Jaime Jarrin near his usual table at Gale's in Pasadena. The retired Dodgers broadcaster has been a regular at the Italian restaurant for more than 20 years. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
The mellifluous tenor that narrated Dodgers games for generations of Spanish-language listeners hasn't weakened. His magnificent head of hair remains full. His capacity to tell tales is still worthy of Gabriel García Márquez.
It was the lunch rush earlier this week, yet every Gale's server, busboy and cook stopped what they were doing to shake Jarrín's hand. Wearing a crisp outfit of brown khakis, an Ecuador soccer jersey, Harold Lloyd-style glasses and a 1988 Dodgers World Series championship ring that was simultaneously brilliant yet understated, he greeted them all by name.
Jaime Jarrin greets fans at Gale's Restaurant in Pasadena on March 25, 2025. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
“I've eaten here over 20 years,” Jarrín said in Spanish as we made our way toward his regular spot near a wall of glass block windows. "When my wife was alive, we’d come in at least four times a week. If I like something, I stay with it.”
Ya think?
The Hall of Famer called Dodgers games for 64 years, the second longest tenure for one team of any baseball broadcaster after his dear friend, Vin Scully. Jarrín and his late wife, Blanca, were married for 65 years. He has lived in the same San Marino home since 1965. He's still a spokesperson for the Los Defensores legal firm, a relationship that goes back 41 years.
Jarrín never misses a Dodgers game on television and attends home games whenever possible, “because I do miss a little bit the atmosphere of the stadium.”
He serves as the name and face of a scholarship fund that has awarded more than a quarter million dollars to students. His sons Jorge and Mauricio founded it in 2019 to honor their mother, who died of a heart attack during spring training that year.
“My name is the only thing I have,” Jarrín said as he sipped on an Arnold Palmer and nibbled on complimentary bruschetta. Jorge, himself a broadcaster of note, joined us. “It’s not necessary to have our name [on the fund], but to be able to be associated with something that helps others is wonderful because the need is so obvious and large.
“The community has been so loyal to me, so kind,” he continued. “And in our business — radio, television — if you don’t have followers, it’s over. So the least I can do is give back.”
Jaime Jarrin shakes hands with chef Leonardo Castillo at Gale's Restaurant. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
A waiter came over to take our order. “Denosunos minutitos, por favor,” Jarrín said. Please give us a few minutes, sir.
There were stories to tell.
He remembered as a teenage radio reporter in the 1950s going into the newsroom of El Comercio, the largest newspaper in Quito, Ecuador, in the early morning to swipe stories from desks, “but since we were the same company, it didn’t matter.”
Then there was the time in the 1970s when Sears was expecting 500 people to show up at its landmark Boyle Heights store for a live broadcast with Jarrín, Davey Lopes, Steve Garvey and Ron Cey. About 15,000 people showed up instead: “We told the players, ‘Here’s your check — go! Go! We’re not responsible for your security.”
Above all, Jarrín praised his “extraordinary teacher,” Scully.
“When Blanca died, he called me,” he said. A small bowl of corn chowder was now before him. He tucked a large napkin over his Ecuador soccer jersey. “And they were the most beautiful 20 minutes of my life. Listening to Vin talking in that melodious voice — his mastery of the language, that vocabulary, that intonation, that heart. He spoke from experience, because he had lost his wife too.”
Scully passed away in 2022, just a few months before Jarrín called his last game. Jorge said Scully inadvertently served as an inspiration for him and his brother to start their family foundation.
Jaime Jarrin flaunts his World Series championship ring. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
“We started to discuss, 'How are we going to maintain and perpetuate his legacy and not let it fade away?'” he said. “It’s wonderful the love that people had for Vin Scully. But in another generation or so, it’ll just be, ‘Oh yeah, I heard of that guy — they say he was a great announcer.”
He looked at his dad, who was busy forking through a small house salad with extra garbanzos, and smiled. “My father doesn’t want to write a book because he doesn’t feel that the story is over. But this, he’s proud of.”
Jorge joked that the Jaime and Blanca Jarrín Foundation is “done on our laptops out of the house” with the help of his brother and sons. They’ve yet to ask the Dodgers to donate — “but the wife of [Dodgers CEO] Mark Walter sends us a check,” Jaime noted. Students of all backgrounds and interests can apply, but two scholarships are set aside for students pursuing law and journalism — the former as a nod to the Jarrín Foundation’s primary sponsor, Los Defensores, the latter in honor of Jaime’s career.
Not that he’s happy about the state of journalism.
“Maybe I’m a dummy, but I don’t get it,” he said, his voice suddenly sharp. “In all industries, when the competition is hard, you try to better yourself. You try to offer something special. The news industry, instead of fighting to do that — offering better editions, more reporters, more columns, something to attract people to pay attention? No, they gave up against social media.
“It’s an embarrassment,” he added.
Jarrin said that young people long would approach him to share that they wanted to get a communications degree in the hope of breaking into journalism, “and I’d say, ‘Perfect. Very good. Wonderful.' But in the last two years, I’ve said, ‘No. Take language classes.' If you speak three languages, the world is at your feet. This country is behind the rest of the world in two fields specifically because we don’t have enough bilingual people: politics and the economy.”
Our time was nearly up, so I tossed three more questions. First up: How are the Dodgers going to do this year?
Jarrin praised the recent contract extension for manager Dave Roberts “because he has the respect of the clubhouse,” and said he has no problem with huge player contracts because “it would be unjust if the owners kept all the money. … Dodger Stadium is a gold mine. Do you know how much money you get from feeding 50,000 people every night?”
He thinks this year’s team is the strongest Dodgers squad he’s seen since the 1977 and 1978 ones that made it to the World Series only to lose to the New York Yankees. “On paper, they have the most powerful unit, above all with pitching, which is extraordinarily good,” Jarrín said, going as far as to say they’ll win the National League. “If they don’t win, it’s going to be an absolute and total failure.”
