
Ranking MLB’s radical City Connect uniforms: What were the O’s thinking?!
More Videos
Published
2 years agoon
By
admin-
Joon Lee, ESPNMay 22, 2023, 09:43 AM ET
Close- Previously a Staff Writer at Bleacher Report
Cornell University graduate
Major League Baseball and Nike introduced the City Connect series during the 2021 season to shake up uniform design across the sport in the most dramatic fashion change since the league introduced the Turn Ahead the Clock alternates in the late 1990s.
Nike has worked with each MLB team to craft a uniform that expresses the personality and communities of the team’s home city. The first year saw the launch of seven City Connect uniforms: for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants. The unveilings continued in 2022 with seven more: the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres. This year, we’ve already seen the uniforms for the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles. The final reveal for the 2023 season will be the Pittsburgh Pirates (June 27).
After taking over as the uniform supplier for the NFL and the NBA, Nike pushed for radical uniform-design changes in those leagues, a move that is now making its way into the baseball world. While some MLB traditionalists have scoffed, many of the designs have sold out quickly after their unveilings.
With some of the designs more polarizing than others, here’s our breakdown of the uniforms that have dropped to date — and how we rank them.
1. Colorado Rockies
Debut: June 4, 2022, vs. Braves
Design inspiration: Colorado’s uniform pays homage to the mountains that give the team its name, with a predominantly green look reflecting the state’s signature pine trees. It features several flourishes, such as a new circle logo on the hat in red (for soil) and gold (for sunshine), along with the state’s “CO” abbreviation. The logo and number font also pay tribute to the state’s distinctive license plate.
Fan reception: The Rockies’ uniforms received a polarizing reaction from fans. Many praised the look’s local ties to their state’s license plate, and some fans across baseball called them the best uniform since City Connect started (as we are doing here!). Others rated them among the worst, however, with some even likening their design to a beer ad.
Verdict: The Rockies have unveiled a design that is distinctive from the rest of their existing uniform set without feeling completely out of left field. The Rockies paid an exceptional amount of attention to detail, creating a look that feels both fresh and classic.
2. Chicago White Sox
Debut: June 5, 2021, vs. Detroit Tigers
Design inspiration: Chicago’s uniform displays “Southside” in gray Gothic font, a nod to the Greystone architectural style of Chicago. The team’s dark gray pinstriped pants also provide a unique design touch not often seen in baseball today. The look resembles the Turn Back the Clock uniforms the team wore in tribute to the Chicago American Giants. Nike and the White Sox also say the design was inspired by the team’s influence in hip-hop culture.
Fan reception: Of the various City Connect uniforms, the White Sox received the strongest positive reaction from fans, with the jerseys selling out quickly on the day they were made available in the White Sox team store.
Verdict: The White Sox became the first team in the series to experiment with pants that weren’t white, and made a statement with the pinstriped look. While the Gothic-style font could be divisive and stands out as the most distinctive element of this uniform set, this set’s ability to both differentiate itself while staying true to the White Sox makes it stand out from the pack.
3. Miami Marlins
Debut: May 21, 2021, vs. New York Mets
Design inspiration: The Marlins went with a bright-red pinstriped uniform and a predominantly blue hat with a red bill. The jerseys pay tribute to the Sugar Kings, a Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds that played in Cuba from 1946 through 1960. Both the uniform patch and the logo on the hat call back to the original Sugar Kings logo. The uniform is not an exact copy of the Sugar Kings’ jersey, which was white and featured red pinstripes.
Fan reception: A largely positive response on social media greeted the Marlins uniforms, which deviated from the “Miami Vice” theme that Nike could have easily defaulted to after the positive reception for the Miami Heat alternates. Given the history of bold uniforms in Marlins franchise history, the faux throwback to the Sugar Kings falls right in line with the team’s closet of jerseys.
Verdict: While the connection to the Sugar Kings isn’t explicitly Miami, the city does have a massive Cuban population, and the uniform’s colors fit in with the pastel aesthetic that colors the city.
4. Seattle Mariners
Debut: May 5, 2023, vs. Astros
Design inspiration: The Mariners sought inspiration from Seattle’s baseball history, notably the Pilots, who existed as an MLB team for just one season before becoming the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Rainiers, a now-defunct Pacific Coast League team. The Seattle word mark across the chest is inspired by the Pilots’ font. Additionally, the City Connect marks the return of the trident logo, which has been associated with bad Mariners teams of the past but is a cult favorite.
