LANDOVER, MD - CIRCA 1992: Tom Chambers #24 of the Phoenix Suns drives on Harvey Grant #44 of the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1992 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Chambers played for the Suns from 1988-93. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There isn’t much in the wide world of sports that you can look at and genuinely call a “travesty”. Especially when you consider all of the instability in the world at large, sports are merely entertainment. They’re designed to provide an escape, a distraction, and something for us to care about for a few hours before returning to the things that actually matter.
But much like “sports hate” is different from real hate, I think there’s room for “the sports travesty”. It’s something that isn’t a true tragedy in any meaningful sense of the word, but within the strange little universe we’ve created around games, statistics, legacies, and the people who play them, it feels egregiously wrong.
Tom Chambers not being in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame falls into that category for me.
I’m not alone. Granted, the results of the polling we’ve done here are most certainly biased. Asking a community of Phoenix Suns fans whether Tom Chambers belongs in the Hall of Fame isn’t exactly a scientific exercise conducted under the watchful eye of Gallup. Still, the response showcases that there is some merit to the argument. Tom Chambers should be in the Hall, and 79% of the Bright Side community concurs.
Why? I’ll start with something that occasionally gets lost in these conversations. This is the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. It isn’t the NBA Hall of Fame. It isn’t the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame encompasses all aspects of the sport. It exists to honor, recognize, and celebrate the history of basketball in its totality. Careers are supposed to be viewed through that wider lens, which makes Chambers’ absence increasingly peculiar the longer you stare at it.
Start with 20,000 points. Chambers scored 20,049 of them during his NBA career, and he is one of only four eligible players in NBA history to cross the 20,000-point threshold and remain outside the Hall of Fame. The others are Antawn Jamison, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Joe Johnson. That’s the list. How many of those guys hold the all-time single-season points per game record for a franchise? Still, Chambers isn’t among the names ESPN’s Ben Golliver identifies as being on the waiting list for the Hall of Fame. Joe Johnson is, as is LaMarcus Aldridge.
Of the 156 NBA players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, 43 scored at least 20,000 points. Chambers did something that has historically served as one of basketball’s great monuments to longevity, production, and sustained excellence, and somehow he remains standing outside the gates. That doesn’t automatically make him a Hall of Famer. No single statistic should. But when you’re searching for historical oddities, places where the numbers make you stop, scratch your head, and wonder how the hell we arrived here, Tom Chambers scoring more than 20,000 points and never receiving the call from Springfield is a pretty damn good place to start.
Going a step further, Chambers played during an era of basketball loaded with stars, and he still found a way to thrive offensively. Perhaps his career average of 18.1 points is viewed as some kind of gatekeeper, a number that doesn’t quite scream “Hall of Fame” when you first see it. Once you start digging through the players who are actually in Springfield, however, that argument begins to lose some of its weight. Chambers averaged more points for his career than Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Scottie Pippen, and plenty of other players whose Hall of Fame credentials have never been questioned. In fact, 80 of the 156 NBA players currently in the Hall, or 51.3%, averaged fewer than Chambers’ 18.1 points.
SEATTLE – FEBRUARY 1987: Tom Chambers #23 of the Eastern Conference All-Stars celebrates after winning the 1987 NBA All-Star Game MVP award circa 1987 in Seattle, Washington. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
There will always be another side to the argument, especially when discussing the Hall of Fame. Chambers never won a championship. He never made an All-NBA First Team. His résumé lacks that one obvious achievement you can point to and declare the conversation over.
Still, we’re talking about a player who was a quality and effective forward for more than a decade, scored more than 20,000 points, was a two-time All-NBA Second Team recipient, made four All-Star teams, won an All-Star Game MVP, and averaged more points than half of the NBA players who have already been enshrined. At some point, the accumulation of accomplishments has to matter.
Then there is Chambers’ place in NBA history, and this is where I believe his case becomes even more interesting. Tom Chambers was the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history, and his decision to sign with the Phoenix Suns in 1988 represents a seminal moment for the league.
Think about how much of the modern NBA revolves around free agency. Think about the television specials, the airport tracking, the social media detectives, the cap space clearing, and the annual hysteria surrounding where the biggest names are going next. There had to be a first domino, and Chambers was it. A star player exercised his newfound freedom and chose to leave Seattle for Phoenix, helping usher the NBA into an era that now defines how teams are built and how players control their careers.
And yet, he’s probably not going to make it. I’m not sure what the FanDuel odds are, but Basketball Reference gives Chambers a 5.2% probability of reaching the Hall of Fame, which feels remarkably low when you stack everything together. The 20,000 points, the 18.1 points per game, the All-Star appearances, the longevity, the production, the historical significance as a pioneer of unrestricted free agency. Individually, perhaps you can poke holes in each piece of the argument. Collectively, they tell the story of somebody who mattered to the NBA, both in what he accomplished on the court and what he represented off of it.
For a place tasked with preserving and celebrating the history of basketball, you’d think that would matter. Apparently, it hasn’t mattered enough. And that’s a damn shame.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 11: Connor Norby #35 of the Colorado Rockies throws over Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks to complete a double play during the sixth inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on August 11, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Connor Norby has already packed quite a bit into a major-league career that is barely two years old.
He debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in June 2024, was traded to the Miami Marlins at that year’s deadline, spent much of 2025 working around injuries and returned to Triple-A this summer after his offense backed up. Then came another trade, this time to the Colorado Rockies as part of the return for Victor Vodnik.
Eight days later, Norby was back in the majors.
At 26, he is no longer a prospect waiting for his first opportunity. He has more than 700 major-league plate appearances and a fairly clear set of strengths and weaknesses.
There is also a version of Norby that has never quite disappeared.
He never became a consensus Top 100 prospect, but consistently ranked among the better second-base prospects in the game, placing 10th at the position entering 2022, sixth in 2023 and seventh in 2024. Second base was his primary defensive home through much of the minors, while his bat was built around patience and above-average power.