Jarrín working a game at Dodger Stadium in 2022, the final season of his 64-year career with the franchise. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Next was a change-up: What do Latinos need to do to now that we’re nearly half of the population in Southern California?
“Even though the numbers favor us, we remain a minority,” he replied. “We need to better ourselves more and do a little bit more than what a white person would do to excel. And the foundation for this is to learn English.”
Jarrín blamed himself for not speaking English as well as he'd like on account of his career and talking only Spanish at home so his sons could be bilingual — “I sacrificed my knowledge” for them, he claimed.
Would he have had a more successful career if his English were better?
For the first time all afternoon, Jarrín seemed unsure of himself.
“Maybe?”
He reflected on all of the accolades and accomplishments of his career. “I don’t know if I would’ve been able to achieve all of that in English.”
A chuckle.
“The competition would’ve been harder, no?”
Finally, a softball: What did he want people to say about what his legacy is?
Jarrin didn't hesitate: "Only that they think and say to others, 'I want you to be like Jaime Jarrín in your commitment to whatever you want to do. Follow his way and his discipline, and you'll achieve what you want.'"
Throughout our conversation, he waved or gave a thumbs up to admirers who didn't want to interrupt our conversation. The moment we got up from our table, the floodgates of fans opened. Soon came photos, more handshakes, more conversations. The lunch rush was over, so most of the Gale’s workers looked on in admiration.
“A lot of people do that,” said server Francisco Perez in Spanish. “He’s such a loving man. Refined and loving. He’s what we say in Mexico is gente de raza.”
Man of the people.
Chef Leonardo Castillo stood behind the counter. He’s worked at Gale’s for 20 years.
“He’s never been someone who comes in and says, ‘I’m Mr. So-and-So,'” said the native of Puebla, Mexico. “He comes in like anyone else, even though he's Jaime Jarrin! What an honor that he's one of us."
TAMPA — Major League Baseball opens the regular season far and wide on Thursday, but the focus is not on the Dodgers facing Detroit in Los Angeles or the Yankees hosting Milwaukee in New York.
From a baseball standpoint, the fate of last year’s heralded World Series opponents should be front and center. The Dodgers defeated the Yankees in five games.
Instead, all eyes are on Tampa, Fla. and West Sacramento, Calif., where the Rays and Athletics are playing this season in minor-league parks for much different reasons. It’s a first for MLB and the result of decades worth of neglect trying to replace decaying stadiums in St. Petersburg, Fla. and Oakland, Calif., respectively.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said he’s tried to deal head-on with the fact that his club is playing the season at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees. They open there against the Colorado Rockies on Friday.
“We’re emphasizing the positives over the negatives,” he said in an interview. “I give the guys credit. They seem genuinely excited about getting over to Tampa to start the season.”
The A’s won’t play their first game at Sutter Health Park until Monday night against the Chicago Cubs, but their fate already seems sealed. They are headed to a new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028 after three seasons in West Sacramento, the result of a failure to build a stadium in multiple San Franciso Bay Area cities, including Oakland.
The A’a are sharing the facility with the River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, who have a home series at Sutter Health this weekend before the A’s play three games against the Cubs. To add insult to injury rain is in the forecast all next week.
The Rays’ situation is far more complex and their future in the Tampa Bay region seems grim, considering the condition of hurricane-battered Tropicana Field and no plan on the table now to replace it. They open 26 miles and across the bay from their usual home.
Cash said he isn’t concerned with the long-term viability of the club in Tampa.
“No, I’m more concerned about our 2025 club,” he said. “We’ve got to trust that other people are working on that and make sure that’s in a good place.”
As far as the 2025 club is concerned, the Rays have already lost opening day starter Shane McClanahan to a nerve issue in his left triceps. He’s on the injured list indefinitely, replaced at the front of the rotation by Ryan Pepiot, a former Dodger obtained in the 2023 trade that sent Tyler Glasnow to LA. The injury occurred in McClanahan’s final spring start last Saturday as he returned from Tommy John surgery.
Cash said the latest injury is not related to that surgery.
“Granted, the situation could be a lot worse,” McClanahan told reporters on Monday. “I’m very frustrated that I’m going to be missing a little more time. It’s just a freak thing.”
This comes under the category of when it rains, it pours. For that matter, the Rays will be playing regular-season home games outdoors for the first time since they visited Disney Wide World of Sports near Orlando for a series in 2008, and with that comes all the problems of delays because of the Florida heat and inclement weather.
Because of those probabilities increasing later in the summer, MLB scheduled 19 of Tampa Bay’s first 22 games in April at home.
“As far as the stadium situation is concerned, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Pepiot said in an interview. “We’re playing in Tampa this year and that’s what we know. It’ll be different. We just have to roll with the punches.”
Steinbrenner Field is usually the home of the Tarpons, the Yanks’ Single-A affiliate. The club has played there since 1996 but will spend 2025 playing on a side field at the complex instead to make room for the Rays. Last year, the Tarpons had eight games delayed by rain, plus four cancellations, three postponements, four suspended games and one that was shortened, the Associated Press reported.
That doesn’t include October’s Hurricane Milton, which battered the area, blowing the Teflon roof off the Trop and causing what the city of St. Petersburg has estimated as $55.7 million worth of reconstructive damages.
The city is obligated by lease to fund the repairs, although the city council has yet to authorize the expenditure. An expected vote at Thursday’s session was delayed for at least a week, and it’s not listed yet on the next agenda, either.
If the repairs are not approved, the Rays currently have nowhere to play in 2026 and beyond after owner Stuart Sternberg killed the deal earlier this month to fund his share of a new $1.3 billion domed stadium as part of a redevelopment zone adjacent to the Trop. Sternberg cited the hurricane and expected costly construction delays as the reasons.
If the refurbishment is approved and the Rays can return in time for the 2026 season, they are obligated to play there through 2028, thus kicking the long-term stadium issue and possible relocation down the road a bit.
