LOS ANGELES – Say Hey! Jason Heyward has been the unsung hero for a Dodgers team that has World Series championship aspirations.
This is Heyward’s second year with the team, previously with the Braves, Cardinals, and Cubs. He signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in December of 2022 with an invitation to spring training and ended up making the Opening Day roster.
2023 was a resurging year for J-Hey. He fixed some mechanics on his swing with the coaches, and ended up batting .269 in 124 games played, which was his highest batting average since the 2018. He had his second highest slugging percentage of his career at .473 as well.
The biggest reason for his resurgence was his new role on the team. Unlike his time in Chicago, St. Louis, and Atlanta where he was relied on much more and considered one of the team’s best players, he’s accepted more of a platoon role, meaning less pressure put onto him.
His new role was so valuable in 2023 to the boys in blue that his coaches and teammates gave Heyward the Roy Campanella Award, given to the most inspirational Dodger on the team. He was able to mentor rookie players like James Outman, and gave star player Mookie Betts the opportunity to stay fresh and get more playing time in the infield at second base.
He resigned with the Dodgers in December of 2023, this time on a one-year, $9 million deal. So far, he has not had the same success mainly due to spending much of the season on the IL with a back injury.
He’s only played in 17 games because of this, having a .234 batting average, with two home runs, six RBI, and has only struck out a total of seven times. Plus, he’s started to heat up over his past seven games played, with a .313/.389/.688 slashline.
The Dodgers infamously flamed out in the 2023 playoffs, and Heyward did not help, going zero for nine. That embarrassment caused the Dodgers to spend a fortune in free agency, including bringing back Heyward, to put the rest of the league on notice that no matter what, they are the favorites to win the 2024 World Series.
If there has been anything that turns a contender into a champion, it is the importance of the role player. The best players on a team are already counted on heavily to show up, but the difference makers that elevate a team over the top are the role players who aren’t as counted on, but show up big time, especially if a star player ends up underperforming.
This was evident for the Dodgers last year. Betts and Freddie Freeman underperformed in the playoffs, but the role players were also a no show. So if the Dodgers want to right last year’s wrong, then guys like Heyward are going to be crucial.
BOSTON – It’s been quite a while since Josiah Gray has been on a Big League mound, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been putting in the work.
On May 20th, Gray posted on his social media that he had earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business and economics from Le Moyne College in New York. He got his degree with Summa Cum Laude honors, meaning that he had a grade point average of around 3.9-4.0, and he was in the top 5% of students in the graduating class.
Sometimes plans take a little longer than you expect… But in the process, dreams come true ⚾️
I’m grateful to finish what I started 9 years ago! Officially a Le Moyne College alum 🐬 pic.twitter.com/8xYZbEEYgA
“Sometimes plans take a little longer than you expect… but in the process, dreams come true. I’m grateful to finish what I started 9 years ago,” Gray said on X when announcing his achievement.
Where Is Josiah Gray From?
Gray was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York, going to the local high school, and then accepting his one and only scholarship offer for the Dolphins of Le Moyne College. He played there for his first three years, improving significantly each season, and then left school early to be drafted in the second round, 72nd overall in the 2018 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
He was with the Reds for about six months, but in December of 2018, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the centerpiece of a return trade package that sent him, Homer Bailey, and Jeter Downs to the west coast in exchange for veterans Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, and Kyle Farmer.
He would work in the Dodgers farm system for the next two and a half seasons, before making his debut for the Boys in Blue on July 20th, 2021 against the San Francisco Giants.
Josiah Gray Traded Several Times Before Finding Home In DC
He only suited up in the Dodger blue for less than two weeks, because on July 30th, he was once again the centerpiece of a return package, now being sent to Washington, D.C. to the Nationals with Keibert Ruiz, Gerardo Carrillo, and Donovan Casey for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.
He’s been with the Nationals ever since, consistently improving his ERA each and every year. In 2023, he earned his first All-Star honors, and had a sub-4 ERA for the first time in his career, and has slowly become the ace of a young and rebuilding Nationals team.
