Category: Sports News

Behind top prospect Arjun Nimmala, MLB eyes India as next hotbed for talent and fans originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Baseball is known as America’s pastime, but it has long been a global game. From the Dominican Republic to Japan to Venezuela, the sport reigns supreme for fans, and countless players are on Major League Baseball rosters.

The next country that could soon be on that list? India.

While its residents may prefer a different game with a ball and a bat — cricket — it’s also the motherland of Arjun Nimmala, the top prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Picked 20th overall in the 2023 draft, Nimmala is the first first-generation Indian American to be selected in the first round.

Nimmala, who grew up outside Tampa, Florida, said his father introduced him to cricket at a young age but also taught him baseball. He fell in love with the sport and played competitively all the way through high school until the Blue Jays selected him at just 17 years old.

Two years later, he is ranked No. 46 out of 900 prospects by MLB and considered a future centerpiece of the organization.

While Nimmala, currently with the Blue Jays’ high-A affiliate Vancouver Canadians, continues to ascend the minor leagues, MLB is doing extensive outreach in India by putting together tournaments for children and taking baseball programs to schools.

“We want to try to introduce the sport to as many kids as possible,” Chris Marinak, MLB’s chief operations and strategy officer, told NBC News. “That’s the foot in the door. That’s the way that you educate kids on the game — you get kids to fall in love with it, and they become fans for the rest of their lives.”

He said the goal is to take baseball to India both on the fields and inside homes.

“We’re focusing on getting our MLB games on broadcast and streaming,” Marinak said. “We have two partners in India right now that are putting games live for the postseason and the regular season, and we’re seeing great interest from fans around consumption.”

MLB opened an office in India in 2019 and since 2021 has hosted the MLB Cup, a tournament for amateur youth teams across the country.

Nimmala traveled to India in 2023 to see the initiatives the league was producing and to help grow the game in the country where much of his family still lives.

“To be able to go there and not only see that baseball is a part of India, as well, but just also trying to make it bigger, I think that makes me super proud,” Nimmala said. “Knowing that I have a possibility of doing that and just seeing how much baseball is played in India already, I thought was very cool.”

Asked how big baseball can be in India, a country with 1.46 billion people, Marinak said MLB has high goals.

“When you have a billion fans that are watching cricket, it creates a real opportunity to grow the sport,” he said. “If we can get baseball to the scale of cricket, it would be a huge penetration into that market. It would look a lot like what you see in Japan [and the] United States. It can be done.”

Nimmala says the goal remains to make the major leagues, though that could take multiple years because of his age and experience. His 17 home runs last year led all players ages 18 or younger, and after some early-season struggles, he turned up his production in the second half.

From June 27 on, Nimmala hit .265/.331/.564 with 13 homers over his final 53 games.

Known as a solid fielder, he has elite arm strength, according to MLB.com.

But the stats tell only one part of his story. By just being on the field, Nimmala is inspiring a whole new generation of Indian players.

“I do get a lot of messages, especially on Instagram, from younger kids that are Indian that start to play baseball,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Dude, I really look up to you.’ I think it’s super cool to see that.”

But even with all the responsibilities of being a trailblazer, he’s keeping his eyes on the prize.

“I have 100% confidence that I will play with the Toronto Blue Jays one day and make an impact.”

Former Phillies player and manager Ryne Sandberg passes originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Former Phillies manager and Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg passed away Monday after a battle with cancer. Sandberg was 65. 

In what would become one of the franchise’s most regrettable moves, Sandberg was traded by the Phillies to the Chicago Cubs in 1982 along with shortstop Larry Bowa for shortstop Ivan DeJesus.

“It’s a sad day for baseball where you lose one of the better players in the game and, obviously, a nice human,” said Kyle Schwarber. “Around us in camp in Chicago in the clubhouse he was always very respectful. Just a really nice overall human being. Our thoughts go out to his family.  Hopefully he’s at peace now.”

In 16 seasons in the majors, Sandberg hit .285, accumulated 2,386 hits, including 403 doubles and 282 home runs. He was the National League MVP in 1984, was an All-Star 10 times and won nine gold gloves.

Sandberg managed the Phillies from 2013 to 2015 and compiled a 119-159 record. He infamously took over for the beloved Charlie Manuel.

