The Bronx Street Boys | Can Aaron Judge And This Current Crew Of Yankees Lift The Bombers Back Into Pop Culture?

The Bronx Street Boys | Can Aaron Judge And This Current Crew Of Yankees Lift The Bombers Back Into Pop Culture?

Major League Baseball re-enters the “Must-see TV” realm this weekend when the New York Yankees face the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time this season. This series is definitely an early season preview to a potential World Series showdown in October. It definitely has the star power. Not only are MLBbros Aaron Judge and Mookie Betts the headliners, but they have superstar tag team partners in Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani as well.

 

Top MLBbro Talents Become Even More Dangerous With Teammates, Forming Dynamic Duos

 

While the Dodgers have the largest lead in their division at eight games, the Yankees are the class of professional baseball. After sweeping the Minnesota Twins for the ENTIRE SEASON, the Yanks are riding an eight-game winning streak and are only percentage points behind the Phillies for the best record in the game.

This rivalry is old, but not as old as the mystique of the New York Yankees championship pedigree that is evident with the superstars, the managers and most importantly the history… 27 World Series championships. But their success on the baseball diamond didn’t match the headlines around their off-field drama through the ‘70s which kind of rekindled in the ‘90s.

  • The George Steinbrenner/Billy Martin feud with the constant hiring and firing.
  • The Reggie Jackson era where his “Mr. October” legacy was born and lives to this day. Like the man has his own candy bar!
  • The jealousy of fans of other teams watching the stars either pine to the big stage in pinstripes or getting there and obtaining their dreams of attention and money!
  • Then there’s the World Series dominance over the Dodgers going back to the Brooklyn days!

It’s no secret that Yankees paraphernalia has been an easy sell over the years. Even casual sports fans have a Yankees hat in their collection. But with the combination of having possibly the top three power hitters in the game in Juan Soto and MLBbros Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the New York Yankees could be building their next dynasty.

But this team is more than big bats as Alex Rodriguez discusses here.

This is no longer a team that depends on power and three-run homers to demoralize opponents. The Yankees have improved almost every aspect of not only their offense but their defense and pitching as well. When this week started, the Bronx Bombers led the majors in four vital categories: OPS, ERA, homers and winning percentage.

Major League Baseball needs casual fans to join the party and the Yankees can be the catalyst. With Aaron Judge dominating the news cycle breaking the American League home run record a couple of seasons back, he is the reminder to fans to tune into every Yankees game on television to see what the hype is about.

 

 

But if the Yankees build their dynasty, this might be more like the MLBbro icon Reggie Jackson-led Yankees in the late ‘70s than the Derek Jeter-led ‘90s dynasty. Why? Reggie’s teams were just powerful and built their identity around home runs. Even though those teams were well-rounded, the big bats made the headlines. It was how those Yankees teams were winning that captured the attention of the sports world.

 

 

But there are sports fans that don’t root for Goliath; they want to see him fall. Which is how baseball gets to pop culture.

If the Yankees continue this run for the next few years, the only baseball fans that enjoy it will be in the Bronx. The rest will root for their demise. That’s something Major League Baseball is missing that other sports own and make bank off of.

  • NBA: Los Angeles Lakers with the ultimate lightning rod in LeBron James
  • NFL: It used to be the New England Patriots with Tom Brady, now it’s the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes
  • WNBA: Unless you have been under a rock… Caitlyn Clark in just a few games!

Naming the Yankees a potential dynasty before they’ve even won one championship may be conceived as putting the cart before the horse, but this series against the Dodgers is the start of the media hype. The ingredients are already there: The best player. The best team. The top media market in America.

Now we get to watch and see how long it takes for the Yankees to get their old enemies back!

Is It About Time For The Dodgers To Make A Decision On Mookie Betts’ Permanent Position?

Is It About Time For The Dodgers To Make A Decision On Mookie Betts’ Permanent Position?

In recent seasons, when it comes to the Los Angeles Dodgers, fans and media can count on two things… one, the Dodgers are always in contention for the World Series crown (not to mention dominating the NL West) and two… Mookie Betts placing himself in the MVP conversation with his immaculate play. 

 

Our own Justin Petrille recently discussed this in his “What’s Poppin” segment.

 

On the surface, the professional…”next man up” sacrifice that Mookie Betts brings to the Dodgers franchise is admirable. It’s something our MLBbro has done his entire career dating back to his days in Boston when he gave up his position at second base to go to the outfield for Dustin Pedroia. After the Dodgers penciled him in at second base for eleven games over the last two seasons, Betts is now the primary shortstop. However, the circumstances around this move need to be looked at closely… 

 

The Dodgers’ original idea was to have Mookie at second base this season but this chain of events altered those plans…

 

  • The team allowed Trea Turner to leave in the offseason and for financial reasons (also read: get under the luxury tax threshold!) did not replace him with a credible name…


  • The Dodgers wanted to develop Gavin Lux at the position, but struggles and injuries (torn ACL) stopped things and Lux was not ready for the start of the season…


  • The platoon combination of Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor had a horrible offensive start to the season with a combined hitting slash of .125/.200/.306 over the first three weeks of the season… 


  • Miguel Rojas injured his hamstring and the rest is now current events…

 

Mookie Betts already has the reputation of being one of the best offensive weapons in baseball’s modern era. But his progress at the shortstop position has been a mixed bag at times. 