Josiah Gray Tells Us About His Stellar Year And First All-Star Game! https://t.co/DG3CFNUEBb is at the Midsummer Classic interviewing Black and brown major leaguers.
It’s been a rough start to say the least for Gray in 2024, as he’s only made two starts, but lost both of them. He went less than five innings in both starts, and has given up a total of 13 runs, with a 14.04 ERA. On April 9th, Gray was put on the IL with a right flexor strain in his elbow, and he’s been on the shelf ever since.
He has been making steady progress, as he was able to throw in a simulated game over the weekend at Nationals Park. Everything went well, but Gray will need a couple of more simulated games/rehab starts before he can make his return to game action, which the team is hoping can be around mid-June.
Whenever his return may be, he will be welcomed back with open arms. When he’s on top of his game, it’s very hard to stop him.
After helping lead the wild card Diamondbacks to the NL Pennant and three games short of the World Series, Pham had been a free agent all winter long, until he signed a minor league contract with the White Sox on April 15th. He had to be added to the roster by April 25th, or he could request his release from the team.
Chicago White Sox Winning With Tommy Pham
He played four games with their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, batting .294, with one RBI and two stolen bases. By April 25th, the South Siders liked what they saw, and brought Pham up to the major league roster.
So far, so good. Pham has made the most of his time in Chicago. Entering Sunday’s 7-2 loss to the Yankees, Pham was batting .346, to go with two home runs and 10 RBI, as well as an .886 OPS in 27 games played. He’s also only struck out 11 times.
Corey Julks Trying To Get Back To Consistent MLB At-Bats
Julks on the other hand, had spent all of the 2024 season with the Triple-A of the Astros before being designated for assignment on May 10th. On May 15th, he was traded to Chicago for minor-league right-handed pitcher Luis Rodriguez.
Julks was later recalled to the major league roster, making his one and only appearance in the majors on May 17th, in the Bronx versus the Yankees. He was 1-for-4 in that game with two strikeouts.
This is only the second season in the bigs for the 28-year-old Texas native. He played 93 games for the Astros, his hometown team, in 2023. He had a respectable .245/.297/.352 slashline, with six home runs, 33 RBI, and managed to steal 15 bags. However, it didn’t move the needle for the Astros enough, as Julks was left off the team’s postseason rosters for both the ALDS and ALCS.
It obviously was not the ending to his Astros tenure that Julks wanted, but the good news is that it’s a fresh start for Julks, and he now has a much stronger chance of getting more playing time in the majors, as there are many spots up for grabs on this rebuilding roster.
Chicago White Sox Entering An Extreme Rebuild
The White Sox are currently 14-33, the worst record in all of the MLB. They let former All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson leave for Miami, and outfielder Luis Robert has been on the IL for almost all of the season with a Grade 2 right hip flexor strain, so wins have been tough to come by.
Nevertheless, since April 26th, which was Pham’s first game for the team, they are 11-11. This shows that the team really needed a veteran leader and a player who knows how to win. With the continued leadership and strong play of Pham, and the new addition in Julks, who knows if these two can be catalysts for long term change throughout the organization and make winning much more common for the White Sox.
On April 25th of this year, Baseball Digest announced the winner of their Lifetime Achievement Award, and this year it has been given to the great Dusty Baker. The award “recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game.”
As this is the fourth time the award has ever been presented, Baker has added to a list of all time greats who have received this honor, joining inaugural winner Willie Mays, Vin Scully, and Joe Torre. “I never thought that I’d be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special,” Baker said at the time.
Dusty had been in the league for 56 years as a player, coach, and manager. He played 19 seasons in The Show, primarily with the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and managed five teams between 1992-2023, including the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, and Houston Astros. He is the only manager in MLB history to earn division titles with five different teams, and is seventh all time in managerial wins.
As a player, Baker was a two-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger award winner and earned a Gold Glove in 1981, the same year he won a World Series with the Dodgers. He also copped the National League’s first ever NLCS MVP award back in 1977, when he batted .316, with three home runs and a staggering 13 RBI in just four games.
