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Yesterday I got to watch my first televised A’s game of 2026! Thank you MLB.TV’s free game of the day special as well as the fine commentators behind the mic for the San Diego Padres. I mean, imagine getting to watch your favorite team play a spring training game? Imagine getting to know your rising prospects with a little sneak peak of how the fan favorites are fairing? What a concept! Such a swing and miss for the green and gold, not going all in on something like this – – especially with the team being in the middle of a transition period. We should be trying to reach as many people as possible here. Plus the A’s have the best spring training uniforms BY FAR. No debate whatsoever. Now I’m sure there’s some broadcasting rights reason why Chris Caray isn’t on this ish day in and day out but I don’t care. Figure it out.

Side note: why is it every time they show footage of an A’s spring training game on these SB nation posts, it’s a highlight in favor of the other team? I swear, for the past week or so I have seen nothing but Edward Quero’s two run single on repeat! Now, initially I thought this was due to a limited sample size of 2026 baseball content, but they’ve already got Jase Bowen’s homer from yesterday up there above a post, despite their being plenty of great A’s clips to pick from now.

SB Nation, what are we doing? Give us a little Sody pop!

Did anyone see the announcement regarding the Spring Breakout Tournament they’ll be hosting next year? Finally! I’ve been saying this for years – – there is no reason for MLB not be incentivizing fans to watch spring training baseball. It’s a cash cow waiting to happen. Starting with the Spring Breakout Tournament is smart if they treat it like NBA’s summer league – – which is some of the most fun you’ll have watching anything NBA-related these days. What the Summer League does so well is capture the spirit of college basketball, all while slapping NBA team logos all over the whole operation. I see a similar thing happening here with the Spring Breakout, as you’ll get a bunch of ball players looking to get their licks in by whatever means possible, with most of them being probably fresh off the heels of a college career. All this spells success to me. Last year’s little showcase against the Padres was very fun to watch. Look at some of these players who were featured:

Nick Kurtz

Luis Morales

Gunnar Hoglund

Max Muncy

Denzel Clarke

All these dudes would be on the A’s by the end of the 2025 season. Not to mention Tommy “Tanks” White who hit an opposite field cranker in the third inning. Also playing for the Padres Spring Breakout club was our new shiny player of affection Leo De Vries (who went 2-4 against his former club today).

In retrospect, the whole thing feels like that show Freaks and Geeks where you look back at the cast and go “Damn, all these people were in this?” Giving these young players a tournament-style opportunity to make a name for themselves this early on is like the second season of Freaks and Geeks we never got. One and done is not enough! Let them run it back!

I really want to get into today’s exhibition against Team Brazil, but I’m also doing the game threads AND the recap. Consider this me getting loose in the pen in between innings, waiting to see if the starting pitcher is going to get through the inning or not.

Stay tuned. I’ll see you all in a couple of hours.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s have best ABS challenge success rates so far this spring
• A’s matchup with Padres a homecoming for No. 1 prospect De Vries
• Young, talented Athletics need veterans to show the way
• Athletics coaching staff enthusiastic about Bolte’s pathway to Majors
• A’s to follow casinos’ playbook on how to treat Las Vegas season ticket holders
• Where Does Tommy White Fit in the A’s Mix at Third Base?
• Only a little polish needed before Jump could be ready for The Show
• Butler ramps up recovery efforts, eyes mid-Spring Training return
• Why are A’s using personal seat licenses for Las Vegas stadium?
• Circa Las Vegas bringing in A’s legend for baseball opening day festitivies
• A’s spending on $2B Vegas stadium passes $300m mark, is Fisher’s folly really happening?
• Bob Melvin opens up: A Giants firing, an A’s hiring, and what comes next
• See you later, soda: A’s Perkins ditches sugar for science
• Can The A’s Young Core Turn Defense Into a Strength?
• Pesky Drawback Of “Closer By Committee” (It Never Really Works)
• “Relievers Are Volatile”… But Why?
• Are The Final Two Rotation Spots Really Up For Grabs?

