Billy Carlson selected in first round of 2025 MLB draft
More: Tennessee Vols 2025 MLB draft tracker
Entering the 2025 MLB draft, the Vols have produced 43 players selected since 2018 under Vitello. 2026 will mark the ninth season for him as Tennessee's head coach. Vitello has guided the Vols to one national championship, two SEC Tournament titles and two SEC regular-season championships.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Social media reacts to Alabama pitcher Riley Quick's 2025 MLB draft selection
On Sunday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide saw only one player hear their name called during the first three rounds of the 2025 MLB draft. RELATED: Tracking every Alabama baseball selection in 2025 MLB draft That selection happened between the first-and-second rounds with right-handed pitcher Riley Quick, who came off the board in Competitive Balance Round A at pick No. 36 overall to the Minnesota Twins. A redshirt sophomore, Quick was Alabama's top pitcher in 2025, enjoying a breakout campaign in which he owned a 3.92 ERA across 14 starts. Quick also owned a combined 3.72 ERA across his 31 career appearances at Alabama. Let's take a look back at some reactions on social media to Quick's selection from the 2025 MLB draft on Sunday night. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Which Home Run Derby participants are built to hit at Truist Park?
The Home Run Derby field is set — and it's an impressive group that has launched a combined 176 homers already in 2025. Accordingly, the odds are also set, with MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh leading the way as the favorite to win the contest (+275 at BetMGM). Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz (+350) originally opened at the top of the betting board, but has since been surpassed by the hot Seattle star. Advertisement So, how do we pick a prospective winner in this year's contest? We look at the numbers, of course. First, we looked at the data to see which contestant is best set up to smash baseballs out of Truist Park specifically. For some of the Derby hitters, we have a large sample of data in Atlanta to draw from. Ronald Acuña Jr., who was initially slated to participate before pulling out with a back injury, hit 92 career HRs in 1,442 ABs at his home ballpark, by far the most substantial track record of anyone who was set to compete on Monday. His Braves teammate Matt Olson, who'll replace him in the festivities, has 62 HR in 1,052 ABs at Truist Park. And from his time as a member of the division-rival Miami Marlins, Jazz Chisholm Jr. also has 99 career ABs (with 5 HRs) at Truist Park. But everyone else in the Derby lineup has 25 or fewer career ABs there, including Junior Caminero and his zero lifetime appearances in Atlanta. So clearly, to get a sense of who might get a charge at The Battery, we'll need to turn to other statistical tricks and approximations. Along those lines, one of the coolest Statcast features tracked by Baseball Savant is its adjusted home run projections — which look at all of a player's batted balls, estimating how many of them would have gone out of every park in MLB after accounting for hit distance, temperature, elevation, wall height and other factors. Using these numbers for the Derby contestants, we can judge how many home runs each would have hit if they'd played every game at Truist Park, comparing that with their actual HR rates. Here's a chart showing the change in home runs per AB — using at-bats rather than plate appearances to remove cases where a player walked or otherwise never got the chance to swing for the fences — between a player's actual numbers and his Atlanta-projected stats, looking at a weighted average from the past three seasons (with 2025 stats receiving more weight than 2024, and so forth): Because Truist is a hitter-friendly park (relative to average) for home runs and hard-hit balls in general, many of our HR Derby contenders would have received a bump to their power stats if they'd played every single game in Atlanta. But there are a few notable exceptions. Olson, for instance, actually would have hit fewer HRs over the past three seasons (97 versus 100) if he didn't play any road games. Caminero's batted-ball profile would have resulted in one fewer HR this season if he'd played every game at Truist Park. And Raleigh, whose actual three-year HR/AB rate of 7.7 percent leads all HR Derby participants by nearly 1.5 percentage points over Brent Rooker (6.3 percent), would see his figure dip to 7.0 percent in Atlanta — while Rooker would rise to 6.5 percent under those same conditions, setting up a much closer comparison than the unadjusted stats would imply. Advertisement Of course, Raleigh's adjusted HR/AB rate of 7.0 percent would still come in tops among the Derby field, which lines up with his strong 25.0 percent implied probability to win the contest (based on the BetMGM odds, after removing the juice). But not every player's odds align with what we might expect based on their projected HR