Worldwide Sports News

I think the best line I’ve seen from Italian sports fans is their disbelief that Italy has a better national baseball team than a calcio (soccer) team.

Italy 8, Puerto Rico 6

Italy scored four runs in the first inning to upset Puerto Rico and advance to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic for the first time.

Things didn’t look good for Italy early as the first batter of the game for Puerto Rico, former Cub Willi Castro, hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning. [VIDEO]

But Angels pitcher Sam Aldegheri retired the next three batters in order. Meanwhile, Italy jumped all over Puerto Rico starter Seth Lugo for four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

After two walks, Vinnie Pasquantino tied the game 1-1 with this RBI single. [VIDEO]

Next up, Mariners outfielder Dominic Canzone singled to put Italy up 2-1. Then Jac Caglianone singled home another run to make it 3-1. [VIDEO].

Jovani Morán then replaced Lugo, but he walked the first batter he faced. Then J.J. D’Orazio hit a sacrifice fly and it was 4-1 Italy.

Puerto Rico got a run back in the top of the second when Aldegheri walked two batters and hit a batter to load the bases. At that point, Italy manager Francisco Cervelli pulled Aldegheri for Alek Jacob, but Jakob hit the first batter he faced to make it 4-2 Italy.

But Jacob then struck out Castro and got a ground out by Darell Hernaiz to end the threat.

Italy expanded the lead to 8-2 with a four-run fourth inning. First, Brewers 2025 first-round pick Andrew Fischer doubled home two off Luis Quiñones. [VIDEO]

As you can see, there was clear fan interference on that play, so the umpires correctly called it a double.

J.J. D’Orazio, who plays in the Diamondbacks system, drove in two more with back-to-back doubles. [VIDEO]

After that, it was up to the Italian bullpen to hold the six-run lead. They almost blew it. Guardians minor leaguer Dylan DeLucia was strong for Italy, pitching four shutout innings against heavily-favored Puerto Rico. Twins reliever Dan Altavilla pitched around an error in the seventh. But Matt Festa came on to pitch the top of the eight and and he failed to retire a batter, loading the bases on a single, a walk and another single. Festa gave way to Pirates reliever Joe La Sorsa. La Sorsa gave up a run on an groundout to first, which was a trade Italy would make any day in that situation. But with the score now 8-3, La Sorsa’s control abandoned him. He hit a batter and then uncorked a wild pitch that scored a run and made it 8-4 Italy.

Christian Vázquez then made it 8-6 with a two-run single. [VIDEO]

Cervelli went to his closer Greg Weissert at this point in the eighth inning. Weissert struck out Castro for the second out, gave up a single to Darell Hernaiz and then got Nolan Arenado to ground out to end the inning with no further damage.

Weissert stayed in the game to pitch the top of the ninth and immediately gave up a single to Athletic Carlos Cortes to lead off the inning. But Weissert retired the next three batters to end the game and send Italy to the semifinals for the first time.

The Italian broadcast call of Italy’s historic win over Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic Quarterfinals, on Sky Sports 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/07JL7YGZ7s

— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) March 14, 2026

Venezuela 8, Japan 5

Three-time WBC champion Japan will not make it to the semifinals because Venezuela upset Japan 8-5.

Venezuela got off to an early lead when the first hitter of the game, Ronald Acuña Jr., homered off of Japan starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. [VIDEO]

Japan got that run back promptly in the bottom of the first when Shohei Ohtani homered off of Venezuela starter Ranger Suárez. [VIDEO]

Venezuela broke out to a 2-1 lead in the top of the second when Ezequiel Tovar doubled off Yamamoto to lead off the inning and then Gleyber Torres doubled him home. [VIDEO]

Japan got to Suárez in the third inning. First, Teruaki Sato tied the game 2-2 with this double. [VIDEO]

The next batter, Shota Morishita, hit a three-run home run to make it 5-2 Japan. [VIDEO]

Morishita was in the game as a replacement for Seiya Suzuki, who injured his knee trying (and failing) to steal second base.

