Harper's top moments from Rutgers' 2024-25 season
Can Aaron Judge Hit .400? Yankees Insider Reveals Untold Stories & 2025 Predictions!
Dive into an exclusive interview with Yankees beat writer Randy Miller as he shares untold stories about Aaron Judge's remarkable 2025 season! From his humble roots to his quest for a .400 batting average, we explore Judge's evolution as a hitter, his impact on and off the field, and whether he can achieve baseball history. Plus, get insights on the Yankees' World Series chances and Judge's postseason struggles. Don't miss this deep dive into one of baseball's biggest stars! Subscribe for more sports interviews and analysis! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro to Sportsnaut Interview 0:48 Welcome & Guest Intro 1:44 Aaron Judge Off the Field: Personal Stories 6:06 Judge's 2025 Season: On-Field Dominance 6:56 Can Aaron Judge Hit .400? 14:13 Judge's Impact on Teammates 17:29 Postseason Struggles & Motivation 20:21 Closing Thoughts & Randy's Farewell #AaronJudge #Yankees #MLB2025 #Baseball #Sportsnaut #Hitting400 #YankeesNews #WorldSeries #MLBInterviews #SportsTalk
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Twins still waiting for Carlos Correa's ‘clutch' reputation to make its way to Minnesota
Carlos Correa's reputation as a clutch performer with the Houston Astros was well established by playing a leading role in capturing three American League pennants (2017, 2019, 2021) and winning the World Series in 2017. 'Clutch Correa' was a recurring October character. Correa made the playoffs in all but one of seven seasons with the Astros from 2015-21, and batted .272/.344/.505 in 79 postseason games, leading all playoff participants over that time in RBIs (59) and Win Probability Added (+2.7) while ranking second in total bases (152) and third in homers (18). Clutch Correa. Back-to-back years with #ALCS walk-off homers. (MLB x @Gatorade) — MLB (@MLB) October 16, 2020 Correa was also consistently very good in regular-season clutch spots with the Astros, performing roughly the same overall (.837 OPS) as he did with runners in scoring position (.829 OPS) and in high-leverage situations (.812 OPS) across 752 games. He was just very good with Houston, period. Unfortunately for the Twins, it's been a different story in Minnesota. Advertisement Last month, Correa talked openly about his struggles this season, pointing to mechanical problems with his swing and chasing too many iffy pitches out of the strike zone as reasons for a career-worst .689 OPS and replacement-level 0.1 bWAR in 73 games. But a deeper look reveals deeper issues. Correa's overall .786 OPS in four seasons with the Twins is down 51 points from his Astros days, with a similar decline in OPS+ from 127 to 119, which is disappointing but still within the normal range of expected outcomes for a player's age 27-30 seasons. Within that, however, Correa's performance in clutch spots has plummeted, going from a strength in Houston to a weakness in Minnesota, and running counter to the reputation he built with the Astros as the player you'd want at the plate in game-deciding moments. When batting with runners in scoring position, Correa hit .277 with an .829 OPS for the Astros, matching his overall line. Since joining the Twins, he's hit .258 with a .724 OPS in those same spots, around 10 percent short of his overall line and 105 points of OPS worse than his RISP work in Houston. Of the 118 hitters to log at least 400 plate appearances with RISP since his first Minnesota season (2022), Correa ranks 101st in OPS and 107th in slugging percentage. In particular, his power has vanished with RISP, slipping from a homer every 30 plate appearances with the Astros to one every 87 plate appearances with the Twins. Delving a little bit deeper into the same RISP data set, Correa's production with runners in scoring position and two outs — a scenario where getting a hit scores runs and making an out ends a rally — has gone from very good for the Astros (.810 OPS) to downright bad for the Twins (.543 OPS). This is taking an already small RISP sample and slicing it up even further, so we're talking about only 203 plate appearances spread over four years. But for Correa to hit .183 with just one homer in any 203-plate appearance sample is shocking, especially factoring in the clutch ramifications. In plate appearances defined as high leverage — close scores, late innings, multiple runners on base and other circumstances where the game hangs in the balance — Correa has again declined from very good for the Astros (.812 OPS) to subpar for the Twins (.704 OPS). Correa has more double plays grounded into (29) than extra-base hits (24) in high-leverage spots with the Twins, including a sub-.700 OPS in three of four seasons and a .568 OPS this year. Of the 122 hitters to log at least 300 high-leverage plate appearances since 2022, he ranks 96th in OPS and 102nd in slugging. Advertisement Win Probability Added measures a hitter's production based on the context in which it occurred to determine the actual effect on winning and losing. For example, drawing a leadoff walk in the ninth inning of a tie game makes a far bigger WPA impact than a grand slam in a blowout. Correa has a minus-0.9 WPA in a Twins uniform, including a team-worst minus-1.6 WPA this season and a team-worst minus-2.7 WPA in 2023, which can be directly linked to his RISP and high-leverage struggles. That was very much not the case in Houston, where his 8.3 WPA from 2015-21 ranked 15th-best in the AL. In the midst of a career-worst season in which he's batting .258 with a .689 OPS overall, producing just 0.1 bWAR while being paid $36 million, Correa has a .673 OPS with runners in scoring position, a .406 OPS with runners in scoring position and two outs and a .568 OPS in high-leverage situations. Correa not being as good for the Twins as he was for the Astros is far from a shock, particularly given his injuries. His overall production decline is fairly common for an aging star, and within a typical range of outcomes the Twins should have expected when signing him to a six-year mega-deal at age 28. But there's nothing typical about Correa's steep drop-off in clutch situations, which is far more extreme than his overall slide and diametrically opposed to the reputation he brought from Houston to Minnesota. Being a big clutch performer didn't just help Correa get $200 million, it was also part of his lore. Clutch Correa has gone missing in Minnesota.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Who was best? Dave Parker was, a convincing Jim Rice says about SI's memorable cover photo
BOSTON — Jim Rice was never teammates with Dave Parker. And they rarely even competed against each other, what with Rice playing his entire career with the Boston Red Sox and Parker playing most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds — all this happening when 'inter-league play' was little more than a fanciful idea being tossed around by marketing people. Advertisement And yet Rice and Parker had a connection that continues to this day, thanks to a photo shoot they did for 'Sports Illustrated' during the run-up to spring training in 1979. The result was a memorable cover photo for the magazine's annual baseball issue, showing Rice and Parker, in full uniform, standing back-to-back. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Parker is flashing that famous smile of his and has his arms semi-folded as he confidently extends his index finger in that No. 1 kind of way. Rice, 6-2 and 200 pounds, looks like an American Legion second baseman next to Parker, and he has a sort of bemused look on his face. The headline: 'Who's best?' There's a good chance you've seen the cover sometime over the past couple of days. With Parker dying last Saturday at age 74 following a long battle with Parkinson's disease, that photo from the April 9, 1979, edition of Sports Illustrated has been hurtling around the globe on social media. Jim Rice is a big man. Dave Parker made him look like Dustin Pedroia. — Tony Massarotti (@TonyMassarotti) June 30, 2025 And yet when I sat down with Rice on Monday, the idea being that he'd maybe tell a humorous anecdote or two about stuff that happened at the photo shoot, he was much more interested in answering the question that was on the cover. 'I guess the idea was, like, who's best?' Rice said. 'Well, let me tell you, Dave Parker was better. He just was. He was better.' The easy takeaway here might be that Rice, never a braggart, was submitting a testimonial for a fallen comrade. And yet he spoke matter-of-factly, as though the magazine had posed a question, and now, nearly a half century later, he was answering it. 'Dave Parker had more tools as far as running and his hitting, and he was stronger,' Rice said. 