Category: MLB

Mariners Breakout Reliever Has a Relatable Reaction to Being Traded So Often
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Mariners Breakout Reliever Has a Relatable Reaction to Being Traded So Often

Reliever Gabe Speier has played a big role in the Seattle Mariners' rise to the top of the AL West in the 2024 MLB season's opening month.

The tattooed lefty has been stellar to open the season, boasting a 0.84 ERA in 10 2/3 innings with 15 strikeouts and a 452 ERA+. On top of his excellent play on the field, Speier has a great story that makes it easy to root for him.

The reliever is 29 years old and has been traded no less than four times throughout the course of his baseball career, dating back to 2014 after he signed with the Boston Red Sox out of Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, Ca. Plenty of MLB players have been traded more but there are few who have been traded as often while still making an impact at the major league level.

During an interview on MLB Network ahead of the Mariners' matinee against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, Speier gave a great quote about how often he's found himself on the move.

Outstanding. The guy is likable on and off the field.

It's a remarkable turnaround for Speier, who was claimed off waivers by Seattle last offseason and spent 2023 in Triple-A Tacoma. Now he's a critical part of a contending team's bullpen at the highest level.

At this rate, Speier has been traded for the last time.

Gabe Speier, MLB, Seattle Mariners
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Diamondbacks Beekeeper Hero Got His Own Official Topps Trading Card
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Diamondbacks Beekeeper Hero Got His Own Official Topps Trading Card

A swarm of bees at Chase Field delayed the Tuesday night tilt between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks for nearly two hours before the prayers of fans were answered by none other than Matt Hilton, a local beekeeper.

Hilton arrived on the scene and was successful in his removal of the swarm, which resulted in him getting the awesome opportunity to throw out the game's ceremonial first pitch.

That's not the only way Hilton was honored, however.

On Wednesday, the trading card company Topps unveiled an epic new baseball card, a 2024 Matt Hilton Topps Now Card, No. 145. Topps put the card on sale for 24 hours, pricing it at a reasonable $8.99 as a memento for fans who wanted to celebrate the viral beekeeper's heroics.

The card features a photo from Hilton after he transported the bees off the field on Tuesday, with his arms raised in the air while still wearing his beekeeping gear.

"Bee afraid, bee very afraid: Bees swarm in Arizona" is written on the bottom of the card.

In addition to the regular print of the Hilton card, Topps has also released special autographed editions, including a gold version of which only one was printed.

Fans at the stadium were greatly appreciative of Hilton's services on Tuesday night, and now the once in a lifetime experience has been immortalized by the trading card company in unique fashion.

Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
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Orioles Broadcaster Jim Palmer Absolutely Torches Ump After Terrible Called Strike
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Orioles Broadcaster Jim Palmer Absolutely Torches Ump After Terrible Called Strike

Three decades have passed since the end of Hall of Fame former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer's distinguished career.

However, antipathy toward shoddy umpiring never leaves former players. Palmer proved as such during the Orioles' 4-2 win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, which he called for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

After shortstop Gunnar Henderson was called out on strikes on a pitch outside the zone in the first inning, Palmer lit into umpire C.B. Bucknor.

"You kinda wonder how bad he's gonna be and he's shown us already in the first inning," Palmer said. "All you want is a guy that understands the strike zone."

According to Umpire Scorecards, Bucknor's 91.6% accuracy on pitches called is tied for the lowest in baseball this season among umpires who've worked at least five games.

"He shouldn't be umpiring and he is, and they know it," Palmer said. "He's been around a long time, it doesn't mean you—it's kinda like pitching. When I couldn't get people out, I became a broadcaster."

Bucknor, who's worked five postseasons and two All-Star Games, has been an MLB umpire since 1996.

Baltimore Orioles, Jim Palmer, MLB, New York Yankees
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There Was So Much Going On At This Mets Game’s $1 Hot Dog Night
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

There Was So Much Going On At This Mets Game’s $1 Hot Dog Night

1. For those of you who have been with me since back in the Hot Clicks days, you’ll remember that I often did giveaways in the column.