Seiya Suzuki limped off the field after getting caught stealing to end the first inning

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/yO7HlU9LE8

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 15, 2026

Let’s all hope Suzuki isn’t seriously hurt. This doesn’t sound too bad.

Chicago Cubs OF Seiya Suzuki is being evaluated for right knee discomfort after being taken out of the game after sustaining the injury on a stolen-base attempt in the first inning for Japan.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 15, 2026

Yamamoto allowed two runs on four hits over four innings. He struck out five. [VIDEO]

Japan’s bullpen wasn’t of the same quality. In the fifth inning, Venezuela cut the Japan lead to 5-4 with this Maikel Garcia home run off of Chihiro Sumida [VIDEO]

In the sixth, Venezuela took the lead for good with this upper-deck. three-run home run by Wilyer Abreu, [VIDEO] which made it 7-5 Venezuela.

Venezuela made it 8-5 when Ezequiel Tovar scored on this throwing error by Atsuki Taneichi. [VIDEO]

Japan got a threat going in the bottom of the eighth inning with two two-out singles, but former Nationals pitcher Andrés Machado got a ground out to end the last threat. [VIDEO]

Cubs closer Daniel Palencia came on in the ninth to seal up the win for Venezuela and he did just that, striking out Sosuke Genda and Kensuke Kondoh before getting Ohtani to pop out and send Venezuela to the semifinals. [VIDEO]

As noted in that video, it is the first time Venezuela has made the semifinals of the WBC since 2009. It’s the first time ever that Japan has been eliminated before the semifinals.

Italy will play Venezuela in the semifinals at 7 p.m. CT on Monday. On Sunday at 7 p.m. CT, Team USA takes on the Dominican Republic. Both games are on FS1. A game thread for tonight’s game will post here at 6 p.m. CT.

When looking back at the 2025 postseason, one would be forgiven for forgetting that the Cincinnati Reds were involved. Even despite the inherent dangers of a short-term series, the Reds weren’t able to give a proper contest to the Dodgers, falling in two straight games during Terry Francona’s first year in charge. It might have been their first playoff appearance in five years, but they haven’t even won a playoff game since 2012, nor a playoff series since 1995 — when the NL Central champion Brewers were still playing in the American League.

All the skepticism surrounding the Reds felt justified given that they were every bit of their 83-79 record. It was a type of campaign that leads a team to a playoff appearance only in very specific circumstances — the New York Mets’ late-season collapse, in this particular case. It wasn’t as though they caught them in a race, it was more that they kept walking at an adequate pace while the Mets took a wayward step into a ditch.

2025 record: 83-79 (3rd, NL Central)
2026 FanGraphs projection: 77-85 (4th, NL Central)

Any projection about the 2026 Reds starts with the unfortunate acknowledgment of ace Hunter Greene’s injury status heading into the year. The former No. 2 overall pick became the latest in a series of hard-throwing starters to be sidelined for a significant period. He’s now on the 60-day IL, out until at least July due to arthroscopic surgery on his elbow. Greene had already missed significant time last season, barely cracking the 100 innings mark in what was otherwise a magnificent campaign. Once again, the Reds will have to make do without him for a significant portion of their season.

Typically, good Reds team score runs, doing their best to benefit from playing half their games at Great American Ballpark, hitters’ favorite venue this side of Coors Field. Well, for the 2025 Reds—and this ties into some of the added concerns from Greene’s absence, it was all about the pitching.

Despite Greene’s time missed, Cincinnati managed a team ERA+ of 119, largely thanks to a career year from Andrew Abbott. The left-hander defied all odds to post a 2.39 ERA at home without the benefit of overwhelming stuff, boasting a strikeout rate below league average, all of which led to his first All-Star nod and a top-10 Cy Young finish. The de facto ace of this staff without a healthy Greene, Abbott may take a step back if we’re to read into his peripherals. It’s hard to see how he sustains a sub-3.00 ERA, pitching half his games in Cincinnati. On the positive side of things, Chase Burns (like Greene, a former No. 2 overall pick) showed outstanding stuff in his short period in the bigs and is probably one of the top young players to watch across baseball in 2026. He is currently dealing with a “range of motion issue” that they’re hoping isn’t too serious.