Therein lies the predicament.
Cash said he held a team meeting at the start of camp in Port Charlotte, Fla., to at least review the move for one season to Tampa.
“They’ll get used to it,” Cash said about his players. “It’s easy to be negative about the entire situation. But they’re going to be in a really good spot.”
The Rays asked for and were granted a one-day delay to open the season as they convert Steinbrenner Field into their own home facility. The Rays played the Yankees in New York’s final spring home game this past Sunday. That gave them 120 hours to erase any sign of the Yankees at the ballpark.
They are taking over the team store and the home clubhouse while replacing all signs that refer to New York or Yankees with Tampa Bay Rays references. When the Yanks return for games against the Rays from April 18-20, they will be the visiting team.
Friday’s game is sold out at 11,026, the 19th year in row the Rays have sold out at least the opener. They were 28th in all of MLB attendance last season at 16,515 per game.
The stadium conversion will happen so fast, Cash said he wants the front office folks to record it.
“I hope they have one of those timelapse cameras or multiple timelapse cameras set up because it should be pretty entertaining,” he said.
(clockwise from top left) Bobby Witt Jr, Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto are set to play starring roles in this season.Composite: Getty, AP
Are the days of small markets teams winning the World Series over?
No, because winning the World Series only requires 11 postseason wins, providing you avoid the wildcard. The best thing that any team can do to win the World Series is to get into the playoffs. Getting into the playoffs usually requires that teams spend money to employ the best players, but last year was the first time since 2018 that the team with the best regular-season record won the World Series. GB
Definitely not. There are young studs scattered in some of the smallest markets. Pair a couple of trusty veterans with Bobby Witt Jr (Royals), Elly de La Cruz (Reds), or Paul Skenes (Pirates) and crazy things like winning a World Series can happen. See the Nats in 2019. MJ
Small market teams will continue to have a shot for as long as there are more postseason spots than there are $300m-plus payrolls. October baseball is a unique, mercurial beast that can be bested by a healthy team getting hot at the right moment. In baseball, financials may buy you consistent contention – the Dodgers may not miss the playoffs for at least another decade. But each October is still a crapshoot, money just ensures you get to gamble every year. HK
Small market teams? How about teams like the Giants and everyone else outside the top 10 payrolls? Those guys are also up a creek. That said, I do still think there are some slim opportunities for a fantastically designed minor league system to produce unicorns and beat the big boys. It’ll take a perfect game from the front office to get even close and then the window will be smaller than Eddie Gaedel’s strike zone. DL
What I’m most looking forward to this season …
Baseball is teeming with young stars: Skenes electrified baseball upon his arrival last year and is a top contender to win the NL Cy Young; the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll is a budding superstar with power, speed and a hard-charging style; with his size, power and plate discipline, Nationals outfielder James Wood resembles a young Aaron Judge. And those are just a few across the league. GB
While attention will be on the big market powerhouses, the AL Central is packed with talented young teams. The Royals, Tigers and Guardians are poised for postseason berths once again but will entertain us as they duke it out for the division title first. MJ
The two different receptions awaiting Juan Soto this season will take place fewer than 10 miles apart: when he plays for his new team in Queens and when he visits his most recent team in the Bronx. It’s not just the Soto of it all, the Mets and Yankees are both formidable, flawed, and have reason to believe they’re the premier New York team. The crosstown rivalry should be especially pointed and important this season. HK
Will Soto sink or swim in Flushing? What does $765m, divided into 15 tidy parcels, actually yield? We’ve seen players come to Queens and crumble under the expectations. Yes, I know that Soto has been great almost everywhere he’s been, including the Bronx. Still, nothing on the 7 line is ever guaranteed and I get the feeling that the baseball world wouldn’t mind a Soto shit show to begin the season. Such a slow start could snowball pretty quickly, but the good news is, however he performs, it’s guaranteed to be entertaining. DL
Young player to watch
The Dodgers’ Japanese hurler Roki Sasaki will transfix any viewer with his roaring fastball and disappearing splitter, so I’ll take a moment to focus on my favorite young bat: Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler, who possesses a thrilling combination of power and speed that led to 25 home runs and 18 stolen bases in his rookie campaign. A 30 homer-30 stolen base campaign is not out of the question. GB
Wood. There’s only one reason to watch the Nats this year, and that’s to see how Wood will jumpstart the rebuild. At 6ft 7in and 235lbs, the 22-year-old has crazy speed and the potential to become one of the great hitters in baseball. MJ
It’s tough to make trading away Soto look good but the haul that the Nationals got in return is starting to pan out – headlined by the Nats’ Wood, who pairs the kind of power you would expect out of that physique with the sort of smooth athleticism that you wouldn’t. I’m hardly going out on a limb after he was 20% better than league average in a partial season last year. But if you’re not watching the Nats, you might have missed the debut of the soon-to-be star. HK
We all want to know when Skenes will undergo his seemingly inevitable Tommy John surgery. This year? Next year? Is that a cynical take? Oh yeah it is, and though I do kid, every bad joke has a kernel of truth in it. Skenes has elite secondary stuff and he isn’t quite max effort on every single fastball. But even still, half of his fastballs are over 100 mph and his sinker settles at about 95. So, you know, I worry. A prayer to the baseball gods: Please let Skenes become a sturdy, dominant workhorse who hurls deep into games – the sport needs it desperately. Can I get an amen? DL
MVP winners
NL: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers. I am aching to pick Carroll, whom I believe will hit between 25 and 30 home runs and steal over 50 bases in 2025, but Ohtani is the default answer once he resumes pitching. AL: Gunnar Henderson, Orioles. I like the young shortstop, who finished fourth in last year’s voting after a phenomenal age-24 season, to edge out another star young infielder, the Royals’ Witt. GB
