When the St. Louis Cardinals meet the San Francisco Giants on June 20th at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama it will be the first time ever that we have a crew made up entirely of Black umpires.
The mood will be solemn as the great Willie Mays, who played at Rickwood Field as a 19-year-old Negro League player on the Birmingham Black Barons and was expected to be present for the event, passed away on June 18th.
Mays would have been proud to see an all-melanated umpire crew. It’s amazing that in 2024, this is the first time we are seeing such representation between the lines.
“We approached the umpires in January and they were all enthusiastic about participating,” an MLB official who works with the umpiring department told MLBbro.com on Tuesday.
First All-Black Umpire Crew At Rickwood Field
Crew Chief Adrian Johnson
Alan Porter
CB Bucknor
Jeremie Rehak
Malachi Moore
One of the five above will be the Replay Official on-site.
They also will be wearing a patch in memory of Emmett Ashford, the first African American umpire in the AL or NL.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has been selected the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet.
Judge, who has hit seven Bro bombs in his last 13 games, earned his 10th career Player of the Week Award after winning twice in 2023 (May 22nd and September 25th). Judge also won three times in 2022 (July 25th, August 1st and October 6th); once in 2021 (May 17th); once in 2020 (August 3rd); and twice in 2017 (June 12th and September 25th).
He is the 10th player to win at least 10 weekly awards in the American League. It is the third honor for the Yankees this season after Juan Soto won on April 1st and Anthony Rizzo won on April 29th.
The 32-year-old hit .500 (10-for-20) with three homers, five RBI, five doubles, seven walks, seven runs scored, a 1.200 slugging percentage and a .630 on-base percentage while leading New York to a 6-0 record.
The California native led the Majors in on-base percentage, slugging, OPS (1.830) and extra-base hits (8); tied for the Major League lead in doubles and total bases (24); tied for the AL lead in batting average and walks; and tied for third in the AL in hits (10).
The 2022 AL MVP picked up four extra-base hits on Wednesday at Minnesota, marking his second career game with at least four extra-base hits after he also accomplished the feat last year on September 22nd. Judge became the fourth Yankee with at least two games of four-or-more extra-base hits, joining Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig (5 game); Joe DiMaggio (5 G); and Babe Ruth (2 G).
The 2017 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year had a hit in all six of his games and scored a run in five of the six contests. Overall, he has reached base safely in each of his last 16 games, over which he is batting .415 with 22 hits, 15 walks and .551 on-base percentage. He has reached base safely in 40 of his 48 games this season and reached multiple times in 28 games.
The five-time All-Star slugged home runs on Tuesday at Minnesota and on Friday and Sunday against the White Sox. His 13 homers lead the Yankees and are the third-most in MLB this season. Judge’s seven homers since May 1st are the second-most in the Majors behind only Kyle Tucker, while his .912 slugging percentage and 1.433 OPS are the best marks in Baseball.
Hank Aaron passed away back in January of 2021 at age 86.
Baseball has suffered some considerable losses in the past few years: Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Dick Allen, Tony Fernandez, Tom Seaver, Tommy Lasorda, J.R. Richard, and Don Sutton and Vida Blue, just to name a few.
It seemed as if Aaron would live forever. Baseball’s “true” home run king was probably the second most influential African-American player in the history of the sport after Jackie Robinson. And an undeniable national treasure and inspiration for all.
One Home Run Changed The Game
Most can’t honestly understand what a single home run meant 47 years ago. After all, we have seen so much change since April 8, 1974. We even had a two-term African American president in Barack Obama.
If you think that was a pipedream in 1974, the same would be said about a black man having the most home runs in Major League Baseball history.
Before that historic blast, four days earlier, Aaron tied the iconic Babe Ruth with a bomb against “The Big Red Machine.
First, Jackie Robinson broke down the color barrier. Then, it was Aaron, making the national pastime ours.
Today is the 50th anniversary of Aaron’s 715th home run. Aaron’s homer off of Dodgers’ Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium broke Babe Ruth‘s long-standing record of 714 home runs.
It was a mark most thought would stand forever.
It was such a big deal that not all celebrated. In fact, Aaron was more relieved than happy. Aaron received racist hate mail and death threats. His kids had security people watching over them during their dad’s pursuit of a piece of American history.
