Worldwide Sports News

The Rangers are getting creative with their promotions this season. 

In a callback to an iconic moment in club history, the team is giving away a replica blood-stained Nolan Ryan throwback jersey to fans in attendance for their May 29 game against the Royals. 

The jersey harkens back to Sept. 8, 1990, when the Hall of Fame flamethrower pitched with blood dripping from his lip. 

In the second inning that day, Ryan misplayed a sharp ground ball off the bat of the Royals’ Bo Jackson. 

The grounder ricocheted off Ryan’s glove and into his face before getting the out at first. 

But Ryan didn’t let a little blood take him out of the game. 

Ryan stayed on the mound, throwing seven scoreless innings, with the red blood stains on his chest, adding to his legend and giving the franchise a unique promo opportunity decades later. 

MLB’s all-time strikeouts leader will also be honored with a bobblehead giveaway of his iconic on-field fight with Robin Ventura on July 20, 1993, against the White Sox.

A 1965 draft pick and member of the 1969 Miracle Mets, Ryan, born in Refugio, Texas, played the final five years of his 27-season big league career with the Rangers. 

In 1989, Ryan made his eighth and final All-Star team of his career at 42 years old, as he posted a 3.20 ERA over 32 starts with Texas.

He had his No. 34 retired by the Rangers in 1996 and was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame three years later.

After his playing days, Ryan served as the Rangers’ president and CEO for six seasons (2008-13).

Spring Training is officially underway with Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers reporting to North Port for workouts.

Today has been a jam-packed news day with the Braves adding catcher Johan Heim, losing starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day IL, dealing with new reliever Robert Suarez having visa issues and Dylan Lee winning his arbitration case. Oh, and Nacho Alvarez, Jr. is working out with the catchers.

All of that and it is just day one!

What do the Braves do next in the starting pitching market? Does the team look to bring in a right-handed bat?

Sound off below.

The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled their 2026 promotional schedule and it reads less like a giveaway list and more like a victory lap written in plastic, resin, gold trim, and intentional nostalgia. Bobbleheads headline it, of course. They always do in Los Angeles. But this year, the Dodgers aren’t just handing out figurines — they’re curating memory, mythology, and celebrating a season that permanently rewired October.

Here’s the highlights of the Dodgers 2026 promotional schedule:

“Game 7” — The Two Words That Became a Collection

The two best words in sports have always been “Game Seven,” and last October it became scripture for the Dodgers.

Down 4-2 in the eighth inning against Toronto, their season teetering on the brink of disappointment, the Dodgers authored one of the most audacious World Series comebacks the sport has ever seen, winning 5–4 in extra innings to secure back-to-back championships. The organization isn’t letting that night fade quietly into highlight packages.

Instead, it’s turning it into a four-part bobblehead series — each piece frozen at the exact moment the season tilted on the edge.

It starts immediately. Opening weekend. Saturday, March 28 against Arizona. Will Smith, mid-swing, immortalized for the go-ahead home run he launched in the 11th inning of Game 7.

Then comes the heartbeat of the comeback. Miguel Rojas, honored May 8 against Atlanta, recreating the game-tying homer in the ninth inning — the first of its kind in a World Series Game 7. A moment that didn’t just keep the Dodgers alive. It resurrected them.

The most reverent piece of the series arrives May 27 versus Colorado. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Less than 24 hours removed from dominating Game 6. Zero days of rest. Dave Roberts handed him the ball anyway. The “Game 7 Last Out” bobblehead captures the exclamation point: 2.2 innings of shutout baseball, pain ignored, pressure embraced.

And then there’s the final snap of the frame. June 19 against Baltimore. Mookie Betts, now fully at home at shortstop, turning an unassisted 6-3 double play — the last outs of the World Series. A former Gold Glove outfielder redefining himself again, sealing history with his own hands.

Shohei Ohtani, Still Breaking the Bobblehead Economy

No Dodgers promotional calendar is complete without Shohei Ohtani bobbleheads that have fans lining up outside Chavez Ravine.

The 2026 season features multiple Ohtani bobbleheads, each one louder than the last. April 10 brings the “Greatest Game” version, commemorating his offensive eruption in Game 4 of the NLCS. 

Later, the pitching edition drops July 8, honoring his dominant Game 4 start on the mound in the clincher. 

And the “Starter Series” version arrives August 22 to complete the arc.

The Supporting Cast Bobbleheads

The Dodgers didn’t stop at their biggest stars. They never do.

Roki Sasaki opens his bobblehead chapter April 25. 

Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow anchor the “Starter Series.” 

Dave Roberts gets his managerial moment. Yoshinobu Yamamoto appears again. So do Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Alex Vesia, Miguel Rojas, and cultural crossover icons that twinkle, ranging from Ice Cube in a lowrider to Shaquille O’Neal and Son Heung-min.

Twenty-four bobblehead nights. For a franchise that already leads MLB in attendance year after year, that number feels less like excess and more like a flex.

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Non-bobblehead Giveaways

If bobbleheads aren’t your thing, then the non-bobblehead giveaways hit just as hard.