AL: Witt. The do-it-all stud is a great defender with lightning speed and huge power. Witt could be the next 40-40 man. NL: Ohtani. Speaking of 40-40 seasons, Ohtani is coming off his first. He’s the best player in baseball, and there is no credible counterpoint. MJ
NL: Ohtani. He has won MVP in 50% of the full seasons he’s played in MLB. He’s won with the Angels in the American League and with the Dodgers in the National League. He’s won as the only two-way player this century and he’s won as the first-ever strictly DH to take home the honors. He’s winning it again this year for the NL. Since that’s so chalk, I have a slightly more interesting AL pick: Wyatt Langford, the Texas Rangers outfielder, who debuted last season less than a year after getting drafted. He struggled for most of the season before getting red-hot in September. But even while struggling he was fast, patient, and sprayed the ball all over the field. Now he just needs to add back the power he had in college and the minors. HK
Well there’s Ohtaniin the NL at the juicy price of 5-4 and then there’s the field. If the slugger turns starter around the All-Star break, well, you know the deal. Baseball is generally unpredictable, but with Ohtani, it’s just about whether he will stay healthy. His only competition is in the other league and that’s Judge, who was actually better overall than Ohtani last season, if only because he plays the field. One problem for No 99: nobody will pitch to him now that Soto is gone, and that means Witt gets the trophy in the AL. DL
AL East winners
Even after losing Soto to the Mets and ace Gerrit Cole to an elbow injury (he’ll miss the entire 2025 season), the Yankees should excel after savvy offseason additions like outfielder Cody Bellinger, starting pitcher Max Fried and closer Devin Williams. This will be an extremely competitive division and all five teams may finish with records over .500. GB
While the Yankees did sign Fried, Bellinger and Williams, they lost Soto and Nestor Cortes, and Cole is done for the season. That leaves a Red Sox team that had a fruitful offseason acquiring Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman with a viable path to AL East glory. MJ
Yes, the Yankees are reigning pennant winners and pivoted admirably from losing Soto. And yes, the Red Sox missed the postseason entirely the past three years. But I believe in the pitching moves Boston made this winter and the influx of talent in the form of a trio of top prospects ready to contribute at some point this summer. It’s a shame Netflix isn’t following them around this season, because the Red Sox are going to be the team to beat. HK
I know who it won’t be: the Yankees. No Cole, no Soto, no Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil, at least for now. They still have three MVP’s on the roster, which is nothing to sneeze at, but that’s a lot of losses. It opens the door to the Orioles, who shamefully failed to adequately invest in their rotation after the loss of ace Corbin Burnes to free agency. They’re still more than capable, with an enormous amount of talent on the roster. They should hold off the improved Red Sox for the crown. DL
AL Central winners
The Twins suffered an ugly collapse, going 8-18 in the final month of the 2024 regular season en route to a fourth-place finish in a clustered AL Central. Here’s a bet that their starting pitching depth and versatile lineup – with major contributions from slugger Matt Wallner and former top pick Royce Lewis – put them back in the playoffs in 2025. GB
This will be the most competitive division in baseball and any of three teams could take it. But people are sleeping on the Royals, not believing they can improve on their 30-win jump a season ago. The front of their lineup should be bolstered by new leadoff hitter Jonathan India. Most of Kansas City’s useful rotation stayed intact, and they fortified the bullpen in the offseason. MJ
I would love to see what the Twins could do with full and fully healthy seasons from Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa, but I don’t think we’re ever going to get that. The Royals went from 100 losses to playing in the postseason in the span of a single season. I like their spunkiness – and the fact that Witt projects to be the fourth-best position player, behind only marquee names like Judge, Soto, and Ohtani. HK
Remember when everyone handed the Twins the AL Central last season and ignored the Guardians? Well that was embarrassing. What now? Well, really, I have no idea. We have four middling teams, none of whom light up the room and any of them are capable of winning the Central. That said, KC’s rotation is bright, especially if Seth Lugo can be the ace he broke out to be last season. Plus they have the soon-to-be MVP in Witt, so, the Royals are worth a whirl. DL
AL West winners
The Astros look a bit less fearsome without franchise cornerstones Bregman and Kyle Tucker, so the 2023 World Series champion Rangers will sneak past them and the punchless Mariners. A veteran core should propel this sturdy squad to 92 wins, which will probably be enough to win the division. GB
Welcome back, Jacob deGrom! He’s not the only key player back: with the return of Evan Carter and Josh Jung, as well as adding more pop in the lineup via free agency, these Rangers should hit a lot of homers on the road to the division title. MJ
The Astros have won the West seven out of the last eight years. But their core is aging or getting shipped out while the Rangers have Langford, Carter, and Jung to supplement their 30-something stalwarts (also Corey Seager is somehow only just now going into his age-31 season?). Plus, they may get most of a season out of deGrom for the first time since he signed with Texas ahead of 2023 – and he’s the best pitcher in the sport whenever he’s on the mound. HK
Oh, the AL West: the AFC South of MLB, or at least it was last season. It was not so interesting to watch the Rangers sink and the Mariners slide, with many thanks to Julio Rodriguez’s mystifying decline. The Astros won, again. Yawn. The good news? That may finally be over. The Rangers have the boys to bounce back into the post season, especially if deGrom can stitch together 20 or so starts: wouldn’t that be something? Their infield is stacked, the rotation may be serviceable and there’s no real closer. Warts and all, it looks like Texas, mostly thanks to the decline in Houston, a cheap, lazy Mariners front office and a flimsy back end of the division. DL
NL East winners
The Mets had the splashiest offseason by adding Soto, but the Phillies still have the league’s deepest starting lineup after the Dodgers and a reliable pitching staff. Zack Wheeler should be the frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award after finishing second last year and he could be challenged by teammate Christopher Sánchez. GB
Unlike other teams that overhauled their rosters in the offseason, Atlanta just needed their stars to return to health. Getting Ronald Acuňa Jr back will be huge. Same with Spencer Strider. If Marcell Ozuna sits somewhere near 40 homers once again, and the rest of the lineup steps it up, this offense will easily lead the Braves to more than 100 wins. MJ