As a manager, Baker led three teams to pennants, once in ‘02 with the Giants, and back-to-back in ‘21 and ‘22 with the Astros. In 2022, in his 25th managerial season, he finally won his first World Series as a skipper, the final piece of the puzzle to his Cooperstown-bound career.
He became the seventh man in MLB history to win a ring as a player and manager. It took him only 3,884 regular season games and 97 postseason games before that first World Series, which were the most in MLB history for both. At 73, he was the oldest manager to ever win a title not just in MLB history, but the history of all four major North American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL).
Legendary career for Dusty Baker 👏
▫️ 26 seasons ▫️ 2,183 career wins ▫️ 3 pennants ▫️ 3x Manager of the Year ▫️ 2022 WS Champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cfOKdsr0Q1
After retiring from managing in 2023, Baker is still in Major League Baseball as he is back in San Francisco with the Giants in a front office role. According to mlb.com, he joined the team as a special assistant to Farhan Zaidi, the team’s President of Baseball Operations.
There really isn’t anyone more deserving of this award than Baker. The impact he has had on the game is arguably second to none, as he’s set the highest of standards on being a great leader on the field, and an even better role model off of it.
LOS ANGELES – After 15 great years in the big leagues, Matt Kemp has officially retired from baseball.
A sixth round pick in the 2003 MLB draft, Kemp is remembered primarily for his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he spent a total of nine seasons, receiving three All-Star selections, two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and was the NL home run and RBI leader in 2011 with 39 and 126, which earned him the Hank Aaron award as being voted the best hitter in the NL, and was second in NL MVP voting.
He also set the Dodgers franchise record at the time when he signed an eight-year contract worth $160 million in the 2011 offseason.
Matt Kemp Was One Of The Best Players Of His Era
Over the course of his career, Kemp had a .284/.337/.484 slashline, with 287 total home runs, and 1,031 RBI, and had a total WAR of 21.4.
2011 was by far Kemp’s best year in the bigs, playing a total of 161 regular season games. He earned All-Star honors, one of his Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, along with the Hank Aaron Award and almost won MVP. He hit .324, with an on-base percentage of .399 and a slugging percentage of .586. He also had 40 steals, which was second in the NL. He was the first player since Hank Aaron in 1963 to finish top two in both home runs and stolen bases.
Matt Kemp Robbed Of MVP: Ryan Braun PED Scandal
However, 2011 was the year that Ryan Braun won the MVP over Kemp, but it was later revealed that Braun tested positive for PEDs and was eventually suspended by the MLB. After a song and dance where he tried to put the blame on a sample handler, in August of 2013, MLB suspended Braun for the rest of the season — 65 games — making him the first player suspended in MLB’s investigation of the Biogenesis lab.
Many of the voters admitted that if there was a redo vote, Kemp would most likely be the 2011 NL MVP. Kemp also publicly came out condemning Braun, saying that his MVP should have been stripped.
Kemp played for the boys in blue from 2006-2014, but during the 2014 offseason, Kemp was the centerpiece of a blockbuster deal that sent him, Tim Federowicz and $32 million in cash to the division rival San Diego Padres for Joe Wieland, Yasmani Grandal, and Zach Eflin.
He would play in San Diego for one and a half seasons, where he hit .264 with 46 home runs and 169 RBI before eventually getting dealt to the Atlanta Braves at the 2016 trade deadline. He would play with them till the end of the 2017 season.
Kemp was then traded back to the Dodgers for the 2018 season, where he ended up having a resurgence in his career. He started off the season batting .316, which earned him his third All-Star appearance. He also played in his one and only Fall Classic against the Red Sox, where he homered in his first World Series at bat.
Kemp also played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2019 and the Colorado Rockies in 2020, which was his last appearance in the bigs.
Although he is no longer playing, Kemp is still involved in the game, as he is back with the Dodgers serving in an advisory role. His presence on the field will truly be missed, as he is a supreme MLBbro and a player that fans will never forget.
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