“Hanging around with Larry Bowa and he brought Ryne around a couple of times,” said Rob Thomson on his interactions with Sandberg. “First class individual, obviously a great player. I feel so bad for him. He fought like hell. It’s just a real loss. Thoughts and prayers to his family.”

pic.twitter.com/lDL9diCYcL

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 29, 2025

What we learned during Carson Whisenhunt's MLB debut in Giants' loss to Pirates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – It took eight pitches for Giants top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt to get his “Welcome to Major League Baseball” moment Monday in front of the home fans at Oracle Park. 

Whisenhunt’s second pitch of his MLB debut was hit 100 miles per hour and traveled 382 feet to center field by Pittsburgh Pirates leadoff batter Tommy Pham, falling nine feet short of the fence and into Jung Hoo Lee’s glove. The next batter, Andrew McCutchen, also flew out to Lee, but Whisenhunt wasn’t as lucky when the third batter he faced stepped into the box. 

The revered changeup that scouts have touted since Whisenhunt’s college days at East Carolina caught the fat part of the plate on the first pitch Nick Gonzales saw, and he launched it 390 feet into the left-field bleachers. But Whisenhunt immediately regrouped and earned his first big league strikeout with that same changeup right after to end the top of the first inning.

His Giants teammates quickly picked up the young left-hander, tying the game in the bottom of the first and later climbing out of a tough hole that Whisenhunt dug early on. Yet they still found a heartbreaking way to lose against the last-place Pirates, falling 6-5 and making Buster Posey’s decision at the MLB trade deadline that much more difficult.

Whisenhunt, 24, went from looking like his day could be done after two innings if it weren’t for such a gassed bullpen to throwing five innings and leaving with the score tied 4-4. The former second-round draft pick allowed five hits and four earned runs, walking two and striking out three.

Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ fourth consecutive loss.

The Whiz

Through 18 games for Triple-A Sacramento, Whisenhunt’s changeup was falling off the table and missing bats left and right. He had thrown the pitch 36.5 percent of the time for the River Cats, with opponents hitting .193 off it. Of the 86 strikeouts he had for Sacramento, 63 came via changeup. 

The calling card wasn’t the same in his major league debut. Gonzales’ homer was just the start. Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled off Whisenhunt’s changeup in the second inning to score two runs, and Tommy Pham followed him with an RBI single against the off-speed pitch to make it a 4-1 game in favor of the Pirates.

Command and control also were huge parts of Whisenhunt’s minor league success. That part of his game didn’t travel to San Francisco, at least in the first two innings. Whisenhunt issued two straight walks in the second inning that bit him, and he clearly wasn’t getting his changeup to do what he wanted. 

Nerves then disappeared just as his command and control arrived. Whisenhunt tossed three consecutive scoreless innings after giving up four runs through the first two innings. The Pirates only registered two more hits off him the next three innings, and Whisenhunt didn’t have another walk.

One Streak Snapped 

After how absurdly bad the Giants hit with runners in scoring position while being swept by the New York Mets over a three-game series, something had to give. Brett Wisely put an end to the team-wide failures in the bottom of the second inning when his ground-rule double scored Mike Yastrzemski from third base. It was the Giants’ first hit with a runner in scoring position since Wednesday.

They were 0-for-23 in that area against the Mets. Willy Adames singled to right field with the bases loaded two batters after Wisely, bringing in another run to cut the deficit to one.

The inning then ended after back-to-back strikeouts with the bases loaded, putting any good vibes on pause. 

Adames again came through in the bottom of the fourth, lining a two-out single to left field that scored Heliot Ramos from third base. The Giants shortstop continued his strong July with a 3-for-5 night and now is batting .341 (28-for-82) for the month. 

The Giants wound up going 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 runners on base.

Cutch’d

A decade has passed since McCutchen was an MLB All-Star, winning his fourth straight Silver Slugger and finding himself in the MVP conversation. He briefly was a Giant in 2018, and a New York Yankee that same season. Since then, McCutchen also has been on the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, but he’ll always be a Pirate. 

And in the seventh inning Monday night, McCutchen turned back the clock and found his power against one of his oddly former teams. The 38-year-old took a two-strike slider in the heart of the zone from reliever Carson Seymour and hammered it over the left-field wall to give the Pirates a two-run lead. It was McCutchen’s second homer in his last four games, but only his third since June 19.