MLB News and Interest:

• Mark DeRosa sets USA rotation for WBC with Logan Webb starting G1
• Tigers Announce Launch Of Detroit SportsNet
• Padres sign Verdugo to Minors deal, bolster outfield depth
• Here are the World Baseball Classic Power Rankings March 1st, 2026
• Is Salt Lake City emerging as a leader contender for MLB expansion?
• Ex-MLB pitcher from San Francisco sentenced for murder
• Fairbanks is Marlins’ new go-to for pop culture recs
• Way-too-early predications for 2026 All-Star Game starters
• Injuries: Lindor, Yanks, Twins, Kelly, Woodruff, Basallo
• U.S. denies visas for 8 in Cuba’s WBC delegation
• What does Scherzer’s return mean for Jays’ packed rotation?
• Comparing the industry’s 2026 Top 100 prospects lists
• CC Sabathia to have number retired by Yankees
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Cooking with GAS

People forget that 65% of West Sacramento’s population is Brazilian.

Really hope a lockout doesn’t spoil this amazing concept…

I have to admit this stadium design is kind’ve growing on me. I know! Hating everything Las Vegas A’s is en vogue but I can’t help it! The armadillo roof thing is quirky and I’m into it. The whole thing will without a doubt be one of a kind – – for better and for worse

Has there ever been a more reluctant A’s legend than Jed “Two Flaps” Lowrie??

Josiah Gray made his long awaited return to action after missing most of the last two seasons due to Tommy John Surgery. He was solid, but not spectacular in his return. Gray went 1.2 innings, but he would have completed two if not for a dropped third strike. His stuff was crisp, especially in the first inning.

Like a lot of Nationals pitchers, Gray is really backing off his fastball usage. This is not very surprising for him because we saw him moving away from his heater back in 2023 when we saw him last. Gray’s fastball has always been his achilles heel, as it has gotten crushed when hitters make contact. He only threw 9 fastballs in 38 pitches yesterday.

I do not think that will be an outlier in terms of usage for Gray. He has a few different breaking ball shapes he can throw. Yesterday, Gray’s two most used pitches were his slider and curveball. He also mixed in a sweeper a few times. There are other breaking ball shapes we know he can throw too. Back in 2023, he threw a cutter 18% of the time, so maybe that could be a pitch he brings into the fold as well.

The velocity was a bit of a mixed bag, which is not overly surprising. In the first inning, Gray was sitting 94 on his fastball, which really excited me. That is harder than he was throwing in 2023. However, the velocity was down in the 91-92 range in his second inning of work. 

He does not really rely on his fastball, so that is not the end of the world. However, secondary pitches are also helped by power and having to respect the fastball. Those secondary pitches were pretty sharp for Gray yesterday. I really loved how he used his curveball as a weapon against lefties. Against left handers, he threw the pitch 61% of the time. Righties saw a heavy dose of sliders.

The grades of those secondary pitches were strong, at least according to the Pitch Profiler model. All of Gray’s breaking balls graded out as above average according to their model. The fastball was a bit below average, which is not much of a surprise.

However, there was another model by TJ Stats that was more bearish on Gray’s stuff. All four of Gray’s pitches graded out as below average. Thomas Nestico, the founder of TJ Stats pointed out that Gray’s low release height may help the stuff play up. It is interesting to see how different models can see pitchers’ stuff slightly differently.

That is an example of why you can’t just blindly trust these models. They are great resources, but you have to look at the full picture. If a pitcher with great Stuff+ numbers gets lit up, you have to ask why that could be. Also, pitchers like Ranger Suarez can overperform models due to command and deception.

While that is an interesting side bar, the main thing about yesterday is that Josiah Gray was healthy and throwing the ball well. He has missed a lot of time, so hopefully as he gets more innings under his belt, he can sustain that velocity he showed in the first inning.

Overall, he made a strong first impression in his battle to win a rotation spot. If he continues to pitch like this, he should grab a spot in the Nats rotation. He has more interesting traits than the likes of Mitchell Parker and Andrew Alvarez. I also think Brad Lord’s best role is in the bullpen, so Gray winning a spot could help with that.

It is great to see Josiah Gray healthy. Back in 2023, I was a bit of a skeptic. I did not think his results were sustainable. However, after last season, I would kill for a reliable mid to back of the rotation starter who can give you league average production. That is what I think Josiah Gray could provide for the Nats.

