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.

Robert Trujillo & His Metallica Bandmates to Perform at Band Together Bay Area Concert for North Bay Firestorm Relief

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Robert Trujillo is banding together for firestorm relief…

The 52-year-old Mexican American bassist and his fellow Metallica members will perform as part of Band Together Bay Area’s relief concert.

A coalition of Bay Area business and community leaders launched Band Together Bay Area in response to the North Bay firestorm — the most destructive and deadliest firestorm disaster in California history — to support the local relief effort with a concert November 9 at AT&T Park in San Francisco featuring Metallica, Dave Matthews, G-Eazy and more.

“For 34 years, Metallica has flown the flag for the Bay Area all over the world,” says Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in a statement provided to Billboard. “The recent tragic events up in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties have left us all saddened. We’re here to help as much as we can, and this concert on November 9 is one small way we can do that.”

The concert will be underwritten by sponsors, with 100 percent of ticket sales going to the Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund.

Live Nation and Another Planet Entertainment are joining forces to help produce and manage the event. The best seats in the house will be donated to first responders, volunteers and families impacted by the firestorm.

“Sometimes you just need to stop and do something meaningful,” says Gregg Perloff, CEO of indie concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment. “This is one of those times. We are one community and together we act as one.”

Tickets for the Band Together Bay Area concert will go on public sale Friday at 10 a.m. at bandtogetherbayarea.org and Ticketmaster.com. Tickets range from $49.50 to $199.50 plus fees. Ticketmaster will donate all processing fees to the relief effort.

Band Together Bay Area — a business coalition including Kaiser Permanente, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Salesforce, Google, Twilio, the San Francisco Giants, Live Nation and Another Planet Entertainment — has raised an initial $6.5 million from partners and founding sponsors.

The funds raised by Band Together Bay Area will go into an emergency relief fund established by Tipping Point Community and will be directed to the North Bay community foundations, service providers and government partners supporting the low-income communities hit hardest by the fires.

The fires have burned an estimated 200,000 acres and 6,000 homes in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake Counties, displacing thousands of residents. Damage estimates are in the billions of dollars and rising, and the cleanup and recovery efforts will be the largest and costliest in California history.

“Live Nation, along with our BottleRock Festival family in Napa, are honored to be a part of an effort to help raise funding for so many deeply affected by the North Bay wildfires,” says Jodi Goodman, president of Live Nation Northern California. “Seeing the Bay Area music community come together to help those in need is truly inspiring. Thanks to all of the artists and companies who have banded together to make it all possible.”

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.

Lopez to Serve as Special Instructor During the San Francisco Giants’ Spring Training

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Javier Lopez has a Giant(s) responsibility…

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican former baseball pitcher, who recently retired from the San Francisco Giants, will work as a special instructor for the team at spring training.

Giants general manager Bobby Evans says that Lopez — an important reliever on the Giants’ World Series winners in 2010, ’12 and ’14 — would join the team at its Scottsdale spring home. Pitchers and catchers report Monday with their first workout Tuesday.

“Good for him. We really appreciate what he did here,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Lopez. “When we acquired him in 2010, he helped solidify that bullpen and helped us win that World Series in 2010, getting those big left-handers out for us. As good a player as he is, he’s a better person. Javi’s one of those guys that everybody likes, very much respected and appreciated as a teammate and of course, for me, what he did in the bullpen.”

The four-time World Series champion, who began his career with the Colorado Rockies in 2003, has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Stanton Returns to the U.S. World Baseball Classic Roster

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Giancarlo Stanton is back on Team USA…

The 27-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star, a right fielder for the Miami Marlins, is among the returnees on the 28-man U.S. World Baseball Classic roster, which also includes Colorado Rockies‘ Nolan Arenado, Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Paul Goldschmidt, San Francisco Giants‘ Buster Posey and Pittsburgh Pirates‘ Andrew McCutchen.

The roster, announced Wednesday by USA Baseball, includes 18 All-Stars, two MVPs and nine Gold Glove winners.

Stanton, a three-time Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star, won the Silver Slugger Award and National League Hank Aaron Award in 2014.

Stanton was the Home Run Derby champion in 2016.

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.

Arrieta Homers Against the San Francisco Giants to Help the Cubs Make MLB History

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

He may be an all-star pitcher, but Jake Arrieta has batted his way into the headlines.

The Chicago Cubs became the second team in history to have two pitchers hit home runs in a postseason series when Arrieta took San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner deep in the second inning of Monday night’s Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican baseball star hit a 1-2 pitch out to left field for a three-run home run, two days after Cubs relief pitcher Travis Wood homered against the Giants in Game 2.

It’s the first time since the 1924 Giants that two pitchers from the same team have gone deep in a playoff series; 1924 also was the last time a relief pitcher hit a home run in the postseason.

