Tag: baseball

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Hockey Feed

Report resurfaces on how Sidney Crosby was kicked off high school team!

Pens

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby might have an illustrious career on NHL ice, he didn’t experience the same success on the diamond.

Back in 2019, Crosby was a guest on the Spittin Chiclets podcast and recounted how he and close friend NHL defenseman Jack Johnson were kicked off their baseball team during their time at the prep school at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

Both players had to play a spring port and chose baseball, only to be kicked off the team after Johnson was clipped by a fast ball from the rival on the mouth, rushing towards him to fight with Crosby right behind him for support. Johnson fought the pitcher and the first-baseman while Sid took care of the catcher, kicking him to protect his teammate.

On Wednesday as Johnson was interviewed on TNT by Paul Bissonnette, the blue liner was asked again about the incident that led to both he and Crosby getting kicked off the team.

Johnson proudly stated that he served his time and didn’t have to undergo anger management for his actions.

This is an hilarious story and needs to be told again and again!

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Mobile Syrup

Major League Baseball could see the arrival of robot umpires in 2024

For those that are bored of watching a Blue Jays game, it’s about to get faster, at least that’s what MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is planning with robot umpires.

In an interview with ESPN, discussing the speed of baseball games and the issues contributing to it, he spoke about his support for several solutions including “robot umpires” in 2024.  The “automated ball-strike zone system,” as Manfred calls it, will transmit balls and strikes to a home plate umpire through an earpiece.

Another option in mind was to use video review for pitch calls which can be called with the number of challenges given to each team.

However, the MLB is testing the system in the minor leagues and it’s already speeding things up, cutting nine minutes from the average length of a game.

TrackMan originally created the system, which is used with the minor league games and is meant to provide more accuracy to calls within the game.

If you’re not a baseball or sports fan, umpire calls have been pretty brutal over the years for both fans and players who are not very pleased – here’s a compilation for better understanding.

The robot umpires are still being tested with a few of the same issues noticed with human umpires but are slowly making their way up in the minor leagues going as high as Triple-A, which is a level below the MLB.

When it seems to be more likely to happen, the MLB’s planned review systems would join sports like soccer with VAR and the NHL with video review for goals and missed calls on plays.

Nevertheless, hopefully, this is something that will make baseball less boring and more enjoyable for fans moving forward.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Sources: ESPN Via: The Verge 

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Sports (en)

First woman to coach in Major League Baseball

Apr 12, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken (92), the first female to coach on the field at first base, during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

Alyssa Nakken made Major League Baseball history last night (April 12). She became the first female on-field coach at a regular season game.

History doesn’t say if Nakken’s presence motivated her troops, but her club, the San Francisco Giants crushed the San Diego Padres 13-2.

Alyssa Nakken, 31, boarded the field in the third inning after Antoan Richardson was thrown out. When she was announced as Richardson’s replacement, Nakken was greeted with a warm ovation from the Oracle Park crowd. She also received a congratulatory handshake from referee Chris Guccione.

“I think we’re all inspirational in everything we do on a daily basis and I think, yes, it has a little bit more weight because of the visibility, there’s obviously a historical nature to it. But again, that’s my job,” commented the pioneer.

For Giants manager Gabe Kapler, Nakken’s presence on the field was only a matter of time.

“She does so many other things well that we don’t see. So it’s nice to see her in the spotlight and doing it on the field.”

Alyssa Nakken is an assistant defensive outfield coach.

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Mobile Syrup

Friday Night Baseball coming to Apple TV+

Apple has confirmed that “Friday Night Baseball” is coming to Apple TV+. The announcement was made at its ‘Peek Performance’ March hardware event.

This means that two baseballs games will stream exclusively on the service every Friday. Notably, this is the first offering of live sports from Apple TV+. Previously, the service has only offered movies and TV shows.

Further details weren’t provided, however, so it’s currently unclear whether this will be a premium add-on for Apple TV+ or whether it’s even coming to Canada. We’ll update this story once more information becomes available.

Additionally, Apple showed a sizzle reel of released and upcoming TV+ original films, including the Oscar Best Picture nominee Coda and the yet-to-be-released Christmas musical Spirited with Canada’s own Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell.

More to come…