Fan reception: While some fans said the uniform might be better as an alternate than a City Connect, the Mariners’ use of bright yellow and blue, the return of the trident and the successful use of black pants were well-received.
Verdict: The uniforms play it slightly safe, working off variations of colors already in the team’s scheme, but they take enough of a risk with black pants, which have been divisive among uniform enthusiasts. The bright colors evoke almost a comic-book feel. In all, the look is incredibly clean and among the best in the series.
5. Washington Nationals
Debut: April 9, 2022, vs. Mets
Design inspiration: The Nationals’ uniforms weave together two recognizable elements of our nation’s capital: its signature cherry blossoms and a typeface that resembles D.C.’s neoclassical architecture. The uniform also features the city’s flag on the sleeve of a dark-gray jersey with cream pants.
Fan reception: The Nationals received near universal praise from fans on social media for the uniform reveal, with some calling it the team’s best. The integration of the cherry blossoms on the hat garnered acclaim, while some wished the team went further in leaning all the way into the pink theme, similar to the Washington Wizards, who unveiled a cherry blossom uniform at the same time. Even fans of rival teams acknowledged that the Nationals designed one of the best City Connect alternates, while others praised the color and coordination between a baseball and basketball team in the same town.
Verdict: The uniforms strike a great balance — being both fashion-forward and evoking the city’s character. The cherry blossom design doesn’t fall flat like the fog elements incorporated in the Giants’ uniforms (see below). The surprising colors in a grounded design make this one of the best in the City Connect series.
6. San Diego Padres
Debut: July 8, 2022, vs. Giants
Design inspiration: The Padres went with a binational theme in an effort to pay homage to a shared community that sees an estimated 50 million people commute yearly from San Diego to Tijuana, the populous border city in Mexico. They accentuated pink, yellow and mint, three colors prevalent throughout Baja California. And the “San Diego” emblazoned on the front of the jerseys is written in a vintage font representative of weathered beach signs. They consider this a bold, outside-the-box look, and their hope is that it will appeal to a younger demographic.
Fan reception: Images of the Padres’ City Connect uniforms leaked a couple days early, and the reaction on social media was mixed, which shouldn’t surprise anyone given the team utilized colors hardly ever seen on major league jerseys and caps. Some fans loved them. Some compared them to a can of Arizona Iced Tea or ’90s roller-skaters.
Verdict: The Padres and Nike did the right thing in trying to tap into Mexican culture in Southern California and executed it well. Latin players are going to love these; a lot of them already wear these colors on cleats and wrist bands. They bear a stark resemblance to the “Miami Vice” uniforms the NBA’s Miami Heat have been putting out, which is probably no coincidence given Miami’s Latin influence. — Alden Gonzalez
7. Boston Red Sox
Debut: April 17, 2021, vs. White Sox
Design inspiration: The Red Sox went with the most radical design among the uniforms released thus far, unveiling the first uniform in team history to feature yellow and blue as the primary colors. On the front of the yellow jersey, there is a blue stenciled font, and the hat is blue. While the team featured blue as a primary color through 1907, the team has primarily sported red since 1908. The Boston Marathon and Patriots’ Day hold a special place in the culture of Boston, and the team decided to pay homage to the city’s unique holiday through its uniforms, highlighted by the 617 marathon bib patch on the left sleeve.
Fan reception: While many traditionalist fans disliked the departure from the team’s classic white and red uniforms, others embraced the design. Although the uniforms received a mixed reception, the Red Sox sold out of the new jerseys and the City Connect merchandise that was released along with them at the Fenway Park team store.
Verdict: We give high marks for boldness and the team’s desire to do something outside of the norm. The City Connect series is not meant to appeal to everyone, and by going with something surprising and outside the box while receiving a relatively positive reception, the Red Sox are pushing forward the idea of what a baseball uniform can look like.
8. Houston Astros
Debut: April 20, 2022, vs. Angels
Design inspiration: The jerseys take inspiration from the iconic tequila sunrise Astros uniforms from the 1970s while paying tribute to the city’s intertwined history with space travel. The uniform font resembles the iconic typography of NASA, while the sleeves feature a grid pattern inspired by star charts.
Fan reception: The uniforms received a mixed reception on social media. Some fans liked the cap in particular, while others cited the missed potential to go all-in on the tequila sunrise.