You could justifiably put the Braves, Phillies, and Mets in virtually any order. Which is why I’m going with the boring pick of the Braves. And actually, the projection systems don’t seem to think it’s as close as I do. The Braves finished second in the East last year after losing two of the most impactful players in the sport to early-season injuries. Getting Strider and Acuña back puts them back on top. HK
Loaded, that’s the NL East. The Phillies have a tremendous core, but in a game increasingly defined by young, raw talent, there’s always a chance that their aging roster breaks down. And while that decline could happen sooner than later, it won’t be in 2025: the Phillies will win a tight race with the Braves and Mets. That’ll be thanks to a deep starting rotation led by Wheeler and the usual suspects on offense, Bryce Harper and Co, featuring a Trea Turner who bounces back to his old self. DL
NL Central winners
The Brewers have lost franchise shortstop Willy Adames, who signed a seven-year contract with the Giants, but feature one of the game’s brightest young stars in outfielder Jackson Chourio and arguably the game’s best offensive catcher in William Contreras. GB
The Reds and Cubs could certainly make a push, but Milwaukee’s stacked bullpen will be key in keeping the Brewers as division leaders. Can we stop calling them overachievers? MJ
Speaking of projections, the computers have a hard time separating the NL Central teams right now. I’m going with the Brewers just on gut feeling. Their offseason was a net negative, but somehow they always manage to overcome their financial austerity. And not always just by the skin of their teeth! Last year they scored the sixth-most runs in baseball and they’ll bring back offensive contributors like Chourio, Contreras, and a healthy Yelich, who looked hot in spring. HK
If the Cardinals don’t make the playoffs, it will be their longest streak of postseason less seasons since 1995. And they’re not going to make it, so will we finally hear consistent booing from their wholesome fans who love their team SO MUCH? Who will be more miserable? St Louis or Milwaukee, who traded off Williams and lost Adames to free agency? The door is open for the Cubs, a flawed but capable club led by their freshest face, Kyle Tucker. DL
NL West winners
This won’t be a cakewalk. The Padres were one win away from ending the Dodgers’ season in 2024 and the Diamondbacks made two marquee offseason additions – starting pitcher Burnes and first baseman Josh Naylor – to fortify an exciting young core. Even so, the Dodgers are simply too powerful: Adding Blake Snell and Sasaki gives them the best pitching staff in baseball and their offense is the envy of any executive and fan. They may not win the World Series, but they’ll probably win 100 games. GB
The most loaded hitting and pitching staffs in baseball. Most of the who’s who in MLB are on this roster. The Dodgers feel like a bully at this point, which makes them extra fun to hate. MJ
This winter, the World Series champions – and winners of the most games not just last year but the past decade – added a two-time Cy Young Award winner and the most coveted starting pitcher on the market, and those were not the same person. Plus, their lineup is studded not just with All-Stars or potential MVPs, but likely future Hall of Famers. It adds up to a pretty dominant Dodgers team. HK
It’s all about the Rockies, who seem poised to break out and win the NL West for the first time in when, (checks baseball-reference), ever? Yes, ever! Wow! Spectacular third baseman Ryan McMahon and dynamic Ezequiel Tovar will lead this spicy Colorado bunch along with a revitalized Kris Bryant (remember him?) and veteran hurler German Marquez. How long can I keep this farce up? I’d say up until right about now when I saw the Dodgers. DL
AL wildcards
Orioles, Rays, Guardians. GB
Yankees, Orioles, and Tigers. MJ
Astros, Yankees, Orioles. HK
Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays – that means four AL East teams in the playoffs! DL
NL wildcards
Diamondbacks, Braves, Mets. GB
Mets, Phillies, Reds. MJ
Diamondbacks, Mets, Phillies. HK
Mets, Braves, Padres. DL
ALCS
Rangers over Orioles. GB
Red Sox over Yankees. MJ
Red Sox over Royals. HK
Orioles over Rangers. DL
NLCS
Phillies over Dodgers. GB
Braves over Dodgers. MJ
Phillies over Dodgers. HK
Dodgers over Phillies. DL
World Series
Phillies over Orioles. After their surprise run to the 2022 World Series, the Phillies have struggled with the weight of expectations over the last two Octobers. I like them to finally overcome those recent ghosts to outlast a weaker, but mentally tough opponent in the Rangers thanks to brilliant postseasons from Bryce Harper and Wheeler. An underrated contributor this season will be infielder Bryson Stott, who should flush a disappointing 2024 with a breakout offensive season thanks to improved plate discipline. GB
Braves over Red Sox. The Braves win the World Series over the Red Sox thanks to a deep roster that can swing the bat up and down the order. Crochet, a huge add for Boston, will eke out a win. But Atlanta’s starting rotation is too loaded, with reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale and a bunch of contenders. MJ
Red Sox over Phillies. Let’s get this out of the way: the Phillies are not the best team in the NL. But, they have an incredible – and incredibly durable – top of the rotation, which has an outsized impact in October. They’ll ultimately fall, however, to a Red Sox team who pair a gaggle of high-ceiling young players with the veteran presence – and perspective from having played nearly 100 playoff games – of Bregman. To a starting rotation that had the third-lowest park-adjusted ERA last year they added the best pitcher on the trade block in Crochet and a fiery competitor with interesting upside in Walker Buehler. He was on the mound for the end of the 2024 World Series and I’m predicting that he’ll be somewhere in the vicinity again when the 2025 championship is decided. HK
Dodgers over Orioles. It’s 1966 all over again, except this time, Baltimore lose to LA in five games. The Dodgers’ second consecutive title leads us neatly into 2026, which will be dominated by the unavoidable labor issues which are coming at the sport like a speeding locomotive. LA’s grip means split ownership groups taking sides and clarion calls for a salary cap. The Dodgers just have too much talent, for way too much money. Is their roster fair? Does it spoil MLB? Well, as they say, don’t hate the player, hate the game. And that’s why all hell is coming to the game, sooner rather than later. DL
Champion likes post describing change as ‘panic move’
Rookie Lawson will go back to sister team RB for season
Max Verstappen has indicated disquiet and dismay with his Red Bull team after they confirmed they will replace their driver Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda from sister team RB.
