“With all due respect to Tom Hanks, there is crying in baseball.” – MIKE PIZZA, responding to his emotional state about being inducted into the Hall of Fame and having his number retired by the Mets.Mike Piazza, considered by many the greatest-hitting catcher in baseball history, has his number retired by the Mets, a team he played with for eight seasons, batting .296 and slugging 220 home runs. The 2016 Hall of Fame inductee is the second person, along with right-hander Tom Seaver (41) honored for what he accomplished as a player for the team and he joins managers Gil Hodges (14) and Casey Stengel (37) and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson’s (42), also recognized by the franchise for their contributions to team and to the sport.

ByBaseball

“With all due respect to Tom Hanks, there is crying in baseball.” – MIKE PIZZA, responding to his emotional state about being inducted into the Hall of Fame and having his number retired by the Mets.Mike Piazza, considered by many the greatest-hitting catcher in baseball history, has his number retired by the Mets, a team he played with for eight seasons, batting .296 and slugging 220 home runs. The 2016 Hall of Fame inductee is the second person, along with right-hander Tom Seaver (41) honored for what he accomplished as a player for the team and he joins managers Gil Hodges (14) and Casey Stengel (37) and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson’s (42), also recognized by the franchise for their contributions to team and to the sport.

In front of 2,000 fans at Fayetteville’s JP Riddle Stadium, the Coastal Plain League’s SwampDogs became the first team to play all nine starters at nine different positions when the team rotates the players during the nine-inning game. The exhibition game against the Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League’s Kernersville Bulldogs ends in a 5-5 ten-inning deadlock, when both teams run out of players.

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In front of 2,000 fans at Fayetteville’s JP Riddle Stadium, the Coastal Plain League’s SwampDogs became the first team to play all nine starters at nine different positions when the team rotates the players during the nine-inning game. The exhibition game against the Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League’s Kernersville Bulldogs ends in a 5-5 ten-inning deadlock, when both teams run out of players.

The Astros Valencia win their first Division Honor title. They finish the year at 24-4, tied with the Tenerife Marlins, and the teams split the head-to-head games 2-2 but the Astros won the run differential between the teams, the second tie-breaker.

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The Astros Valencia win their first Division Honor title. They finish the year at 24-4, tied with the Tenerife Marlins, and the teams split the head-to-head games 2-2 but the Astros won the run differential between the teams, the second tie-breaker.

A couple of big deals are made ahead of the trading deadline. The Padres, who have been the most active dealers on the market, send OF Matt Kemp to the Braves in return for 3B Hector Olivera; both players are due hefty sums of money over the next few years, but Kemp is having a productive year while Olivera, who is about to come off from an 82-game suspension for a domestic violence incident, has a lot of money due him, so the Padres will still be winners from a financial standpoint even if, as expected, Olivera is designated for assignment. The other trade is motivated by more traditional baseball reasons: the Nationals whose Achilles heel is closer Jonathan Papelbon’s up-and-down performance, acquire Mark Melancon from the Pirates for Ps Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn.

ByBaseball

A couple of big deals are made ahead of the trading deadline. The Padres, who have been the most active dealers on the market, send OF Matt Kemp to the Braves in return for 3B Hector Olivera; both players are due hefty sums of money over the next few years, but Kemp is having a productive year while Olivera, who is about to come off from an 82-game suspension for a domestic violence incident, has a lot of money due him, so the Padres will still be winners from a financial standpoint even if, as expected, Olivera is designated for assignment. The other trade is motivated by more traditional baseball reasons: the Nationals whose Achilles heel is closer Jonathan Papelbon’s up-and-down performance, acquire Mark Melancon from the Pirates for Ps Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn.