Connect with us

Published

2 months ago

on

IT’S A CLEAR and cool Thursday night in the middle of October in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Dan Mullen is here as a media member, a face of ESPN’s college football coverage. He appears on “College Football Final” on Saturdays with host Matt Barrie and analyst Joey Galloway. He is almost three years removed from his head coaching days at Florida.

On Thursday nights, he is Barrie’s color analyst and has developed a reputation for taking part in fun, football-adjacent activities — indulging in different foods with mayo at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, playing flip cup on “SportsCenter” with Larry Fitzgerald at Pitt, and feeding students barbecue at Georgia Tech. He’s learned how to put on a show. (Full disclosure: ESPN’s Harry Lyles Jr. worked with Dan Mullen on Thursday night broadcasts.)

In this role, he’s still involved in the game he has loved his entire life, but he can’t win or lose on Thursday or Saturday. That’s part of the fun. Every week, coaches are telling him how they think he’s living the life. He gets to be around college football without having the worries of a coach in the transfer portal and NIL era. The game is changing, but that’s not his problem.

Even someone as well-traveled as Mullen is still seeing places around the country for the first time. In 2023, he experienced his first Thursday night in Blacksburg, and one of college football’s great traditions, experiencing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” before kickoff at Lane Stadium.

Inside Virginia Tech’s facilities, there is a hallway tribute to the Sandman tradition. The day before the 2023 game, Mullen presses a button to play the song, and he begins to jump around as if he’s part of the crowd. He seemed genuinely excited.

Fast forward to this Thursday night in 2024: Mullen is still glowing with anticipation, but it’s becoming increasingly evident that something inside him is missing.

Virginia Tech sports information director Travis Wells picks up the broadcast crew from the alumni center in a cart to ride over to Lane Stadium. Barrie sits next to Wells, with Mullen stationed in the back. As the cart makes its way toward the stadium, many fans yell out for Mullen, calling him “Coach.” He playfully does a royal wave.

When the crew arrives at the stadium, it makes its way up to the club level for a pregame meal. There’s an assortment of barbecue and desserts available, but Mullen sticks with his usual Celsius energy drink. Even as a color analyst, Mullen sticks to a pregame routine, much like he did as a coach.

Conversation among the crew orbits around Mullen’s coaching days, and gets to a place where Mullen is discussing game habits. His mood shifts. He gets a fiery look in his eyes. “It’s in your mind, you sit there and you’re like, I’ll go do the friendly handshake before the game,” he said.

“But I wouldn’t mind punching this guy, knocking him out right here in the middle of the field.”

For as much as Mullen has enjoyed his role outside of the game, it’s abundantly clear that the game isn’t quite the same unless he is immersed in it. There are things he can’t get from an air-conditioned studio or stadium television booth.

It’s why after a few seasons removed from an unpleasant end to his Florida tenure, he couldn’t pass up an offer to become the head coach at UNLV.

IN THE SPRING of 2025, seated in his office at the Fertitta Football Complex on the UNLV campus, Mullen is whole again.

He recalled the first team meeting after being hired. “I walked in front of the team and I said, ‘Boy, I feel like I feel more alive than I felt in the last three years.’ Because that’s who I am, to be in front of that team, talking to the team, coaching football.”

Mullen’s first day back coaching doesn’t look a lot like his last. Las Vegas isn’t Gainesville. As players warm up on this Thursday morning in March, the Las Vegas Sphere is — quite literally — looking on, bright and yellow, with big blinking eyes. Mullen is wearing a red UNLV visor, shades, a red lightweight hoodie with UNLV across the chest, and gray shorts that are above the knee, shorter than he prefers. He’s caked in sunscreen, a good habit picked up during his time coaching Florida.

UNLV athletic director Erick Harper is out at practice in between the two practice fields, looking at what feels like a miracle.

“The number of ADs and others that called me and asked, ‘How the hell did you do that?'” Harper said with a smile about hiring Mullen. “Sometimes you have to sit back and just say, ‘I’m not really sure.'”

Harper’s football program is coming off of the best two seasons in school history under Barry Odom in 2023 and 2024. But when Odom left to take the head coaching job at Purdue, the uncertainty around the future of the program was palpable. This is a team that was a game away from the College Football Playoff back in December. If Harper settled on the wrong coach, all of that progress could have been lost.

But he saw an opportunity with Mullen, whom he met two years prior.

Mullen flew out to Las Vegas to see Alex Smith, whom he coached at Utah, be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at the Bellagio Resort & Casino on Dec. 10. But at that point, Mullen still didn’t feel that he needed to return to coaching.

“Even late October, when people are starting to fish, November calls start coming in. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it,” Mullen said. “I had a hesitant feeling. And when an opportunity might present itself, I would sit there and I’d say, OK, why would this be a good idea? How I can make this exciting, without feeling no reservation?’ I couldn’t get there.”

Harper knew Mullen would be in town and tried to meet him for dinner, but Mullen had plans. So they ultimately settled on golf the next day.

When Mullen’s wife, Megan, heard of the meeting, Mullen said she asked, “Is this like you helping him hire a coach?” He replied, “Yeah, something like that.”

So what was it about UNLV that got Mullen — who has grappled with many of the newer aspects of college football — back into the game? If Harper had not called, is this even happening?