Dodgers pitcher Gavin Stone impressed in his first Cactus League start last Tuesday in his one inning, his first game in a year and a half after right shoulder surgery. But any plans for a potential spot on the opening day roster were scuttled when Stone experienced soreness in that shoulder after a bullpen session, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Monday in Scottsdale.

Sonja Chen at MLB.com has more on Monday’s news of Stone’s injury.

Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register has more on just how serious Stone’s surgery was in October 2024:

He didn’t realize how bad things were.

“I didn’t,” he admitted earlier this spring. “Honestly, Arizona was my last outing and I felt pretty good. It would get tired in between innings but it felt good. I never really considered that it would be as bad as it was. When I got the MRI back, it was kind of a shock. But (Dr. Neal) ElAttrache does a great job. I’m very thankful for all he did.”

ElAttrache did a lot. He had to repair the labrum, rotator cuff and shoulder capsule.

This is a setback for Stone, but expecting him to have been ready for opening day doesn’t necessarily fit with how the Dodgers have handled these types of rehab plans for starting pitchers in recent years.

Walker Buehler had his second Tommy John surgery in August 2022 and made his way into starting a rehab assignment in late 2023, but he didn’t ultimately return to pitch for the Dodgers until May 6, 2024. Tony Gonsolin had Tommy John surgery in September 2023 and didn’t start for the Dodgers until April 30, 2025, with that return interrupted by a back injury during spring.

River Ryan is in a similar spot this spring, after his Tommy John surgery from September 2024 that wiped out all of his 2025 season. Ryan pitched a scoreless inning last Wednesday, with an even longer layoff between games than Stone. Roberts that day talked about Ryan like he was someone who wasn’t going to be rushed back into the rotation:

“I thought he was overthrowing,” Roberts said. “I haven’t seen that all spring. It’s probably just getting into live competition. I thought he was a little too bullish on the fastball, but he was getting behind in the first inning.”

With Blake Snell also out for opening day as he rests his shoulder this spring, the options for the Dodgers’ opening day rotation are thinning.

Yoshinbobu Yamamoto was up to three innings before leaving for the World Baseball Classic. Tyler Glasnow pitched one batter into the third inning in his Cactus League debut last Thursday and figures to start again this week. Shohei Ohtani pitched two simulated innings on the backfields on February 22 before leaving for Tokyo, and though he won’t pitch in the WBC will continue to throw on the side to continue his build-up.

Roki Sasaki is still working through some things, including the addition of a few new pitches into his repertoire. His second start comes Tuesday against the Guardians.

Emmet Sheehan figured to have an inside track to a rotation spot, but hasn’t gotten into a Cactus League game yet as he was slowed by the flu. But if he starts at some point this week, there’s still time for four starts to build up toward the regular season.

Justin Wrobleski has been stretched out to two innings now and is in a good spot, looking to build on his strong end to last season.

The other starting pitcher on the 40-man roster is Landon Knack, and among the non-roster invitees there is veteran Cole Irvin, who pitched in the KBO last year and has been stretched out to two innings so far this spring.

Today, we have a look at the five series the Cubs will play against AL East clubs this year. One of those series will be the last three games of the regular season!

Baltimore Orioles

Key departures: Scott Blewett, Corbin Martin, Gary Sanchez, Tomoyuki Sugano, Dylan Carlson, Alex Jackson, Grayson Rodriguez

Key arrivals: Pete Alonso, Bryan Ramos, Blaze Alexander, Chris Bassitt, Jackson Kowar, Shane Baz, Ryan Helsley, Taylor Ward

The O’s had made the postseason two years in a row in 2023-24 and seemed primed for another playoff year in 2025 and then… klunk. On May 28 they were 19-36 and had been outscored 310-213. Yikes.

They were better after that, going 56-51 the rest of the way, but the damage had been done. A lot of this was a down year from catcher Adley Rutschman, who missed a lot of time with two oblique injuries. The O’s had almost no power — no one hit more than 17 home runs and the pitching was also bad, with the team allowing the sixth-most runs.

The power outage has been presumably addressed by the signing of Alonso and acquisition of Ward by trade. They are counting on Shane Baz to upgrade their rotation and Ryan Helsley should be fine at closer. Former Cub Andrew Kittredge, an Oriole until the Cubs got him last year, returns to Baltimore.

