American League notes
Baltimore: Cal Ripken Jr. was quick to dismiss any concerns that his family might be upset about top prospect Jackson Holliday’s choice of uniform number. Holliday, 20, got the call to the major leagues last week. He will become the first player to wear the No. 7 jersey for the Orioles since Bill Ripken in 1988 and the seventh player to wear it in team history. The number had been unofficially retired since former Orioles manager and coach Cal Ripken Sr. died in 1999. “Our family is thrilled that [Jackson Holliday] will be wearing dad’s #7 … Excited to watch him play!” he wrote on social media platform X. Cal Jr.’s brother, Bill, concurred with the sentiment.
Boston: Manager Alex Cora had the quote of the week with the news that Jackson Holliday was making his major league debut against them. “For baseball, this is great,” Cora said. “For the American League East, it sucks.”
Chicago: Former White Sox manager Tony La Russa was ripped for telling his players it was OK not to hustle at all times running to first base, fearing injuries. Maybe he was ahead of his time. The White Sox’s three biggest stars (Eloy Jiménez, Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada) were on the IL. Yep, they were all injured running to first base. Jiménez was activated April 15.
Cleveland: Last week started with a total solar eclipse. Several instances of the Guardians punching their way out of a deficit followed. The big one was in last Sunday’s homestand finale, against the Yankees. The Guardians trailed at different points throughout the entire day, but their backs were never against the wall more than in the 10th inning, after the Yankees scored twice in the top of the 10th and took a 7-5 lead. The Guardians fought back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the 10th to win it in walk-off fashion via Andres Gimenez’s sacrifice fly to right field. The win improved the Guardians’ record to 10-5, momentarily atop the American League Central standings in the first few weeks of new manager Stephen Vogt’s debut at the helm. “That’s what this team does,” Vogt said. “We fight, and these guys never quit.”
Detroit: Javier Báez cupped his left hand to his ear and looked to the crowd. “I know it’s frustrating for the fans,” Báez said, “but that doesn’t really help the team and the organization. If we grind together, we should stand up together, we should stay together when we’re down.” Báez, who has heard boos from a lot of fans and much worse from other fans, asked to hear it from the crowd while jogging around the bases in last Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Twins at Comerica Park. The 11-year MLB veteran sparked his team’s four-run eighth inning with a solo home run to left field. It was his first homer since Sept. 15 of last season, including 52 plate appearances in spring training. It was his first extrabase hit this season, spanning 46 plate appearances.
Houston: Scouts are alarmed that 1B Jose Abreu’s bat has drastically slowed and wonder how patient the team will be considering Abreu is the second year of a three-year, $58.5 million contract. Abreu, 37, has already been benched several games this past week and has batted eighth for the first time in his career when in the starting lineup. He was hitting just .111 with only one extra-base hit. Is he done, or is just the usual, considering he’s a notorious slow starter?
Kansas City: Eric Hosmer, the former All-Star and Gold Glover who helped the Royals win the 2015 World Series, may be officially retired as a player, but now he is hoping to make an impact in the game from behind the mic. Certainly, he’s got connections with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. joining Hosmer’s MoonBall Media as an executive producer for its latest docuseries. Hosmer, who still is being paid $13 million annually for the next two seasons by the San Diego Padres, started MoonBall Media with his former Royals minor league teammate Anthony Seratelli. Hosmer says that he wants to be a vehicle for players to tell their stories, and perhaps a voice to let players freely discuss topics in and outside of the game.
Los Angeles: Manager Ron Washington’s impact on third baseman Anthony Rendon has been remarkable, according to scouts and opposing managers. Rendon, who opened the season in a 0-for-21 slump, is not only hitting .387 since ending the skid but is one of the first players on the field each day to be part of infield drills with Washington.