“No, I wouldn’t have even called,” Mullen said. But, as Harper helped Mullen learn, the job met the needs he had at this point in his career and life.

“The facility here blows away anything that was at Florida when I left. I didn’t want to have to come into a program that you had to build from the ground up. We have a great stadium in Allegiant Stadium. We were a game away from the College Football Playoff last year.

“So when you’re starting to check boxes, you know? Facilities? Check. Stadium? Check. Opportunity to win a championship immediately? Check. Great place to live? Check. Really good schools for my kids, I want my family to grow up here? Check.”

At his first college football practice in three years, Mullen is engaged, rolling out tackling wheels and at times having to evade tackles himself because he’s right in the action.

Longtime NFL assistant Paul Guenther is on his staff, who Mullen knows from his days at Ursinus College where the two lived across the hall from each other. Guenther can see a change in his longtime friend. “I can see a difference in him where he’s enjoying it,” Guenther said. “I know he liked doing the TV and all that stuff, but I can tell he’s happy [to be] back in it.”

Mullen had practice wrapped up with a little time to spare, another good habit he developed, this one doing television.

He addresses the team as planes from Harry Reid International Airport pass overhead. He admits that this first practice was a little scattered, but he’s glad everybody got some reps. They’ll need them. He wants this squad to be conditioned, and to move fast.

“Get the mind right, body right, ready to go for more,” he says. That’s a process he’s personally familiar with.

MULLEN’S EXIT FROM Florida wasn’t the way he wanted his coaching career to end.

The slide began on a third-and-10 against LSU in 2020, with the Gators ranked sixth in the nation. After making a stop late in the fourth quarter to force a punt, cornerback Marco Wilson ripped off Kole Taylor’s size 14 shoe and threw it down the field, drawing multiple flags.

Six plays later, Cade York hit a 57-yard game-winning field goal with 23 seconds remaining. Florida would end up losing to Alabama in the SEC championship the following week and missing the College Football Playoff.

About 11 months later, with Florida at 4-4 after back-to-back losses to unranked LSU and No. 1 Georgia, Mullen held his weekly news conference on a Monday. He was asked a recruiting question, and replied, “We’re in the season now. We’ll do recruiting after the season. When it gets to recruiting time, we can talk about recruiting.”

Mullen was heavily criticized for his response. Lee Davis, Mullen’s chief of staff who has worked with him in some capacity going back to Starkville, takes exception to the response to that quote.

“I’ve worked at two other places since I’ve left him, I know nobody works harder at recruiting than he does. … What he was trying to say — he wanted to talk football that day and didn’t want to talk about recruiting, but people took it as he doesn’t recruit.”

Florida was 5-6 heading into the final week of the 2021 regular season when the university fired Mullen. He was given the option to coach against Florida State; he declined, not wanting to be a distraction to the team. Nine months later, ESPN announced the addition of Mullen to its college football coverage for the 2022 season.

Working in television provided Mullen a healthy distance from the game and allowed him to find his footing again. He was still able to be around and watch the game, but his days weren’t influenced by outcomes. That was fine. He had plenty of time and energy invested in his son Canon’s basketball games and his daughter Breelyn’s cheer events and soccer and basketball games.

As an analyst on the road during the season, Mullen would be involved in two sets of TV production meetings with coaches. They would go over rosters, how their seasons had gone, and discuss expectations for the upcoming Thursday night contest. In many cases, Mullen already knew at least one of the coaches, and when he met young coordinators, he found that many admired him.

“You step back away and say, ‘Hold on. I think maybe he did do some really good things. Was successful at places, possibly.’ And that’s all perception.”

Mullen had a couple of moments during the 2024 season that helped remind him why he got into coaching to begin with. One was the reunion of his 2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs, who were led by Dak Prescott and were ranked No. 1 for much of the season.

“When you get around everybody at one time, you get back around the players, and you sit there and guys’ wives are coming up and like, ‘Hey, you made such an impact on my husband’s life,'” an emotional Mullen said.

“You get there and you’re like, ‘OK, that’s what I got into it all for.’ Alex Smith does his speech, which was unbelievable at the Hall of Fame induction about the impact I made on his life? That’s why I’ve done this. That’s been your calling in life, to try to help young people succeed and improve.”

So, despite how things ended at Florida, Mullen knew he had to get back into the game after he had time to heal.

“Coaching has been my life,” he said. “Football and coaching have been basically my entire life since I was a freshman in high school, with the exception of three years doing TV. You knew you had a purpose and you knew why you do it. And I think hearing those things, it brings you back to the joy of why you did it, the things that were so great about it.

“I don’t like how it finished at Florida. I didn’t want that to be the last page of my book. However, I had to be in the right space for me to continue the story on.”

ALLOWING HIMSELF TIME to reset was one thing for Mullen, accepting the new world of college football was another.

In the three years since Mullen left Florida, college football has continued to evolve after the NCAA eliminated a rule in April 2021 that required transfers to sit out a year at their new university. That same year, it became legal for players to make money through NIL deals.

Being near the game allowed Mullen to better understand what he was getting into. “I think seeing the frustration on [coaches’] faces when we sit in a lot of those meetings … It helped me understand [players leaving your program] that’s going to happen.”

Mullen admitted he still didn’t want anyone to leave his program after spring ball, but conceded it would likely happen.