All in all, between Abbott, Burns, and Nick Lodolo, the Reds have an intriguing foundation even without Greene available, but it can’t quite be expected to carry the load of what could be a fringe contender if all things break right. Moving over to the bullpen, Emilio Pagán will be expected to live up to his resurgent 2025 campaign, set up primarily by Tony Santillan; the two combined to be one of the better late-inning duos in the National League last season. Trusting the pair, Cincinnati didn’t make any high-profile acquisitions to bolster its bullpen. Pierce Johnson and Caleb Ferguson are depth acquisitions to supplement Pagán, who was brought back on a two-year deal worth $20 million, showcasing a bit of the skepticism the market had about Pagán retaining that 2025 form.

Offensively, despite whiffing on their pursuit of Kyle Schwarber, Cincy has a few intriguing sluggers to keep an eye on ahead of 2026. After lighting up in the minors, Sal Stewart, a first-round pick in 2022, got a small opportunity in the bigs and answered the call with five homers in just 18 games. The youngster will get a free run to try and lock down a first base role that hasn’t been totally spoken for since the better days of Joey Votto. Spencer Steer is a fine player, but his flexibility is best utilized playing in other positions rather than as the primary first baseman. Carrying on the theme of sluggers, 49-homer bat Eugenio Suárez returns home, in a manner of speaking, on a one-year, $15-million contract that speaks for itself on why the Reds were more than happy to accommodate him as their primary DH. The man with 101 career bombs and a .504 SLG in Great American Ballpark should see his power play better there than it did in Seattle in the second half of 2025.

We went an entire paragraph on the club’s offense without discussing the inhuman Elly De La Cruz, a player whose God-given talent matches up with anybody in the game. His highlight reel will be phenomenal, his Statcast page equally so, but the challenge is to take not just one but several steps forward. The .777 OPS De La Cruz put up last year is not fitting for a player of his skill set; if this is to become a very good offense, it needs De La Cruz producing as a perennial MVP, which he very well could do. The best-case for the Reds is that the quad injury that Elly played through really affected his final 2025 numbers, and now recovered, he can get back to peak form.

De La Cruz, however, isn’t the only exciting Reds youngster who needs to do more in 2026. Matt McLain followed up an outstanding rookie campaign with an injury-riddled sophomore season. If he can regain that form we saw in 2024, the Reds could have one of the deadliest middle-infield partnerships in baseball, but that’s a big if.

As you’d expect, the Reds have the talent to compete for a Wild Card, but there are a lot of ifs and maybes and not very many certainties surrounding this team. They’ll be fun to watch, and the NL Central isn’t the gauntlet some other divisions are, but one is justified in being skeptical about this team’s chances to make a lot of noise in 2026.

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More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews can be found here.

Good morning, folks…

Evan Grant has Three Observations from the Rangers’ 22-2 win over San Diego on Saturday.

The Rangers are confident in a Joc Pederson rebound despite his struggles this spring.

The Rangers are close to having everyone in their projected starting lineup available.

That includes Josh Smith, who appears to have won the second base job with a scorching spring.

The fifth starter spot is still up for grabs between Jacob Latz and Kumar Rocker.

The DMN’s Rangers prospect countdown continues with Seong-Jun Kim at #10.

David Laurila has his Sunday Notes column up at Fangraphs.

Nick Pivetta returned to the mound for the San Diego Padres after he missed time with what was described as arm fatigue. Pivetta completed three innings and threw 56 pitches, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts to lead the Padres to an 8-5 win over the Cleveland Guardians at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz. on Saturday. Miguel Andujar and Freddy Fermin both homered in the game with Andujar hitting a grand slam for his third home run of the spring. Fermin continued his hot spring finishing with two hits in the game including his home run. Xander Bogaerts made his first start since returning from the World Baseball Classic and he added two hits as well.