“It was probably the best pitch I threw to (Arrieta) in the at-bat,” Bumgarner told the Chicago Tribune. “I was thinking about going to the breaking ball, but the way it looked to me, I didn’t see any need to. Sometimes you feel like you can help a guy out by slowing it down. But from what I saw, I felt like I was making the right pitch. He just made a good adjustment.”

Arrieta’s homer gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead, but the Giants battled back and eventually prevailed 6-5 in 13 innings in a game that lasted more than five hours. The San Francisco victory prevented a Cubs sweep.

Arrieta is the fourth Cubs pitcher to hit a home run in the playoffs, while Bumgarner gave up his first long ball to an opposing pitcher in his seven-plus major league seasons. It also ended Bumgarner’s 24-inning postseason scoreless streak and his separate streak of 24 shutout innings with the Giants facing postseason elimination.

It was Arrieta’s fifth career home run and third this season.

Puig Hits First Home Run Since Being Recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Yasiel Puig strikes back…

The 25-year-old Cuban baseball player hit a three-run homer in the third inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ come-from-behind, 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Puig’s blast put the Dodgers ahead 3-2 in his second start since being recalled last week after a month-long demotion to the minors. It was his first homer since he returned to majors.

“The homer was great. It was a big hit for us,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But the at-bat quality he had throughout the day, hitting the cutoff man, throwing to the right base, backing up — there’s a lot of things Yasiel did today to help us win a baseball game.”

In the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to San Diego on Friday, Puig went 2-for-4. In his two stints with the Dodgers this season, Puig is hitting .265 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs.

“I’m very happy with the opportunity my teammates have given me, very thankful for their support, and it motivates me to do better on the field,” Puig told MLB.com after the game. “When you do your job, everything works out better — when you prepare, when you’re in the dugout. Those are the things I didn’t do before and now I’m doing them.”

The NL West-leading Dodgers took two of three from last-place San Diego, increasing their lead to three games over the San Francisco Giants, who lost to the Chicago Cubs 3-2 in 13 innings.

Ramirez Logs First-Ever Three-Homer Game Against the San Francisco Giants

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Hanley Ramirez is celebrating his Giant(s) night…

The 32-year-old Dominican professional baseball player, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, hit three home runs for the first time in his career and drove in a career-high six runs on Wednesday night as he helped his team hold on for an 11-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Boston won for the eighth time in nine games and moved into first place in the American League East, a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles.

Ramirez also reached base when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth, glowering at Giants reliever Albert Suarez before the umpire quickly warned both benches. With the crowd chanting Ramirez’s name for his final at-bat in the eighth, he grounded out weakly to the pitcher.

Ramirez began the day with eight home runs this season before connecting for his first three-homer game. He hit two-run drives in the second, third and sixth inning.

The major league record for home runs in a game is four. It’s been done 16 times, most recently by Josh Hamilton for the Texas Rangers in 2012.

Ramirez, a three-time MLB All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, also made a few good plays in the field. He dove to his right to stop a line drive in the first inning, and made a play to his right on a hard grounder from Grant Green. Then, with the bases loaded in the sixth, he gloved a sharp grounder, stepped on first and threw home.

Gonzalez Receiving Interest from Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals & San Francisco Giants

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

The future looks bright for Carlos Gonzalez…

The 30-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player, an outfielder for the Colorado Rockies, is reportedly getting interest from the Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, according to ESPN.

Gonzalez started the season on a slow start in 2015, hitting .219 with four home runs through May, but belted 27 home runs in the second half and finished with a .271/.325/.540 batting line with 40 home runs. After an injury-plagued 2014, that strong second half rebuilt his trade value, and now the Rockies are listening to offers.

With two years left on his contract at $17 million in 2016 and $20 million in 2017, Gonzalez could be an attractive, shorter-term outfield option for those teams wary of giving $100 million-plus to Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes or betting an Alex Gordon to remain productive into his mid-30s.

Gonzalez would be an obvious fit for all three teams that have shown interest: The Nationals are currently counting on Jayson Werth, coming off a .685 OPS season, and Michael Taylor, who posted a .640 OPS as a rookie; the Cardinals just lost Jason Heyward and could use a power bat, and they could put Gonzalez in right field and play Stephen Piscotty at first base; the Giants are looking for a left fielder.

Gonzalez’s value is also very difficult to peg. He played just 180 games in 2013 and 2014 combined, and everyone is going to point to his home/road splits: Over the past three seasons, he has a .952 OPS at Coors Field, .780 on the road. If teams are going to discount Gonzalez because of that, are the Rockies better off just hanging on to him? There’s also the possibility that those splits are overblown, that if Gonzalez is traded then what I call the “Coors Effect” will go away and the splits will normalize. The bigger concern may be that Gonzalez hasn’t hit lefties well in recent seasons, including 2015, when he had a .530 OPS against them.

Still, he’s a 30-homer bat if he stays healthy and a capable defender in a corner outfield position. If I’m one of those teams above, I like the idea of trading prospects for Gonzalez rather than spending big money on one of the free agents.

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Celebrating the Latino Influence

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