“The initial feeling … is, ‘How can you do that?’ That’s a five-second feeling that I immediately swallow and say, ‘You got back in understanding that’s the new game.’ It is what it is. Guess what? It gives you an opportunity. I guess if this guy’s going to leave, let’s get on the computer and go find somebody else. It’s not the end of the world. It’s part of the deal.”

“And so it gets you instead of the, ‘Boy. It’s hurting the team, and it’s hurting this.’ It gets you back to why we’re in this. I hope it’s the best decision for the kids.'”

Mullen understands that players are going to consider money, especially given how much of it is involved in college athletics. “They should get a cut of it, and they should have an opportunity to profit when they are profitable.”

But, he added, “Whatever you want to call them — they are getting paid now — student-athletes or not, they’re still college-age kids. Let’s still help continue to give them the guidance. … Let’s not throw out all of the guidance and structure that we’re helping give young people.”

When he decided to take the UNLV job, he knew he needed someone alongside him who had been in the game while he wasn’t, understood him, and was someone he could trust. That’s why, when he was considering the gig, he texted Davis to ask for her commitment as his chief of staff.

Mullen and Davis go back — he gave Davis her first job out of grad school from Alabama, bringing her on as a recruiting assistant at Mississippi State. She worked in Starkville with Mullen until he was hired at Florida, where he brought her to Gainesville as the director of recruiting operations.

It wasn’t long until it was clear that Mullen had found the perfect person for the job.

“He was overwhelmed,” Davis said of Mullen’s early days at UNLV. “And I’m like, ‘Hey, listen, you have two things you got to do right now. You need to hire staff, but you need to hire the right people, because you want a good staff, a staff that fits. And then two, you got to find a quarterback, because that’s the most important. You’re not going to win without a great quarterback.”

Mullen did both, gradually building his staff with both veteran and younger coaches, and nabbing former Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea out of the transfer portal, along with former Michigan quarterback Alex Orji.

For as much as the transfer portal can be a pain for coaches, it filled out his quarterback room, and then some. Despite being out of the game for a few years, Mullen was plenty familiar with the talent he could bring in.

“Either calling games, and sitting in studio with every college football game on and having to talk about it, I got to watch a lot of guys play this year. So I knew a lot of the players.”

For example, Mullen called one of Colandrea’s games in 2023, against Louisville.

In some cases, there are guys still playing college football whom Mullen recruited years ago. Outside linebacker Chief Borders played for Mullen at Florida, and had seasons at Nebraska and Pitt, before deciding to finish his career with Mullen in Las Vegas.

Mullen is confident he will make things work at UNLV. He doesn’t need the inherent benefits afforded to coaches at the biggest programs. He coached at Utah when it was in the Mountain West and, before that, at Bowling Green.

“I haven’t just been at schools with unlimited resources,” he said. “So I have to go back and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I was a young offensive coordinator and a quarterback coach and a young offensive mind at one point.’ And Urban Meyer was a young head coach that took a chance on me and said, ‘Let’s get going and see what we can create, yeah?’ So, think that way. We did pretty well for ourselves.”

Harper likens Mullen’s experience and approach to the hospitality industry in Las Vegas.

“It’s constantly reinventing itself, it’s constantly being innovative and creative,” Harper said. “You’re not going to see the same thing every day.”

THE VIEW FROM Dan Mullen’s office is second only to one.

“They tell me that Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM, is the only one that might have a better office than I do in the city of Las Vegas,” Mullen said.

It’s a stunning view of the Strip. If you’re sitting at his desk, the MGM Grand is at your far left, with the Sphere being the period at the end of the sentence on the right. For a coach who just spent the last few years learning how to put a good show on television, being in this town feels appropriate.

Mullen has happily leaned into the Las Vegas of it all. “It’s a very different vibe than coaching in the SEC,” he said. “It’s a totally different feel.”

He points to the team’s leadership committee. It holds competitions where the first- and second-place team get awards, and the bottom two teams have to do community service to make up for points they missed.

“There’s a lot of schools in the country like, ‘OK, your reward these two weeks is pick a great restaurant in town.’ Well, I mean, basically there’s one or two restaurants they’re going to go to,” Mullen explains.

“Here, guys are at the UFC championship fight. This week, they’re going to David Blaine the illusionist. They’re going to Tao restaurant. They’re going on helicopter tours of the city. You can’t do that other places.”

UNLV couldn’t have their spring game at Allegiant Stadium because of WrestleMania. “The benefit is, our players get to go to WrestleMania. The negative is it’s actually in our stadium,” Mullen laughed, “so we can’t have the spring game that day.”

Mullen views Las Vegas itself as a major selling point in the transfer portal era.

“You’re not going to walk on campus and get a feel that you’re in a Deep South school with lined-up fraternity and sorority houses everywhere. But there’s an awful lot going on in this town that guys are excited about, and there’s a lot for them to do. You’re at a city campus with the city with everything going on. Players think it’s the coolest thing in the world that they get to [feel] like a pro athlete in a big city.”

The setting also takes pressure off a coach who is used to the most pressure that college football has to offer.

“What I’m learning, if you win here, they love you. You are it. If you lose, they just don’t really care, because there’s a bunch of other things for them to go do.”