How about a back-to-back World Series champions hoodie? Or a Jackie Robinson jersey?

A replica World Series trophy. A gold championship jersey. A World Series replica ring after the All-Star break. Soccer jerseys. Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. This is merchandising as celebration, not filler.

The Dodgers aren’t promoting games in 2026. They’re setting a standard for the rest of baseball.

This is what dynasties do when they understand the moment they’re living in. They preserve it. They package it. And they dare you to keep up.

The bobbleheads are just the proof that sits on your shelf reminding you that you were there.

Tickets and Full Promotion Schedule:

Single-game tickets go on sale Thursday, February 12, and fans would be wise to plan accordingly. The first 40,000 through the gates will be walking out with history tucked under their arms.

The entirety of the Dodgers’ promotional schedule can be found at Dodgers.com/Promotions.

Atlanta Braves reliever Dylan Lee has reportedly won his arbitration case over the team, according to a report by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Per the report, Lee will make $2.2 million for the 2026 season. The club had filed at $2 million. Lee was the Braves’ only arbitration-eligible player this offseason to go to arbitration.

Dylan Lee has won his arbitration hearing against the Braves, per source. Lee will earn $2.2 million in 2026; the club had filed at $2 million.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 11, 2026

Lee has established himself as a key part of the Braves bullpen over his five seasons with the club. He appeared in a career-high 74 games in 2025 while posting a 78 ERA- and 78 xFIP-. Unfortunately, though, he got stung by the HR/FB bug and ended up with a 99 FIP-, such that he earned just 0.3 fWAR on the season. He struck out 76 hitters and issued just 14 walks in 68 1/3 innings. Over the arc of his career, Lee now has a 67 ERA-, 86 FIP-, and 79 xFIP- in 204 1/3 major league innings.

The Braves originally signed Lee in April of 2021 after he was released by the Marlins. He is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and isn’t scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2028 season.

When the San Francisco Giants first made the mildly-surprising news to sign bat-to-ball maven Luis Arráez, there were questions about where he would play. Like most infielders, Arráez had played all over the dirt in the Minor Leagues, though he was viewed as a second baseman by the time he made the Majors. After a few years and some NSFW advanced metrics, Arráez was mostly moved to first base and designated hitter during his time with the San Diego Padres the last two years.

The Giants, of course, have first base handled for the foreseeable future with Rafael Devers, and hope to have designated hitter accounted for with Bryce Eldridge. Did the organization see things differently? Was Arráez there to play DH while Eldridge returned to Sacramento? Perhaps to play the Wilmer Flores/Dominic Smith role off the bench? Or was he supplanting Casey Schmitt at second base?

As soon as those questions were asked, reports were sent out that it was the latter: the Giants were hoping to sprinkle some of Ron Washington’s magic infield dust on Arráez’s glove (and arm, and cleats), and run him out as the near-everyday second baseman. But with the move not yet finalized and made official, neither Arráez nor the Giants could actually comment on that.

Now they can, and it’s clear as day: Arráez is the handsomely-compensated second baseman for your 2026 Giants.

Speaking in Giants gear for the first time on Tuesday at the start of Spring Training, the always-jovial Arráez confirmed the reports that he had rejected multi-year deals because the Giants, unlike the teams offering those longer contracts, promised to play him at second base.

Luis Arraez said he had multi-year offers, but chose the Giants because they’ll have him at 2B. He also spoke to Gregor Blanco, who gave a glowing review of SF. He’ll wear No. 1 as a Giant. Asked about his hitting approach, he smiled: “I hate strikeouts.”

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 10, 2026

The coaching staff and Buster Posey confirmed that Arráez is there to hold down the fort at second, and they certainly conveyed confidence in his ability to do so. According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, Washington — widely considered one of the best infield coaches in baseball history — called the three-time batting champ a “pro,” and said, “He just has to be educated about the correct way to play defense — it’s more than what goes on between the lines, it’s also what your thoughts are, your work ethic, your ability to listen, learn and apply. I believe Arráez can be a very good second baseman.”

Posey, as is his style, was a bit more calculated in his response, but NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic quotes the Giants president of baseball operations as telling reporters, “I think we’re all really optimistic about (Washington) getting Luis into a good spot defensively, and then the bat, I mean, he’s the best bat-to-ball guy in all of baseball … We felt comfortable that there was a solid foundation there for a guy that could play second base well.”

Words and intention, of course, can only go so far, as Posey seemed to admit when saying, “As far as the defense, it’s not going to be for a lack of effort and work on his part and (from) the coaching staff.” But that’s what the next six weeks are for: seeing how far Arráez can progress, and how much work Washington and the coaching staff con do with him.

With no place to put him if second base doesn’t work out, it’s safe to say the Giants wouldn’t have committed $12 million to the three-time All-Star if they weren’t confident in his ability to play second … or at least, to derive more offensive value than he loses with the glove while at that position. So it seems likely that he’ll get quite a long leash, even if he struggles in the early part of the season.