This is a tough division and even an improved Orioles team will have trouble competing.

At Baltimore: July 7-8-9

SB Nation Orioles site:Camden Chat

Boston Red Sox

Key departures: Steven Matz, Dustin May, Rob Refsnyder, Alex Bregman, Lucas Giolito, Liam Hendriks, John Brebbia, Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Winckowski, Vaughn Grissom, Hunter Dobbins

Key arrivals: Johan Oviedo, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Ranger Suárez, Matt Thaiss, Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Brendan Rodgers, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

The Red Sox lost a wild-card series to the Yankees last year after an 89-win season. They lost Bregman to the Cubs, and so set out to upgrade their offense in another way, trading for former Cub Contreras. They also solidified their rotation with Gray, Oviedo and Suárez, and Durbin will take over third base from Bregman.

The Red Sox have made the postseason just twice since their 2018 World Series win and in this division, it might be tough to repeat even a wild-card spot.

At Boston: Sept. 25-26-27

SB Nation Red Sox site:Over The Monster

New York Yankees

Key departures: Austin Slater, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams, Jonathan Loaisiga, Scott Effross, Mark Leiter Jr.

Key arrivals: Paul DeJong, Angel Chivilli, Osvaldo Bido, Rafael Montero, Ryan Weathers

Take a look at those lists above. When I was going through the Yankees transactions list for making those two groups, I kept saying, “Nope, signed him back, nope, signed him back…”

The Yankees are running back most of their 2025 season, then. Quite a number of guys who were Yankees free agents, including Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham and Amed Rosario, will all be back. The biggest loss for them is probably Devin Williams, who didn’t turn into the closer they hoped he would be. The Yankees acquired David Bednar from the Pirates last year and he’ll close for them.

They’ll have the same rotation with the addition of Ryan Weathers, acquired by trade for several minor leaguers. That includes Cam Schlittler, whose last name has already vexed a number of broadcasters. (And he’s really good, too.)

Shortstop Anthony Volpe, who had a bad year in 2025 largely due to a torn labrum, is expected back, but not for Opening Day.

I had to laugh when I read this Giancarlo Stanton quote:

And, of course, there’s Aaron Judge, one of the best hitters on the planet.

At Wrigley Field: July 31-Aug. 1-2

SB Nation Yankees site:Pinstripe Alley

Tampa Bay Rays

Key departures: Shane Baz, Pete Fairbanks, Bob Seymour, Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe,

Key arrivals: Jake Fraley, Steven Wilson, Jake Woodford, Cedric Mullins, Steven Matz, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Cam Booser, Ben Williamson, Nick Martinez, Gavin Lux

People say, “The Rays always seem to be competitive,” but now they’ve missed the postseason two years in a row after five straight seasons in October baseball, including a 100-win season in 2021.

They’re revamping their rotation with the additions of Matz and Martinez, but both of those guys are in their mid-30s and it’s a reasonable question to ask how much they have left.

Their long-time closer, Fairbanks, headed cross-state to the Marlins and at this time the Rays haven’t designated a closer.

Lux was once a top Dodgers prospect, but he’s never quite fulfilled that, in part due to injuries. Perhaps he can recapture something in Tampa. Mullins is another reclamation project for the Rays.

Junior Caminero had a great under-the-radar year in 2025. Did you know he hit 45 home runs and had a 4.4 bWAR season? At age 21? Only Judge and Cal Raleigh hit more homers among AL players.

In short: They have good management, but at a certain point the players have to produce. They will be moving back into the repaired Tropicana Field this year after a year of playing in the Yankees’ spring park, Steinbrenner Field. That should help. In fact, the Cubs will be there for the grand re-opening.

At Tampa: April 6-7-8 (includes the Rays home opener April 6)

SB Nation Rays site:DRays Bay

Toronto Blue Jays

Key departures: Chris Bassitt, Bo Bichette, Ryan Borucki, Seranthony Dominguez, Ty France, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Justin Bruihl, Joey Loperfido

Key arrivals: Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers, Jorge Alcala, Josh Winckowski, Jesse Hahn, Jesús Sánchez, Max Scherzer

2025 was “oh-so-close” for the Jays in several ways.