But just because the pressure isn’t as extreme doesn’t mean Mullen is letting off the gas. He wants to make UNLV football a perennial contender, and he wants to establish a very specific identity that will resonate anywhere.

“I have my normal deal, play with relentless effort, passion for the game, you know, and a team that reaches its potential every day,” Mullen explained.

But there’s an old moniker that Mullen is trying to earn within the football program that won’t just resonate with Las Vegas, but with sports fans across the country.

“If I leave and I go to the East Coast and I say ‘Runnin’ Rebels,’ you know exactly who I’m talking about — everybody does. That is a brand. Unfortunately, it’s a brand that kind of lost its [luster after] the early ’90s with Coach Tark.”

“But there’s no fogginess to who the Runnin’ Rebels are. I want that brand back on the gridiron. You’re going to turn on [the game] and it’s showtime on the football field, you’re going to watch a high-flying offense, a team that’s letting it go, guys having a great time up and down the field, defense that is going to come after you.”

“I want us, in the sports and entertainment capital of the world, to be the best show in town.”

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Sports

MLB Power Rankings: A red-hot NL team surges up to debut at No. 1

Published

4 hours ago

on

July 24, 2025

By

MLB Power Rankings: A red-hot NL team surges up to debut at No. 1

Jul 24, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

We have a new team atop our power rankings after the first week of the second half. Make way for Milwaukee!

The Brewers were the biggest riser in Week 17, going from No. 9 in our final rankings before the All-Star break to No. 1 as we approach the end of July. The No. 2 team this week? A familiar foe of the Brewers: the division-rival Cubs, who are now one game behind Milwaukee for second place in the National League Central.

Meanwhile, in the American League, the Tigers have been overtaken by the Astros and Blue Jays for best record in the league. The Yankees are now four games behind Toronto in the East and sit at No. 9 on our list, their lowest ranking of the season. New York will look to add ahead of next week’s trade deadline (July 31) to make a push down the stretch run.

Where does every team stand in our first power rankings since the All-Star break?

Our expert panel has ranked every team based on a combination of what we’ve seen so far and what we already knew going into the 162-game marathon that is a full baseball season. We also asked ESPN MLB experts Buster Olney, Alden Gonzalez and Jorge Castillo to weigh in with analysis on the biggest priority of the second half for all 30 teams.

Second-half preview | Week 15 | Preseason rankings

Record: 61-41
Previous ranking: 9

The Brewers’ biggest strength is self-awareness. They know what they do best and never stray from it. What they do now is pitch well (3.34 starters’ ERA, second lowest in the majors), play great defense (23 outs above average, second most in baseball), run the bases better than any other team (12 base running outs above average) and do the little things right offensively (take walks, put the ball in play, advance runners). The Brewers have won 30 of 43 games since the start of June, and that is no accident. If there’s one thing they would love, though, it’s for William Contreras to revert back to his prior offensive form. — Gonzalez

Record: 60-42
Previous ranking: 3

There might not be a bigger need among contenders than the Cubs’ desire to add a starting pitcher. Chicago’s offense has performed like one of the best in the sport, and the Cubs bullpen was good enough throughout May and June to ease concerns about its struggles in July. But if the Cubs want to hold off Milwaukee in the NL Central and make a deep run in October, they’ll need to add another arm alongside Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. Jameson Taillon should return from a calf strain around the middle of August, but Chicago is going to need another impact arm for its rotation. — Gonzalez

Record: 60-43
Previous ranking: 1

In some respects, Detroit’s recent swoon is a blessing in disguise. The Tigers’ lead in the AL Central is still double-digit sturdy — according to Fangraphs, the chances of them winning the division stand at 93.3% — and soon, they’ll get Kerry Carpenter back for their lineup. But the recent losses have fully highlighted the team’s need for one or even two power arms at the back end of their bullpen since the Tigers seem to have a real opportunity to reach the World Series. If the Cardinals decide to trade Ryan Helsley, the Tigers will almost certainly be among the bidders. — Olney

Record: 60-43
Previous ranking: 2

Four Dodgers relievers who were far from expected to pitch high leverage when the season began — Ben Casparius, Alexis Diaz, Will Klein and Edgardo Henriquez — allowed six runs in a span of two innings against the Twins on Tuesday night, turning a tight game into a rout. The Dodgers eventually lost for the 11th time in a stretch of 14 games, by which point their bullpen ranked 24th in the majors in ERA, WHIP and opponents’ OPS. They have been playing all-around bad baseball of late — offensively, defensively, on the mound — but the bullpen is the focus with the trade deadline approaching. — Gonzalez

Record: 60-42
Previous ranking: 6

It’s nearly August and the Blue Jays are in first place, atop the only division in the majors with four teams over .500 despite a run differential that suggests they’re six games worse. It’s beyond time to take them seriously. To continue surpassing expectations, they’ll need to continue their brand of ball, which centers around not striking out. Toronto’s 17.4% strikeout rate is the lowest in the majors by more than a percentage point and would be the lowest by a team for a season since the 2017 Astros. The Jays put pressure on teams by putting the ball in play, and it’s working. — Castillo

Record: 58-44
Previous ranking: 5

The Phillies have the starting pitching for a World Series run. They could use an upgrade to their outfield at the trade deadline, but the lineup is battle-tested with star power. The bullpen, however, is another matter. Left-hander Jose Alvarado is eligible to return from his PED suspension in mid-August. While he should bolster the bullpen for the stretch run, he isn’t eligible to pitch in the postseason, so solidifying the relief corps for October — should the Phillies reach the playoffs — is the top priority.

