STAR SPOTLIGHT: Sandy Alcantara, 2022 NL Cy Young winner
Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara has a losing career record, plays for a perennial bad team, and few baseball fans outside of Florida can pick him out of a lineup. Yet for the past few seasons, the Dominican Republic-born righty has been considered one of the best pitchers on baseball. Alcantara finally put together the season Miami — and the MLB — have been waiting for. In 2022, he went 14-9 with a stellar 2.28 ERA — the National League now uses the DH, remember — and a league-leading 228.2 innings pitched. Not to mention hurling six complete games, a
ICON: Bernie Williams
There may have been bigger names in the New York Yankees’ lineups of the late 1990s dynasty, but those four World Series rings in five years wouldn’t have happened without Bernie Williams, the Bombers’ switch-hitting, smooth fielding centerfielder. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Williams began his Yankees career in 1991 at 22 years old and became a regular two years later as he led the charge of young players finally being given a chance to prove themselves in the Majors with an organization hardly known for its patience in developing young talent. He established himself as one of the
World Baseball Classic returns March 8 with 20 teams carrying their nations’ hopes
The World Baseball Classic has finally returned to the international stage after a six-year hiatus rather than the usual four— and the current tournament is the biggest and most inclusive yet. There are now 20 teams from all over the world vying for national bragging rights, up from 16 in 2017 when USA beat Puerto Rico for the title, with many of them boasting several established Major League players. Nearly 70 All-Stars are suiting up to represent their native countries, among them eight former MVPs including Miguel Cabrera (Dominican Republic) and Jose Altuve (Venezuela). The tournament, which starts on Wednesday
ICON: Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernandez
When pitcher Orlando Hernandez joined the New York Yankees rotation in 1998, Major League Baseball fans soon discovered what fans in his native Cuba had known for more than a decade. The right-handed hurler nicknamed “El Duque” (The Duke) was a very special player. It wasn’t just his unorthodox and unforgettable delivery — a high leg kick that brought his bent knee next to his head — or the way he deceived batters with an array of pitches that made him stand out. Hernandez was simply a winner, an unflappable clutch performer both as a star in Cuba who won
STAR SPOTLIGHT: Carlos Correa
After weeks of speculation — and Mets fans dreaming of the team’s first World Series win since 1986 — Carlos Correa didn’t end up going to New York after all. The star shortstop instead returned to the Twins on Jan. 11, 2002, on a six-year deal worth $200 million. It’s a far cry from the Mets’ 12-year, $315 million mega-contract offer that was pulled back due to concerns over Correa’s surgically repaired ankle. But no one should feel sorry for Correa, who will still earn upwards of $33 million a year in Minnesota, where he hit .291 with 22 HR
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL May 11: Rafael Palmeiro joins 500 HR Club
In a perfect baseball world, Rafael Palmeiro, the Havana-born slugger with a sweet lefty stroke, would have guaranteed his place among the game’s immortals on this day in béisbol, May 11, 2003. That’s when the 38-year-old Texas Rangers first baseman became just the 19th player in MLB history — and the first born in Cuba — to become a charter member of the 500 Home Run Club. But reaching a milestone that at one time punched you an instant ticket to Cooperstown turned out to be a tainted achievement for Palmeiro. As one of the bigger names caught up in
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL May 14: David Ortiz is only 3rd player to reach 500 HR, 600 doubles
Few players have left the game with a flourish like David Ortiz, who at 40 years old and in his final season of a Cooperstown-worthy, 20-year-career put up remarkable numbers in 2016 that belied his age. On this day in béisbol, May 14, 2016, Big Papi hit a big milestone in his capstone season that put him in the same rarified air of two of baseball’s greatest hitters. Ortiz, one of the most fearsome clutch hitters in history, also came through for the Red Sox yet again — twice. Losing 5-4 at home against the Astros, Boston was down to
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL May 8: Cards deal for Orlando Cepeda in Giant shocker
Baseball history is riddled with several head-scratching trades of all-stars for also-rans, deals that even decades later are a source of everlasting torture for fans of the team that came out on the losing end. Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, anyone? On this day in béisbol, May 8, 1966, the San Francisco Giants were guilty of a “What the hell are they thinking?” trade, sending star first baseman Orlando Cepeda to the St. Louis Cardinals for solid but unspectacular starting pitcher Ray Sadecki. While Giants fans were shocked, the team had pretty good reasons for moving Cepeda. Yes, Cepeda was