The production backed that up. Norby hit .279/.360/.526 with 29 home runs in 2022, then .290/.359/.483 with 21 homers and 40 doubles at Triple-A in 2023. His strikeout rate generally sat in the low 20s, manageable for the amount of damage he produced.
His platoon splits also gave little reason to view him as a right-handed specialist. In 2023, for example, he hit .292/.360/.473 against right-handers and .285/.356/.510 against lefties.
That profile reappeared this summer. In 121 Triple-A plate appearances, Norby hit .291/.397/.544 with eight doubles, six home runs, 17 walks and 23 strikeouts.
Level
AVG
OBP
SLG
BB%
K%
MLB Career
.234
.302
.383
7.5%
29.3%
MiLB Career
.286
.367
.496
10.6%
23.0%
2026 MiLB
.291
.397
.544
14.0%
19.0%
The harder part has been getting those skills to coexist against major-league pitching.
The problem is contact
In 2024, Norby struck out in 33.0% of his plate appearances but produced a 14.8% barrel rate, a .202 ISO and a .448 xSLG. The strikeouts were ugly. The damage gave them somewhere to hide.
He cut the strikeout rate to 26.7% in 2025, but his barrel rate fell to 9.4% and his xSLG to .417. Even so, the overall profile stayed roughly above water: 0.3 bWAR in 194 plate appearances as a rookie and 0.8 bWAR in 337 plate appearances last season, with 162WL% marks of .499 and .498.
This year, the balance broke.
Norby hit .205/.313/.325 in 233 plate appearances with Miami before being optioned in late June. His strikeout rate returned to 30.0% while the barrel rate slipped again to 7.5%.
His swing decisions, however, have improved.
Norby has chased only 26.9% of pitches this season and walked in 10.8% of his plate appearances. The contact numbers are much less encouraging: a 77.0% zone-contact rate and 32.3% overall whiff rate.
The problem runs across the pitch mix, but breaking and off-speed pitches have punished him most severely. Norby has whiffed on 47.8% of his swings against sliders, 44.4% against changeups, 40.0% against sweepers, and 66.7% against curveballs. His four-seam whiff rate is also elevated at 33.1%.
This looks much more like a bat-to-ball problem than a swing-decision problem. Norby knows the zone reasonably well; making enough contact when he attacks has been the harder part.
The contrast between his swing decisions and his ability to make contact shows up in these two pitches:
Whether timing, swing path, contact point, or sequencing is driving that is harder to say.
The quality of the contact he does make has slipped, too.
Norby’s fly-ball rate remains high at 37.3%, but his sweet-spot rate has fallen from 47.0% in 2024 to 42.0% last season and 29.9% this year. His under rate is up to 32.1%, while his barrel rate has dropped from 14.8% to 9.4% to 7.5%.
The power still shows up when he gets the barrel there.
But that’s not often enough. More of Norby’s air contact is coming from underneath the baseball instead of becoming line drives and barrels.
His average exit velocity sits at 87.1 mph, only modestly below league average, while his bat speed has been fairly steady. So the problem does not appear to be a simple loss of bat speed.
That contact shape still makes Coors Field interesting. Norby already gets the ball in the air and has enough power and speed to benefit from the outfield when he squares one.
Coors can reward his contact. It cannot create the contact for him.
Where the glove fits
How much offense Norby needs depends on where he plays.
His +5 Outs Above Average this season is driven mostly by first base, where he has been +3 over 100 attempts. There is some major-league history at second: Norby handled 28 Statcast attempts there in 2024 and finished at 0 OAA. But that opportunity is now fairly distant, and his current sample with Colorado is only beginning to build.
Third is less encouraging. Norby is +1 there in 20 attempts this season after finishing at -4 OAA in 2025 and -5 in 2024. His arm has never been an above-average part of the profile, either.
First looks playable, while third has produced the most negative evidence. Second remains the more immediate question.
The position itself is familiar. Second base was Norby’s primary defensive home through much of the minors, and the early eye test with Colorado has been encouraging. He has not made spectacular plays, but he has looked competent and comfortable, handling routine ground balls, feeds and double-play pivots without much trouble.
Norby does not need to become a standout defender there. If he can simply provide adequate defense with some regularity, the offensive standard becomes considerably easier to clear than it would be at first base or DH.
Norby is still looking for his first hit as a Rockie, but Friday night was the kind of ballplayer’s game that shows why his value does not have to begin and end with the bat. He went 0-for-2, walked twice, stole a base, scored a run and handled a busy night at second base without looking out of place.
The hit column was empty. His impact was not.
The comparison with Edouard Julien is difficult to avoid because the profiles are not dramatically different.
Both came to Colorado around the same age with offensive skills worth testing and questions about whether those skills could combine into enough major-league production.
Same bet, different ante.
Julien hit the ball hard and controlled the strike zone, but too much of that contact stayed on the ground. Once the bat failed to produce enough, there was little defensive or baserunning value underneath it. He departed with a 65 wRC+ and -7 DRS at second base.
Norby is not an established offensive upgrade. His major-league bat needs recovering, too.
But he is right-handed, runs better, gets the ball in the air and offers more defensive possibilities. His overall game had already produced some major-league value before this season, and his first few games with Colorado have already shown how some of that secondary value can surface even before the hits do.
The right-handed bat also helped the rest of the roster make more sense. Tyler Freeman’s trip to the injured list had removed a right-handed bat from the mix, even if much of his recent work had come in right field. Norby gave Colorado a right-handed hitter who could also handle the infield, restoring some of that balance without simply duplicating Freeman’s role.
That mattered when the Rockies moved on from Julien and recalled Zac Veen. The transactions were not one-for-one replacements: Norby had already arrived for Freeman, while Veen took Julien’s roster spot. But the resulting roster kept a right-handed infield option in Norby while replacing Julien’s left-handed bat with Veen.