Lawson has been dropped for the season before next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix after the New Zealander completed only two races for the team, while Verstappen remains dissatisfied with the team’s performance and their failure to bring a competitive car to the new season.
CINCINNATI — Heliot Ramos laughed earlier this week and nodded. Yes, the young Giants outfielder said, he was well aware that he would be added to the list, but he’s hopeful somebody else isn’t answering that question next March.
Ramos is in left field as expected at Great American Ball Park, meaning the Giants are starting a different left fielder in their opener for a 19th consecutive season. Perhaps the most incredible part is that they don’t have sole possession of the record for changes at one position. The St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise also started 19 different left fielders in 19 years from 1937 to 1955.
The streak started in 2007 with Barry Bonds. Last year, Michael Conforto became No. 18, but he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason. There was never any doubt that Ramos would be the guy this year if healthy, and the plan is for the streak to end with the homegrown All-Star.
Right fielder Mike Yastrzemski is a free agent at the end of the year and there’s a chance Ramos moves there next season if there’s an option in left that necessitates it, but for now, the Giants view him as their long-term left fielder.
“You can’t forecast the future,” manager Bob Melvin said. “But it looks pretty good for him.”
The rest of the lineup against Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene features no surprises. As he talked about all spring, Melvin has Jung Hoo Lee hitting third. Ramos is expected to lead off against left-handed pitchers, with LaMonte Wade Jr. doing it against righties.
Here’s the full lineup for the opener:
This is the first Opening Day start for Ramos, who was in the minors at the beginning of last season. By running out to left, he’ll join — in order — Bonds, Dave Roberts, Fred Lewis, Mark DeRosa, Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Michael Morse, Nori Aoki, Angel Pagan, Jarrett Parker, Hunter Pence, Connor Joe, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Joc Pederson, Blake Sabol and Conforto.
Roughly six weeks ago, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay proudly admitted that there lies a “higher level of expectation” for his organization and its 2025 MLB season. Only hours remain before Opening Day at T-Mobile Park, and it’s clear the fourth-year skipper was right.
The Athletics have momentum entering the newest 162-game slate. Despite finishing 2024 with a 69-93 record, the Green and Gold finished a promising 39-37 over their final 76 games, and their eventful offseason matched the franchise’s upbeat, youthful on-field energy.
Money was spent. Cores remained intact. Veterans and prospects are eager to compete. Here are five on-field storylines to follow during the Athletics’ 2025 season.
Big Names Worth The Bigger Checks?
General manager David Forst entered the offseason expecting the Athletics to be “active” in MLB free agency and “increase” payroll; both ideas came to fruition.
Numerous under-the-radar moves were made to address areas of need, too. The Athletics traded for veteran left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs and his $10.5 million salary to round out their rotation; signed right-handed reliever José Leclerc to a one-year, $10 million contract to likely be All-Star closer Mason Miller’s set-up man; and signed third baseman Gio Urshela to a one-year, $2.5 million free-agent contract to stabilize the hot corner.
The Athletics committed more money than usual to more players than usual. While a risky process, all will be well if the Green and Gold collectively play as expected.
A Strong Start Can Go A Long Way
The Athletics need to start hot.
They haven’t finished above .500 over the first 10 games of a regular season since the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign, when they began 6-4. The Athletics’ last playoff appearance coincidentally was that year.
The opening 10-game stretch has indicated how successful the Athletics will be.
In 2024, for example, the Athletics started about as unfavorably as any team could before missing the postseason for the fourth consecutive year. At their old Oakland Coliseum stomping grounds, the Athletics won just one of their first four games against first-year manager Stephen Vogt and the Cleveland Guardians, ultimately being outscored 29-11 over the four-game series. The Athletics would drop their next four and fall to 1-7, being outscored 49-19 on the season through eight games.
Kotsay and his team often recall their strong second-half performance from 2024 and use the memory as fuel for what is possible. But despite their momentous offseason, the Athletics will struggle to reach the postseason any year they dig themselves a deep hole early in the first half.
Youth Movement Persists
The Athletics’ roster had an average age of 26.8 last season, and it’ll be carrying — and considering — a similar number of youngsters in 2025.
On their first Opening Day, top prospect and shortstop Jacob Wilson is just 22, No. 7 overall prospect and infielder Max Muncy is 22, fifth starting pitcher Joey Estes is 23 and first baseman Tyler Soderstrom is 23. Butler still is 24, and don’t forget the injured Athletics players, as second baseman Zack Gelof and pitcher Luis Medina are 25.
No. 2 overall prospect and first baseman Nick Kurtz, who was selected No. 4 overall by the Athletics in the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft, also is expected to see the majors at some point in 2025. He’s just 22. Other Athletics players, such as relievers Noah Murdock and Miller, are just 26.
While additions such as Severino, Urshela and Leclerc are north of 30, it’s clear the franchise remains very youth-oriented.
Whose Time To Shine?
The Athletics have had an underrated player emerge into a star over the past few seasons. Who will be next?
In 2023, Rooker transformed from a down-on-his-luck outfielder to an MLB All-Star after slashing .246/.329/.488 with 114 hits, 69 RBI and 30 home runs, and has since been paid a massive sum correlative with his impact.