'He was bigger, he was taller, he was better.' Advertisement Rice paused and then said, 'We had that old slogan, walk slowly and carry a big stick. And that's what Dave Parker was all about. What was he, 6-5, 6-6? You didn't give him any crap. You stood back and admitted the guy. I know I did. They didn't call him The Cobra for nothing. He could swing the bat.' In his 16 seasons with the Red Sox, Rice hit 382 homers and had a career slash line of .298/.352/.502. His career WAR was 47.7. He never played on a World Series winner. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009 on his 15th time on the BBWAA ballot. Parker played 19 seasons in the big leagues, including 11 with the Pirates and four with the Reds. He hit 339 home runs and had a career slash line of .290/.339/.471. He stole 154 bases and won three Gold Gloves. He played on World Series winners with the Pirates in 1979 and the Oakland A's in 1989. After failing to get elected in his 15 appearances on the BBWAA ballot and three appearances on various veterans committee ballots, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in January by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. He will be posthumously inducted next month. We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Dave Parker. A legendary Pirate, Parker spent 11 years in a Pirates uniform, winning 2 batting titles, an MVP award and a World Series Championship in 1979. The Cobra was part of the inaugural Pirates Hall of Fame… — Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 28, 2025 The inspiration for Rice and Parker appearing on the cover of SI's 1979 baseball edition was due to both players coming off MVP seasons. For the '78 Red Sox, Rice hit .315 with 46 home runs and 139 RBIs. He amassed a whopping 406 total bases. For the '78 Pirates, Parker won his second straight batting title with a .334 average to go with 30 home runs and 117 RBIs. He also won his second Gold Glove. 'They did a photo shoot in New York and brought us in,' Rice said. 'They had uniforms for us to wear.' (Rice wore the home whites. Parker was decked out in one of the Pirates' snazzy all-gold uniforms with the black pillbox cap with gold stripes.) Advertisement 'We were just there for the shoot,' Rice said. 'There was no time to hang out or anything like that.' Rice and Parker didn't see each other again until the Red Sox played the Pirates during spring training. 'It was in Bradenton,' Rice said. 'I think we saw the photo before the magazine came out. But we talked about it later and we both liked it.' Pittsburgh #Pirates outfielder Dave Parker loses sight of the ball in the Kingdome roof – but recovers just in time to throw out Boston #RedSox star Jim Rice at third during the 1979 All-Star Game in Seattle! – RIP Dave Parker. #MLB #Legend #RIPCobra — Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) June 28, 2025 Such was Rice's respect for Parker that he once asked him for a bat. 'It was a big bat, 37-37, a P72,' Rice said. 'I asked for one in spring training. And I think he had one of mine, because normally when you ask someone for a bat, you give one back in return. And I wanted one of Dave Parker's bats to remember him.' Rice and Parker later got better acquainted on the golf course, playing in various tournaments. 'Later, we knew he was in pretty bad shape with the Parkinson's,' Rice said. 'When you think of an athlete like he was getting to the point where he can't help himself, that's sad. And when I think about Dave dying, I think about Muhammad Ali dying the same way. Dave was a much bigger man, but when you're an athlete like he was, like Muhammad Ali was, it's sad to see them get that way, thinking about the pressure it must put on their families.' Rice doesn't have the SI cover photo framed and hanging in his house. But that, he said, is because he keeps next to no baseball memorabilia on display. 'Just a photo of Hank Aaron and me,' Rice said. 'It's from Opening Day in 1975, when he came to Fenway with the Milwaukee Brewers.' Advertisement But, yes, absolutely, Rice has enjoyed seeing the SI cover make the rounds over the past several days. 'Look at my face in the photo,' Rice said. 'I'm saying, 'That's a big man.' That's a big man who could run, a big man who could throw, a big man who could hit. And I see a big man you'd want on your side. That's what I see when I see that photo.'
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
News Analysis: What's wrong with the Galaxy, who went from a championship to the cellar in one season?