I learned very quickly that people LOVED free stuff. It didn’t matter what it was, either. I could be giving away the most useless item and there would still be a frenzy for it.

But what really makes people lose their minds more than anything else when it comes to getting something for free or dirt cheap is food.

This leads me to Tuesday night’s Cubs-Mets game at Citi Field. It was $1 hot dog night at the ballpark. And it was quite an event.

For starters, SNY sideline reporter Steve Gelbs, dressed as a hot dog, did a hard-hitting report in front of the “$1 Wiener Boys” where he explained that the Mets normally sell 4,100 hot dogs per game. For $1 hot dog night, the team ordered 70,000 frankfurters.

However, all the excitement over $1 hot dogs was just too much for some Mets fans to handle. One fan who made it his mission to consume as many dogs as possible caused so much excitement that other fans started throwing their wieners at him.

Unfortunately, this caused the fan, who kept track of how many hot dogs he ate and how many beers he drank on his shirt, to get removed from the ballpark, which then led to a hilarious “Let him eat” chant” from those around him.

When all was said and done, the attendance for the Cubs-Mets game was 22,880 and 44,269 hot dogs were sold.

2. Everything about the agony that sports can cause is summed up in this photo from the Sixers' shocking comeback win against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night thanks to an out-of-this-world performance from Tyrese Maxey, who had 46 points, including a dagger 3-pointer from WAY downtown to send the game to overtime.

3. We told you yesterday about NBC making a big play to steal the NBA from TNT. CNBC reports that if that happens, John Tesh would be fine with NBC using the classic and popular NBA theme song he composed, Roundball Rock, that was a staple when the network used to air the NBA.

4. What a scene in Arizona last night. The Dodgers-Diamondbacks game was delayed for nearly two hours because a colony of bees decided to set up show on the netting behind home plate.

The stadium had to call on beekeeper, Matt Hilton, to take care of things and he instantly become a local hero.

5. This was quite a take from Stephen A. Smith on Mike Trout, who is now sidelined indefinitely after suffering a torn meniscus.

6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with newly retired New York Yankees radio legend, John Sterling.

Sterling, who was the radio voice of the Yankees for 36 seasons before stepping away from the job in mid-April, talks about his decision to retire now and clarifies reports on his health. He also addresses the social media backlash the Yankees faced after giving him an 83-inch television as a retirement gift.

Sterling also shares the advice he’d give the person who succeeds him as the Yankees radio play-by-play person, shares his thoughts on his “streak” of calling 5,060 straight games and remembers his time as a sports talk radio host. Sterling also reveals the one Yankees player who asked him to change his famous home run call and talks about the role Mike and the Mad Dog played in helping the home run calls become a thing.

Following Sterling, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include the NFL draft, Aaron Boone’s ridiculous ejection, the upcoming unedited The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady on Netflix, Taylor Swift’s new album and more.

You can listen to each podcast by clicking into the tweet below. You can also listen on Apple and Spotify.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I can’t get enough of these videos that have “Gorilla Monsoon” and “Bobby Heenan” call memorable sports moments.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. 

Hot Dogs, Mets, MLB, New York Mets
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Ronald Acuña Jr. Slump Hits Alarming New Low for Braves
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Ronald Acuña Jr. Slump Hits Alarming New Low for Braves

For some time now, the Atlanta Braves have gone as their young superstar, Ronald Acuña Jr. has gone. But to start 2024, Acuña has slumped while the Braves have continued to win, leading the NL East by a half-game going into Wednesday's game.

Acuña, meanwhile, has hit statistical marks that resemble some previous slumps, while achieving personal records of the wrong kind.

David O'Brien pointed out on Tuesday night that Acuña's two strikeouts to start the game officially gave him more multi-strikeout games than he had in all of last season. April has just finished. Acuña closed the game 0-for-4 and the Braves lost 3-2 to the Seattle Mariners. It lowlights a season where he's slashing just .245/.366/.318.