That is roster balance with actual utility.
Making the competition mean something
Second base has been a below-average offensive position for Colorado this season. Rockies second basemen rank 24th in batting average, 21st in slugging and 18th in OPS. They have drawn the fifth-most walks at the position, but also have the fourth-most strikeouts while ranking only 16th in home runs.
There has been some on-base value, but too many strikeouts and not enough damage around it to produce a complete offensive profile.
Norby does not have to fix all of that himself.
He just has to raise the standard of the competition.
The Rockies no longer need another player who can merely play second base. They need players good enough to make the competition at second base meaningful.
Norby has a legitimate path to a majority of the playing time himself. If enough of his minor-league offensive profile translates and he proves adequate defensively, a second baseman who walks, gets the ball in the air, produces 20-plus-homer power and can stay in the lineup against both right- and left-handed pitching has plenty of value.
If not, there is still a potential role as a right-handed, multi-position bat with some pop.
Either way, Colorado does not need to clear the position around him.
Adael Amador can compete for it. Ryan Ritter can force the issue from Triple-A. Roc Riggio provides another possibility farther down the line.
None of them has to be evaluated in a vacuum. Even with an unsettled offensive profile, Norby has already shown he can hover around neutral major-league value.
He gives them an actual major-league baseline to beat.
The Albuquerque Isotopes (61-57) beat the Oklahoma City Comets (65-51) 4-2, using a three-run fifth inning to erase an early deficit before adding an insurance run late.
Newly acquired Mason Adams started for Albuquerque and allowed two runs on three hits over four innings, walking two and striking out four. Mason Green followed with two scoreless innings to earn the win, lowering his ERA to 5.71, and Jaden Hill worked a clean seventh with one strikeout to pick up his first hold. TJ Shook recorded the final out in the ninth for his 11th save, after taking over for Evan Shawver with two outs.
The Isotopes trailed 2-0 before breaking through in the fifth. Jose Cordova singled, Drew Avans reached on an error, Ryan Ritter singled to load the bases, and Roc Riggio walked in Albuquerque’s first run. Braxton Fulford then delivered the big swing with a two-run single to put the Isotopes ahead.
Fulford finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and now has a .910 OPS, while Ritter went 2-for-5 and is hitting .325 with an .881 OPS. Cordova added two hits and is now batting .299 with a .731 OPS. Charlie Condon went 0-for-3 but drew a walk and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, giving him 74 RBI with a .919 OPS.
The Hartford Yard Goats (55-56) dropped a tight 2-1 game to the Erie SeaWolves (65-46), with all three runs coming in the fifth inning.
Bryson Hammer started for Hartford and took the loss, allowing two runs on five hits over 4.1 innings while walking one and striking out four. The damage came in the fifth, when Erie used a walk, a double, a bases-loaded walk, and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead. Hammer is now 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA.
GJ Hill accounted for Hartford’s only run, going 3-for-4 with his 14th home run of the season. Hill’s solo shot came in the bottom of the fifth and cut the deficit to one, but the Yard Goats could not push across another run.
Dyan Jorge added his 14th double of the season, drew a walk, and stole his 44th base. Andy Perez, Cole Messina, and Skyler Messinger each added a hit, but Hartford went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base.
The Spokane Indians (50-61) were walked off in a 3-2 loss to the Everett AquaSox (58-54), with Carter Dorighi’s ninth-inning single ending a tight game.
Newly acquired Aiden May started for Spokane and allowed two runs on six hits over five innings without a walk, striking out one. He owns a 2.79 ERA on the season.
Kelvin Hidalgo led the offense with three hits and stole his 19th base of the season. Roldy Brito and Tanner Thach added two hits apiece, with Brito stealing two bases to give him 17 on the year and Thach adding his second steal.
Spokane trailed 2-0 after the second but chipped back. Cameron Nelson doubled home Clayton Gray in the third, and Thach scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to tie the game. Seth Clausen took the loss after allowing a leadoff double in the ninth, followed by Dorighi’s walk-off single.
The Fresno Grizzlies (61-51) gave up three runs in the eighth inning in a 6-4 loss to the San Jose Giants (62-50), another late lead slipping away for a Rockies affiliate.
Fresno fell behind in the first but answered in the third, when Cristian Arguelles drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. The Grizzlies took the lead in the fourth after Jack Natili was hit by a pitch, Ryan Niedzwiedz doubled, and Juan Martinez reached on an error that brought both runners home.
Natili added his first home run of the season in the sixth, giving Fresno a 4-1 lead. Arguelles, Daniel Jackson, Natili, Niedzwiedz, and Aidan Redahan each had one hit, but the Grizzlies finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and were held hitless over the final three innings.
Luichi Casilla allowed one run over four innings, but the bullpen could not hold the lead. San Jose scored three times in the eighth, with Luke Hansel taking the loss.
Hunter Goodman was held out of Friday’s lineup with left shoulder inflammation that dates back to a swing Wednesday in Arizona. Manager Warren Schaeffer said Goodman is day-to-day as the Rockies give him treatment and see how the shoulder responds. His absence is significant: Goodman leads Colorado in OPS, RBIs and runs while ranking fifth in the majors with 34 home runs entering Friday.
Roc Riggio’s latest promotion adds another name to the Rockies’ increasingly crowded middle-infield pipeline. The piece looks at where Riggio now fits among Colorado’s second-base options and what his rise means for the organization’s depth at the position.
Nick Frasso’s path to the majors changed quickly after the Rockies acquired him from the Dodgers at the trade deadline. His debut came in the 11th inning at Coors Field, and Frasso reflected on the experience, what he learned from it and how he is beginning to settle into Colorado’s bullpen.
Definition: two things are totally opposite or completely different from each other.
That’s what baseball fans witnessed in Washington, D.C. over a 24-hour period.