He came a long way from Mobile, Alabama. Born on Feb. 5, 1934, Henry Louis Aaron was one of eight children born to Herbert and Estella Aaron. As he challenged the mythical Babe Ruth for MLB’s scared record back in the 70s, he received death threats and racist taunts at the ballparks.
Aaron stood brave and prevailed.
The Braves have honored Aaron in so many ways over the years. In 2014 they wore 40th-anniversary patches on their uniform sleeves to mark the historic occasion. He was revered until his death at age 86.
And while some won’t forget Aaron’s shining moment, he doesn’t always get the props he deserves.
After all, Aaron played 23 seasons and nearly averaged 100 RBI a season (2,297 RBI total). His production was as consistent as a windshield wiper and impactful as the words of James Baldwin.
Of course, Barry Bonds, another Black Knight, passed Aaron as baseball’s home run king. Aaron hit 755 and Bonds hit 762. The validity of Bonds’ homers is questioned by many baseball fans and HOF voters to this day.
But nearly a half-century ago, it was Aaron’s blast over the left-field fence in Atlanta that transformed America, allowing black people all over this country to take ownership of the greatest title in the land. Like they were sharing a big pot of Gumbo.
It’s a great moment in our history. A shining moment for Black baseball.
The LA Dodgers continue to build a dynastic and diverse looking organization from top to bottom.
Four seasons removed from facing MLB pitching, former Dodgers star Matt Kemp is back with the organization that saw him rise to superstardom as a perennial MVP candidate from 2006-2014. The three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove outfielder returned to the Dodgers in 2018 and earned his final All-Star selection, along with high praise from manager Dave Roberts.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Kemp will serve in an advisory role for the Dodgers. The 39-year-old MLBbro is the second former Black star to take a front office job with the Dodgers this offseason.
Former Tampa Bay Rays ace Chris Archer has a flexible role in the Dodgers front office to explore a wide range of interests.
The Dodgers already had a Matt Kemp bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium planned for Aug. 11, so bringing him into the fold is the icing on the cake. He will probably help former Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier aid in Miguel Vargas’ adjustment to left field, along with helping the group of outfielders who have to roam without Gold Glover Mookie Betts holding down the corner.
Betts is on his way to trying to become the first player to ever win Gold Gloves in both the outfield and an infield position other than first base. The 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers promotional and giveaway schedule includes 18 bobblehead dates, headlined by two for Shohei Ohtani.
Freddie Freeman will kick it off on Saturday, March 30. The first Ohtani bobblehead is scheduled for Thursday, May 16. The design has been revealed to have the two-way star in a batting pose while wearing the home Dodgers uniform. The second Ohtani bobblehead is being given away on Wednesday, August 28.
Matt Kemp Should Have Won 2011 NL MVP: Had 287 Career Homers, 184 Steals
Over a 15-year career, Kemp hit 287 career homers with 1031 RBI and 184 steals. His MLB buzz during his time with the Dodgers. In his 10 seasons there, Kemp hit .292/.348/.494 with 240 doubles, 203 home runs and 733 RBI, won two Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Sluggers, made three All-Star Games and should have won the 2011 MVP, but lost in a controversial decision to Ryan Braun for 2011 NL MVP. Kemp had a heavily-brocentric season.
Kemp led the NL in runs (115), homers (39) and RBI (126). He had 40 stolen bases, falling just one-homer short of the exclusive 40-40 club. He also had more walks, hits and games played than Braun, who had a higher slugging percentage and OPS.
Ryan Braun Had PED Drama But Beat 50-Game Suspension On Technicality
It’s truly one of the worst robberies of all time considering Braun tested positive in October for elevated testosterone, and ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” revealed the positive test in December.
Braun was able to skate on the 50-game suspension, by exploiting a loophole. Multiple sources said the sample was not shipped for testing as soon as possible, as required by the drug testing policy, and instead was kept in a cool place in the sample collector’s home.
Sources told ESPN at the time that the collector left Braun’s sample on a desk in a Tupperware container and left it there for two days. Braun didn’t argue the legitimacy of the science, but the mishandling of his sample, which negates the test results. Braun is still considered a player who failed a PED test in the court of public opinion and is further proof that the award should have just gone to Kemp.
It’s not the last time you can say he was snubbed.
But now he’s back home and, in any event, what Magic Johnson and Dave Roberts and the Dodgers are building is a baseball paradise. An all-inclusive resort where players from all over the world, old and new, can become a part of Dodgers Nation as they become the “it” MLB franchise as move towards the 2030s.
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