stats at Truist Park. The scatter plot below compares each player's Atlanta-projected HR per AB rate with their implied chance of winning the Derby: The big outlier is Cruz, who is one of the favorites to win the whole thing despite hitting just 39 Atlanta-adjusted HR in 876 at-bats since 2023 — good for a weighted rate of 4.6 percent that actually ranks last among the Derby field by far. (Next-lowest is James Wood at 5.3 percent.) What accounts for this huge disparity? Mainly, Cruz has loads of other non-home-run-related power indicators, such as his league-high (or near it) marks in exit velocity (maximum and average), hard-hit ball rate and bat speed. This potentially places him within a long tradition of HR Derby winners with eye-popping measurements in those underlying metrics, regardless of how many of those batted balls would have actually gone over the fence in Atlanta. Clearly, then, bettors are placing more stock in Cruz's monster power potential than in-game results like homers or even isolated power, where he rates next to Cody Bellinger, Isaac Paredes and José Ramírez (i.e., hitters with far less raw power). Conversely, a hitter like Rooker, with excellent in-game power but less stunning exit-velo or hard-hit rates, might be getting underrated in the odds, particularly relative to how Atlanta would have provided him with even more HRs than he actually had. In addition to Cruz versus Rooker, the biggest question marks in this data are whether Raleigh will see at least some of his fearsome, league-leading power sapped by a poor fit with the host ballpark, and how Truist Park will treat Olson, who'll certainly get fan support, but perhaps not a boost for being more suited to hitting at his home park. Advertisement The big takeaway is that Chisholm Jr. figures to benefit the most from ballpark fit, with a HR/AB rate projected to be 0.4 percentage points higher if he played every game at Truist. And Rooker would be right behind him, which means Rooker and Chisholm Jr. present more value than the odds are giving them credit for. On the flip side, Raleigh (because the stadium hurts him) and Cruz (because his in-game HR rate isn't as good as Statcast metrics would predict) present less value. Ultimately, the park-specific HR projections suggest a tighter race than the odds imply, though we'll have to see who actually goes deep once the big bats start swinging in Atlanta. Editor's note: Stats were as of Saturday, July 12 Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. Neil Paine is a freelance writer whose work also appears regularly at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sherwood News and his eponymous Substack. He is the former Sports Editor at FiveThirtyEight, and was also an analytics consultant for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. (Photo of Cal Raleigh: Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
‘Do you want the 50/50 cleats?': Where Shohei Ohtani's history-making Decoy cleats ended up
On September 19, 2024, Shohei Ohtani earned the first and only key to the historic 50/50 club. By going six-for-six with three home runs, two stolen bases, and 10 RBI, he achieved a season-long chase with one of the greatest single-game performances ever. Naturally, every item tied to this historic achievement instantly became a desirable piece of memorabilia. Before the game was over, the MLB authenticator was sorting through all of Ohtani's equipment in the Los Angeles Dodgers' dugout, cataloging items that had suddenly shot up in value. Advertisement Soon after that, a variety of items from the game were shipped off to various places. Ohtani's game-worn pants and batting gloves went to Topps, where they were cut up and put into valuable trading cards. The MLB logo patch from those pants was incorporated into a one-of-a-kind, autographed card that was pulled and then sold for slightly over $1 million, setting a record for an Ohtani card. The 50th home run ball was the subject of multiple lawsuits between fans who claimed to be the rightful owner of it before it was auctioned off for a record-setting $4.392 million. The Marlins' lineup card from the game sold for nearly $22,000. First base sold for more than $25,000, and third base sold for $91,522. Despite speculation at the time that key items would soon go to the Baseball Hall of Fame, it says it has yet to receive anything from that game to display. Several key items from that night went unaccounted for after going through the authentication process, though: Ohtani's bat, jersey, and the most distinctive pieces of equipment of all, his custom cleats featuring his dog Decoy. Ohtani's love for dogs dates back to when he was in first grade, and he asked his parents for one. The family welcomed a golden retriever with the perfect name for a dog belonging to a future two-way star: Ace. Fast forward to when Ohtani was announced as the unanimous winner of the American League MVP award in 2023 with a puppy sitting on his lap. It resulted in unplanned fame for the furry companion whose name was being withheld at the time, and Topps released a trading card celebrating both the AL MVP and his 'Most Valuable Puppy.' Fans spun theories about the Kooikerhondje's name as Ohtani embarked on his free agent tour. It wasn't until Ohtani signed his decade-long deal with the Dodgers that it was finally revealed: Decoy Ohtani, known in Japanese as Dekopin. All the Decoy love gave New Balance the idea to create cleats bearing his image for Ohtani in time for Players Weekend in mid-August. Advertisement Weeks later, Decoy delivered a ceremonial first pitch the night the Dodgers gave away a wildly popular bobblehead of Ohtani and his dog. Naturally, Ohtani wore the Decoy cleats again that night, as he went on to hit a home run and steal two bases. 