The time period ended Thursday afternoon. Kevin Gausman struck out seven in his 4.2 IP, but surrendered six runs on seven hits and a walk. Gausman matched Nationals starter Cade Cavalli over three innings before an RBI-double by the Nats in the fourth began the scoring. The Nationals blasted open the door with a five-run fifth, knocked Gausman off the mound and, along with the Cubs, out of the game. Cavalli just rolled through the line-up, with Dansby Swanson ending the perfect game on a walk in the sixth. Michael Busch broke-up the no-hitter with a soft single to left with two out in the seventh — thus ending any residual drama.
BUT! We’re here to talk about the game 24 hours earlier. You know, the one on Wednesday where Alex Bregman hit three home runs and drove in seven runs in a 12-6 Cub win? Or what Jim Deshaies is calling, “Breggy-mania”? The one that guaranteed the Cubs their ninth road series win of the season?
I’m not saying that I did anything special. But I’m sure you’ve watched a guy hit back-to-back homers, and the next time up it floats through your mind that he could make it three in a row. And when it happens, it’s almost a surprise he actually did it.
I’d like to think that what went through my mind went through some of yours as well: The way Bregman walked to the plate in the eighth inning, I said out loud (and scared my wife), “This is going out, too.” In setting up for the 2-2 pitch, and the catcher set up belt-high over the outside-half of the plate, I said, “Don’t throw it there.” And the ball would have hit the center of the catcher’s glove — if it hadn’t landed in the left-field seats.
So many good tidbits in the game stories below about Bregman, I’ll let you peruse while I’ll expand on the other players.
The Cubs’ top three hitters each went 2-for-4 with a walk. Swanson added a solo home run, three runs scored, a double and two RBI. Seiya Suzuki added two runs scored and two RBI. And Ramirez had a double, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Four other Cubs had a hit as the team gathered 13 hits and four walks in the game.
David Peterson had a rocky start, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and three walks while having managed six strikeouts over five innings. And while Javier Assad allowed two hits — both solo home runs — and a walk, his four innings of work earned himself his second save of the season.
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Thursday’s Game Stories:
Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): Gausman stumbles in 5th while Cavalli shuts down Cubs’ offense. “As Michael Busch slowed down at first base in the seventh inning on Thursday, cheers began to fill Nationals Park. They were both out of respect for Nationals righty Cade Cavalli’s bid at history, but also mixed with the Cubs fans on hand who were happy to see it end.”
The Cubs are the 3rd team since RBI became official in 1920 to have two players with a 3-HR, 7-RBI game in a season (Paul O'Neill/Mike Stanley for 1995 Yankees, Aaron Judge/Jasson Domínguez for 2025 Yankees and Bregman/Swanson this year). https://t.co/qBTp2KhXYx
Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): How Jacob Webb found another level ‘real quick’ with Cubs. “There were discussions and work done in Spring Training to bring back a curveball the righty used in college, through the Minors and briefly in the big leagues. And then when April went awry for Webb, he told Chicago’s pitching group that it was time to finally ditch the sweeper.”
Alexander Rosquez (Last Word On Sports): Cubs Could Confidently Rely on Jacob Webb. “The Chicago Cubs didn’t enter the season expecting Jacob Webb to become their primary option at the back of the bullpen.”
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Edward Cabrera Is Coming Back! “The Chicago Cubs have made their decision on Edward Cabrera’s rehab assignment: it’s over.”
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Can the Cubs Piggyback Their Way to Glory? “If ever piggybacking were going to truly take root in the major leagues, it might as well happen in the city of big shoulders—hog butcher to the world.”
Jordan Bastian and Jim Callis (MLB.com): Hartshorn, Ayers headline Cubs’ updated Top 30 Prospects list. “Both Josiah Hartshorn and Owen Ayers made strong impressions in their limited exposure to the Cubs’ big league team during Spring Training games. When the Minor League season arrived, the pair of prospects developed into two of the system’s breakout stars.”
Cory Sparks (North Side Baseball): First Impressions From Ethan Conrad’s First 30 Pro Games With Cubs. “Ethan Conrad’s long-awaited pro debut has happened, and the 2025 first-rounder is starting to live up to the expectations the Cubs set for him over one year ago.”
Elmore James was born on January 27, 1918 in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi. At the age of 12, he started making music using one-string instruments like the diddley-bow, which was strung on a shack wall. Eventually as time passed, Elmore developed into a solid musician by the time he was 18. It was during this period that he met a certain musician who went onto became one of his strongest influences. This was none other than the legendary Robert Johnson.
This meeting took place in Belzoni, Mississippi, where he was meeting one of his good friends, Sonny Boy Williamson II. Before this meeting, Elmore’s style of playing the guitar was less of a slide guitarist. However, it was Robert Johnson who showed him how to play the guitar using a metal sleeve on your finger that soon became the slide. He also began covering songs by Chicago Blues musician Tampa Red, who was another influence on Elmore in developing his distinctive Slide guitar sound.
Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 14: Eli White #38 of the Boston Red Sox looks at his bat after striking out in the fifth inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on August 14, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees traveled north of the border on Friday, as they opened up a series against the Blue Jays. However, they left their bats — or whatever is left of them — back in the states. The lineup mustered just one run as they dropped the opener 3-1 to Toronto.
While the Yankees stunk up the joint yesterday, did anyone give them a helping hand in the various playoff races. Let’s check in today’s edition of the Rivalry Roundup.
Baltimore Orioles (59-63) 6, Tampa Bay Rays (74-47) 5
The Rays very nearly climbed all the way out of a four-run hole in the ninth inning, but they fell one short, stranding the potential game-tying run at second as the Orioles finished things off behind Cam Sanders, snapping Tampa Bay’s nine-game winning streak.