Surely, reason for concern for both the player and the team, even despite the fact that Atlanta has won through his slow start. The Braves can only get so far without Acuña achieving his potential. He's struggled with fastballs so far this year, slugging .100 against four-seamers, a pitch he slugged .615 against in 2023.

Contextualizing his slow start, his 10-game rolling strikeout rate went above 35 percent in April, something that hadn't happened for him since 2022 when he slumped in July. His slump was as pronounced then as it is now. After bouncing back from the slump, he admitted his knee injury from then held him back.

While there's been no official word from Acuña that the knee is what's to blame for this slump, that same knee bothered him in Spring Training and he missed some time before Opening Day. And the characteristics of what he was struggling through -- struggling with four-seam fastballs -- were similar.

There are nuggets of optimism to glean from the situation. The most obvious is that Acuña has battled through month-long slumps before, that 2022 one sticking out as an obvious example. Acuña can recall the extra work he put in in late July and early August with lots of additional pregame work as a way out.

In 2022, after his 10-game rolling strikeout rate peaked at 40.5 percent on the 23rd of June, he got it all the way down to 12.2 percent by August 5th. August wound up being his best month at the plate in OPS (.877), batting average (.316) and total bases (45). He has proven the capability to bounce back.

No slump is the same, but Atlanta will be hoping for a similar comeback.

atlanta braves, MLB, ronald acuna jr
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Beekeeper Plays Hero in Dodgers-Diamondbacks After Lengthy Bee Delay
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Beekeeper Plays Hero in Dodgers-Diamondbacks After Lengthy Bee Delay

Chase Field needed a hero Tuesday night.

An NL West clash between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers was put on hold just before 7 p.m. PT due to a bee colony forming on the protective netting behind home plate.

After a lengthy delay, Diamondbacks team officials called a local professional beekeeper to properly take care of the colony. Once the beekeeper arrived, they were elevated on a lift to meet the colony, which was located at the very top of the back screen.

The beekeeper used what appeared to be a vacuum to safely transport the bees to their next location—likely far away from Chase Field.

Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" song blared at the ballpark as the beekeeper worked.

Mission successful. The bees were handled with care, and the game between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers began at 8:35 p.m. PT after nearly a two-hour delay.

You really never know what you're going to see at the ballpark every night.

Arizona Diamondbacks, Chase Field, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
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Benches Clear in Brewers-Rays After Abner Uribe, Jose Siri Exchange Punches
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Benches Clear in Brewers-Rays After Abner Uribe, Jose Siri Exchange Punches

Things quickly became heated on the field Tuesday night in the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers' 8–2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

To lead off the eighth, Rays outfielder Jose Siri grounded out to first base. While Siri jogged to first, Brewers reliever Abner Uribe appeared to have some words for the 28-year-old. Siri chirped back.

Despite umpire Phil Cuzzi's best efforts to separate the two players, Uribe and Siri exchanged blows, with Uribe throwing the first punch over Cuzzi’s shoulder to connect with Siri’s helmet. Both the Brewers and Rays benches cleared, and chaos ensued from there.

When the dust had settled, Siri and Uribe both were ejected. Hoby Milner took over on the mound for Uribe, and the Brewers cruised to finish off their 8–2 win.

Tensions between Siri and the Brewers began earlier in the game. After Siri crushed a solo homer in the third inning, Milwaukee starting pitcher Freddy Peralta hit him with a 95.2-mph fastball in his next at-bat in the sixth. Home plate umpire Chris Guccione ejected Peralta and Brewers manager Pat Murphy after that play.

MLB likely will hand out suspensions for Uribe and Siri, among others, on Wednesday. The Brewers and Rays will wrap up their three-game series Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Abner Uribe, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, Tampa Bay Rays
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Yankees' Juan Soto Roasted Orioles Pitcher After Launching 447-Foot Home Run
1 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Yankees’ Juan Soto Roasted Orioles Pitcher After Launching 447-Foot Home Run

New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto unleashed a mammoth home run during Tuesday's loss against the Baltimore Orioles, and he boldly opted to stare down pitcher Dean Kremer as he began to trot the bases.

