THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 6: Edwin Diaz gets largest contract for a reliever in 2022 deal
Edwin Diaz has no doubt caused plenty of anxiety attacks among Mets fans over the years, considering his roller-coaster career as an elite closer interspersed with some rough years as an unreliable reliever where no lead seemed safe while he was on the mound. But on this day in béisbol, November 6, 2022, New York rewarded the then-28-year-old Diaz with a five-year, $102 million contract that was the highest amount ever for a reliever. Diaz, from Naguabo, Puerto Rico, was coming off an all-star season in ’22, when he placed ninth in Cy Young voting with 32 saves, a career-low
NEWS: Fernando Valenzuela, Carlos Delgado named on Hall of Fame Contemporary Era ballot
Fernando Valenzuela and Carlos Delgado are among eight former MLB stars named this week on the Baseball Hall of Fame's Contemporary Baseball Era ballot. A committee of writers and historians are set to meet in Orlando, Florida on December 7 to determine which one of them will join the game’s immortals in Cooperstown next summer. The ballot also includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, and Gary Sheffield. Among the notable candidates is Delgado, the slugging first baseman who belted 473 home runs over a 17-year career with the Blue Jays, Marlins, and Mets. One of
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 5: Astros rookie Jeremy Peña named 2022 World Series MVP
The Houston Astros’ young stars Jordan Alvarez and Jeremy Peña gave out-of-this-world performances on this day in béisbol, November 5, 2022 to win Game 6 of the World Series against the Phillies. Alvarez hit a 3-run homer in the 6th that scored Peña and veteran Jose Altuve, giving Houston its second championship in six years. But it was Peña, with 10 hits in the 6 games against Philadelphia for a .400 average, who was named World Series MVP. The 24-year-old Dominican rookie, son of former infielder Geronimo Peña, also won the ALCS MVP award after going 6-for-18 (.333) with 2
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 4: Luiz Gonzalez’s 9th-inning bloop beats Yankees in 2001 World Series Game 7
Luis Gonzalez accomplished the near-impossible on this day in béisbol, November 4, 2001 when the Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder hit a game-winning bloop in the bottom of the 9th off Mariano Rivera to steal World Series Game 7 from the Yankees. Rivera was protecting a one-run lead when the usually unflappable closer gave up two runs, one of them due to his own costly throwing error. With two men on and the game now tied, Gonzalez blooped a single over a drawn-in infield to wrap up one of the most thrilling World Series in MLB history. The loss deprived the
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 3: Nomar Garciaparra named AL Rookie of the Year
A year after the Yankees’ Derek Jeter won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1996, the American League East had another young star-in-the-making shortstop take home the trophy. Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox was deemed the AL’s best newcomer on this day in béisbol, November 3, 1997 after a strong season in which he led the AL in hits with 209, swatted 30 homers, knocked in 98 runs and stole 22 bases — nearly one-third of the team’s total. He also led the league in triples (11), putouts and double plays turned. Garciaparra’s eye-opening first year followed
WORLD SERIES NEWS: Dodgers utility man Miguel Rojas is surprise Game 7 hero
Where superstars Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez stumbled, bench player Miguel Rojas stepped up. The Dodgers Big Four had Rojas to thank for their champagne hangovers the morning after a dramatic World Series win over the Blue Jays. Down to their last two outs in the 9th inning of Game 7, Los Angeles tied a 4-3 nail biter after Rojas blasted a rare home run that stunned Toronto and lifted the Dodgers to a thrilling 11-inning win for the ages. The light-hitting utility infielder, who got a surprise start at second base, also saved the win
THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL October 31: Yanks’ Tino Martinez hits clutch 9-inning HR in 2001 World Series
Tino Martinez kickstarted one of the most amazing comebacks in World Series history on this day in béisbol, October 31, 2001, when the Yankees first baseman slammed a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie World Series Game 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The clutch bomb came against closer Byung-hyun Kim, who had relieved starter Curt Schilling in the eighth inning of a 3-1 game and was trying to preserve a lead that would give Arizona a 3-1 series edge. With Mariano Rivera holding the score at 3-3 in the top of the 10, Kim,
WORLD SERIES Spotlight: Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is unlikely October hero
He’s a spark plug built like a fireplug. Listed at 5-foot-8 and 245 pounds, catcher Alejandro Kirk defied every conventional scouting stereotype to become a key contributor for the Toronto Blue Jays as they seek to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 World Series. On a team that boasts such clutch postseason hitters as Vlad Guerrero Jr. and George Springer, Kirk has become an unlikely October hero. From the 2025 ALDS series against the Yankees, the ALCS vs. the Mariners and through Game 5 of the World Series, Kirk has 5 home runs, 13 RBI and 16 hits
