"This is as ugly as it gets." That's how Red Sox beat writer Evan Drellich described Boston fans' treatment of Orioles OF Adam Jones last night. According to Jones and team officials, a number of fans were ejected for racist behavior toward Jones. Boston has a long history of racism, going back to Bill Russell's playing days—he once called the city a "flea market of racism." Often sports provide an escape from worrisome cultural issues, but they can also serve as a spotlight to highlight social ills. Let's hope this story leads to increased dialogue and action regarding race relations in baseball and America.
We've discussed MLB's new "Catch Probability" (CP) fielding stat on the podcast a few times. Essentially, the stat uses Statcast data to determine the likelihood of an outfielder catching a fly ball. One month into the season, Twins RF Max Kepler tops the list with a diving catch of a line drive that generated a 6% CP.
Mets ace Noah Syndergaard partially tore his lat in his start on Sunday, meaning he'll be on the shelf for several weeks—maybe months. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes that it was a self-induced injury.