Verdict: The Astros played it down the middle, but integrated the navy blue pants in a way that just works. The unique font for the jersey’s front also makes it memorable.
9. Texas Rangers
Debut: April 21, 2023, vs. Oakland Athletics
Design inspiration: The uniform reflects the role the Rangers played in bridging the baseball rivalry between Dallas and Fort Worth by bringing a team to Arlington, which sits in the middle of the two metropolises. The uniform also references April 21, which the team said was included to commemorate the day Texas gained independence in 1836, the date of the first recorded baseball game in Texas, the date of the Rangers’ first home game and the on-field debut of the City Connect uniforms.
Fan reception: The release garnered mixed reactions among fans, some of the most divided since the start of City Connect. Some criticized the colored pants, while others praised the color scheme, typeface and the sleeve patch of a “peagle” — a combination of the mascots of the Fort Worth Panthers and Dallas Eagles, two minor league teams that inspired the uniforms.
Verdict: The Rangers created a unique look by paying homage to the history of baseball in Texas with a cap and a story that are very much the Lone Star State.
10. Arizona Diamondbacks
Debut: June 18, 2021, vs. Dodgers
Design inspiration: The Diamondbacks unveiled a gold uniform referencing the Sonoran Desert and the state’s Hispanic culture, with “Serpientes” across the front. Not straying too far from the team’s existing colors, Arizona decided to flip its primary and secondary colors, making the team’s distinctive Sedona Red color an accent through the numbers. The uniform patch on the left sleeve features the Arizona state flag and a reference to Phoenix’s nickname as the Valley of the Sun.
Fan reception: The Diamondbacks received a largely positive, but less passionate, reaction, with many on social media feeling that the team’s uniform set didn’t do much to differentiate itself from the rest of the series. Some fans enjoyed the more reserved approach to the alternates, while others felt bored by the relatively safe design choices.
Verdict: The decision to use gold as a primary uniform color is what makes Arizona’s foray stick out. While the Diamondbacks certainly did not go as bold as the Red Sox or the Marlins in changing up their look, the decision to use a color normally not seen on a baseball field as a primary makes it more adventurous than the safe design put forth by the Cubs.
11. Cincinnati Reds
Debut: May 19, 2023, vs. New York Yankees
Design inspiration: To tie in with the changing face of Cincinnati — which has seen the largest share of growth attributable to immigrants in the United States — and a new generation of Reds players, the team revamped its century-plus-old “C” logo, while featuring an essentially all-black uniform with red accents.
Verdict: The Reds created a solid design that does more with less, with the red accents jumping out against the black. While not the most adventurous City Connect offering, the Reds created a look that feels modern and would slide right into a good-looking alternate.
12. Los Angeles Angels
Debut: June 11, 2022, vs. Mets
Design inspiration: The Angels took a cue from Southern California’s beach and surf culture, with a cream base that pays homage to the same, with “Angels” written in letters inspired by surf brands. The cap features a two-tone design reminiscent of the style often seen on skaters in SoCal. A jersey patch pays tribute to the state’s early railroads. Two asymmetrical stripes on the sleeves draw inspiration from retro surfboards.
Fan reception: The Angels’ uniforms leaked early and received a relatively positive response from fans, though some called the alternates boring and too similar to the team’s current uniform set in comparison with the rest of the City Connect series. A portion of the Angels’ fan base also noted that the team, mired in an 11-game losing streak on the official release day, had not won a game since the uniforms leaked on Twitter.
Verdict: The Angels incorporated some strong design elements, but they would be more fitting if the team had done a redesign of their home uniforms rather than a City Connect look. In other words, while the uniforms are strong aesthetically, the Angels did not take any risks here.
13. Milwaukee Brewers
Debut: Friday, June 24, 2022, vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Design inspiration: The Brewers took design inspiration from the People’s Flag of Milwaukee, their city’s summer skies, its grilling culture and Lake Michigan. They used Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport’s abbreviation, MKE, on their cap while using the team’s nickname with fans — Brew Crew — across the front of the jersey.
Verdict: The Brewers created a visually appealing look that is a fun twist on the team’s existing uniforms, but overall, the team played things safe compared with some of the other City Connect uniforms, using colors with roots in the team’s uniform history rather than taking a leap.