They won the AL East on a tiebreaker; maybe that was the difference to getting to the World Series, or not.

Then they lost the Series to the Dodgers in agonizing fashion, on a bad baserunning play and a miracle defensive catch.

It’ll take work for the Jays to get back there, but they seem to have the team to do it. The only major missing piece is Bichette, who signed with the Mets. Andrés Gimenez, a capable player if not as good a hitter, takes over at shortstop.

The rest of the offense is back. They scored 798 runs in 2025, fourth in MLB (and five more runs than the Cubs did). The starting rotation has been improved by the addition of Cease. Vladdy Jr. had something of a “down” year in 2025, at least from his previous standards. He turns 27 in a couple of weeks. If he returns to that previousl level the Jays could be a real wrecking crew this year. It should be another good Yankees/Jays battle at the top of the AL East.

At Wrigley Field: June 19-20-21

SB Nation Blue Jays site:Bluebird Banter

Outfielder Brett Callahan hasn’t gotten much national notice, and isn’t yet tracking like a future major leaguer. However, his potential makes him quite interesting, and he’s already making noise in spring camp. If there’s a hitter in the Tigers’ system who could follow Kerry Carpenter’s path as an unheralded left-handed college outfielder who ends up a power hitting force in right field, Callahan is that guy. You may have already noticed him this spring because he’s cranked a pair of 400+ foot homers in just four total plate appearances in Grapefruit League action for the Tigers.

The 24-year-old outfielder was the Tigers’ 13th round pick in the 2023 draft out of St. Joseph’s College near Philadelphia. The Tigers have focused their bonus pool money on prep talent and top college picks early in the draft, but they’ve had a lot of success already hunting undervalued talent at smaller colleges for not much more than the minimum bonus. Callahan may be next. He flew under the radar in the draft coming from a small school, and the Tigers signed him for $197,500. He’s stayed under the radar in part because he’s been banged up quite a bit in his first two full seasons as a pro. Even now, he’s not ranked on national sites’ lists of Tigers’ prospects.

Callahan had two short stints on the injured list in 2024, and then missed time in May and June last year with what looked like a quad or hamstring strain suffered running the bases. He’s also dealt with a dislocated finger that caused him some trouble although he didn’t miss much time with it. As a result he’s only played 133 games total over the past two seasons, and even when he’s been on the field he’s played through some minor injuries.

The other reason he’s gotten no national attention is his swinging strike rate and modest walk rates. He only struck out 22.2 percent of the time with High-A West Michigan in 55 games last season. However, his 16 percent swinging strike rate is a bit gruesome. Callahan is a really aggressive hitter and swings a lot, and too often he’s been willing to expand the zone, even early in counts, rather than waiting on something he can drive. However, when he does get a good pitch to hit, he tends to do damage.

The reason I’ve remained intrigued is that his smooth, compact swing has natural loft and he already hits a pretty good amount of fly balls to the pull field. He’s not a big guy at six feet tall and 195 pounds, but he’s solidly built and a good overall athlete with a fair chance to grow into plus raw power. He’s also a pretty solid corner outfielder with a strong, accurate throwing arm. If he can become more disciplined at the plate, he has the batspeed, power, and defensive ability to be a pretty complete power hitting right fielder. The injury troubles have held him back, and a sustained stretch in which to make progress with his approach would really do him right this season.

On Monday in Lakeland, in an 0-2 count, Callahan got a breaking ball down from a reasonably good Braves pitching prospect in Owen Murphy. It was supposed to be a backfoot slider, but he left it just in the corner low and in. Callahan went down to one knee to torch it out to right field for a solo shot. In the ninth inning, he ripped a fourseam fastball 112.2 mph off the bat for a hot one-hopper that went for a fielder’s choice at second base. The plus raw power appears to have arrived.

Like most left-handed power hitters, Callahan likes sinkers and fourseamers down in the zone, and he loves to hunt hanging breaking balls. To keep progressing as he advances to the Double-A level this year, he’ll have to do a better job fighting off the high fastball, which does give him some trouble, and show more patience and discipline. Unlike Kerry Carpenter, Callahan’s upright stance doesn’t involve posting all his weight on his back leg, and he can get caught out in front a fair amount. Better pitchers with good riding fourseamers or quality changeups can give him trouble, and he’ll see much more of that at the Double-A level this season. The injury issues give me hope that he just hasn’t really had a chance to adjust his approach with consistent reps.