Minnesota: The Twins placed SS Carlos Correa on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain on April 13. Correa, 29, sustained the injury during the Twins’ 8-2 loss to the Tigers the day before. A two-time All-Star, Correa is hitting .306 with one homer, four RBI and .432 on-base percentage in 11 games this season . ... A chance for Minnesota (6-8) to get to .500 on Sunday turned into their sixth loss in nine games. Detroit’s eighth-inning rally included a short-hop liner off the heel of shortstop Willi Castro’s
glove and Mark Canha’s two-run double off third baseman Kyle Farmer’s glove into left field. Both plays were ruled hits, but the Minnesota duo believed they should have made both plays.
New York: In his 36th season as the radio voice of the Yankees and nearly 65 years in broadcasting, John Sterling confirmed to The Record and NorthJersey.com that he has decided to call it a career. The Yankees said the retirement is effective immediately and he would be recognized in a pregame ceremony April 20. Sterling had already planned a limited schedule in 2024, taking off most road games except those at the nearest East Coast cities. Over the past few years, Sterling, 85, grew weary of the road trips and preferred time spent at home and with his family. Suzyn Waldman could presumably handle most of the play-by-play in Sterling’s absence . ... A left-hander who won 20 games as an AL All-Star in 1970, retiring with the lowest all-time ERA at the original Yankee Stadium, 2.52, Fritz Peterson has died at 82, according to a statement last week by the Yankees. Peterson became more popularly known for swapping families with staff mate Mike Kekich during spring training of 1973.
Oakland: Certainly, even with a capacity of only 14,014 at Sutter Health Park, where the Athletics will play the next three years in Sacramento, it’s not as if they’re going to take a hit at the ticket window. The A’s are averaging just 6,281 fans a game this season, with only 3,330 fans showing up last Saturday afternoon and haven’t averaged more than 10,276 in a season since the pandemic. Yet the A’s will take a huge hit with their local TV deal at NBC Sports California, dropping to about $35 million after receiving $67 million last season. They also are expected to receive at least $45 million in revenue sharing.
Seattle: Mired in another early-season slump, OF Julio Rodriguez was given a day off April 14. Even that didn’t go as planned. Rodriguez, called upon as a pinch runner in the ninth inning, was picked off for the final out in the Mariners’ 3-2 loss to the visiting Chicago Cubs. Rodriguez, 23, who has won a Silver Slugger award in each of his first two seasons, has proved to be a slow starter – batting just .216 in March/April in his career. This season has been worse, as he’s hitting .186 with one extra-base hit and has struck out in 33.3% of his plate appearances. “Just let him unplug a little bit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I think (a day off is) really important, not just from a physical side but from a mental side.”
Tampa Bay: Amed Rosario and Rene Pinto swatted home runs off LHP Blake Snell to spoil his return to the Tampa area, leading the Tampa Bay Rays by the Giants 9-4 April 14 in St. Petersburg, Florida. A five-year member of the Rays which included his 2018 American League Cy Young-winning campaign, Snell (0-2) was battered for seven runs on six hits in four innings as his ERA rose to 12.86.
Texas: RHP Michael Lorenzen, the Rangers’ key offseason acquisitions, was activated April 15 from 15-day injured list and pitched five scoreless innings against the Tigers. Lorenzen signed a one-year deal March 22. He began the season on the IL due to a neck strain and did not pitch during spring training. With Detroit and the Philadelphia Phillies last season, he went 9-9 with a 4.18 ERA over 29 games (25 starts). Lorenzen established career highs for strikeouts (111), innings pitched (153) and victories. Lorenzen threw a no-hitter for the Phillies in his second start with the club Aug. 9 against the Nationals.
Toronto: The Blue Jays received a two-hit, seven-inning start from Jose Berrios in winning their rubber match against the Rockies on April 14. Justin Turner continued to produce for Toronto with three hits and three RBI. “We’re getting going,” Turner said. “And I still don’t think we’re even close to scratching the surface of the potential of the offense. So we’ll keep showing up and keep working.” The Blue Jays had won four of six entering the week.