The Diamondbacks return to Chase Field
Not much Diamondbacks news that hasn’t already been covered on the site yesterday. There are many wonderful articles out there remembering Nicole Hazen, but it seems… disrespectful to include them in a morning link dump. Instead, before jumping into the general MLB news of the day, I’ll suggest once again, if you feel moved to do so, to donate to the Nicole Hazen Fund for Hope. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Hazen family in this impossibly difficult time.
MLB News
(ESPN) Los Angeles Angels equal dubious MLB milestone with 7 home runs hit in losing cause
It took a team effort, but this was a classic Tungsten Arm O’Doyle game for Ohtani and the Angels. Ohtani lead the way with two solo home runs of his own, and the rest of the team added five more, to set the MLB record of hitting seven home runs in a losing effort. Remember when we all wished that Morneo had bought the Diamondbacks instead of the Angels? Good times…
On the other hand, the new and improved Padres line up came to play. Prize acquisition Juan Soto only managed one hit on the day, but the rest of the lineup, lead by The (current) One Who Got Away, Brandon Drury, put together an easy 9-1 win.
(MiLB.com) Clarke goes inside the park for the second straight game in rain-shortened win
Clarke seized the spotlight in the sixth. A day after sprinting around the bases after his line drive into the left field corner eluded Austin Murr, Clarke drilled an RJ Petit offering off the right-center wall, with the ball bouncing back past center fielder Ben Malgeri. Unlike his first inside-the-park home run, there was no play at the plate. Clarke scored standing, his momentum carrying him racing into his dugout with his fifth home run in the MWL. He is the first Nut since Tim Locastro in 2015 with two inside-the-park home runs in one year.
(Yahoo!) MLB rivals Cubs and Cardinals will play in London in 2023
The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will take one of Major League Baseball’s oldest rivalries overseas with a two-game series at London in 2023, the teams announced Thursday.
The US Midwestern squads, foes since 1892, will meet June 24-25 as part of the MLB London Series at baseball-configured London Stadium.
(MLBTR) Phillies Release Didi Gregorius
Last season, Gregorius hit a miserable .209/.270/.370, 68 wRC+, meaning his production was 32% worse than the league average hitter. After that dismal campaign, his grasp on the shortstop position for 2022 seemed tenuous at best. Philadelphia’s president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski publicly admitted as much in October.
(SI.com) Honus Wagner Card Sells for $6.606 Million, Becomes Most Expensive Trading Card Ever
Looks like the Diamondbacks aren’t the only investment Ken Kendrick has that is exponentially increasing in value despite no real contribution from him /rimshot. Anyway, another Honus Wagner card hit the market, and another record was set for most expensive trading card ever. It’s crazy to me how something that was included as the prize in the box, essentially, could have become so valuable over time.
(MLB.com) How much is a Mark Zuckerberg card worth? We’re going to find out
Something tells me that this baseball card probably won’t sell for as much as the Honus Wagner card. However, if you want to get a Little League baseball card signed by the man who history will one day blame for the entire collapse of Western Civilization, then now’s your chance!