Callahan has 25-30 HR upside, in a solid corner outfielder with average speed and a good, accurate arm. He has the athleticism to create good bat angles on a lot of different pitch types in different parts of the strike zone. There’s plenty to like, and now we’re seeing plus or better exit velocities off the bat as well. Still, the challenges for a free swinger say he’s probably not going to put it all together and reach that ceiling. His decision making and overall hitting instincts due need to improve to round out his approach. For now, it’s worth seeing how he develops against upper level pitching. Callahan might just do enough damage to become an intriguing future corner outfield option in 2027 and beyond.

Baseball produces plenty of Hall of Famers whose glory and stat lines fade with time. Sayings, however, tend to stick around, passed down from generation to generation like prized baseball cards.

“Keep your eye on the ball!”

Most fans recognize the phrase. Far fewer know it came from Willie Keeler, a Hall of Fame outfielder and third baseman whose career helped shape how hitting itself was understood long before power numbers or analytics dominated the sport. More than a century later, players still hear the same advice Willie preached shouted from big league stands and youth dugouts alike.

Keeler, one of the earliest stars in New York baseball history, would have celebrated his 154th birthday today.

William Henry Keeler
Born: March 3, 1872 (Brooklyn, NY)
Died: January 1, 1923 (Brooklyn, NY)
Yankees Tenure: 1903–09

Even by Deadball Era standards, Keeler did not look like a baseball legend. Listed at just 5-foot-4 and 140 pounds, he remains one of the smallest everyday players in major league history.

For comparison:

• Eddie Gaedel: 3-foot-7 (shortest player ever to appear in an MLB game)
• Phil Rizzuto: 5-foot-6, 150 pounds
• José Altuve: 5-foot-6, 166 pounds

Keeler was undersized even among baseball’s most famous undersized players.

But while he might have been small, he carried a remarkably big stick, literally. Keeler’s bat reportedly weighed up to 46 ounces. For context, Babe Ruth’s famous bat model weighed about 44.6 ounces. The image of one of the smallest players in baseball history swinging a heavier bat than the Sultan of Swat tells you almost everything you need to know about both the era and Keeler himself. It was simply a different game.

If legend serves correctly, Willie Keeler would have produced one of the most impressive spray charts in baseball history. He approached hitting as geometry rather than force, spraying line drives across the field, dropping bunts with intention, and treating each at-bat like a problem waiting to be solved.

His philosophy eventually became baseball scripture:

“Hit ’em where they ain’t.”

The results backed it up. Keeler finished with a .341 career batting average, 2,932 hits, and 16 seasons batting over .300. Of his 33 career home runs, only three cleared the fence, with most coming the old-fashioned way. Speed, bat control, and precision defined his success. When he retired in 1910, only Cap Anson had collected more hits in major league history.

That success eventually landed Keeler in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s early Hall of Fame voting, becoming part of the fourth induction class in 1939, one of the first groups honored before the Hall even had permanent walls.

Keeler’s most enduring accomplishment arrived in 1897, when he recorded a hit in 44 consecutive games for the old National League iteration of the Baltimore Orioles, made famous by future New York Giants manager John McGraw. For decades, the record felt untouchable. Travel was harsher, playing surfaces inconsistent, and roster stability nearly nonexistent during the Deadball Era. Sustained offensive performance was incredibly difficult, which made Keeler’s streak feel permanent.

It lasted 44 years.

Then, in 1941, Joe DiMaggio stepped to the plate at Yankee Stadium and changed baseball history. DiMaggio’s famous 56-game hitting streak truly began when he surpassed Keeler’s mark at 45 games. While DiMaggio’s run became immortal, it required chasing down a record that had already survived as many years as it was in games.

