Nelson Cruz Makes MLB History with 400th Career Homer

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Nelson Cruz has joined an elite group of MLB players…

The 39-year-0ld Dominican professional baseball player and Minnesota Twins slugger hit his 400th career home run, becoming the 57th player in Major League Baseball history to reach the mark.

Cruz connected in the fourth inning on Sunday for his 40th homer of the season. He became the third player in Twins history to hit 40 home runs in a season, joining Harmon Killebrew and Brian Dozier.

“It’s nice to do it in front of the fans. I think they deserve it,” Cruz said. “They’ve been such a big influence for us as a team. They come up every day with that energy.”

Cruz tagged the Kansas City Royals‘ Gabe Speier for a solo drive. It gave the AL Central-leading Twins an 8-6 lead on their way to a 12-8 win and elicited a curtain call for Cruz as fans at Target Field gave him a standing ovation.

This was the fourth time in Cruz’s career that he’s gotten to the 40-homer mark. He did so in three straight years from 2014-16 with the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners. He’s the 26th player in baseball history with four 40-home run seasons. Cruz also became the ninth Dominican-born player with 400 career homers.

“Nelly going out there and hitting his 400th home run, maybe he picked the perfect day to do it,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We’re all honored to be here and witness it and enjoy this experience with him.”

Pete Alonso Sets National League Rookie Record for Home Runs in a Season

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Pete Alonso is the rookie on top…

The 24-year-old part-Spanish American professional baseball player, a first baseman for the New York Mets, hit his 40th home run of the season on Sunday to set the National League rookie record for home runs in a season.

Alonso homered to left field in the ninth inning. The 418-foot blast off the Kansas City Royals‘ Jacob Barnes broke a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Cody Bellinger for most home runs by a NL rookie in a season.

Bellinger hit 39 home runs in 2017.

“It’s crazy,” Alonso said after the Mets’ 11-5 victory when asked about setting the record. “I just gotta go back to the days of spring training when I didn’t know if I was gonna make the team out of camp or not. I’m just extremely thankful for this opportunity, and this has been such an incredible year. I just wanna keep building and help this team win.”

Alonso quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count, but when Barnes threw a high fastball, he didn’t miss.

“I was just trying to hit the ball hard like I have been,” said Alonso, who is the first Mets player to hit 40 home runs in a season sinceCarlos Beltranhit 41 in 2006. “Take good, quality swings at good pitches and, thankfully, he gave me a fastball up in the zone, which I like to swing at.”

The result was a no-doubt shot over the bullpen in left field that snapped the tie with Bellinger, who hit the 39-home run mark on the way to winning Rookie of the Year honors in 2017.

“It was a pretty grand one,” New York manager Mickey Callawaysaid. “It went a long way, it seemed like.”

Bellinger took to Twitter after Sunday’s action to congratulate Alonso on breaking his record.

Next up for Alonso is the Mets’ season record of 41 home runs set by Todd Hundleyin 1996 and equaled by Beltran a decade later.

“That’s even more mind-boggling,” Alonso said. “I’m just really grateful. Grateful and thankful and happy that I’ve had this opportunity.”

With the home run, Alonso improved to 3-for-4 in the Mets’ victory over the Kansas City Royals, with three runs and two RBIs.

The victory pulled the Mets (64-60) into a three-way tie in the NL wild-card chase, 1½ games behind the Chicago Cubs, who hold the second wild-card spot.

The New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge holds the major league record for home runs in a season by a rookie, with 52 in 2017.

Martin Maldonado Acquired by the Chicago Cubs

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Martin Maldonado is joining the Cub…

The Chicago Cubs have acquired the 32-year-old Puerto Rican MLB catcher for left-hander Mike Montgomery, the reliever who secured the last out in the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship season.

Maldonado, a defensive-minded catcher, should be an immediate replacement for All-Starcatcher Willson Contreras, who hit the injured list on Monday with a strain in the arch of his right foot. While Contreras isn’t expected to miss a significant amount of time, Maldonado serves as a solid insurance policy.

He has been one of the best defensive catchers in baseball this season and was traded last July, too, going from the Los Angeles Angels to the Houston Astros. He signed a one-year, $2.5 million with the Kansas City Royals and started in place of Salvador Perez, who’s out for the year with Tommy John surgery.

Once Contreras returns, Maldonado will serve as a backup. The move could free the Cubs to use backup catcher Victor Caratini in more of a utility role to get him more plate appearances.

Maldonado made his Major League Baseball debut in September 2011 for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was a Gold Glove Awardwinner in 2017.

Alcides Escobar Agrees to One-Year Contract with the Kansas City Royals

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Alcides Escobar is still Royal-ty.

The 31-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal to remain with the Kansas City Royals, according to ESPN.

Escobar batted .250 in 162 games with 150 hits and a career-high 36 doubles with Kansas City last season. The solid defensive shortstop, one of a quartet of Royals who debuted with Kansas City in 2011 and keyed the team’s run to a Major League Baseball championship in 2015, ranked sixth in the American League with a .978 fielding percentage.

A career .260 hitter, Escobar won a Gold Glove and was an AL All-Star during that championship season, as the Royals won their first World Series title in 30 years. His best offensive season came in 2012, when he batted .293 with a career-high 177 hits, 30 doubles, 35 steals and 52 RBIs.

Escobar broke into the MLB with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008.

His agreement with the Royals was first reported by FanRag Sports.

Houston Astros Star Jose Altuve Wins Silver Slugger Award for Fourth Straight Season

Posted on November 10, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a grand slam, of sorts, for Jose Altuve…

The 27-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player, a second baseman for the World Series champion Houston Astros, is among the winners of this year’s Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award.

The award goes to one player per league, per position and is selected by a vote of MLB coaches and managers.

Eleven of the 18 winners are under 30, including Altuve, who won for the fourth straight season.

But Altuve isn’t the only Astros player to make the list…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican and Panamanian American baseball star, who became Major League Baseball All-Star for the first time this year, also earned a Silver Slugger Award.

Springer, an outfielder for the Astros, was named the 2017 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP), hitting a record-tying five home runs as the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games.

All told, the eight first-time winners included outfielders Aaron Judge, Miami Marlins’ Marcell Ozuna, Springer, Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez, New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez and pitcher Adam Wainwright. Like Altuve, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey also won for the fourth time.

Outfielder Justin Upton and Seattle Mariners DH Nelson Cruz rounded out the American League winners. It was Upton’s third award and the second for Cruz.

The National League selections featured plenty of previous winners as first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado both won for the third time. Second baseman Daniel Murphy, shortstop Corey Seager and outfielders Charlie Blackmon and Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton each won for the second time.

Selections are based on a combination of offensive stats, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in addition to the managers’ and coaches’ views of a player’s overall offensive value.

Cepeda to Have Street Named After Him in San Francisco

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Orlando Cepeda will see his name on a street sign soon…

The 79-year-old Puerto Rican retired first baseman, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the San Francisco Giants in April 1958, will receive a ceremonial sign for a street that will be named in his honor in the Bay City.

It’s all part of the redevelopment of the old Candlestick Park site.

Cepeda, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, played for the Giants from 1958 until 1966.

During a career that lasted sixteen years, he also played with the St. Louis Cardinals, helping the team win the World Series in 1967, as well as the Atlanta Braves (1969–72), Oakland Athletics (1972), Boston Red Sox (1973), and Kansas City Royals.

Other San Francisco iconic athletes to have a name after them include San Francisco 49ers legends Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and coach Bill Walsh, as well as former Giants players Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

Herrera Agrees to One Year Contract with the Kansas City Royals

Posted on February 5, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Kelvin Herrera has agreed to a Royal deal…

The 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration with the hard-throwing right-hander.

The Royals announced the deal on Friday but didn’t disclose financial terms.

According to multiple reports, the sides settled at $5.325 million to avoid arbitration.

Herrera, who is slated to be Kansas City’s closer this season, tweeted that he and the Royals decided to “put our differences aside.”

Herrera is assuming the closer job after the Royals traded Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs this offseason. He went 2-6 with a 2.75 ERA and 12 saves last season, his sixth with the Royals.

Herrera has a 2.63 ERA in 351 career relief appearances for Kansas City, which has signed all of its arbitration-eligible players.

Familia Receives $3.3 Million Raise from the New York Mets

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Jeurys Familia is getting a hefty raise…

The 27-year-old Dominican professional baseball pitcher has received sizable raise from the New York Mets while still awaiting news whether he’ll be suspended by Major League Baseball under the sport’s domestic violence policy.

Familia will make $7,425,000, according to multiple reports, up from $4.1 million last season.

Starters Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, who both had season-ending surgery, also settled on one-year contracts and avoided arbitration. Harvey got a raise to $5,125,000 from $4,325,000 and deGrom’s salary increased to $4.05 million from $607,000, according to reports.

Familia led the majors with a franchise-record 51 saves last season.

Last month, a judge dismissed a charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint against Familia after the reliever’s wife told a prosecutor that her husband did not hurt her. MLB has said its investigation is ongoing.

Familia had been charged with simple assault and had pleaded not guilty after his wife, Bianca Rivas, made several frantic 911 calls to Fort Lee, New Jersey, police on the morning of October 31 in which she described her husband as “drunk” and “going crazy,” according to excerpts of a transcript published by NJ.com. Rivas was left with scratches on her chest and a bruise on her right cheek.

But the judge dropped the charge after Prosecutor Arthur Balsamo said he met with Rivas and her lawyer. Balsamo said Rivas told him that the scratch came from the couple’s 1-year-old child and the mark on her cheek came from leaning on it.

A first-time All-Star last year, Familia has saved 94 games over the past two seasons for the Mets, but he’s also had a couple of costly hiccups in the postseason. He gave up a tying home run to Alex Gordon in the 2015 World Series opener against the Kansas City Royals, and a tiebreaking homer to Conor Gillaspie in the ninth inning of a loss to the San Francisco Giants in the 2016 National League wild-card game.

Perez & His Kansas City Royals Teammates Honored at the White House

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special first for Salvador Perez…

The 26-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball catcher and his Kansas City Royals teammates were honored by President Barack Obama as the 2015 World Series champions at the White House on Thursday.

Obama described the Royals as one of the “grittiest, most complete teams we’ve seen in a long time.”

The Royals last visited the White House in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan saluted their “never-say-die spirit” in the Rose Garden.

The 2015 team showed the same grit and determination. Six outs away from playoff elimination, the Royals scored seven runs to defeat the Houston Astros. They went on to win that series and to beat the Toronto Blue Jays and later the New York Mets. Obama noted that the Royals held the record for comeback wins in the playoffs.

Obama also acknowledged that it had been a long time between visits to the White House for Kansas City. “Let’s face it, it’s been a long road for Royals fans,” Obama said. “There were some dark years, some tough decades.”

But Obama said that began to change when general manager Dayton Moore was hired and the Royals started to develop talented players through their minor league system. Among them: outfielder Alex Gordon, infielders Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer, and Perez at catcher.

Obama called each of the players by his nickname: “Gordo,” “Moose,” “Hos” and “Salvy.” But the president didn’t seem to find those too creative.

“We’re going to have to work on these,” Obama said.

“When the president calls you out, you definitely got to start thinking about something,” Hosmer said after the ceremony. “We’ve got some guys in the locker room, I’m sure they’re starting to bear down on that.”

Obama noted that his press secretary, Josh Earnest, is a big Royals fan, and that the Royals visit Thursday was right up there as far as his best days ever.

Manager Ned Yost, Hosmer and Perez interrupted the day’s press briefing to present the Kansas City, Missouri, native with a team jersey, an upgraded mug and an autographed World Series baseball. Yost said the team didn’t want Earnest to get into trouble “by him trying to hijack” the president’s jersey.

The team gave Obama a Royals jersey with the No. 44 in gold lettering, which nicely matched the ornate drapes in the White House East Room.

Infante Becomes Free Agent

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Omar Infante is officially a free agent…

The 34-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player cleared waivers on Thursday to became a free agent.

Infante was designated for assignment June 15 by the Kansas City Royals, who chose to pay him the nearly $14 million remaining on his contract rather than let him ride the bench as a utility player.

Infante spent his first six seasons with the Detroit Tigers. He later played for the Atlanta Braves, earning an All-Star nod in 2010, and briefly spent time with the Miami Marlins before returning to the Tigers for two more seasons.

But after signing with Kansas City, the career .271 hitter began a slow decline, his bat speed and fielding ability no longer what it was in his prime. He hit only eight homers with the Royals, two fewer than his final season with Detroit.

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