14. San Francisco Giants
Debut: July 9, 2021, vs. Nationals
Design inspiration: The most unique design elements from the Giants’ uniforms are a nod to the Golden Gate Bridge, silhouetted on the sleeves, and to the San Francisco fog, which dots the team’s logo on the jersey’s chest, the player uniform numbers and the bridge. A small patch above the jersey tag features the Giants lettering surrounded by fog.
Fan reception: Giants fans reacted overwhelmingly negatively, criticizing everything from the elongated “G” to the fog gradient to the shade of orange, which many thought did not match with the team’s existing aesthetic. Even players like pitcher Kevin Gausman expressed a mixed reaction to the jersey, telling reporters, “I think there’s so much more that goes into the city than fog.”
Verdict: The Giants created a uniform that looks different from most today, experimenting with the fog-and-mist gradient. While the simple orange-and-white look feels slightly underwhelming considering some of the bolder color palettes in the City Connect series, the Giants’ uniform seems a bit more timeless compared to the other alternates.
15. Kansas City Royals
Debut: April 30, 2022, vs. New York Yankees
Design inspiration: Nike presented the Royals with multiple themes, including barbecue and jazz, and the team went with a theme inspired by the city’s fountains and art deco architecture. The navy blue pays homage to the city’s baseball past with the Monarchs, Blue Sox, Athletics, Packers and Blues, while the design detailing is a nod to the team’s past uniform history.
Fan reception: The uniforms received a mixed reception on social media. Some fans criticized the safe approach to the City Connect design while others praised the team’s approach with its fountain-inspired logo.
Verdict: While the Royals created a strong, modern logo, the team fell short in creating a look that differentiated itself from the rest of the team’s uniform set by going with safe colors. These uniforms fell short, similar to the Cubs’ uniforms, which played things slightly too safe when presented with an opportunity to go bold.
16. Chicago Cubs
Debut: June 12, 2021, vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Design inspiration: The Cubs uniforms feature a largely navy blue design with light blue accents meant to evoke the Chicago flag, with “Wrigleyville” across the front in a font similar to the ballpark’s marquee and each of the city’s 77 neighborhoods acknowledged with names on the sleeves of the dugout and bullpen jackets. The jersey’s left sleeve features a patch of the Chicago municipal device logo and a circle with a Y, symbolizing the north, south and main branches of the Chicago River.
Fan reception: The uniforms leaked ahead of their formal reveal and received a largely negative reception from fans, many of whom felt they were boring compared to the rest of the City Connect series, although some appreciated the more toned-down approach.
Verdict: The Cubs took far and away the safest approach to the series so far, which made the new alternates look relatively tame and a tad boring. Overall, the Cubs got outshined by their rivals on the South Side.
17. Atlanta Braves
Debut: April 8, 2023, vs. Padres
Design inspiration: Atlanta’s uniform evokes Hank Aaron and his chase for 715 homers, with design details such as the crown on the sleeve honoring the former home run king. Additionally, the team used “The A” on its uniform for the first time, while working off the existing retro uniforms Atlanta wears regularly. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Henry Louis Aaron Foundation.
Fan reception: Some fans liked the look, given its resemblance to an already popular alternate uniform — but for the same reason, many thought the design was a half-hearted effort at City Connect.
Verdict: The set lacks major differences from a uniform they already wore. Although the design on its own looks better than the Dodgers’ uniform, it’s surprising to see a team in Year 3 of City Connect unveil something so conservative.
18. Los Angeles Dodgers
Debut: Aug. 20, 2021, vs. Mets
Design inspiration: The “Los Dodgers” celebrate the 40th anniversary of Fernandomania — the historic 1981 season by pitcher Fernando Valenzuela — in addition to the team’s connection to the Latin community. The team also took inspiration from the murals around Los Angeles, with spray-painted accents on the uniform sleeves.
Fan reception: The Dodgers’ City Connect offering leaked early, and they received a largely negative reaction on social media due to the lack of differentiation from the team’s current uniforms.
Verdict: Given how many consider the Dodgers’ uniforms the most beautiful and timeless in sports, the City Connect alternates fall flat because they did not deviate much from the tried-and-true formula. While every other previous team took some sort of design leap from its current home and away sets, the Dodgers failed to do so. Even the Cubs, whose uniforms many considered to be too safe, took a bigger risk.
19. Baltimore Orioles
Debut: May 26, 2023, vs. Rangers
Design inspiration: The Orioles took Baltimore’s neighborhoods as inspiration, specifically with the colorful mosaic design lining the inside of the uniform — a first for an MLB jersey — and the top of the socks. The Baltimore block font across the front is inspired by the Globe Collection and Press at Maryland Institute College of Art.