They began addressing the concern this week by signing 40-year-old David Robertson for a third stint with the organization. Expect president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to scour the trade market for more knowing that starters left out of the rotation in October could instead become contributors out of the bullpen. — Castillo

Record: 60-42
Previous ranking: 4

Some team executives don’t place a high value on club culture and chemistry, not trusting something that can’t really be quantified. But those front office-types should at least consider what’s happened in Houston this season: In a year after Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker moved on, the Astros have continued to win even while seeing their biggest stars (Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Pena and now Isaac Paredes) go down with injuries. Moving forward, the 2025 Astros just need to keep surviving — and winning — while they wait for their stars to return. — Olney

Record: 59-44
Previous ranking: 7

Oh, look, another contender with pitching concerns. While there are questions about the Mets’ rotation — from the lack of a true No. 1 starter to Clay Holmes‘ drastically increased workload to whether Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea can rediscover their previous form upon recent reinstatement from the injured list — David Stearns told reporters this week that his top objective before the trade deadline is acquiring help for a bullpen that is operating on fumes. If that doesn’t happen, the president of baseball operations said he will explore calling up top starting pitching prospects to serve as relievers in the majors for the balance of this season. However it’s done, upgrading the bullpen is atop the list of priorities. — Castillo

Record: 56-46
Previous ranking: 8

As general manager Brian Cashman has plainly outlined, the Yankees have holes in their pitching staff that he wants to fill before the trade deadline. But the best pitcher the Yankees add in the coming weeks may already be on their payroll. Luis Gil is slated to come off the IL to make his season debut by early August. If all goes right, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year should provide a boost to the Yankees’ starting rotation for their playoff push. They also could use him out of the bullpen in October should they decide he’s a better fit there. Whatever the role, he’s an important piece for their championship hopes. — Castillo

Record: 54-48
Previous ranking: 12

If you’re looking for the sleeper team in the AL, there are a lot of signs that Seattle could emerge into a dangerous team by September. The talented rotation, hammered by injuries this season, could finally be intact when Bryce Miller returns sometime in early August. Since June 29, the Mariners have had one of the most productive offenses, hitting more homers than every team except the Yankees and averaging about five runs per game. And Seattle’s not done yet — president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is expected to add corner infield production before the deadline. — Olney

Record: 55-47
Previous ranking: 13

The Padres have practically labeled themselves a second-half team, a nod to the 2024 group that won 34 of 52 games in August and September. To accomplish that this year, though, general manager A.J. Preller will have to give them a boost offensively. The Padres have scored the sixth-fewest runs in baseball this season. The Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters of their lineup have combined for a .580 OPS, lowest in the majors. Yu Darvish remaining healthy and Michael King rejoining the rotation are paramount to a team that has seen a lot of its depth get traded away in recent years. Most of all, though, they need a bat — or two. — Gonzalez

Record: 55-49
Previous ranking: 14

Walker Buehler‘s 5.72 ERA is the sixth highest in the majors among the 105 pitchers with at least 80 innings thrown this season, and his strikeout-to-walk rate ranks 95th. He has the fourth-highest home run rate. It’s been a frustrating year for the right-hander. But Buehler posted one of his best starts of the season Monday when he held the Phillies to two runs (one earned) across seven innings. It’s still not quite the high-octane vintage Buehler — his fastball is average 94 mph, nearly three mph slower than his peak years in Los Angeles, in his first full season after his second Tommy John surgery — but his getting on track could make a substantial impact on Boston’s postseason hopes. — Castillo

Record: 53-50
Previous ranking: 10

Major League Baseball has decided that Tampa Bay will play postseason home games at Steinbrenner Field if it qualifies. Now, it’s all about the Rays not letting their road-heavy second-half schedule — created to avoid the miserable heat and relentless rain without a roof in Tampa — hijack their chances. Beginning Friday in Cincinnati, they will play 37 of their remaining 59 games away from Steinbrenner Field. That split includes a two-week, four-city, 12-game West Coast road trip in August. That trek could very well decide their season. — Castillo

Record: 54-49
Previous ranking: 11

The Rafael Devers trade was widely hailed as the type of move that could put the Giants over the top, but the opposite has occurred. Since the shocking move to acquire Devers (and the entirety of his contract) on June 15, the Giants are just 13-18 and their offense sports the sixth-lowest OPS in the sport at .685. Willy Adames has turned his season around, but practically everybody else — Mike Yastrzemski, Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman and, notably, Devers — has slumped. The Giants might be able to make additional lineup additions on the margins, but their big move has been made. They just need their hitters to step up. — Gonzalez

Record: 53-50
Previous ranking: 18

Manager Bruce Bochy said over the weekend that he sensed a turnaround for the club’s sluggish offense shortly before the All-Star break, with the team doing a better job of putting the ball in play. The Rangers have played better of late, making the question of whether to trade for or away talent easier for president of baseball operations Chris Young. With Jake Burger and Joc Pederson on the IL, executives with other teams speculate that Texas will add a first baseman before the deadline, whether it’s someone like the D-Backs’ Josh Naylor or maybe the Nationals’ Nathaniel Lowe. — Olney