The two teams traded off runs in the second and third innings, with the O’s taking 1-0 and 2-1 leads, only for the game to be tied by Tampa Bay shortly after. The game stayed tied for a while after that, as Chris Bassitt put in a solid effort for Baltimore fresh off the 60-day IL, matched by a combined effort by the Rays’ bullpen.
The deadlock was broken when Dylan Beavers drove home two runs on a single in the seventh inning. Amid a deeply disappointing season, Gunnar Henderson then gave Baltimore some breathing room when he hit a two-run homer in the eighth. That seemed like it would be plenty enough, but it very nearly wasn’t.
Tampa Bay started the bottom of the ninth with two singles and a wild pitch moving two runners into scoring position. Jonathan Aranda cashed in on that opportunity, driving home two runs with a single. A walk and a pair of stolen bases then put the tying run in scoring position, but Junior Caminero managed just a run-scoring ground out. Baltimore opted to issue an intentional walk Liam Hicks, which did put the winning run on base, but the gambit worked and the O’s escaped and eked out the win. The Rays remain 6.5 games ahead of the Yankees and the O’s got to within a game of the Tigers and Rangers for the last Wild Card spot — though the Twins and Blue Jays also sit between them.
Other Games
Pittsburgh Pirates (60-64) 8, Boston Red Sox (65-57) 4: The Pirates got to Red Sox pitching to the tune of two home runs and eight runs in total, keeping Boston from gaining ground on the Yankees. Former Yankee prospect Rafael Flores Jr. got Pittsburgh on the board in the second, and the Bucs then scored a combined six runs over the fourth and fifth to fully take control of the game. In terms of pure numbers, the Red Sox actually recorded the same number of hits as Pittsburgh with nine, but the Pirates just did far more damage with their chances.
Chicago White Sox (63-58) 9, Detroit Tigers (60-62) 5: Miguel Vargas went 4-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI to lead the White Sox past the Tigers. Chicago took control of this game with a five-run fourth inning, which included a Munetaka Murakami homer and a two-run Braden Montgomery triple. The White Sox didn’t have a particularly sterling pitching day, they just never remotely needed one; now, they’re 3.5 games ahead of Detroit in the AL Central.
Houston Astros (63-60) 10, Seattle Mariners (57-66) 7 – 10 innings: An absolutely wild 10th inning saw the Astros give up two runs in the top of the frame before scoring five in the bottom of it to walk off with the win. Houston led for most of the game before the M’s scored two in the eighth to tie things up and eventually send it to extras. Seattle then seemingly took control in the 10th, with a Victor Robles’ triple leading the way to them putting up two runs. However, they couldn’t hold that edge, and Christian Walker eventually sent everyone home with a three-run homer. Houston is 2.5 games ahead of Texas in the AL West, while the M’s continue to fade (six back of Houston and 3.5 behind the Wild Card).
ST. LOUIS, MO - MAY 9: Butch Huskey of the New York Mets looks on against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 9, 1997 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Mets beat the Cardinals 10-3. (Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images) | Sporting News via Getty Images
Meet the Mets
Robert Stock and the Mets fell behind 1-0 in the third inning in last night’s series opener against the Nationals. But that would prove to be the only run the pitching staff would surrender on the night, and a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh innings—including solo homers from Francisco Lindor and Jared Young—were enough to propel the Mets to victory.
Following Thursday’s Field of Dreams game between the Phillies and Twins, the league has announced that next year’s game at the famous location in Iowa will be between the Royals and Red Sox.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - AUGUST 14: Colton Cowser #17 of the Baltimore Orioles runs the bases after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on August 14, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
That win felt pretty good! The 6-5 victory over the division-leading Rays, paired with losses by the Tigers, Twins, and Rangers moved the O’s to within just one game of the final wild card spot in the American League.
Craig Albernaz deployed a new-look lineup that included Pete Alonso in the lead-off spot, followed by Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo, while Gunnar Henderson was pushed down to the five hole. It was unconventional, but it’s hard to argue with the results. Alonso had two hits, Tyler O’Neill reached based three times as the clean-up hitter, and Henderson led the offense with a 4-for-4 game that included a double, a home run, and two runs scored. His OPS is now .705, the highest it has been since July 4th.
The other headline from this game was the return of Chris Bassitt from the IL. The veteran looked pretty good, battling through 5.1 innings while giving up two runs on five hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. That’s the sort of performance the O’s need out of the fifth spot in the rotation, and it’s what they weren’t getting from Dean Kremer prior to his trade to the Twins.
The only real negative from the game was the ninth inning. That’s when Yennier Cano got knocked around and was unable to even finish the frame. He entered with a four-run lead and left after allowing three runs and putting the tying run on second base. Cam Sanders came on to save the day, and he did so with one pitch that Ryan Vilade hit to left field for the final out of the game.
Against all odds, the Orioles find themselves within reach of a wild card spot heading into the final 40 games of the season. Given how poor this team has played at times, that is a minor miracle. It’s also a reflection of just how bad the AL is this season.
A win today, along with some helpful results elsewhere, would mean the O’s are tied for that final wild card spot by day’s end. Kyle Bradish will be on the mound, and we should probably expect a repeat (or similar) of the lineup that Albernaz used on Friday to face the left-handed Ian Seymour. First pitch is 6:10.
Links
Welcome to the Tampa Bay Orioles: ‘We just got Orioles 2.0 over here’ | The Baltimore Banner Many of the Rays absolute best players are home grown, but they have certainly done a nice job of filling in some of their key roles on their roster with a few faces that are familiar to the Camden Yards faithful. That feels like something the front office in Baltimore should think about for a while.
The new ‘right-handed Schwarber’? Alonso hits leadoff for 1st time | Orioles.com The Orioles lineup has been stagnant for far too long. They were well past due on a shake up. Is batting Pete Alonso at lead off weird? Absolutely. It’s also worth trying to see if it’s any better than what they have been running out there for most of the season.