Marco Gonzales led a group of Padres into the contest with the Texas Rangers in Surprise, Ariz. as Saturday was a split squad day with a home game and road game taking place with start times differing by five minutes. Things did not go so well for Gonzales and the Padres who faced the Rangers and the day ended with San Diego losing to Texas, 22-2. The Padres allowed five runs through the first two innings and an abysmal 13 runs in the third inning, alone. Gonzales completed two innings and allowed 11 runs, 10 of which were earned on eight hits with six walks and one strikeout. As bad as that was, reliever Logan Gillaspie had a different struggle. He could not keep the ball in the yard, allowing five home runs. He finished 2.2 innings and allowed nine runs on 11 hits with three walks and one strikeout. The lone bright spot for San Diego in the game was a two-run home run by Jase Bowen in the top of the third inning.

Padres News:

• The Padres Reacts Survey on Gaslamp Ballasked readers which of the candidates they thought would win the final spot in the starting rotation. The overwhelming majority of respondents said they believe Walker Buehler will win the job.

• Jackson Merrill had a difficult sophomore season, but it had more to do with health than regression. Merrill fought through multiple ailments and missed significant time for various injuries sustained throughout the year. Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball believes a healthy Merrill could have a big season and help the Padres return to the playoffs in 2026.   

• AJ Cassavell of Padres.com says that with his performance against the Guardians on Saturday, Pivetta is back on track, and his arm fatigue issues appear to be behind him.

• With news about the possibility of Joe Musgrove missing time to start the season the Padres may have to fill more than one hole in the rotation. But even with a healthy Musgrove, San Diego may have to get creative to fill the No. 5 starter position.

Baseball News:

• Randy Arozarena returned to the Seattle Mariners after he and Team Mexico were eliminated from the WBC. Arozarena and teammate Cal Raleigh, who plays for the US, had a now infamous interaction at home plate where Raliegh refused to shake Arozarena’s hand. Now back with the MLB club, Arozarena is ready to move on.

• Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Chris Devenski, who was struck in the head by a line drive on Friday, is back home and resting.

• Logan Webb was announced as the Opening Day starter,

WBC News:

• Venezuela knocked off the defending WBC champion Japan and advances to the semi-final to take on Italy who beat Puerto Rico to earn their spot in the semi-final game.

• Paul Skenes will make his return to the WBC to help the US try to get past a dominant Dominican Republic lineup in their semi-final matchup tonight. Whichever team wins will advance to the final to face Italy or Venezuela.

It feels like every year you need more and more subscriptions to watch the Red Sox. Rob Manfred supposedly wants to fix this in the future with nationalized broadcasting but for now, let’s see what’s on the docket for all those games in 2026.

You might remember last fall when the Red Sox and Tigers played on Apple TV and part of the broadcast was done on an iPhone. Well, that phone is now in the Hall of Fame.

The milestone broadcast at Boston’s Fenway Park — where the Red Sox clinched a postseason berth with a thrilling walk-off win over the Detroit Tigers — has since been recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, which added one of the authenticated iPhone devices to its permanent collection in Cooperstown, New York. Read more on the Hall of Fame website.

By coincidence (or on purpose) the Tigers will be in town on April 17th for the Red Sox first, and currently only, Apple TV game of the year. The schedule Apple released is just for the first half of the season so there may be more to come after the All-Star Game. At least the Apple games look really, really good.

NBC/Peacock will be airing games on Sundays and the Red Sox are featured four times this season. NBC, to their credit (maybe?) has tried to make these big, exciting, matches. While that is definitely a win for the national audience, we miss out of Don and Jerry Dave and Lou.

Here are your 2026 Red Sox games that will be on NBC:

June 14 — 7 p.m. — Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox — NBC/Peacock

Apologies if I don’t remember the large Rangers/Red Sox rivalry, NBC. In 2007 Boston traded for Eric Gagne from the Rangers? Ian Kinsler played for both teams?

