HARDBALL PODCASTEpisode 20HOFer Jim Palmer An amazing story before he ever appeared in his first game in an Oriole uniform. Adopted at 2 days old..and another life changing event at 9..and a car accident at 17 that almost derailed his career before it ever really got started…Jim knows how both fortunate and lucky he…
The 2019 amateur draft begins today and, as expected, C Adley Rutschman of Oregon State University, the MVP of the 2018 College World Series, is taken first overall, by the Orioles. He is followed by SS Bobby Witt Jr., son of Bobby Witt, a first-round pick himself in 1985, by the Royals. Andrew Vaughn, winner of the Golden Spikes Award in 2018 completes the initial trifecta by going to the White Sox. Remarkably, there are only two pitchers taken in the first 16 selections.
Michael Wacha of the Cardinals pitches no-hit ball for 8 innings against the Pirates before pinch-hitter Colin Moran leads off the 9th with a single. Reliever Jordan Hicks then records the final three outs to complete a one-hit, 5 – 0, combined shutout.
Blake Snell ties an American League record by striking out the first 7 batters he faces for the Rays against the Mariners. Denard Span ends the streak with a ground out, but Snell then strikes out Mike Zunino to end the 3rd. However, Seattle goes on to win, 2 – 1, on a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th after Snell has departed having struck out 12 in 6 scoreless innings.
Edinson Volquez of the Marlins throws the first no-hitter of the year, defeating the Diamondbacks, 3 – 0. He allows a pair of walks, but both baserunners are erased on double plays, so he faces the minimum 27 batters in his masterpiece. He almost leaves the game after one batter, after he collides with Rey Fuentes at first base and turns his ankle, but he stays in and pitches the game of his life.
Albert Pujols becomes the ninth major leaguer to hit 600 home runsand the only player to reach the milestone with a grand slam. The 37 year-old Los Angeles DH, the fourth youngest to accomplished the feat, behind only Babe Ruth, Alex Rodrigues, and Henry Aaron, goes deep in the fourth inning off Ervin Santana in the team’s 7-4 victory over the Twins at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
The Marlins get some unwanted publicity when they are the first to publicly announce the death of boxing great Muhammad Ali on the Marlins Park scoreboard at the end of tonight’s game against the Mets. Team President David Samson had heard the news from a person close to Ali, but had not realized the family had not made the news public when he calls on the scoreboard operators to pay tribute.
Rookie SS Corey Seager hits three homers, all solo shots, in the Dodgers’ 4 – 2 win over the Braves.
The Diamondbacks trade slugging OF Mark Trumbo and P Vidal Nuno to the Mariners for C Welington Castillo, P Dominic Leone and two prospects, IF Jack Reinheimer and OF Gabby Guerrero. The trade breaks a logjam in the outfield for the D-Backs, with the emergence of Cuban defector Yasmany Tomas, while they need a catcher to replace Tuffy Gosewisch who went down with a season-ending knee injury a week earlier.
Tempers flare in Miami in a game between the Marlins and the Cubs. In the 6th inning, Chicago’s Junior Lake hits a homer that cuts his team’s deficit to 6 -2, and taunts the Marlins’ bench while rounding third base; he is confronted by C J.T. Realmuto as he crosses the plate and both benches empty although no one is ejected. Giancarlo Stanton and Jeff Baker hit back-to-back homers for the second straight game for Miami, which ends up with a 7 – 3 win.