The blast was McCutchen’s 10th home run of the 2025 MLB season, giving him double-digit homers in every season since his 2009 debut. It also gave the Giants their 10th loss in their last 12 games.

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Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg has died at 65, the team announces originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has passed away at the age of 65, the team announced Monday night.

Sandberg had been battling metastatic prostate cancer since January 2024. After a brief remission, he was dealt a setback in December when he announced that his cancer had returned and spread to other organs, leaving him to face more intense treatment.

He did throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Wrigley Field in early April, but his health had not improved, and the team announced he had passed away Monday.

“Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise,” said Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts on behalf of his family and the Cubs organization. “His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career. He was immensely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador of the game of baseball, but most of all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as husband, father, and grandfather.”

Sandberg had released a statement on social media earlier this month:

“To all my Fans and extended baseball Family – I wanted to share an update regarding my health,” the statement said. “It’s been a challenging few months as I have been going through treatment on a regular basis. 

“While I am continuing to fight, I’m looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends. 

“I haven’t been to Wrigley Field as much as I hoped in the first half but I’m watching every game and am excited for the second half and to see Wrigley rocking like 1984! 

“Thank you for all the messages of support. Go Cubs!”

Sandberg played nearly his entire MLB career with the Cubs, winning National League MVP honors in 1984 while collecting nine Gold Gloves and seven Silver Slugger awards. He was a 10-time All-Star and won the 1990 Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field.

In all, Sandberg hammered 282 home runs and drove in 1,061 RBI’s in his big league career, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg has died at 65, the team announces originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg has passed away at the age of 65, the team announced Monday night.

Sandberg had been battling metastatic prostate cancer since January 2024. After a brief remission, he was dealt a setback in December when he announced that his cancer had returned and spread to other organs, leaving him to face more intense treatment.

He did throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day at Wrigley Field in early April, but his health had not improved, and the team announced he had passed away Monday.

In a press release following Sandberg’s death, the team announced they would wear a special jersey patch for the remainder of the season in his memory.

“Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise,” said Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts on behalf of his family and the Cubs organization. “His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career. He was immensely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador of the game of baseball, but most of all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as husband, father, and grandfather.”

Sandberg had released a statement on social media earlier this month:

“To all my Fans and extended baseball Family – I wanted to share an update regarding my health,” the statement said. “It’s been a challenging few months as I have been going through treatment on a regular basis. 

“While I am continuing to fight, I’m looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends. 

“I haven’t been to Wrigley Field as much as I hoped in the first half but I’m watching every game and am excited for the second half and to see Wrigley rocking like 1984! 

“Thank you for all the messages of support. Go Cubs!”

Sandberg was drafted by the Phillies in the 1978 MLB Draft. He appeared in 13 games for the Phillies during the 1981 season, then was traded to the Cubs in 1982, along with Larry Bowa in exchange for Ivan de Jesus.

Sandberg then played nearly his entire MLB career with the Cubs, winning National League MVP honors in 1984 while collecting nine Gold Gloves and seven Silver Slugger awards. He was a 10-time All-Star and won the 1990 Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field.

In all, Sandberg hammered 282 home runs and drove in 1,061 RBI’s in his big league career, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

He would later serve as a manager at various levels of the Cubs’ organization before being hired by the Phillies in 2013. He would manage 278 games, with a record of 119-159 before resigning during the 2015 campaign.

Mets prospect Ryan Clifford had himself quite the week down in Double-A. It was so good, in fact, that it earned him Eastern League Player of the Week honors.

So how good was he?

In six games against Reading, the 22-year-old tortured them for a triple slash line of .522/.645/1.130 with four home runs, 12 RBI, 11 runs scored and eight walks -- good for a ridiculous 1.775 OPS which led all of MiLB.

Clifford's fantastic week at the plate is part of a great month of July in which he's hit eight home runs with 25 RBI. He now has 21 home runs and 67 RBI on the season, both of which lead Double-A.

Since joining Binghamton in May of last year, the lefty-swinging first baseman has mashed 39 home runs in 191 games.

Playing alongside top prospects like Jett Williams and Carson Benge, Clifford has been one of the top run producers in the Mets' farm system since they acquired him from the Houston Astros in the Justin Verlander deal in 2023 which also included Drew Gilbert.

This is Clifford's second time winning the weekly award this season after winning it in early May.