Butler followed suit in 2024 and earned his expensive payday after slashing 291/.330/.565 with 89 hits, 50 RBI and 20 home runs over the Athletics’ final 84 games of the 2024 season. Miller, too, made himself a household name as an All-Star and rookie closer after posting a 2.49 ERA with 104 strikeouts over 65 innings in 55 games, embarrassing opposing batters with his four-seam fastball that casually surpasses 103 miles per hour.
Kotsay emphasized that one of his favorite aspects of his new-look roster is, in a good way, the lack of opportunities available; in other words, Kotsay doesn’t believe external struggling players can view the Athletics as a haven, as the franchise is trying to win now and has faith in its current roster.
So, who will be the next up-and-comer to break out with the Green and Gold? From Wilson to Estes, there are plenty of competitive candidates.
Another Leap In The Win Column?
The Athletics made a 19-game jump in the win column in 2024 and can do something similar in 2025.
They finished 69-93 in 2024 and a duplicate rise would put them at 88-74 and into serious AL playoff contention; for what it’s worth, history supports the plausibility.
In 2018, the Athletics improved to 97-65 after finishing 75-87 in 2017. In 2012, they finished 94-68 after a 74-88 ending in 2011. In 1999, they finished 87-75 after a subpar 74-88 in 1998.
You get the point.
Or, you can even look at the 1980 season — the legendary and late Rickey Henderson’s first entire campaign — and how the Athletics jumped to a relatively strong 83-79 after a 54-108 finish in 1979.
The Athletics seemingly are serious about winning before moving to Las Vegas. As history proves, the franchise can be in for another big-time jump and compete for more than pride.
The Wildcats' record in SEC games is 11-9. Kentucky is sixth in college basketball scoring 85.0 points per game while shooting 48.2%. Tennessee makes 45.5% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.0 percentage points higher than Kentucky has allowed to its opponents (43.5%).
Villanova ranks sixth in the Big East with 14.1 assists per game led by Jasmine Bascoe averaging 4.1. Portland leads the WCC with 17.3 assists. McKelle Meek leads the Pilots with 4.2.
North Carolina Tar Heels (29-7, 15-6 ACC) vs. Duke Blue Devils (28-7, 17-4 ACC) Birmingham, Alabama; Friday, 2:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blue Devils -5.5; over/under is 124.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. Duke and No.
North Texas Eagles (25-8, 16-4 AAC) at Troy Trojans (21-13, 14-6 Sun Belt) Troy, Alabama; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Troy faces North Texas in the National Invitation Tournament. The Trojans have gone 14-6 against Sun Belt teams, with a 7-7 record in non-conference play.
Lebron James won the game just before the buzzer sounded [Getty Images]
LeBron James scored the match winner with time almost up as the Los Angeles Lakers ended their losing streak with victory against the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers held a one-point lead with 42 seconds remaining, but James was on hand to tip in a Luka Doncic miss a split-second before the buzzer to secure a 120-119 victory in Indianapolis.
James did not make a field goal until the fourth quarter but finished the night with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
"It's another great example of where he doesn't necessarily have it going early, and got off to a slow start offensively but he was so good defensively and then takes over in the fourth quarter" Lakers coach J.J. Redick said.
"He gets rewarded by the basketball gods because he didn't let go of the rope and didn't stop competing."
The Lakers, fourth in the western conference, improved their record to 44-28 after ending three-game losing run.
Doncic had 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles, while Austin Reaves scored 24 and Rui Hachimura added 14.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the Washington Wizards ended a five-game losing streak with victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Toronto Raptors routed the Brooklyn Nets 116-86.
Nikola Jokic scored 39 points - and secured his 30th triple-double of the season - on his return from injury to inspire the Denver Nuggets to a 127-117 win against the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to seven with a 132-102 win against the Phoenix Suns.
The Los Angeles Clippers kept their play-off hopes alive by coming back from 14 points down to defeat the New York Knicks 126-113, improving their record to 41-31.
The Golden State Warriors are seventh in the West, also with 41 wins, with the Minnesota Timberwolves in eighth with a 41-32 record.
Five intoxicating weeks for the Warriors have given way to 11 days of futility. The Great Surge provided by the addition of Jimmy Butler III has been halted, and the salient question now is whether they have it in them to summon a restart.
After going 14-2 in the first 16 games after Butler’s arrival, Golden State is 2-3 over its last five, most recently with consecutive losses at the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. With Stephen Curry out with a pelvic bruise, both underdogs rose up and slapped the Warriors off their home floors.
Those losses – along with a Los Angeles Clippers win in New York on Wednesday – have evicted the Warriors from their 23-day stay in sixth place in the Western Conference.
If Curry’s expected return isn’t enough to fight off the next two teams, the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, both underdogs, the Warriors will have nullified their good work over the five weeks that ended on March 15.
Golden State’s goal since the NBA All-Star break has been to finish among the top six in the West, thereby avoiding the NBA play-in tournament. They have 10 games to make up ground. It will be strenuous.
Here is a look at The Final 10:
March 28 at New Orleans Pelicans
The perpetually wounded Pelicans are 20-53. Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones are out for the season, and Zion Williamson is in and out of action. Golden State can’t afford any more losses to inferior teams. A loss here would put a torch within inches of their hopes. Gotta be a W.
March 30 at San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are 8-11 since Victor Wembanyama went down in mid-February. It’s not in their blood to go quietly, but losing the season series to the Spurs, even with the midseason arrival of De’Aaron Fox, should be grounds for postseason exclusion. Gotta be another W.
April 1 at Memphis Grizzlies
The road to the finish line gets bumpy. This is the first of five games against West teams playing for something. These two have a longstanding distaste for each other, and a victory would give Golden State the head-to-head tiebreaker. It’s unlikely that both teams will avoid the play-in tournament, but a win would offset the loss to the Hawks.
April 3 at Los Angeles Lakers
This is their first shot at the Lakers with Luka Doncić. There’s no chance to earn the tiebreaker, as the Warriors lost the first three games. But it’s a matter of both pride and the standings, and being on the ugly end of a season sweep would be disastrous. A win at Crypto.com Arena would offset the loss to the Heat. With what’s next, it’s practically imperative.
