Rizzo wants Judge back ‘for the sake of the game’
NEW YORK — Now that Anthony Rizzo has decided to remain in New York Yankees pinstripes, he’d like to see Aaron Judge stick around, too.
“I hope Judge stays just for the sake of the game,” Rizzo said Wednesday “because you see a lot of franchise icons not getting what they deserve for the team that they have done so much for.”
Rizzo agreed Tuesday to a $40 million, two-year contract, a week after turning down a $16 million player option.
“My wife, Emily, and I really love it here. We love the city. We love the energy. We love Yankee Stadium. We love going to Yankee Stadium and playing at that park every day,” Rizzo said. “And you look at the team, the New York Yankees are a team that, this organization, this franchise, that has consistently put winning products on the field.”
Rizzo gets $17 million in each of the next two seasons, and the deal for the first baseman includes a $17 million team option for 2025 with a $6 million buyout.
Judge, who remains on the free agent market, contacted Rizzo after the agreement.
“Just congratulations — the basics: ‘Well deserved. Happy for you. Say hi to Emily,'” Rizzo remembered.
He hit .224 with 75 RBI and had 32 home runs for the fourth time in his career. He hit 19 home runs at Yankee Stadium, including six close to the right-field foul line.
Rizzo said his back has not hampered him during offseason workouts.
Acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the 2021 trade deadline, Rizzo helped the Cubs to the 2016 World Series title — their first in 108 years.
“Just playing baseball isn’t enough in a big market. There’s a lot of other things that come with that and I enjoy doing those things,” he said. “I enjoy taking responsibility to do those things, to stand up to talk to the media, good, bad or indifferent. And I think that really teaches you a lot about this game of baseball and it teaches you valuable lessons in your own life. Everyone loves you when you’re good, your coaches, the media, your friends, everyone, you’re the greatest thing on earth. But things go bad, that’s when you really find out who you are.”
He wouldn’t detail which other teams contacted him. though he did not have any face-to-face meetings.
“When teams reach out to you in this process, it just makes you feel good,” Rizzo said. “I feel like in this game you are told what you don’t do really well, so in free agency when teams call, they praise you.”
He looks ahead to restrictions on defensive shifts next season.
“I’m hoping, obviously optimistically, like every lefty, I feel like I get very affected by the shifts, as a lot of lefties around the league,” he said. “Those maybe meaningless little singles that get in the hole there, I feel like turn a lot of us lefties into a very dangerous hitter.”
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, like all football coaches, wants his players to show up on time, work hard and play their best.
Oh, and another thing: Don’t dance on TikTok.
“They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday. “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”
Making TikTok dance videos is a popular activity among high school- and college-age users of the social media platform. Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, Boise State star Ashton Jeanty and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola are among college football players who have posted dance videos.
Rodriguez is beginning his second stint as Mountaineers coach. He said he has talked to his players about the tendency in society to emphasize the individual rather than the team and that banning TikTok dancing is something he can do to put the focus where he thinks it belongs.
“I’m allowed to do that. I can have rules,” he said. “Twenty years from now, if they want to be sitting in their pajamas in the basement eating Cheetos and watching TikTok or whatever the hell, they can go at it, smoking cannabis, whatever. Knock yourself out.”
As for now, he said: “I hope our focus can be on winning football games. How about let’s win the football game and not worry about winning the TikTok?”
Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz will be sidelined for a week with a facial injury but avoided a fracture.
General manager Jim Nill said Tuesday that Hintz has to keep his heart rate down for 5-7 days to avoid pressure or swelling.
Hintz, 28, was struck in the face by a puck midway through the second period in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Edmonton. He did not return.
Hintz is tied for second on the Stars in goals (25) and is fourth in points (52) through 59 games this season.
He has 362 points (172 goals, 190 assists) in 451 career games in seven NHL seasons. Dallas drafted him in the second round in 2015.
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