 

His seven errors as of this writing has Betts tied for fourth among all shortstops…

 

HOWEVER!

 

Our MLBbro ranks second in Defensive Runs Saved in all of baseball. This puts him ahead of last year’s Gold Glove award winners, Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees and Dansby Swanson from the Chicago Cubs.

 

This month, Mookie discussed his up and down season at his new position. Despite most of Dodgers World knowing that he has done well under the circumstances, our MLBbro is not satisfied…

 

“I think it’s been not very good.”…“It’s a work in progress. It’s my first time doing it in a long time. You have to start somewhere and at least with me feeling like I’m on the lower end, there’s nowhere to go but up from here.”

 

“But it’s good. I enjoy it,”…“Sometimes it’s good to get hit in the mouth a lot. But it is what it is. Take it on the chin and keep it moving.” 

 

Even though our MLBbro is putting up a brave front and showing yet another example of being a professional superstar, the Dodgers are on the clock to fix this situation and make a championship run. Betts is playing what is considered to be the most physically-taxing position on the diamond besides catcher — a situation even third base coach Dino Ebel worries about at times.

The trade deadline is in the future so the Dodgers could be looking for options, but for now the team and Mookie are okay with moving him around the middle of the diamond while holding the outfield option. How it affects the superstar’s health for the postseason remains to be seen. 

 

But sometimes offense is a team’s best defense. Through 57 games, Betts is batting .332 with eight homers, 31 RBI, nine stolen bases with a .953 OPS. 

 

 

Dusty Baker’s Legend Continues To Grow With Lifetime Achievement Award

Dusty Baker’s Legend Continues To Grow With Lifetime Achievement Award

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).

 

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.

Mookie Betts Scores Most Runs For A Dodgers Player In His First 500 Games

Mookie Betts Scores Most Runs For A Dodgers Player In His First 500 Games

Mookie Betts hopes to continue to do historic damage in MLB on Sunday.

Betts and the Dodgers close out a three-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays, looking for the sweep. Betts had had his offensive hand in the first two games.

On Saturday, Betts recorded three hits, scored a run, and an RBI in the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory. In the opener Friday night in Toronto, Betts had two hits, scored a run and had an RBI. Now, Betts will try to up his hitting streak of seven games with at least a knock in the finale. In his last 10 games, he is hitting .475 with six doubles, six walks and seven RBI. 

Betts is white hot so far this season. He leads MLB with a .391 batting average. In all, Betts has 45 hits, nine doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and six home runs thus far this season and is looking like an early lock for the NL MVP. And he has a strong case. Including all MLB hitters, Betts, 31, is first in batting average, first in on-base percentage , and third in slugging. 

“I feel like we’re seeing the MVP version of Mookie Betts,”  Dodgers closer Evan Phillips told the media. “And I feel like this is who he can be for us, hopefully throughout the whole year.” 

The Dodgers back during spring training had asked Betts to switch from second base to shortstop. This can be very tough for some players who aren’t versatile but that’s not the case for him. Betts, who won six Gold Gloves as an outfielder, is proving to be a true reliable source for the Dodgers at the shortstop position. 

Phillips added more compliments about Betts transitioning positions and the impact for the team.

“I feel like the transition to shortstop, all the extra work he’s doing each day fielding ground balls, talking to Miguel Rojas about playing the position at a major league level – to see his focus level on a day to day, I think it’s helping him in all parts of his game,” Phillips said.  

 

With most athletes in the big leagues, it is all about the work you put in to gain the results that are needed. Betts, the former AL MVP, is one that takes a lot of pride in his development and learning everything to the utmost extent.  

“I take great pride in work,” Betts said to the media. “Learning a new position is work…. It’s been tough but it’s been fun. When you have a resource like Miguel (Rojas), it makes things a little bit easier. He’s made the process tough but fun, somehow.” 

Since joining the Dodgers in 2020, Betts has scored more runs than ANY player in their first 500 games with the team. With 412 runs scored it just so happens that the player he passed in the record books for the Dodgers was none other than MLBbro pioneer Jackie Robinson.  Robinson, who was the first to break down the barriers in baseball for Black players, was leading the Dodgers with this stat for almost 74 years. Jackie had 388 runs in his first 500 games, Mookie had 407 through his first 495 games which is impressive. 

“Especially as a leadoff hitter scoring a lot of runs is important but it also shows that I’ve had a lot of great teammates that drive me in, so that’s not just from me,” added Betts. 

With such a long season to go, Betts hopes to stay consistent and help lead the Dodgers’ stacked team – with three-former MVPs at the top of the lineup – to the NLCS and then to yet another World Series. 

For sure, Betts is leading the damage being done all over baseball by the Dodgers.

Queen Mamba

Queen Mamba

Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Natalia, threw the first pitch to a Kobe jersey-wearing Mookie Betts on Lakers Night at Dodger Stadium on Friday before the team hosted the Braves.