When asked after the game about the staredown with the Orioles' starter, Soto told reporters that he chose to glare at Kremer because the right-hander didn't like his "Soto Shuffle."

"I bet he didn't like the homer, too," said Soto, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Soto's sixth-inning solo launched a stunning 447 feet into the seats in left field, and he was clearly fired up about the moonshot despite the Yankees still trailing 4–2, a scoreline that would hold out for the remainder of the game.

If Kremer wasn't a fan of Soto's antics in the batter's box, he's certainly not alone, though the left-handed slugger doesn't seem likely to put an end to his shuffling maneuvers.

The 447-foot bomb was Soto's eighth of the year, and he's up to 25 RBIs on the campaign through his first 31 games.

Baltimore Orioles, Dean Kremer, Juan Soto, MLB, New York Yankees
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Mike Trout Fights Back Tears When Discussing Knee Injury
30 Apr 24 Jimm Sallivan

Mike Trout Fights Back Tears When Discussing Knee Injury

The Los Angeles Angels are set to be without Mike Trout for an extended period of time after the superstar outfielder was diagnosed with a torn meniscus on Tuesday.

Trout will undergo knee surgery to repair the meniscus tear in the near future, and the team is optimistic that he'll be able to return later in the season.

Trout was emotional and fought back tears while opening up about his disappointment over the latest injury setback on Tuesday, while also explaining how he came to discover the issue to begin with.

"It's just frustrating," said Trout, via Alden GonzĂĄlez of ESPN.

"It's crazy because, I look back and I don't even know when I did it," he said of the injury, adding that he noticed a slight ache during the third inning of the Angels' 6–5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

The 32-year-old said that he had trouble sleeping due to discomfort in the knee, which caused him to get it looked at by the Angels' medical staff. It was then determined he sustained a tear in his meniscus, which will require surgery.

Injuries have been an issue for the three-time AL MVP during the latter stages of his career. Trout has not played more than 119 games in a single season since 2019, and, assuming he misses the mark in 2024, has featured in less than 100 games in three of the last four years.

Trout had gotten off to a torrid start to the season, his 14th in MLB, having launched a league-best 10 home runs to go with 14 RBI and a .867 OPS across 29 games.

Angels, Mike Trout, MLB
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Mike Trout to Undergo Knee Surgery, Derailing Hot Start
30 Apr 24 Jimm Sallivan

Mike Trout to Undergo Knee Surgery, Derailing Hot Start

Mike Trout needs surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and will be out indefinitely. Though the injury isn't expected to be season-ending, his absence will derail what had been a hot start for the 32-year-old Los Angeles Angels star.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan first reported Trout's impending surgery, which was later confirmed by Angels general manager Perry Minasian, per The Athletic's Sam Blum. It's a huge blow to the Angels as they attempt to build something in their post-Shohei Ohtani era.

Trout was attempting to bounce back from several injury-plagued seasons in 2024 and had gotten off to a blistering start in the power department. Last week, he became the first MLB player to reach 10 home runs in the 2024 season. His batting average (.220) and on-base percentage (.325) were lower than expected, but his batting average on balls in play is an abnormally low .194, which suggests some bad luck. Trout was slugging .541 and had already racked up 1.2 WAR.

The Angels have been terrible to open the season, and Trout's injury isn't going to help. They enter Tuesday 11–18 and already are five games back of the Seattle Mariners for first place in the American League West. As a team, the Angels currently rank 28th in ERA (5.01) and 18th in OPS (.691). A lack of pitching and a middling offense is not the way to find success.

Trout's injury is a blow to his team and to Major League Baseball as a whole. The league is better when the three-time AL MVP is playing.

Los Angeles Angels, Mike Trout, MLB
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