Record: 53-50
Previous ranking: 16

The Reds have the makings of a really good team, with a standout group of starters, a dynamic offense and a Hall of Fame manager in Terry Francona. But they have yet to find their footing, and at this point, it’s fair to wonder if they ever will. One thing they can do to help that cause, perhaps, is add an outfielder. Reds outfielders have combined to slash only .242/.326/.376 this season. Bringing in someone like Luis Robert Jr., Jarren Duran or Adolis Garcia is the type of move that might finally get this team going, especially with Hunter Greene (groin injury) nearing a rehab assignment. But adding an impact bat seems unlikely. — Gonzalez

Record: 52-51
Previous ranking: 15

The Cardinals finished the month of May eight games over .500 and tied with the Padres for the final wild-card spot. They then split 28 games in June and followed it with 12 losses through their first 17 games in July. With the trade deadline a week away, they find themselves among a bevy of teams occupying an uncomfortable middle space — open to trading away rental players but not willing to fully give up on 2025 just yet, especially with John Mozeliak, their longtime president of baseball operations, stepping away at season’s end. St. Louis will part with some of its best relievers, but its focus should be on doing what it can to find some controllable starting pitching help. — Gonzalez

Record: 50-53
Previous ranking: 17

The D-backs’ biggest priority over this next week is clarity, though it won’t be fully realized. The playoff field is still too muddled. The trade deadline, thus, is too early. And they only convoluted matters with a weekend sweep of the Cardinals. Still, though, the D-backs find themselves far enough out of the race — not to mention injured enough throughout their pitching staff — to make punting on 2025 the prudent choice. A bevy of their pending free agents are expected to be available. General manager Mike Hazen will be tasked with making long-term moves at the trade deadline without compromising the current team. — Gonzalez

Record: 51-50
Previous ranking: 22

With the Guardians in a very different place in the standings this year compared to last season, they are expected to weigh opportunities to maximize the possible trade return for some of their veterans. The player drawing the most inquiries is Steven Kwan, whose skill set would fit a number of contenders, with his high rate of contact, good speed and strong defense. But Kwan will be arbitration eligible for a couple of more winters, which gives the Guardians time to wait — probably into 2026 — for a team to meet their asking price. — Olney

Record: 50-53
Previous ranking: 19

This is the specific time of year when a small sample size matters — when one good outing can make all the difference — and that’s why a small cadre of rival evaluators closely watched Seth Lugo‘s start against the Cubs on Wednesday. But whether Lugo is traded before the deadline or not, the Royals’ primary focus seems to be — not surprisingly — on upgrading their brutal outfield production. That means continuing to give Jac Caglianone the reps he needs as he adjusts to major league pitching. That means looking for opportunities, as the Marlins did with Kyle Stowers, to land hitters under team control through 2026 and beyond. — Olney

Record: 49-53
Previous ranking: 20

Other teams expect Minnesota will deal before the deadline. But no matter who goes — some rival execs are skeptical that the team would seriously consider dealing Joe Ryan — the Twins need to get major league ready players or prospects who help set them up for the future. The front office is stuck in something of a waiting game, with the franchise’s sale still being shaped. President of baseball operations Derek Falvey and his staff presumably can’t grow the payroll and take on debt in this period. Resolution of the ownership situation needs to happen before Minnesota can fully build a roster. — Olney

Record: 49-53
Previous ranking: 21

The Angels are among the teams sitting on the fence as the deadline approaches, but they’ve dropped four of six games coming out of the All-Star break at a time when a small sample size matters. No matter what happens between now and July 31, however, what remains paramount for the Angels is the development of their young players. First baseman Nolan Schanuel — still only 23 years old — is having a good season, and Zach Neto has accumulated a more than respectable 3.4 WAR. Jo Adell has 21 homers. But more is needed. — Olney

Record: 44-57
Previous ranking: 24

It’s been another nightmare season for the Braves, riddled with terrible injury luck and unexpected poor performances from key players. Michael Harris II‘s struggles are perhaps the most alarming. The center fielder is batting .214. His .559 OPS and 50 wRC+ rank 159th out of baseball’s 159 qualified hitters, while his 2.8% walk rate is tied for 159th.

It’s been a stunning downturn for a player in his age-24 season who’s only three years removed from posting 4.8 fWAR with a .853 OPS as a rookie — a first year so encouraging that the Braves signed him to an eight-year, $72 million extension that August. Harris’ glove and speed are still valuable — maybe valuable enough to absorb his offensive regression — but a turnaround at the plate in the second half will ease Atlanta’s concerns. — Castillo

Record: 48-53
Previous ranking: 23

The Marlins have turned a corner this season. Since June 10, they’re 23-13 — good for the second-best record in the NL. Zoom out further and they’ve been 35-35 since May 1. Outfielder Kyle Stowers is a legitimate All-Star and franchise player. Eury Perez has looked sharp in his return from Tommy John surgery. Otto Lopez has compiled 3 bWAR. The franchise is trending in the right direction. The final two-plus months is about continuing development, unearthing other future contributors and finishing the year with positive momentum. — Castillo

