Tag: Cincinnati Reds

MLB’s weirdest injuries of 2023, from a pool basketball mishap to a toilet setback
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MLB’s weirdest injuries of 2023, from a pool basketball mishap to a toilet setback

Every year at this time, we marvel at the many creative ways baseball players find to make an appearance on the ever-popular Strange But True Injuries of the Year leaderboard.So we’d like to thank this year’s baseball population for … cooking breakfast … playing the piano … and doing their best to get in and out of their hotel bathroom safely. But you know what’s especially amazing? None of those mishaps even topped this list!Really? Yes, really. So here they come, the Strangest But Truest Injuries of 2023.First prize: Eye confess!We always award Injury of the Year bonus points to guys who manage to get hurt while they’re already hurt. So here’s to Rays relief warrior Pete Fairbanks, who couldn’t even cover up the Giannis imitation that got him into this mess.When Fairbanks met with the R...
MLB’s 20 most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats of 2023 — with Kyle Schwarber leading off
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MLB’s 20 most mind-blowing hitting, pitching feats of 2023 — with Kyle Schwarber leading off

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … except for one thing:It’s no longer baseball season!But that’s where we come in. It’s our not-so-solemn duty to get you through these long, chilly, baseball-free months by helping you relive the best of the Strange But True baseball season of 2023. Don’t tell us you already forgot that …An unforgettable on-base streak ended even though the man who compiled that streak was standing on first base. … And we really did see a real human being steal third base and home on the same pitch. … And a team pitched a no-hitter despite the minor hindrance of also allowing seven runs — in the same inning!We’re not making any of that up. We spend the whole year keeping track of wacky stuff like this so you don’t have to. So join us now as we relive The Strange B...
Five things to watch on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot: Could Beltré be a unanimous pick?
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Five things to watch on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot: Could Beltré be a unanimous pick?

Nine weeks from today, we’ll find out who gets to live out the weekend of a lifetime next July in magical Cooperstown, N.Y. Spoiler alert: Adrián Beltré’s friends and loved ones had better make those dinner reservations ASAP!But there were 25 other names on the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot that was announced on Monday. And when I looked over those names, I could already see the storylines forming in my brain.So here they come — my Five Things to Watch on the latest, greatest Hall ballot.1. Can Adrián Beltré make ballot history? Adrián Beltré throws out the first pitch before Game 2 of the 2023 World Series. (Raymond Carlin III / USA Today)Could Adrián Beltré really become the first position player to get elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously? It’s a fascinating questio...
2023-24 MLB offseason: Bowden’s 24 predictions for signings, trades, hirings and more
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2023-24 MLB offseason: Bowden’s 24 predictions for signings, trades, hirings and more

Free agency officially started Monday but the managers, not the players, stole the show, headlined by the Cubs’ stunning swoop to land Craig Counsell. Frankly, I’m still in shock after yesterday’s series of managerial moves, which also included hires by the Mets (Carlos Mendoza) and Guardians (Stephen Vogt).Another unpredictable MLB offseason is here and although the trades and signings haven’t started in earnest, we have seen some noteworthy transactions, including several teams exercising club options on potential free agents such as Alex Cobb (Giants), José Leclerc (Rangers) and Kyle Hendricks (Cubs). We’ve seen teams cut ties with the faces of their franchise, as the White Sox declined their option on Tim Anderson and the Reds did the same with Joey Votto. We’ve seen players such as E...
Why Diamondbacks-Rangers is worth watching, from young stars to ring-chasing old timers
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Why Diamondbacks-Rangers is worth watching, from young stars to ring-chasing old timers

Look, we didn’t expect this either. Of all the possible World Series matchups, a tussle of the 90-win Texas Rangers against the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks wasn’t exactly at the top of our wish list. It’s being already decried as a battle of who could care less, and we get it. But we also disagree. Is this World Series custom-made for primetime? Of course not. But when asked to come up with a handful of reasons to watch, it took about two minutes for a small group of baseball writers to bat around more than a dozen storylines, personalities and raw talents that are going to be worth watching for the next however-long-this-lasts. Give us another Game 7, we say, because this might not be the series we expected, it might not even be the series we deserve, but it’s going to be a series worth ...
How the Reds’ Will Benson was shaped by the brother he never met
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How the Reds’ Will Benson was shaped by the brother he never met

CINCINNATI — There’s evidence of a future major-leaguer throughout Will Benson’s childhood room, a sports-adoring, adrenaline-thirsting teenager’s sanctuary that has remained untouched during his baseball journey.There’s the bat bearing the signature of Hank Aaron, one of baseball’s luminary sluggers, especially to an Atlanta kid with dreams of powering baseballs into the outfield seats. The bat displaying his own name, presented to him the night he became a 2016 first-round draft pick. His geometric painting of the MLB logo. The two team pictures from the Duke baseball program, which Will nearly joined, with the maxims: “Trust your process” and “Preparation has no offseason.”The most telling hint, though, that Will was destined for a big-league batter’s box is the busted violin that, for...