The Galaxy continued to stumble through their terrible, horrible, no good, very bad season last week, taking just a point from two games against teams on the fringe of the playoff race. That left the reigning MLS champions with just one win and nine points from 20 games. If they continue at this pace, they'll set modern-era league records for most losses and fewest points while shattering virtually every team record for futility. The team has done little to help itself off the pitch either. While LAFC and Angel City, Southern California's two other pro soccer teams, were quick to issue statements standing with fans during last month's heavy-handed immigration raids, the Galaxy's silence was deafening. That timidity angered two of the team's main supporters groups, who canceled viewing parties, travel to road matches and other game-related events. The average attendance of 21,594, according to is off more than 17% from last year and is the Galaxy's lowest for a non-COVID season since 2014. Then there's the coach, Greg Vanney, who took the team to a title after one of the worst seasons in franchise history in 2023, but is digging well below those depths this season. It's a plunge from grace with just one precedent in the history of U.S. pro sports: the 1998 Florida Marlins, who won just a third of their games and finished a distant last a year after winning their first World Series. Yet in many ways the Galaxy's demise is much worse. In 1998, the Marlins surrendered before the season started, returning just two starters from their championship team. The Galaxy still have 10 of the 14 players they used in December's MLS Cup final. The Galaxy have offered various their humiliating demise, none of which hold much water. Before the season had ever started, the team was saying bonuses and other costs associated with the championship had made the price of victory too high under the stingy MLS salary cap. To get under the cap, the Galaxy had to trade MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman, midfielder Mark Delgado, defender Jalen Neal and forward Dejan Joveljic, the leading scorer in the playoffs. But every MLS Cup winner has had to make similar changes and three of the previous eight champions returned to the title game the following year. All but one of the eight posted a winning record. Next the Galaxy blamed injuries, especially the torn anterior cruciate ligament that has kept midfielder Riqui Puig, the team's best player, out all season. But Puig was injured in last November's Western Conference final and the team won the MLS Cup without him. The Galaxy also had the whole offseason to replace him. It's true that a rash of injuries early in the season sidelined more than half a dozen starters at one time or another. But other teams had injuries too and even when the Galaxy have been at full strength, as they have been for most of the schedule, they haven't won. So when went wrong and how can it be fixed? The first question is easier to answer than the second. The Galaxy had a magical year in 2024, going unbeaten at Dignity Health Sports Park and matching a modern-era franchise records for wins with 19. Every key player had arguably the best season of his career. Four of them — Joveljic, Puig, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil — finished in double digits for goals. That had never happened in MLS. Nor had it ever happened for two of the four players. Before last season, only Paintsil and Joveljic had scored more than eight goals in a season. In fact, Pec's 16 goals in 2024 was double his previous best and his 12 assists were three times better. This season Pec and Paintsil have combined for four scores and three assists, as many goals as they scored together in one playoff game last fall. And they weren't the only ones far exceeding expectations. Captain Maya Yoshida started all 39 MLS matches, including playoffs, last year and led the league in minutes played. Both figures were career highs; he's missed five starts already this season. Goalkeeper John McCarthy started a career-high 37 games, stopped nearly 74% of the shots he faced — his best mark in a season with more than 11 MLS starts — and had a 1.41 goals-against average. He's lost his starting job this season. It's not unusual for a championship team to see multiple players have breakout seasons at the same time. What is unusual is the Galaxy have seen multiple important players have career-worst seasons at the same time. McCarthy's save percentage is under 60% for the first time in a decade and his goals-against average of 2.36 is a career worst. Pec and Paintsil are on pace for their fewest goal contributions since 2021-22. And Colombian center back Emiro Garcés has become more a liability than an asset. As a result, the team has the fewest wins, has given up the most goals and has the worst goal differential in the league. Then there's Vanney. A defender on the Galaxy's original team in 1996, Vanney coached Toronto FC to the only treble in MLS history in 2017, then returned to L.A. in 2021 charged with reviving a team that had made one playoff appearance in five seasons. Instead he has a losing record in four-plus seasons and in 2023 he had the worst full season for a Galaxy coach, winning just eight games, a record he figures to shatter this season. Yet the team rewarded him with a multiyear contract extension in mid-May, when the Galaxy were 0-10-3. It's hard to imagine another team in a first-tier league anywhere in the world giving a coach with a winless record a three-year contract extension. In many ways this season is reminiscent of 2023, when the supporters organized boycotts and paid to have banners flown over the stadium calling for the sacking of president Chris Klein and technical director Jovan Kirovski. Amid the turmoil, the Galaxy matched a full-season franchise low in wins but they also replaced Klein and Kirovski with general manager Will Kuntz, who won an MLS Cup in his first full season with the club. It was the biggest one-season turnaround in MLS history. So what can be done to fix that this time? Apparently very little because Kuntz has much less room to maneuver now than he did then. The Galaxy payroll of $22.9 million is fifth-highest in MLS and all three of his designated players — Puig, Pec and Paintsil — are signed through the 2027 season, as is Julian Aude, an under-22 initiative signing. The Galaxy are hoping Puig's expected return late this summer sparks at least a modest revival but that won't be enough since Paintsil increasingly seems lost, his confidence shattered, and newcomers Matheus Nascimento and Lucas Sanabria have so far failed to live up to their promise. If the Galaxy had a magic season in 2024, this one has been cursed. And it's a spell that shows no sign of lifting.