Record: 44-57
Previous ranking: 25

Besides unloading impending free agents for young talent at the deadline, the Orioles’ other significant second-half move with an eye toward 2026 could be promoting top prospect Samuel Basallo to the majors. The towering catcher (6-foot-4) will likely primarily play first base and DH in the majors with Adley Rutschman expected to return from injury soon, but Basallo’s bat is the priority. He has gigantic power that has clicked this season at Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s hitting .264 with 19 home runs and a .974 OPS in 62 games at just 20 years old. It shouldn’t be long before he’s in Baltimore. — Castillo

Record: 42-61
Previous ranking: 26

Paul Skenes boasts a 1.91 ERA, the lowest among qualified starters. His record: 5-8. Any hopes of building around the game’s best young pitcher will hinge around the Pirates’ ability to add offense, a painstaking process that will continue with this year’s trade deadline. The front office will be fielding a lot of calls about Mitch Keller, David Bednar, Dennis Santana and potentially Bryan Reynolds, among others, over the next week. It is crucial that they leverage them for the types of hitters they’ve struggled to find. — Gonzalez

Record: 42-62
Previous ranking: 27

The A’s have established a formidable group of position players in Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom. But if the franchise is going to take a serious step forward before the move to Las Vegas, it will need to build a pitching staff, and it’s unclear whether the A’s will do that over the next couple of years. Their investment in Luis Severino has been a bust. Other teams say 32-year-old Jeffrey Springs might be available for the right offer. And let’s be real, the ballpark in Sacramento doesn’t foster pitching. The A’s have the second-worst home ERA in the majors at 5.36. — Olney

Record: 41-61
Previous ranking: 28

The Nationals have an exciting core of young position players, led by 22-year-old All-Star James Wood. Now it’s about figuring out which pitchers are part of the future. All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore figures to continue as the staff ace with two years of team control remaining after this season, though a trade for a substantial haul isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Relievers Brad Lord and Cole Henry, both 25, have posted strong campaigns. Cade Cavalli, a 2020 first-round draft pick, is nearing a return from a Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for all of the 2023 season and most of 2024.

However, Gore is the only Nationals starter with an ERA under 4.80 this season, and the bullpen ranks last in the majors in ERA. Discovering and developing the next wave of pitching talent is paramount. — Castillo

Record: 37-66
Previous ranking: 29

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, the White Sox will likely surpass their 2024 win total of 41. While another 100-loss season seems likely, there is clear growth happening with the roster, and this will continue to be the focus for the team. Pitchers such as Sean Burke and Shane Smith and position players such as Kyle Teel are gaining experience. There are teams interested in acquiring the talented Luis Robert Jr. (hello, Padres), and for the right return, the White Sox will trade him before the deadline. — Olney

Record: 26-76
Previous ranking: 30

The Rockies have quietly played better baseball of late, going from winning an abysmal 16% of their games in March, April and May to a more respectable — though obviously still not good — 39% of their games in June and July. The record for most losses in modern baseball history is still within reach, and here’s the thing: The Rockies should not care. They need to approach this trade deadline with a mindset that they haven’t carried into enough of them — of unloading accomplished veterans to acquire as much young talent as possible. Early indications are that they’re wide-open to that, regardless of what it might mean for the final two months of this season. That’s a good thing. — Gonzalez

Continue Reading

Sports

Pete Rose history on display at Baseball Hall of Fame

Published

5 hours ago

on

July 24, 2025

By

Pete Rose history on display at Baseball Hall of Fame

This weekend, tens of thousands of fans are expected to travel to Cooperstown, New York, as they do annually, to pay homage to new inductees and returning members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, visit the Hall and see an array of artifacts from the greats of the game — including Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose.

Rose, whose name has never been allowed to appear on a Hall of Fame ballot, died in September at age 83. In May, commissioner Rob Manfred removed Rose and other deceased individuals from MLB’s permanently ineligible list, making Rose newly eligible for election to the Hall.

But Rose’s presence in the Hall’s exhibits didn’t require the action of a commissioner. The legendary “Charlie Hustle” has been there for decades, a constant in the museum’s presentation of the history of the game, with numerous pieces that he donated to the Hall. Rose, of course, is not a Hall of Famer, but fans have long been able to see him and his accomplishments represented in at least a dozen items on display, including bats and a ball, a cap, cleats, a jersey and more connected with his 4,256 hits, record numbers of games played and at-bats and myriad awards. The 17-time All-Star at a record five positions won three World Series titles and proudly referred to himself as the winningest player ever.

MLB banished Rose in 1989 after an investigation it commissioned found Rose, then the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, had bet on the sport and his own team’s games. Two years later, the Hall of Fame’s board decided anyone on MLB’s permanently ineligible list would also be ineligible for election to the Hall. That became known as “the Pete Rose rule.”

For nearly 15 years after baseball banned him, Rose repeatedly denied that he had bet on the sport. Before, and long after, his 2004 admission to having gambled on baseball games — including Reds games — during part of his managerial tenure with Cincinnati, Rose was a fixture in Cooperstown for induction weekends, signing and selling his autographs at a memorabilia store.

Just a block away at the Hall were Sparky Anderson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez of the 1975 and ’76 “Big Red Machine” championship teams with Rose, and Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies with whom Rose won a championship, as well as several other teammates from his 24 seasons.