Fan reception: The uniforms were panned by fans when they leaked online in the weeks leading up to the official announcement, receiving comparisons to the Great Britain uniforms from the World Baseball Classic, which were deemed generic and boring.
Verdict: While teams like the Dodgers and Braves stuck to uniforms similar to their already existing set, the Orioles did a first with City Connect by creating a look that is more generic than their everyday uniforms and alternates. If the O’s had used the jersey’s lining for the outside, it would have aligned more with the ethos of City Connect.
You may like
Sports
Remembering Ruffian 50 years after her breakdown at Belmont
Published
8 hours agoon
July 6, 2025By
admin
Thoroughbred racing suffered its most ignominious, industry-deflating moment 50 years ago today with the breakdown of Ruffian, an undefeated filly running against Foolish Pleasure in a highly promoted match race at Belmont Park. Her tragic end on July 6, 1975, was a catastrophe for the sport, and observers say racing has never truly recovered.
Two years earlier, during the rise of second-wave feminism, the nation had been mesmerized by a “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. King’s win became a rallying cry for women everywhere. The New York Racing Association, eager to boost daily racing crowds in the mid-1970s, proposed a competition similar to that of King and Riggs. They created a match race between Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure and Ruffian, the undefeated filly who had dominated all 10 of her starts, leading gate to wire.
“In any sport, human or equine, it’s really impossible to say who was the greatest,” said outgoing Jockey Club chairman Stuart Janney III, whose parents, Stuart and Barbara, owned Ruffian. “But I’m always comfortable thinking of Ruffian as being among the four to five greatest horses of all time.”
Ruffian, nearly jet black in color and massive, was the equine version of a Greek goddess. At the age of 2, her girth — the measurement of the strap that secures the saddle — was just over 75 inches. Comparatively, racing legend Secretariat, a male, had a 76-inch girth when he was fully developed at the age of 4.
Her name also added to the aura. “‘Ruffian’ was a little bit of a stretch because it tended to be what you’d name a colt, but it turned out to be an appropriate name,” Janney said.
On May 22, 1974, Ruffian equaled a Belmont Park track record, set by a male, in her debut at age 2, winning by 15 lengths. She set a stakes record later that summer at Saratoga in the Spinaway, the most prestigious race of the year for 2-year-old fillies. The next spring, she blew through races at longer distances, including the three races that made up the so-called Filly Triple Crown.
Some in the media speculated that she had run out of female competition.
Foolish Pleasure had meanwhile ripped through an undefeated 2-year-old season with championship year-end honors. However, after starting his sophomore campaign with a win, he finished third in the Florida Derby. He also had recovered from injuries to his front feet to win the Wood Memorial and then the Kentucky Derby.
Second-place finishes in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes left most observers with the idea that Foolish Pleasure was the best 3-year-old male in the business.
Following the Belmont Stakes, New York officials wanted to test the best filly against the best colt.
The original thought was to include the Preakness winner, Master Derby, in the Great Match Race, but the team of Foolish Pleasure’s owner, trainer and rider didn’t want a three-horse race. Since New York racing had guaranteed $50,000 to the last-place horse, they paid Master Derby’s connections $50,000 not to race. Thus, the stage was set for an equine morality play.
“[Ruffian’s] abilities gave her the advantage in the match race,” Janney said. “If she could do what she did in full fields [by getting the early lead], then it was probably going to be even more effective in a match.”
Several ballyhooed match races in sports history had captured the world’s attention without incident — Seabiscuit vs. Triple Crown winner War Admiral in 1938, Alsab vs. Triple Crown winner Whirlaway in 1942, and Nashua vs. Swaps in 1955. None of those races, though, had the gender divide “it” factor.
The Great Match Race attracted 50,000 live attendees and more than 18 million TV viewers on CBS, comparable to the Grammy Awards and a pair of NFL “Sunday Night Football” games in 2024.
Prominent New York sportswriter Dick Young wrote at the time that, for women, “Ruffian was a way of getting even.”
“I can remember driving up the New Jersey Turnpike, and the lady that took the toll in one of those booths was wearing a button that said, ‘I’m for her,’ meaning Ruffian,” Janney said.