'Shohei was on a historic run, and we were trying not to be disruptive, but we talked about doing something quickly with Decoy, so we worked with an artist who does work with us and across the league,' said Evan Zeder, Director of Global Sports Marketing for Baseball with New Balance. New Balance tasked Miami-based sneaker artist Marcus Rivero 'to do something fun with Decoy and Ohtani,' Zeder recalled. Rivero has created custom designs worn by top athletes in the NFL, NBA, and MLB ranging from Dwyane Wade and Bryce Harper to Drew Brees and Tom Brady. After what Ohtani did while wearing those cleats on Sept. 19, they went from 'something fun' to something historic. But following the 50/50 game, no one knew what became of the cleats. New Balance says he never wore that pair of Decoy cleats again, and a different pair was provided for him to wear during the Dodgers' championship run.. Shohei rocking the Decoy cleats 🐶🫶 — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 14, 2024 Months later, the New Balance team was planning for the Tokyo Series that would kick off the 2025 season with the Dodgers facing the Cubs. New Balance's team went to visit Ohtani in Arizona at the end of February to discuss plans around the series when Ohtani surprised them with a question: 'Do you want the 50/50 cleats?' 'If you want them, and you want to show them at the activation (in Tokyo), you can take them,' Ohtani said, according to Zeder. New Balance hosted an Ohtani pop-up shop in Shibuya, Tokyo from March 15-23 that included Ohtani's Signature Collection, and other exclusive products. But before it came to life, there was an exhaustive process to preserve the cleats and get them safely to Tokyo. Advertisement Enter Eva Grizzard, New Balance's resident archivist. Grizzard got her start with the U.S. military, doing preservation work with rare books and films. It was her interest in 'how people interacted with objects, and how we view them' that drove her into this line of work. 'The product is lived in, worn well, and it comes back to us with stories to tell,' Grizzard said of the Decoy cleats. 'You'll see dirt on them, things are torn, and that's okay, it's all part of the story,' This led to funny conversations on preserving the clods of red dirt embedded in the cleats. Grizzard leaned on her conversations with the staff at the Baseball Hall of Fame. She had questions specifically about preserving the deterioration of the tongue on the cleat. 'Knowing the cleats are game worn, they have grass stuck in them, or something is worn off, scratched, this is what makes them authentic and real,' Grizzard said. Grizzard recalled receiving the cleats at 11 at night in Shibuya. She then transported them in a cross-body bag to their destination. 'There were people everywhere, and I came into this space and it looks very post-apocalyptic (since construction was still ongoing). And then the hush settles, I put the shoes down on the table and open them up,' Grizzard said. The display, closely guarded by security, became a focal point in the pop-up shop that drew in over 70,000 fans off a busy street in Tokyo. 'This is like a national pride attachment to a historical event; everywhere you look in Tokyo is Shohei's face, but to have this personal experience, it was amazing, it was emotional at that point,' Gizzard said. The theatrical ambience began with a butler welcoming people into a dark room to pick up their keys, a reference to Ohtani being welcomed in as the only member of the 50/50 club. The Tokyo pop-up was constructed to be a private club where attendees were given an intimate audience with the cleats.. Advertisement 'An older Japanese gentleman walks in, kind of looks, and we've got the keys up on there, and then he gets to it and starts crying,' Zeder said. Ohtani understood the importance of what he accomplished. His pride in his country, to come back as a World Series champion, having this historic season, and letting it resonate with his fans. 'That touches someone on a level, and that's why Shohei did it, it's him opening himself up to his fans,' Zeder said. Following the exhibit, the cleats returned home to Ohtani, where the biggest threat to their preservation just might be Decoy gnawing on them himself. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