The Hall’s “Whole New Ballgame” exhibit, devoted to the era from 1970 to the present, features a Rose jersey from the 1973 season, when he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award; the ball and a ticket from the 1981 game when he tied Stan Musial’s National League hits record; and a 1978 can of a chocolate-flavored beverage named “Pete,” bearing a Rose action photo.

The section of the Hall that chronicles many of the game’s most hallowed records is titled “One for the Books.” It showcases Rose’s shoes and a scoresheet from his crowning achievement, Sept. 11, 1985, when he broke Ty Cobb’s career hits record. Also displayed is a pair of Rose bats from 1978, when he reached the 3,000-hit milestone and later tied the 1897 National League-record 44-game hitting streak by Wee Willie Keeler, and Rose’s Montreal Expos cap from 1984 when he broke Carl Yastrzemski’s record for games played.

In “Shoebox Treasures,” which examines the baseball cards phenomenon, visitors can see the Rose Topps card from 1975 and two Topps cards — one authentic and one counterfeit — from ’63, when he was named National League Rookie of the Year.

There is also an interactive exhibit on the subject of gambling that includes the Rose saga.

And according to the Hall, its archives contain dozens of holdings pertaining to Rose, from recorded interviews — including with Howard Stern — to correspondence and collectibles, as well as the investigative file from MLB’s 1989 probe of Rose’s gambling led by special counsel John Dowd.

Rose visited the Hall when he was 26 and a fifth-year star for Cincinnati. It was July 24, 1967, and the Reds toured the museum before losing to the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 in the then-annual Hall of Fame exhibition game, in which Rose went 0-for-3.

“This is really great,” Rose said as he looked around the Hall, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is what baseball is all about.”

Rose marveled at the multitude of mementos from Babe Ruth, a member of Cooperstown’s inaugural 1936 class, and at the vast space specifically for the “Bambino” and his larger-than-life exploits on the diamond and beyond.

Dayton (Ohio) Daily News columnist Si Burick, who eventually would be selected to the Hall’s writers wing, recounted a moment from the visit in his column the next day:

When a fellow suggested to an awestruck Rose that he, too, might some day grace the Hall of Fame, if he continued at his present pace, the irrepressible Cincinnatian had a typical answer. Peter pointed to a cubicle filled with Ruth gadgets, and suggested, “There’s my chance to get in — with my bowling ball.”

Ruth’s bowling ball was on display and Rose was a winner four months earlier during spring training at a “Base-Bowl” event in a Tampa bowling alley that paired MLB and Professional Bowlers Association stars. Rose and Dick Weber edged Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals and Wayne Zahn. Of the four, only Rose isn’t enshrined in either the baseball or PBA Hall of Fame.

“I got all the records, so you can throw me into the sea, but the records are still going to come to the top,” Rose said in a 2019 interview for ESPN’s “Backstory” program. “You can walk into the Hall of Fame, you see my name in things everywhere, which is fine. It’s good for me. It’s good for the Hall of Fame. The greatest thing for baseball is the history of baseball.”

With Rose now eligible for election, his Hall candidacy is to be considered by the Historical Overview Committee, which develops a ballot of eight names for the Classic Era Committee that is next scheduled to meet in December 2027. That era committee handles candidates whose greatest impact was prior to 1980, including Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues stars. Its 16 members, comprising Hall of Famers, executives and veteran media members, are charged with weighing the eight candidates’ résumés, integrity, sportsmanship and character — 12 votes are needed for election.

The long-running debates over Rose surely will continue well past 2027. Regardless of whether he’s added to the Plaques Gallery signifying membership in the Hall — there will be 351 plaques as of Sunday, including the day’s five new inductees — there’s no disputing that Rose will continue to have places in the building.

ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Orioles place closer Bautista (shoulder) on IL

Published

5 hours ago

on

July 24, 2025

By

Orioles place closer Bautista (shoulder) on IL

  • Associated Press

Jul 24, 2025, 01:02 PM ET

CLEVELAND — Baltimore Orioles closer Felix Bautista, who is tied for sixth in the American League with 19 saves, was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right shoulder discomfort.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said the right-hander felt uncomfortable while stretching in the bullpen Wednesday during a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Bautista will undergo an MRI when the Orioles return home Friday.

“The (dugout) phone rang in the seventh inning last night and I thought, ‘That is not good,'” Mansolino said. “Then I heard it get slammed down and knew it wasn’t good.

“Félix had started his process of getting loose and that’s when it flared up.”

Bautista did not pitch in the first three games of the series in Cleveland, last seeing action on Sunday at Tampa Bay when he earned his 19th save in 20 opportunities. He missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The 30-year-old Dominican has a 1-1 record and 2.60 ERA in 35 appearances, limiting opponents to a .134 batting average over 34 2/3 innings. Bautista has struck out 50 and walked 23.

“We just have to hope it’s not too serious,” Mansolino said.

The Orioles will use a closer-by-committee in the short term with righty setup men Seranthony Dominguez and Yennier Cano at the front of the line.

“We’re going to have to bump up their roles,” Mansolino said. “We’ll figure it out.”

Bautista will not enter free agency until 2028, but is eligible for arbitration following this season. The 6-foot-8, 285-pounder is in the final year of a two-year, $2 million contract.

With the Orioles out of wild-card contention, they are expected to be active sellers before the July 31 trade deadline.

Continue Reading

Trending