As the day approached, Ruffian’s rider, Jacinto Vasquez, who also was the regular rider of Foolish Pleasure including at the Kentucky Derby, had to choose whom to ride for the match race.
“I had ridden Foolish Pleasure, and I knew what he could do,” Vasquez told ESPN. “But I didn’t think he could beat the filly. He didn’t have the speed or stamina.”
Braulio Baeza, who had ridden Foolish Pleasure to victory in the previous year’s premier 2-year-old race, Hopeful Stakes, was chosen to ride Foolish Pleasure.
“I had ridden Foolish Pleasure and ridden against Ruffian,” Baeza said, with language assistance from his wife, Janice Blake. “I thought Foolish Pleasure was better than Ruffian. She just needed [early race] pressure because no one had ever pressured her.”
The 1⅛ mile race began at the start of the Belmont Park backstretch in the chute. In an ESPN documentary from 2000, Jack Whitaker, who hosted the race telecast for CBS, noted that the atmosphere turned eerie with dark thunderclouds approaching before the race.
Ruffian hit the side of the gate when the doors opened but straightened herself out quickly and assumed the lead. “The whole world, including me, thought that Ruffian was going to run off the screen and add to her legacy,” said longtime New York trainer Gary Contessa, who was a teenager when Ruffian ruled the racing world.
However, about ⅛ of a mile into the race, the force of Ruffian’s mighty strides snapped two bones in her front right leg.
“When she broke her leg, it sounded like a broken stick,” Vasquez said. “She broke her leg between her foot and her ankle. When I pulled up, the bone was shattered above the ankle. She couldn’t use that leg at all.”
It took Ruffian a few moments to realize what had happened to her, so she continued to run. Vasquez eventually hopped off and kept his shoulder leaning against her for support.
“You see it, but you don’t want to believe it,” Janney said.
Baeza had no choice but to have Foolish Pleasure finish the race in what became a macabre paid workout. The TV cameras followed him, but the eyes of everyone at the track were on the filly, who looked frightened as she was taken back to the barn area.
“When Ruffian broke down, time stood still that day,” Contessa said. Yet time was of the essence in an attempt to save her life.
Janney said that Dr. Frank Stinchfield — who was the doctor for the New York Yankees then and was “ahead of his time in fixing people’s bones” — called racing officials to see whether there was anything he could do to help with Ruffian.
New York veterinarian Dr. Manny Gilman managed to sedate Ruffian, performed surgery on her leg and, with Stinchfield’s help, secured her leg in an inflatable cast. When Ruffian woke up in the middle of the night, though, she started fighting and shattered her bones irreparably. Her team had no choice but to euthanize her at approximately 2:20 a.m. on July 7.
“She was going full bore trying to get in front of [Foolish Pleasure] out of the gate,” Baeza said. “She gave everything there. She gave her life.”
Contessa described the time after as a “stilled hush over the world.”
“When we got the word that she had rebroken her leg, the whole world was crying,” Contessa said. “I can’t reproduce the feeling that I had the day after.”
The Janneys soon flew to Maine for the summer, and they received a round of applause when the pilot announced their presence. At the cottage, they were met by thousands of well-wishing letters.
“We all sat there, after dinner every night, and we wrote every one of them back,” Janney said. “It was pretty overwhelming, and that didn’t stop for a long time. I still get letters.”
Equine fatalities have been part of the business since its inception, like the Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup. Some have generated headlines by coming in clusters, such as Santa Anita in 2019 and Churchill Downs in 2023. However, breakdowns are not the only factor, and likely not the most influential one, in the gradual decline of horse racing’s popularity in this country.
But the impact from the day of Ruffian’s death, and that moment, has been ongoing for horse racing.
“There are people who witnessed the breakdown and never came back,” Contessa said.
Said Janney: “At about that time, racing started to disappear from the national consciousness. The average person knows about the Kentucky Derby, and that’s about it.”
Equine racing today is a safer sport now than it was 50 years ago. The Equine Injury Database, launched by the Jockey Club in 2008, says the fatality rate nationally in 2024 was just over half of what it was at its launch.
“We finally have protocols that probably should have been in effect far sooner than this,” Contessa said. “But the protocols have made this a safer game.”
Said Vasquez: “There are a lot of nice horses today, but to have a horse like Ruffian, it’s unbelievable. Nobody could compare to Ruffian.”