June 28 — 7 p.m. — N.Y. Yankees at Boston Red Sox — NBC/Peacock

Now we’re talking…a series against the Yankees! And a second look at Fenway Park. If they’re going to be on the national stage might as well let other fans see our ballpark and wonder why they can’t have a Green Monster.

August 2 — 7 p.m. — Boston Red Sox at L.A. Dodgers — NBC/Peacock

Nothing on the schedule in July but there are two broadcasts scheduled for August. The first of which is August 2nd against then Dodgers. Mookie. Ohtani. Freeman. Decoy. All the big names. This has a little interest in the timing because it’s the day before the trade deadline. Monday August 3rd will be an off day for the Red Sox but the teams that do play will start ay 6:40 PM ET or later – after the deadline.

What do you think? Do you like when the deadline occurs during a game and every move is a possible trade? Or is it better to schedule games, as much as possible, with around 20 hours of space between day games on Sunday and night games on Monday?

August 23 — 3 p.m. — San Francisco Giants at Boston Red Sox — NBC/Peacock

Boston closes out the NBC slate with the Rafael Devers Reunion. The new-look Giants are trying to compete in 2026 and by August 23rd we’ll have a pretty good idea of the fortunes of both Boston and San Francisco. Did the Dodgers collapse? Are Roman and Marcelo fueling a youth revolution?

The real sacrifice comes, as usual, from FOX and their game of the week. Here’s what we get from FOX:

April 11 — 7 p.m. — Boston Red Sox at St. Louis Cardinals — FOX

It starts off with the Bloom vs Breslow Battle! Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray head back to St. Louis. Maybe Richard Fitts makes a start?

June 6 – 3 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees – FOX

Yankees, because Red Sox, Yankees, and FOX are just a thing that happens in MLB. Lots of good times. Lots of Joe Buck in the past.

July 11 – 4 p.m. – Boston Red Sox at New York Mets – FS1

Step right up and meet Grimace.

August 22 – 7 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Boston Red Sox – FOX

A full national weekend of Devers clips. You’ll be tired by the end. Guaranteed.

September 26 – 7 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Boston Red Sox – FOX

The Cubbies will be in town and everyone in the country might watch as Boston and Chicago battle out (hopefully) for postseason positioning in their respective divisions. If things go right, both teams will be setup up for October.

Then it’s on to, hopefully, more national games in October.

The MLB season is around the corner, which means we are close to seeing one of the most electric things in all sports, homeruns.  

Rotowire.com ranked the MLB ballparks by total home runs hit from the 2020-2025 season. They gathered home run data using Statcast data via Pybaseball, ensuring a comprehensive dataset covering every regular-season home run. To determine which stadiums are the most home run-friendly, they ranked all 30 MLB ballparks by total home runs hit, including both home and visiting teams. For teams that relocated or used temporary venues in 2025, totals have been combined across all stadiums used. They also did not count postseason Homers, it was just the regular season. 

The stadium with the most home runs hit is Dodger Stadium with 1,241.  The Dodgers bashed 244 homers in 2025 alone, with 142 of those being at home. Their slugging helped Los Angeles earn its second consecutive World Series title, taking down the Toronto Blue Jays. The Dodgers are 2026 World Series betting favorites at MLB betting apps to make it three in a row.

Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds was second on the list with 1,221 dingers hit. While Yankee Stadium finished out the top three at 1, 216 homers. 

The big surprise though was who ranked dead last on the list. PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, finished 30th. Only 794 home runs were hit in over the last six seasons, counting the Pirates and the away teams stats. 

This means the offense has really been struggling over the years for Pittsburgh but it also means the pitching has been doing its job not allowing the ball to leave the park. 

PNC Park is not considered to lean heavily toward either hitters or pitchers, so Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles last season – their 117 homers were by far the fewest in the Majors – is more of a roster issue, not the ballpark.