Entering the upcoming MLB season, the roll call of longest single-season hitting streaks in major league history remains:

• Joe DiMaggio — 56 games (1941)
• Pete Rose — 44 games (1978)
• Willie Keeler — 44 games (1897)

More than 125 years later, Keeler is still tied for the second-longest streak in major league history. That alone speaks to how extraordinary his consistency truly was. The longest active streak belongs to Luis Arraez, who entering the 2026 season carries a 15-game hitting streak. Arraez would need to hit safely for roughly a full calendar month to surpass Keeler and Rose.

Keeler joined the franchise during its transition from the disbanded, early-American League Baltimore Orioles into the New York Highlanders era, before the team officially adopted the Yankees name. Along with Pittsburgh’s Jack Chesbro, he was one of the more higher-profile names to join the nascent squad.

After batting .313 during his inaugural campaign with the Highlanders, his strongest season for the franchise came in 1904, when he hit .343 with a 147 OPS+ and remained among the league’s most reliable offensive players despite entering his thirties — which was considered quite old by the standards of the time. By the time his career ended in 1910, baseball itself was evolving toward a new era, leaving Keeler as a bridge between 19th-century baseball and the modern game that followed.

“Hit ’em where they ain’t” can sound almost humorous today, especially in an age of defensive positioning models and advanced analytics. Yet the principle has never changed. Baseball still rewards awareness, adjustment, and exploiting space on the field, whenever possible. Keeler simply explained the idea generations before technology tried to measure it.

That may ultimately be his greatest legacy. Not just a batting average or a streak, but a philosophy that survived every era that followed. Long before Joe DiMaggio’s elegance or Yogi Berra’s accidental wisdom, Keeler was offering baseball truths simple enough to last forever. In a way, he was Joe and Yogi before there was Joe and Yogi. Long after numbers evolve and records fall, the advice still holds true.

Happy birthday, Willie Keeler.

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

Happy Tuesday! The Mariners are back in action today with Bryan Woo scheduled to start against the Los Angeles Angels at 12:10 PM. The World Baseball Classic exhibition games also continue today, and we will get our first look at the different Mariners players representing their respective countries. Which exhibition game are you most excited to watch today?

In Mariners news…

• Logan Gilbert is highlighted in Michael Rosen’s article for FanGraphs on exciting new pitches from Spring Training.
• RHP Ryan Sloan’s impressive Cactus League debut is just the beginning, writes Mike Vorel at The Seattle Times.
• Top prospect Lazaro Montes reflects on his best moments of the 2025 season.
• Cal Raleigh has suited up for Team USA in preparation for the team’s first exhibition game this afternoon.
• Josh Naylor has been named captain of Team Canada!

Around the league…

• Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Gavin Stone has been shut down after battling shoulder discomfort and is unlikely to be ready by Opening Day.
• World Baseball Classic pool play begins this week! Catch up on key storylines, team previews, and more before the first matchups.
• Team Japan lost their WBC exhibition game against the Orix Buffaloes yesterday by way of a game-ending play at the plate.
• Houston Astros top draft pick Xavier Neyens has found a unique role as the team’s barber.
• The San Diego Padres have shut down catcher Blake Hunt due to an oblique injury, and his exact timeline for return is unknown.
• Toronto Blue Jays RHP Max Scherzer threw a bullpen session in his return to the team yesterday as he enters his age 41 season.
• MLB has announced that Spring Breakout, its prospect showcase event, will be expanded into a tournament in 2027 and 2028.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be rolling out a series of prospect previews for Spring Training. This week we are looking at an up and coming bat: Will Bush

Bush took an unconventional path to professional baseball, spending a year at Tyler Junior College before the Astros selected him in the 16th round of the 2023 draft. The left-handed hitter brings above-average raw power and solid plate discipline to the table. While he has split time between catcher and first base, first may ultimately be his long-term home defensively.

The 21-year-old had a nice 2025 season. He opened the year in High-A, where he posted an .812 OPS with 12 home runs before earning a promotion to Double-A. With the Hooks, he added three more home runs and drew 14 walks in 24 games. Overall, Bush finished with a 121 wRC+, ranking near the top of the Astros’ system.

The Astros really like Bush’s approach and swing decisions. For a bigger power hitter, he has also done a good job keeping his swinging strike percentage (10.5%) down and his contact percentage (73.7%) high. Bush will be 22 in 2026 and has a chance to move up the system.