Sports
Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again
Published
18 hours agoon
July 6, 2025By
admin
-
Jorge CastilloJul 5, 2025, 09:42 PM ET
Close- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — A blunder that typifies the current state of the New York Yankees, who find themselves in the midst of their second six-game losing streak in three weeks, happened in front of 41,401 fans at Citi Field on Saturday, and almost nobody noticed.
The Yankees were jogging off the field after securing the third out of the fourth inning of their 12-6 loss to the Mets when shortstop Anthony Volpe, as is standard for teams across baseball at the end of innings, threw the ball to right fielder Aaron Judge as he crossed into the infield from right field.
Only Judge wasn’t looking, and the ball nailed him in the head, knocking his sunglasses off and leaving a small cut near his right eye. The wound required a bandage to stop the bleeding, but Judge stayed in the game.
“Confusion,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I didn’t know what happened initially. [It just] felt like something happened. Of course I was a little concerned.”
Avoiding an injury to the best player in baseball was on the Yankees’ very short list of positives in another sloppy, draining defeat to their crosstown rivals. With the loss, the Yankees, who held a three-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East standings entering June 30, find themselves tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for second place three games behind the Blue Jays heading into Sunday’s Subway Series finale.
The nosedive has been fueled by messy defense and a depleted pitching staff that has encountered a wall.
“It’s been a terrible week,” said Boone, who before the game announced starter Clarke Schmidt will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
For the second straight day, the Mets capitalized on mistakes and cracked timely home runs. After slugging three homers in Friday’s series opener, the Mets hit three more Saturday — a grand slam in the first inning from Brandon Nimmo to take a 4-0 lead and two home runs from Pete Alonso to widen the gap.
Nimmo’s blast — his second grand slam in four days — came after Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez misplayed a ball hit by the Mets’ leadoff hitter in the first inning. On Friday, he misread Nimmo’s line drive and watched it sail over his head for a double. On Saturday, he was slow to react to Starling Marte’s flyball in the left-center field gap and braked without catching or stopping it, allowing Marte to advance to second for a double. Yankees starter Carlos Rodon then walked two batters to load the bases for Nimmo, who yanked a mistake, a 1-2 slider over the wall.
“That slider probably needs to be down,” said Rodon, who allowed seven runs (six earned) over five innings. “A lot of misses today and they punished them.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s throwing woes at third base — a position the Yankees have asked him to play to accommodate DJ LeMahieu at second base — continued in the second inning when he fielded Tyrone Taylor’s groundball and sailed a toss over first baseman Cody Bellinger’s head. Taylor was given second base and scored moments later on Marte’s RBI single.
The Yankees were charged with their second error in the Mets’ four-run seventh inning when center fielder Trent Grisham charged Francisco Lindor’s single up the middle and had it bounce off the heel of his glove.
The mistake allowed a run to score from second base without a throw, extending the Mets lead back to three runs after the Yankees had chipped their deficit, and allowed a heads-up Lindor to advance to second base. Lindor later scored on Alonso’s second home run, a three-run blast off left-hander Jayvien Sandridge in the pitcher’s major league debut.
“Just got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s fundamentals. Making a routine play, routine. It’s just the little things. That’s what it kind of comes down to. But every good team goes through a couple bumps in the road.”
This six-game losing skid has looked very different from the Yankees’ first. That rough patch, consisting of losses to the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, was propelled by offensive troubles. The Yankees scored six runs in the six games and gave up just 16. This time, run prevention is the issue; the Yankees have scored 34 runs and surrendered 54 in four games against the Blue Jays in Toronto and two in Queens.
“The offense is starting to swing the bat, put some runs on the board,” Boone said. “The pitching, which has kind of carried us a lot this season, has really, really struggled this week. We haven’t caught the ball as well as I think we should.
“So, look, when you live it and you’re going through it, it sucks, it hurts. But you got to be able to handle it. You got to be able to deal with it. You got to be able to weather it and come out of this and grow.”
Sports
Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies
Published
20 hours agoon
July 6, 2025By
admin
-
ESPN News Services
Jul 5, 2025, 05:48 PM ET
Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.
Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”
After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.
In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”
In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
Bobby will forever hold a special place in all our hearts 🤍 pic.twitter.com/CLNi7g0Tzh
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 5, 2025
In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.
“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”
A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.
Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trending
-
Sports3 years ago
‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year ago
Story injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years ago
Game 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years ago
MLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years ago
Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years ago
Button battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years ago
Game-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike