Connect with us

Published

on

The Navy christened the USS Cooperstown on Saturday, recognizing all military veterans — including the 70 Baseball Hall of Fame members who interrupted their baseball careers to serve in the military.

The ceremony will take place in New York City, where players such as Ted Williams and Bob Feller undoubtedly will be remembered. Williams flew 37 combat missions in World War II and Korea, and Feller missed four seasons to serve in the Army, enlisting after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The USS Cooperstown joins the active fleet of Freedom-variant littoral combat ships. The Department of Defense describes LCS ships as “fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments.”

Johnny Bench and Joe Torre represented their fellow Hall of Fame members at the ceremony.

“I can’t begin to tell you what an honor it’s going to be to represent the Hall of Fame,” Bench told USA Today ahead of the event. “It will be an amazing, amazing thing. You look at guys like Ted Williams and Bob Feller and Jerry Coleman who gave up all of those years of their careers and lives, to enlist and fight for our freedom.”

Bench’s father served eight years in the military.

The list of baseball players who saw active duty for the United States reads like a who’s who of baseball. Among them are Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Tris Speaker and George Sisler, who fought in World War I. In WWII, Williams and Feller were joined by a list that includes Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Stan Musial and Jackie Robinson.

Ernie Banks and Willie Mays are among those who served in Korea.

Staterooms on the 351-foot-long ship will be named after Hall of Fame members and will have a replica of their Cooperstown plaques on their doors.

The motto of the USS Cooperstown is “America’s Away Team.”

Its next port is Mayport, Florida.

Continue Reading

Sports

Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Published

on

By

Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

Continue Reading

Sports

Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

Published

on

By

Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

Continue Reading

Sports

White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

Published

on

By

White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

Continue Reading

Trending