April 4 vs. Denver Nuggets
The Warriors, 10 days ago, had a chance to end the abuse of the Nuggets, who came into Chase Center – without Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun – and extended their win streak over Golden State to nine. All three are healthy now. A 10th straight loss to a possible playoff opponent, at home, can’t be good for the Warriors’ collective esteem.
April 6 vs. Houston Rockets
Glaring at the Rockets, the Warriors see a bunch of impetuous youngsters trying to make enough noise in the regular season to become playoff threats. The Warriors own the tiebreaker, and they don’t think the Rockets are ready to win a high-pressure game. A victory in waiting, but it must be earned.
April 8 at Phoenix Suns
The leaders in underachievement are below .500 and bouncing in and out of the play-in tournament box. Having lost two of three to the Suns – the last by 25 at Chase – the Warriors would be wise to ignore the standings because Kevin Durant and Co. can beat any team on a good night. Ask the Cleveland Cavaliers, Clippers and Nuggets. A serious team gets the W.
April 9 vs. San Antonio Spurs
See March 30. Except the Spurs could be easing into vacation mode. The Warriors can’t afford to rest anyone, because the basketball gods will be watching. They should blast them at Chase.
April 11 at Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers, pluckier of late, might be eliminated from play-in possibilities (unless the Suns do a full dive into the abyss), pleased with their encouraging second half and peeping toward appreciable improvement next season. Lose this, and even the other squads in the play-in cubicle might snicker.
April 13 vs. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers own the tiebreaker, having beaten the Warriors three times this season, all before Butler was acquired. The season finale, at Chase Center, likely will be a pivotal game for both teams. The loser conceivably will be destined for the tournament no self-respecting team wants.
A 7-3 finish, resulting in a 48-34 record, usually is enough for sixth place. That could be tested this season.
Anything less than 8-2 over the final 10 might nudge the Warriors into That Tournament, which would be quite the unwelcome hurdle for a team built around three stars in their mid-30s.
Dodgers players celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 30. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
In 2018, toward the end of a decade in which Mike Trout was the best player in baseball, Major League Baseball reckoned with its failure to transform him into a national icon. Commissioner Rob Manfred inelegantly but bluntly suggested why the league had struggled to market Trout.
“Player marketing requires one thing for sure: the player,” Manfred said then.
The Angels shot back at Manfred, with a statement — crafted in part by owner Arte Moreno — that vigorously defended Trout: “We applaud him for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion.”
Neither Trout nor any other player owes his team or the league anything more than his best effort on the field. However, the better fans get to know their favorite players as personalities, the easier for the league to broaden its appeal beyond the diehards.
This is nothing new. Half a century ago, ABC used its trademark “Up Close and Personal” segments to get Americans invested in anonymous Olympic athletes.
In that sense, Apple’s documentary on the 2024 World Series is a hit. The three-part series called “Fight for Glory” premieres Thursday on Apple TV+.
There are no major revelations here. It is all about the celebration of a marquee World Series — The Dodgers! The New York Yankees! MLB owns the copyright to the documentary, and Manfred is listed in the credits.
Also listed in the credits: Chelsea Freeman, wife of Freddie; and Brianna Betts, wife of Mookie. Camera crews followed the families of the Dodgers stars: on the drive to the games, in the stands during the games, around the team after the games, and even at home.
Apple put cameras wherever it could and put microphones on as many people as it could, including managers and coaches, umpires, broadcasters, and reporters. Jack Harris, who covers the Dodgers for The Times, welcomed a camera operator into his car and did an interview as he drove to Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, left, and first baseman Freddie Freeman share a laugh during a game against the Cleveland Guardians in August 2023. (Nick Cammett / Associated Press)
In this genre of the “all access” documentary, Freeman and Betts are about as good as it gets in attracting casual fans — the ones not interested in exit velocities or launch angles, but invested in human interest stories.
Betts’ mother tells the story of how her son tried out for his first youth baseball team, complete with his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles glove, and left in tears after the coach said he was not good enough to make the team.
Freeman’s son Max woke up with a limp one day in July and, by the end of the day, was in a hospital and on a ventilator. He had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
“I lost my mom to cancer when I was 10 years old, which is awful,” Freeman said. “But when you see your son fighting for his own life at 3 years old? You just don’t think that is going to ever happen.”
Freeman left the Dodgers. Only after Max was discharged — after eight days in the hospital, and on the road to recovery — did Freeman return to the team.
“I would not have come back this year if he had stayed sick,” Freeman said.
On the drive to Dodger Stadium for Game 1 of the World Series, hours after her husband already had arrived there, Chelsea Freeman said: “It’s pretty crazy to see how rock bottom we were a few months ago. And then now to be going to the World Series is pretty surreal.”
And then her husband hit home runs in each of the first four games, en route to earning World Series most valuable player honors.
Before the first game, Chelsea Freeman said his treasured necklace — the one with a strand of hair from his late mother within a cross — had broken. He always played wearing that necklace.
“We had to overnight it to the jeweler,” Chelsea Freeman said.
The fly ball dropped by Aaron Judge — the most memorable moment from the Yankees’ festival of errors in the fifth inning of the clinching game — is presented here with quick cuts. In five seconds, from five vantage points, Judge drops the ball five times.
If you are a Yankees fan, you probably have no interest in revisiting that moment, or the Series as a whole. If you are a Dodgers fan, you probably do.
The three-part documentary lasts a combined three hours, which is asking a lot of viewers. The series only lasted five games.
If you are a Dodgers fan, at least, you get the championship ending. If you are a Yankees fan, well, you get to see one of your own warning Dodgers fans not to approach him at Yankee Stadium.
“Anybody wearing Dodgers,” he said, “is getting a wedgie.”