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko Plenty of notes about tonight’s Rays starter, Seymour, as well as some quote from Albernaz about the lineup construction.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Jacob Webb turns 33 today. He was a solid reliever for the Orioles between the 2023 and ‘24 seasons, compiling a 3.09 ERA over 85 total games in those two seasons. The righty has continued to pitch well since departing, first for the Rangers in 2025 and for the Cubs this season.
Chris Singleton is 54 years old. The outfielder spent the 2002 season in Baltimore, when he was worth 1.8 bWAR with a 90 OPS+.
Jeff Huson turns 62. He was a utility option for the Birds during the 1995 and ‘96 seasons as part of a 12-season MLB career that saw him suit up for seven different clubs.
Tom Dodd is 68 years old. He played in eight MLB games, all of which came with the 1986 Orioles.
This day in O’s history
1979 – Eddie Murray, normally known for his power rather than speed, steals home in the 12th inning to give the O’s and pitcher Mike Flanagan a 2-1 win over the White Sox.
1993 – The Orioles acquired third baseman Mike Pagliarulo from the Twins in exchange for pitcher Erik Schullstrom.
1996 – On their way to an 18-5 win over the Athletics, the Orioles smack five home runs and score 15 times in the final three innings of a game. Chris Hoiles leads the way with two homers while Bobby Bonilla drives in five runs.
2007 – The Orioles cough up a game-tying three-run homer to Shelley Duncan in the bottom of the ninth inning, but rebound in the 10th to score three times against Mariano Rivera for a 6-3 win.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 11: Willy Adames #2 of the San Francisco Giants throws Powerade on Bryce Eldridge #8 of the San Francisco Giants after a win at Oracle Park on August 11, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants have 40 games remaining. In all likelihood, they’re going to lose most of those games. They’ve been a bad team all year, and then they went and traded a significant chunk of their talent at the deadline (as they should have, I might add). As such, the Giants have gone a meek 3-7 since trading Luis Arráez, Robbie Ray, Heliot Ramos, Tyler Mahle, Erik Miller, and Caleb Kilian, despite seven of those games being at home.
That ain’t gonna change.
Over the next 40 games, the Giants are likely to pitch poorly, hit poorly, and defend poorly. They might even find a few more ways to embarrass themselves beyond the standard being bad at baseball stuff.
Yet during Friday’s feckless loss to the equally miserable Colorado Rockies, there was a moment that got me thinking. It came a few seconds after Bryce Eldridge absolutely annihilated a baseball — off a lefty, no less — for one of the most mesmerizing home runs of the season. Here, let’s watch it together.
After that home run, I checked in on the Giants chatter on Bluesky, and I saw a common refrain. Different users were posting different iterations of the same thought: this is why I’ll keep watching the Giants this year.
Eldridge mashing dingers and (hopefully) further developing into a face of the franchise is one of the main reasons to watch the Giants, but it’s not the only one.
There will be milestones, such as on Friday, when Trent Harris recorded his first career strikeout; likely later today we’ll see Turner Hill make his MLB debut. It will be the 10th MLB debut this season for a Giants player, and almost surely not the last.
There will be battles for future roles. Can Hill, Jonah Cox, or Drew Gilbert make a clear case to be the starting center fielder next year? Can Victor Bericoto (or perhaps Parks Harber, Bo Davidson, or Scott Bandura) emerge as the everyday left fielder? Will Blade Tidwell or Carson Whisenhunt, who have cemented their spots as starters in 2026, cement those same roles for 2027? Can anyone pitch in relief?
There will be fun moments and highlight plays and, above all else, some final games for Mike Krukow to broadcast.
The boxing world was in mourning Friday following the death of Puerto Rican fighter Prichard Colón at the age of 33, 11 years after he sustained brain damage in the only defeat of his professional career.
Colón’s death was confirmed in statements by the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Organization late Thursday.
It's become a bucket-list destination for baseball fans — especially since the opening of Volunteer Stadium in 2001, when the tournament expanded — offering a chance to watch 11- and 12-year-olds from around the world become the biggest stars in town, drawing crowds that fill up stands and the berm.
But for those who can't make the trek to the small Western Pennsylvania town, the voices behind ESPN's broadcast of the tournament become synonymous with the experience each August. For the last two decades, that has been Karl Ravech.
Ravech, an ESPN mainstay since 1993 and the longtime lead play-by-play voice of the network's baseball coverage, was among the latest round of layoffs at The Worldwide Leader in Sports. So, with that said, will Ravech still be behind the microphone when this year's tournament picks up on Wednesday and Thursday?
Here's what to know:
Is Karl Ravech calling Little League World Series games despite ESPN layoff?
Yes, Ravech will be in the booth in Williamsport calling the Little League World Series over the next few weeks. Despite being laid off by ESPN, Ravech was given the option to call the Little League World Series — and a select number of MLB games — a person with knowledge of his status with the network told USA TODAY Sports. That person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of his contract publicly.
Ravech himself posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 7 about ESPN's coverage of the LLWS.
"It is my favorite time of the year. @LittleLeague baseball is back and all over the ESPN app. Check out the amazing, fun action as we work toward Williamsport and the Little League World Series beginning Wednesday, August 19th," Ravech wrote.
It is my favorite time of the year. @LittleLeague baseball is back and all over the ESPN app. Check out the amazing, fun action as we work toward Williamsport and the Little League World Series beginning Wednesday August 19th.
How many Little League World Series has Karl Ravech called on ESPN?
According to his ESPN profile page, Ravech has called Little League World Series games since 2006. He expanded his Williamsport responsibilities in 2011 by adding the Little League World Series championship games, and he has even hosted ESPN’s Baseball Tonight from the event.
In recent years, Ravech has called the entirety of pool play in the United States bracket, as Mike Monaco has served as the play-by-play announcer for the International bracket.
"And then later that night we ended up going on the ESPN Baseball Tonight set and had a microphone on my face. The whole thing was just wild."