The Bucs had by far the fewest HRs hit last season with 117, The St.Louis Cardinals had the second fewest with 148. The offensive struggles that Pittsburgh has had over the last couple of seasons is a big reason why PNC Park ranks dead last.

Pittsburgh made some good moves in the offseason to break that cycle. The Pirates traded for Brandon Lowe, signed Ryan O’Hearn and picked up Marcell Ozuna in the offseason. Those are all guys with serious power who can hit 30-plus homeruns. 

It felt like over the years the power has not been there for the Pirates, but with those acquisitions, we could see more balls hit into the Allegheny river for the 2026 season.  

Check out the full list from Rotowire here.

Gabriel Moreno’s MRI reveals right elbow inflammation, to be shut down for couple of days
https://arizonasports.com/mlb/arizona-diamondbacks/gabriel-moreno-4/3614536/

Lawlar’s transition to CF going well; assessing D-backs postseason chanceshttps://www.mlb.com/dbacks/news/reddit-ask-me-anything-with-d-backs-reporter-steve-gilbert

Diamondbacks Storm Back in Massive Comeback Win Over Giantshttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/diamondbacks-storm-back-massive-comeback-win-giants

Diamondbacks Give Relieving Gabriel Moreno Injury Updatehttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/diamondbacks-relieving-gabriel-moreno-injury-update

The ‘New’ Pitch That Could Engineer a Zac Gallen Bounce-Backhttps://www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi/arizona-diamondbacks-news/pitch-engineer-zac-gallen-bounce-back-sinker

World Baseball Classic | MLB.com

What Happened on March 15 | HISTORY

March 15 – BR Bullpen

For a team with talent like the Braves have, Spring Training should be about only two things. One, staying healthy and two, letting the prospects shine for the entire organization. The numbers that the starters put up should be thrown away. Also, the 14-5 record should be ignored as well. But some of the starters are doing things that are hard to ignore. Mauricio Dubon is enjoying his time with Chipper Jones and the Spring numbers are good. Austin Riley might be stealing some bases this year thanks to some work with Antoan Richardson. But the big news out of Spring is that Michael Harris looks amazing.

Michael Harris’ 2026 Spring Training plate discipline numbers are completely different from last season. Last year’s 128/16 K/BB ratio has been replaced with a 3/4 K/BB ratio. O-Swing (swinging outside the strike zone) is down from 42.9 to 25.5 percent. Overall swing rate is down from 56.5 to 41.7 percent. He’s not trading power though. His wOBA is higher now than at any point in his career.

Yeah, it’s Spring Training. And plate discipline changes don’t really suggest anything until at least 50 plate appearances. But will Michael Harris’ Spring Training plate discipline roll over into the season? Maybe so. Plate discipline tends to be a lifestyle, good and bad. He could continue but he could easily slide the other way. He appears committed to it for now, though.

“[Plate discipline] is one of the main things I want to work on right now,” Harris said. “It’s one of the bigger things that will help elevate my game and help this team a lot. So, my focus now is making sure I’m swinging at pitches I can handle.”

The projections love Michael Harris for a reason. He has a great profile and amazing defense. It would be amazing for him not to repeat the summer of 4-3. It would be nice if 2025 was completely different altogether.

The annals of baseball history abound with stories of vaunted prospects who never fulfilled their potential. Whether due to injury, work ethic, or simply misplaced projections, these figures serve as cautionary tales to temper our expectations whenever the next “sure thing” breaks onto the scene.

A story far less often told is of the player who had to hear over 150 other players names’ called before hearing his own, and yet who somehow manages to get a shot in the big leagues — and, against all odds, carves out a successful career for himself. This is the story of Mike Pagliarulo.

Michael Timothy Pagliarulo
Born: March 15, 1960 (Medford, MA)
Yankees Tenure: 1984-89

The man they called “Pags” grew up just outside Boston as a fan of his hometown Red Sox. Snatched up by the Yankees in the sixth round of the 1981 MLB Draft out of the University of Miami, he was considered a solid defender at third who was unlikely develop into a true prospect due to a lack of ability at the plate. His early returns in the minors were encouraging, if not spectacular. Still, he rose steadily through the ranks, making it to Triple-A in 1984.

