Worldwide Sports News

He held the World Series championship trophy aloft at a Lakers game, flanked by Mookie Betts on one side and Freddie Freeman on the other. He worked a shift at Villa’s Tacos in Grand Central Market. On Wednesday he went out for dinner and someone thanked him.

That is a taste of what the offseason was like for Jack Flaherty. The Dodgers and their fans had not enjoyed a parade in 36 years. No wonder so many people in Los Angeles stop him and say thank you.

The gratitude is reciprocal.

“I’m as thankful as you guys are that we were able to get it done and we were able to win the whole thing,” Flaherty said Thursday. “That’s what we all want as players. That’s what I hope every fan wants, is to win.

“To be able to be on that side and be able to finish it off was special. And then, the reception and everything, that was special, for the entirety of the offseason when I was back around here.”

It is the “on that side” part that stings. If his story truly had a Hollywood ending, Flaherty would collect his World Series championship ring during Friday’s ceremony at Dodger Stadium, then start the game for his hometown team.

He is scheduled to start the game, but for the visiting Detroit Tigers. The Dodgers will present him with his championship ring Saturday.

Flaherty, the pride of Sherman Oaks Little League and Harvard-Westlake High, started Game 1 of the National League Championship Series and Game 1 of the World Series, both at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers grabbed him when they desperately needed a starting pitcher at the trade deadline. He ended up becoming the first kid to grow up in Los Angeles and then start a World Series game for the Dodgers since Hall of Famer Don Drysdale, in 1966.

Read more:Plaschke: Honoring past, dominating present, unbeaten Dodgers shine in home opener

“This is where I grew up and fell in love with the game, and then I got to live out a childhood dream last year in the second half and through the World Series,” Flaherty said. “It holds a special place with me.”

He would have happily stayed, but the Dodgers signed two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell to a five-year contract before November was out. In January, as Flaherty shifted his focus to a short-term contract, the Dodgers added Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki.

“The whole focus on this winter,” Flaherty said, “was figuring out where the best place was for me to end up and let the pieces fall where they may.”

Did he have any negotiations with the Dodgers?

“I’m going to give you the same answer I just did,” he said.

Flaherty made the rounds before Thursday’s opener, catching up with Dodgers personnel from Dave Roberts to Clayton Kershaw to Joe Davis.

“It’s not awkward, that’s for sure,” Flaherty said. “Just more interesting. Through the run of emotions and everything, knowing everything that occurred here last year, then being back here and opening up here, the emotions of opening day and starting off that way, throw a start and then you’ve got everything to celebrate from last year, all at the same time.”

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said he had no concerns that the emotion surrounding the ring ceremony Friday might derail Flaherty’s start.

“I think it’ll go perfectly fine,” Hinch said, “because he’ll be locked in on his start. He’ll be focused on [Shohei] Ohtani to start the game.”

Tarik Skubal, the Tigers’ Cy Young winner, recalled watching Flaherty last season in his first start against his first team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Flaherty struck out 14 and took a shutout into the seventh inning.

“I expect him to be just as good as that time,” Skubal said. “He’s a good player. He lives for moments like these, and obviously he was a big part of the reason why they won the World Series. So I’m excited for him.”

As a fan there is nothing better than a player who gets your team because he lived and died with your team. After he shut out the New York Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS, Flaherty launched into a passionate speech about the greatness of Kershaw.

Flaherty gets the Dodgers.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani hits one of Dodgers' three homers to beat Tigers in their home opener

“It’s so special,” he said. “It’s an incredible thing to think about and an incredible thing to be a part of. I got lucky enough to be on a team that got to win it in the fashion we did and make it happen in the way that we did.

“Growing up here and being a part of this — this city and this community — to give it all back and live it out in real time was awesome.”

Flaherty gets you, L.A. He should get a nice ovation Friday.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Why Posey believes Harrison still has ‘bright future' with Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CINCINNATI — When the Giants lined up at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, two of their best young starting pitchers were announced. A third was 2,000 miles away.

Kyle Harrison will start the season with Triple-A Sacramento, but the Giants still believe he’ll have plenty of opportunities to start games at the big league level this season. President of baseball operations Buster Posey said before the opener that right now they want the lefty to focus on his development. 

“We think the world of Kyle,” Posey said. “It’s a disappointment for him, but we still have belief in a bright future for him. It’s a luxury to have the amount of arms that we have, and it is difficult to have to send somebody of his stature down, but I’m hopeful that he uses this as an opportunity to just continue his growth and developing pitches and just his overall aptitude as a Major League pitcher.”

Harrison spent all of last season in the big leagues, making 24 starts while also twice going on the IL with minor issues. An ankle sprain cost him time early in the summer and he wasn’t quite right when he came back, leading to shoulder inflammation that required an offseason of rehab. He was behind all camp, and the fifth starter competition ended up being Landen Roupp against Hayden Birdsong. 

Harrison will start the 2025 season in a pretty strong Triple-A rotation. The Giants haven’t announced their minor league rosters yet, but Keaton Winn, Tristan Beck, Mason Black, Carson Whisenhunt, Trevor McDonald, Carson Seymour and Carson Ragsdale all could be options for the Triple-A rotation and big league appearances this year. 

Roupp ended up winning the fifth spot, and he’ll take the ball Tuesday in Houston. Birdsong is in the bullpen for now, but the Giants aren’t worried about harming his development as a starter. They believe he can stay stretched out, and there are zero concerns about the mental aspect of going back and forth. 

“He’s got the quiet confidence walking around the clubhouse, on the mound, he’s got it in his interactions with his teammates,” Posey said. “For us to have him here in the bullpen, it obviously gives us some more length in the pen along with (Spencer) Bivens. It’s electric stuff that can carry you for three, four, five innings if you need to. It’s a big weapon.”

Harrison was behind from a workload standpoint in late March, but he did show signs of progress the further he got into the spring. His velocity was back in the 93-95 mph range as the Giants prepared to head home. 

“I think he’s trending in the right direction,” Posey said. “We’ll see, we’ll keep an eye on him. Is velo important? Yeah, velocity is important. It’s not everything, but it is important and he’s moving in the right direction.”

The Top Guy

The Giants aren’t ready to announce where Bryce Eldridge will begin the season, but it appears likely he’ll be in Arizona a bit longer. Eldridge missed a lot of March with left wrist soreness, but the Giants don’t have long-term concerns. The tests came back clean, they say. 

“He just needs a little more rest,” Posey said. “He’s still feeling it a little bit, but nothing we’re concerned about.” 

Eldridge is the organization’s top prospect and the hope is that he can debut at first base at some point in the second half. He finished last season in Triple-A, but played only about a week in Double-A, and the Giants are giving strong consideration to having him return to Richmond initially. 

Trainer’s Room

Jerar Encarnacion certainly would have been in the lineup on Saturday had he stayed healthy, but instead he’ll have surgery on his hand fracture on Friday. Encarnacion was scheduled to have the procedure on Monday but there was a travel delay. The Giants will have a better idea of his recovery timetable after the procedure is done. 

Encarnacion was supposed to get a lot of the DH at-bats, and many of them will now go to Luis Matos. Wilmer Flores, the hero of Thursday’s win, will be the primary DH but also will play first base against lefties. 

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast