After conquering London, Yanks bag a Martian

[samhexum]

Well, the largest crowd to see a baseball game in 2019 came out in steamy London (87 degrees) and they got a football score, 17-13, the highest-scoring game this year. The 2000th game between the Yanks & Bosox was their second-highest scoring ever.

 

The Yanks exploded out of the box, knocking out the Sox’ starter after 7 batters. 6-0 Yanks.

 

Then the Red Sox came up.

 

It took them eight batters to return the favor. 6-6.

 

It was the first time in the majors in 30 years that each team had scored at least 6 in the first.

 

The Yanks built it to 17-6, then held on for the win.

 

And, since it’s the 2019 Yankees, of course they suffered another big injury (Luke Voit), a few days after Giancarlo Stanton (who’d been back for 6 games, after missing 2 1/2 months) hurt his knee; he won’t be back until August. So much for having the offense back together.

 

At least by winning 12 of 13, they’re up 7 on Tampa (8 in the loss column) and 10 on Boston (11 in the loss column).

 

Now watch tomorrow be 0-0 after 9 innings. NOT!

[+ azdr0710]

but what about Harry and Meghan?

 

[samhexum]

but what about Harry and Meghan?

 

 

They attended and met the teams before the game. The Yankees presented the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with pinstripes for Baby Archie.

 

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by samhexum

[samhexum]

FUN FACTS: The game was three minutes short of the longest 9-inning game in history, also Yankees-Red Sox, during which I did an hour and 51 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym, which came during the brief stretch in which I was physically fit.

 

Edwin Encarnacion of the Yanks started the season playing for Seattle. Seattle began their season playing the A’s in Tokyo. So he is now the first man to play major league baseball on 3 continents in one year.

[samhexum]

Well, THAT was fun!

[samhexum]

but what about Harry and Meghan?

Mookie Betts meets his distant relative, Meghan Markle

 

LONDON — Mookie Betts met one of his relatives for the first time before the Red Sox and Yankees played at London Stadium on Saturday.

 

It was Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and they shared a hug.

 

It all came about because of a Globe story published on May 7, 2018, that revealed Betts and Markle are distantly related.

 

Jim McNiff, an amateur genealogist from Burlington, Mass., discovered the link between Betts and actress Meghan

Markle, who was engaged to Prince Harry at the time. It went back to ancestors 150 years ago in Alabama.

They also had a connection via a 1920 marriage between Betts’s great uncle and Markle’s great-great aunt.

 

 

Betts found the story amusing at the time and wondered if he might meet Markle when the Sox played in London.

 

It actually happened. The royal couple visited both teams in their clubhouses before the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 17-13.

 

“I didn’t know she was coming. I knew [Prince Harry] was coming,” Betts said. “I told her about the story and she laughed and gave me a hug. She didn’t know about it. They probably didn’t believe it.”

 

But McNiff has the proof, tracing their family trees back for generations.

 

“It’s pretty cool it happened,” Betts said. “I didn’t think I’d ever meet her, but I did.”

 

Both teams presented the royals with a gift for their first child, 7-week-old Archie. He now has a Red Sox onesie and a Yankees onesie.

[+ WilliamM]

I posted about Albert Pujols return to St. Louis for the first time in over a decade when the Los Angeles Angels played a weekend series with the Cardinals several weeks ago.

 

When he was playing in St. Louis Pujols was a far better player than anyone on the current rosters of the Yankees and the Red Sox.

[samhexum]

When he was playing in St. Louis Pujols was a far better player than anyone on the current rosters of the Yankees and the Red Sox.

 

And the Angels are paying for that greatness... and paying... and paying... and...

[+ WilliamM]

And the Angels are paying for that greatness... and paying... and paying... and...

 

That is one of the many reasons Albert Pujols was welcomed back in St. Louis with so much warm feelings.

[samhexum]

Sixteen-year-old center fielder Jasson Dominguez, perhaps the most highly regarded prospect from Latin America in a decade, signed with the New York Yankees on Tuesday morning in a deal that includes a $5.1 million bonus.

 

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Dominguez is a powerful switch-hitter with top-end speed and a well-regarded throwing arm -- a classic five-tool player.

 

Dominguez will not be eligible to play games until next season but will immediately join the Yankees' top echelon of prospects. The team's devotion of nearly 95% of its bonus pool to one player -- the Yankees have just shy of $5.4 million to spend in their fixed international free-agent pool -- shows their regard for Dominguez.

 

The sentiment is shared around the industry. When the Yankees became favorites to sign Dominguez, other teams -- including the Texas Rangers,Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels -- lamented the loss of the chance at a player whom evaluators believe will be a star.

 

Since he arrived at the academy of trainer Ivan Noboa as a 13-year-old, Dominguez has stood out for his developed physique and ability to hit balls far. Scouts took to calling him El Marciano, or The Martian, because they said there was no way he was from this world.

 

In addition to his $5.1 million bonus, Dominguez will receive $250,000 in potential scholarship money from the Yankees should he choose to further his education.