Despite slashing a meager .212/.293/.404 in 169 plate appearances through early July, the Yankees called the 24-year-old up to try to fill the hole left when they traded captain Graig Nettles to the Padres before the season. Given his pedigree, he could have been expected to serve as a brief stopgap between that five-time All-Star and the next Yankees mainstay at the hot corner. Pagliarulo fared reasonably well under the circumstances, posting a .735 OPS along with 25 extra-base hits in 219 plate appearances. With little internal competition, this performance was enough to give him the inside track on a starting job heading into the 1985 season.

It was at this key inflection point that Pagliarulo decided to roll up his sleeves. Working with hitting coach Lou Piniella, he retooled his swing and developed the power stroke that would elevate his game. “Mike has worked very hard, and I mean very, very hard,” Piniella said at the time. “The big thing has been the time and effort he has devoted to improving. When he came up last year, his swing was basically wrong. Now he’s improved tremendously.” 

Initially, the lefty’s success came only against right-handers — manager Billy Martin went so far as to order him to bat from the right side of the plate against a tough lefty in 1985. But, as the years went on, he developed from a platoon player to a true starter, appearing in 149 games in 1986 and 150 in ‘87. His 60 homers across those two seasons ranked third among all third basemen in the game, behind only inner-circle Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and two-time Twins All-Star Gary Gaetti.

Throughout this period, the player who had worked his way up the ladder rung by rung became known for his hard-nosed approach to the game. “He comes out for extra hitting and he’s done with that and he wants extra hitting on top of the extra hitting,” said coach Roy White. “He says, ‘This feels good; I want to keep working on it,’ and he goes down to the cage. After a while, I try to stop him. There’s such a thing as overdoing it.”

Pagliarulo seemed to disagree.

“Some day, when I can’t play anymore, I can say I played as hard as I could play. I have no excuses. I’ve done the best I can do. I’ve worked as hard as I could work. In the past, I wasn’t polished. I figured the more I worked, the better I’d get. I figure now the guy who works the hardest is the guy who’s going to be the best. I want to work harder than anybody and I want to be better than everybody. That’s carried me so far, and it’s going to carry me the rest of my career. I can’t see being satisfied with what you’re doing because I figure once you’re satisfied, that’s it. You’re not going to get any better than that.”

Despite his hard work, by 1988 Pagliarulo’s bat began to trail off. The following season, the Yankees once again shipped their starting third baseman out to San Diego, this time for right-handed pitchers Walt Terrell and Freddie Toliver, neither of whom panned out in pinstripes. Pagliarulo’s time out west was a failure as well. In addition to posting just a .668 OPS in parts of two seasons, he drew the ire of teammates and fans for attacking Mr. Padre himself, Tony Gwynn, as a selfish player. “Donnie (Mattingly) would’ve kicked that guy’s ass the first day,” he told the Daily News in an interview of appallingly poor judgment, which won him no friends in San Diego.

Pags had a resurgence after leaving the Padres, carving out a starting role with the Twins on their 1991 championship team. The veteran showed out in what would be the only playoff action of his career, hitting .308 in 11 games with a pair of homers, one of which was the decisive blow in Game 3 of the ALCS in Toronto, off Mike Timlin.

Pagliarulo stuck around with Minnesota for parts of two more seasons before a brief stint with the Orioles. For the 1994 season, the 34-year-old joined the NPB, helping lead the Seibu Lions to the Japan Series, where they would be defeated by a Yomiuri Giants squad featuring a 20-year-old Hideki Matsui. He returned to the States the following year, appearing in 86 games with the Rangers before hanging up his cleats for good.

Pagliarulo has coached intermittently in the years since his retirement, most notably under his old pal Mattingly as the Marlins’ hitting coach from 2016-18.

For the sixth-rounder with a suspect bat, it’s been a remarkable baseball life. Happy birthday, Pags!

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.