Was Karl Ravech laid off at ESPN?
Yes, Ravech was let go by ESPN on Tuesday, July 21, as part of the network's round of layoffs, two people close to the situation confirmed to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on personnel decisions.
There’s not a more beautiful view in baseball than PNC Park in Pittsburgh, no better garlic fries than those at Oracle Park in San Francisco, or beer choices than T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
The most dedicated and diehard fans can be found at Busch Stadium in St. Louis or Fenway Park in Boston.
And if you want to harass the opposition, or even boo the hometown team, you hit Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
We’re here to provide you with the top 10 ballparks in Major League Baseball:
1. Fenway Park, Boston
No ballpark in America has the romantic feel or the unique quirks of Fenway Park, from the Green Monster to to Pesky's Pole. It’s not a baseball game, but a religious experience watching games at Fenway.
2. Wrigley Field, Chicago
There’s not a more beautiful sight than walking into the ballpark and taking your first look at that beautiful green grass, the ivy on the walls and the iconic scoreboard in center field. Taking in a Friday afternoon game, hitting Murphy Bleachers afterwards, and enjoying the Chicago nightlife is utopia for any baseball fan.
3. PNC Park, Pittsburgh
The most gorgeous ballpark in America. Forget the game on the field. You want to be sitting in the upper deck taking in the view of the Clemente Bridge, the Pittsburgh skyline and the Allegheny River. It’s magnificent.
4. Target Field, Minneapolis
This may be the most impressive urban design in baseball on its downtown eight-acre site with freeways and trains outside the park, and warehouses to the left. It also has an ultra-modern look inside, with a 360-degree open concourse, that celebrates the club's glorious history. Its nod to the retro look is the iconic neon Minnie and Paul home-run sign featuring two ballplayers shaking hands over the Mississippi River representing the Twin Cities.
5. Petco Park, San Diego
This gorgeous park doesn’t quite have the stunning views as Pittsburgh or San Francisco, but it’s pretty darn close. The architecture is beautiful and the old Western Metal Company warehouse in left-field gives it a retro look. It also happens to be located in the heart of the lively Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego.
6. Oracle Park, San Francisco
This ballpark has the second-best view in baseball behind PNC Park with its bay backdrop and splash-down hits in McCovey Cove, but only if you happen to sit in the upper deck. The park is already showing its age and its concourses are narrow and cramped, making it difficult to move around, with the Giants already out-growing the place and badly needing more space.
7. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
This is the most serene setting in baseball, nestled into the hillside of Chavez Ravine. It has a view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield, and downtown Los Angeles behind home plate. It’s hard to believe it was built in 1962 and even though it holds 56,000 fans, it still feels intimate.
8. Coors Field, Denver
The team may stink but the ballpark is so beautiful and the vibe is so cool that it’s become a destination on its own. There’s a purple row of seats signifying the mile-high altitude, and the bullpen could be mistaken for a forest with its trees and running stream. The right-field upper-deck is the hottest bar in Denver.
9. Camden Yards, Baltimore
Meet the godfather, with its famous B&O Warehouse. This is the original retro-classic ballpark that not only dramatically influenced the look of new stadiums, but changed the fabric of some major cities. Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco and San Diego followed its lead and built downtown ballparks that completely invigorated growth.
10. T-Mobile Park, Seattle
This ballpark fits perfectly in the Northwest with the nearby mountains, skyline and water. It features an “umbrella-style" retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park, only stopping the rain, while enabling fans to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
While the Philadelphia Flyers have failed to address their need for talented young centers to this point in the offseason, they still have plenty of options available to them if they choose to try again.
The Leo Carlsson offer sheet was a strong indicator of what the Flyers are looking for and ultimately want to do at the position. Carlsson, 21, is already virtually a point-per-game player, and would have easily scored more than 30 goals and 70 points had he played in more than 70 regular season games for Anaheim last year.
It goes almost without saying, though, that those kinds of players don't grow on trees, and the Flyers clearly aren't as convinced that Columbus's Adam Fantilli is in the same tier, because he's eligible to sign and receive an offer sheet, too.
No dice in free agency, no dice in the draft, and no dice with the offer sheet leaves the Flyers with one avenue left worth exploring, and that's the trade market.
Out in the West, the Flyers have a trade target to consider on the San Jose Sharks.
By now, we all know of the Macklin Celebrinis, Will Smiths, and Michael Misas of the world, and the Sharks still have a capable veteran at the position in Alex Wennberg as well.
With their top three centers, and top-nine in general, more or less set, it's becoming harder and harder to envision a future for Filip Bystedt, a 22-year-old center who was the 27th overall pick back in 2022.
The 6-foot-4 Swede broke out in a major way last season, erupting for 22 goals, 38 assists, and 60 points in 65 games for the AHL San Jose Barracuda,
Despite the breakout, Bystedt is heading into a contract year, and in that timeframe, it would be difficult to imagine a world where he is able to supplant someone like Wennberg, given his inexperience and defensive weaknesses, and wrest a top-nine role away; he doesn't have the skillset required of a fourth-line player.
Sharks Hockey Digest beat reporter Max Miller did not have Bystedt in his top-10 Sharks prospects heading into training camp, with Cam Lund, another prospect on the bubble, ranking ahead of the honorable mention.
With the Flyers, though, Bystedt would have more than enough runway to establish himself as an NHL player and have the time he needs to improve his offensive and defensive reads.
For his size, Bystedt is a good enough skater, and he's equally skilled as a passer and shooter.
In the AHL, the former first-round pick was able to play a more complementary role as a facilitator for skilled wingers such as Quentin Musty and Igor Chernyshov, and the Flyers have more than enough pieces on the flanks in their cupboard to recreate that environment for Bystedt at the NHL level.
As for potential trade compensation, it's harder to say, since the Sharks already added Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba, and Darnell Nurse to address a weak defense that lacked NHL-caliber players.
