freeman about the Braves final offer. Freeman learned about this the first time he returned to Atlanta as a Dodger and subsequently fired said agent.

 

[Madmarsha]

Back to L.A.

 

[tenordas]

Ejected

Yet another reason the Yankees are so despicable: their entitled fans.

And before you say "isolated incident" or "only two people," notice the looks on the fans around them. They're all loving it.

The Dodgers let sports down tonight by not sweeping the Great Satan. Maybe they just want to win at home, but for crying out loud, finish off the Yahoos already and end this awful series.

At least Freeman has ended the possibility of anyone else being named MVP (honestly, even in the unlikely event they somehow blow the series, there's no way he shouldn't be named MVP anyway) by doing not one, but two things no other player in MLB history has ever done.

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Ejected

Should have been arrested for assault, as well as attempted robbery. How much is a game-used World Series baseball worth? A felonious amount?

 

[Madmarsha]

Back to L.A.

Wait, it's still in New York tonight?

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Wait, it's still in New York tonight?

Yup 2-3-2 series.