One trade comparable worth considering, however, is the Amadeus Lombardi trade from the end of June. The 23-year-old restricted free agent was traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick (108th overall).
Lombardi has scored 82 points in his last 91 AHL games and is in need of an NHL opportunity, similarly to Bystedt, who just enjoyed a breakout of his own.
Of course, a trade would have to be suitable for both sides, but there is at least a fit on paper, especially from the Flyers' side of things.
If it weren’t for Kirby Dach, much more would have been written about Alex Newhook being prone to injury. The speedy winger has now played three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and was dressed for 179 games out of a possible 246, meaning he featured in only 73% of the Habs’ games; that’s more than Dach’s 47%, but that’s not ideal. In his 179 games, he scored 85 points, a 0.47 point-per-game average. In the playoffs, he put up two points in five games in 2025, but this past season, he managed to score 10 points in 19 games, for a .53 PPG average. Furthermore, he scored both the Canadiens’ series-clinching goals in games 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres.
Those playoffs were an excellent springboard for Newhook, who’s now entering the last year of the four-year deal he signed with the Habs when he was acquired in a deal with the Colorado Avalanche. As things stand, it looks highly likely that he will be able to resume his role on the Canadiens’ second line alongside Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen. In an ideal world, Kent Hughes would have liked to get some reinforcements for his top six, either via trade or in the person of Michael Hage, but at this stage, all signs point to the Canadiens running it back with the same squad, minus Brendan Gallagher.
Of course, nothing is decided until training camp. If someone outperforms Newhook, he could find himself down in the bottom six, but his performance last season before suffering a fractured ankle, coupled with his playoff production, certainly gives him a head start over a player like Dach, who had to settle for a one-year, $3.6 M contract after being offered a two-way qualifying offer.
Dach might have been a third overall pick by the Chicago Blackhawks, but so far, Newhook has had a much bigger impact on the Canadiens. The speed he brings to the table definitely makes him a good candidate to play alongside Demidov; he can get where the Russian winger will send the puck in a hurry, and he has more of a scoring touch than Jake Evans, for instance, who skated on the second line during the playoffs while Kapanen was a healthy scratch.
So far, Newhook has suffered two serious injuries, a high-ankle sprain in November 2023 and the above-mentioned ankle fracture in November 2025. When he did stay healthy in the 2024-25 season, he put up 26 points in 82 games; he nearly tied that production last season with 25 points, but in just 42 games. Fresh off a confidence-building performance in the playoffs and playing for a new contract, the odds are that Newhook will have the best season of his career, especially if he enjoys some stability when it comes to his linemates.
A full season riding shotgun with Demidov could really unlock Newhook’s potential to the fullest. If he stays healthy and remains in the top six, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Newfoundland native reach the 45- or even the 50-point mark, just at the right time to prove to the Habs that he deserves a new contract. On a young and inexperienced Canadiens’ team, Newhook brings a lot of playoff experience; after all, he did win the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in his rookie season.
The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all under 23. Therefore, players such as William Villeneuve, Artur Akhtyamov and Easton Cowan, among others, won't feature in this ranking for either or both of those particular reasons.
In terms of where these players fall in the rankings, it is a mix of their ceiling and potential, as well as how they've performed in the past year with their respective clubs.
Hopkins was selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2025 NHL draft with pick No. 86. He is an OHL veteran to this point in his young career, featuring in 182 regular-season games, all before turning 20 years old. His time in the Ontario League is made up of parts of three years with the Kingston Frontenacs and about half of a season with the Guelph Storm, which took him to the end of the 2025-26 campaign following a trade from Kingston to Guelph.
The 2007-born center has proven to be rather consistent over the past two seasons. With Kingston in 2024-25, Hopkins scored 20 goals and 51 points in 67 games.
This past year, he stepped up in the goals department, recording 25 markers and 50 points in far fewer games, making 56 regular-season appearances. Hopkins scored an additional two goals in Guelph's four post-season games before getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Windsor Spitfires. He was also an alternate captain for both of the teams he represented in 2025-26.
Though his campaign in the OHL ended on a very sour note, Hopkins is a winner with the national team. The Campbellville, Ont.-born player hasn't represented Team Canada in any major tournaments this past year, but was a part of two championships in 2024-25.
Canada won gold at the 2024 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, with Hopkins registering one assist in five games at that tournament. They also won the IIHF 2025 U-18 World Championship that season, dismantling Sweden in the gold medal game 7-0. Hopkins notched one assist in six games, which game in the final.
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On Saturday, August 8th, the Spurs hosted the fifth annual Back to School Bash. The event supported over 3,000 local students as they prepared for the 2026-2027 school year with school supplies, haircuts, and a variety of health screenings as well as information booths for extracurricular activities and support services.
Spurs Sports and Entertainment shared some images from the event.
Jayden Quaintance, Maliq Brown, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie all helped greet the students and hand out supplies including Spurs notebooks and water bottles.
While Victor Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes are halfway across the world working out with the French Rigby Team, the newest members of the Spurs are brightening the day and setting a tone for local youngsters as the new school year approaches.
It’s been a busy summer for the Spurs draftees, and it is about to get busier. The Spurs schedule has been released and preseason is just two months away.
The SS&E Back to School Bash has drawn 17,000-plus attendees over its five years. Over the past two, the addition of screenings has reached 2,500 patrons while distributing an excess of 23,000 school supplies.
Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
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DYERSVILLE, IOWA - AUGUST 13: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Philadelphia Phillies runs the bases after hitting a fourth inning home run against the Minnesota Twins at Field of Dreams on August 13, 2026 in Dyersville, Iowa. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Did you know the duo who appear in the Twins’ logo are known as Minnie and Paul? News you can use.
Actually, you probably can’t use that, outside of Minnesota sports trivia nights. But hey, you never know.
