Samuel Lopez’s Post

Major League Baseball has changed forever. This year's MLB All-Star Game highlights this. Let me explain... I remember my first big league spring training as a collection of veterans. A collection of players over 30 years old closing in on a decade-plus at the big league level. Today, the makeup of an MLB roster looks far different. You might see one, two, or three "veterans" but the vast majority of players will be new faces. This year's MLB All-Star game highlights this: - 32 1st time All-Stars. - 19 players are under the age of 27. It is a combination of the rise of data and player development on full display. Some might want the "good ole days" but baseball has changed like it or not. Today's game features: - Fresh Faces - Incredible Talent - Nightly Displays of Talent + Entertainment ***If you enjoyed this share it with your network and follow me for more at the intersection of sports and money.

⚾ 31 wins and 11 losses in the final 42 games 💰 Detroit's 26-man playoff roster combined salary 18.8 million dollars, the Houston Astros, who the Tigers defeated in the playoffs, have 4 players that made 19 million dollars or more 🥇 8 of 26 players are in their first season ♟️ 1 of 26 players had playoff experience In early August, 0.2% chance to make the playoffs, no energy, losing record, traded away one of their best players, playing in a half-empty stadium - fast forward 2 months - won a playoff series and one win away from the AL championship series. Maybe you are not a baseball fan, but what the #detroittigers have done this year has happened once in the last 100+ years. How did this group of players and managers do this? #teamwork? Great leadership? Believing in each other? All of this and more. Take a minute and read an article about the team or watch some highlights, for a dose of Friday optimism. Let's go Tigers!

This week Prep Baseball showcased 45 of the best players in the country. Many will be future first-round picks and MLB stars. Here are 5 takeaways every player should read: - 1) Outlier Tools Win In Little League, you hear a lot about becoming a complete player. Look, I get it we all want to (and should) improve our weaknesses but in today's game teams want outlier tools. You need to know what makes you elite and never lose that. - 2) Competing vs Showcasing In today's amateur environment, it is easy to become a "showcase guy". Big velocities, jaw-dropping BP rounds, and smooth pre-game defense stand out. Yet to me, the guy who competes at another level between the lines stands out. - 3) It Only Gets Harder The truth is the guys that played in this game have big-league talent. Yet when I look at the All-American Games I played in, more than 50% of my teammates never played one day in the Show. You can't lose sight of the ultimate goal, the Big Leagues. - 4) Do You The players that stand out to me are uniquely them. They might have a funky delivery or a weird pre-pitch routine. Yet their uniqueness is what makes them great, never lose that. - 5) Humble Swagger The single biggest separator in sports is confidence. You have to believe in you more than anyone else does. Yet the best players find a way to balance that confidence with the humbleness that they don't have it all figured out (and never will). - I was reminded at this event that the future of baseball is brighter than ever. It is easy to see the guys' talent on the field but what stood out to me was their desire to improve. Something tells me this game will produce many future household names.

If it feels like Major League Baseball is "so hot right now", it's because it is (tonight's 52 degree temperature at Yankee Stadium nonwithstanding). Baseball has a superstar problem - there's simply not enough of them to go around. This typically translates to apathy and sluggish viewership, but 2024 MLB Playoff viewership is up ~20% YoY and trending even higher as we head towards the World Series. There's a perfect storm of colliding factors to thank for this spike in viewership. The few superstars in the league that exist (Ohtani, Judge, Betts, Soto) are mostly still in contention. The four teams left all have huge fanbases and three of them are in major markets. There's a "Subway Series" brewing, the first since 2000. The brands are doing their to add fuel to the fire as well. Everyone's favorite McDonald's mascot Grimace was seen riding NYC's 7 Trail to a playoff game this month. Apparel collabs from New York or Nowhere, Siegelman Stable, Wanderer, Just Don and more have caught the eye of even the most passive baseball fan. Baseball is firmly in The Conversation right now and it's looking like it will only get hotter through the World Series. These opportunities don't happen everyday but when they do, the brands who can pounce on it can win big. (This post was written by a passive baseball fan living in Los Angeles in a New York or Nowhere x Yankees cap)

All Star Snubs??? Over the weekend, the reserves and pitchers were named for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game, which will be held July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The starters were named last week.  As is the case every year, it’s disheartening to see deserving players left off the All-Star team, often referred to as ‘snubs.' One snub that stood out to me was the Arizona Diamondbacks First Baseman, Christian Walker, who left off the team. Walker is having an impressive season with 22 home runs and more than 60 RBIs and helped lead the DBacks to the World Series in 2023. Last week, the D-Backs were in LA to play the Dodgers, and Walker put on a clinic, much like he did in the ’23 playoffs, hitting five home runs in the three-game series. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called him “Babe Ruth against us.” But apparently, the Babe wasn’t good enough. Part of the problem is that every team must have at least one all-star representative, a rule designed to ensure every team is represented, but which can sometimes leave one less slot for other deserving players. Ironically, this year’s NL All-Star manager is the D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo, Walker’s manager. But Lovullo clearly couldn’t pull the strings for one of his guys. As we mentioned earlier, this year’s team includes 19 players under the age of 27, but what about older players like Walker, now 33 and in his 10th MLB season?  A shame. John Boxley Box-seats.com

OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks Match Player Stats: Complete Breakdown of Key Players and Performance Insights The OKC Thunder and Dallas Mavericks are two dynamic teams in the NBA, known for their thrilling matchups and standout players. In this post, we dive deep into the OKC Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks match player stats, highlighting individual performances and key contributions that shaped the game. Whether you’re a fan of explosive scoring or strategic defence, this detailed analysis offers insights into how both teams battled on the court. https://lnkd.in/ej7b5Vbp

Dallas Mavericks' Uphill Battle: Can They Overcome the Odds to Win the NBA Championship? The Dallas Mavericks' pursuit of an NBA Championship is a topic of significant interest. With a dynamic roster and a strong history, they are seen as a formidable contender. However, their current 3-1 deficit against the Boston Celtics makes this a daunting challenge. The Mavericks' primary strength is Luka Dončić, whose exceptional skills make him a key player. His ability to score, assist, and rebound positions the team strongly. The addition of Kyrie Irving and solid role players like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Christian Wood further boosts their championship potential. Despite these strengths, the Mavericks face significant hurdles. Defensive inconsistency has been a major issue, particularly highlighted in their series against the Celtics. Improving their defense is crucial for a deep playoff run. Moreover, overcoming a 3-1 deficit is a tall order. The Celtics are a formidable team with strong offensive and defensive capabilities. The Mavericks also need to navigate through the competitive Western Conference, making their path to the finals even more challenging. Accordingly, while the Mavericks have the talent to win the NBA Championship, they must address their defensive weaknesses and overcome a significant playoff deficit. If they can do so, they might yet bring the title back to Dallas.

This is a statistical fallacy to compare Major League Baseball with the Negro Leagues, which had far fewer games per season. How did we get here? The shortened MLB season of 60 games during COVID made the shortened Negro League seasons eligible as Major League Baseball games, even though Negro League seasons could be as short as 26 games and at most 91 games that counted statistically. Josh Gibson was a talented hitter, but he didn’t play anywhere near the official 154 games per season (the number of games in a MLB season from 1904 to 1961). Gibson didn’t have as many official at-bats or plate appearances as MLB players who did play the majority of games in a 154-game season. (The MLB season extended to 162 games starting in 1962.) JTB 5-28-24 EXCERPT from NYT: “They were playing probably 150 to 175 games a year, but only 60 to 80 games counted in the league standings…. The committee used the same statistical minimums for Negro League leaders as it does for the American and National Leagues: 3.1 plate appearances or 1 inning pitched per scheduled team game. The scheduled games range from 26 (Negro American League, 1942) to 91 (Negro National League I, 1927)…. Those shorter official seasons, MLB noted in a release announcing the change, naturally lead to some ‘leaderboard extremes.’ But the league verified a 60-game season during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with that as a recent precedent, Thorn said, it made sense to also verify Negro League seasons.”

🚨Game 1 Recap: Boston x Dallas...Threes were raining ☔ 🏀 It's when three minutes left in the first quarter of a deadlock, the rhythm shifted. Kristaps Porzingis showed his presence on both sides of the floor. The Latvian big man made an impressive comeback after missing five weeks and two series. He racked up 20 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and made 3 blocks in just 21 minutes of action off the bench. The team aimed for 9 threes in 2 minutes. NO WAY!! Everyone was shooting perfectly. This is the STORY: Luka will get his 30 points no matter what, but if you hold him to an unusual field goal percentage and lock down all the others, which Boston really did, they would surely WIN!! The only player who kept the Mavs in the game was Luka Doncic. He poured in 30 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, the GAME HIGH! I believe that in Game 1, Boston overpowered the hot Mavs in all aspects: offensive play, defense, space-making, shooting ability, and so forth. It's not that Luka and co can't win, but it’s all about how they adjust themselves and have plans to upset Boston's three-point shooting. Factors that made the difference: Celtics Mavericks 16/42 3-pointers 7/27 23 Assists 9 9 Blocks 1 #nba #nbafinals #boston #dallas #basketball #history

The top-ranked player in the MLB draft signed for $1,620,600 less than his slot value. While it was a good deal for the team, it was also the right move for him. Here is why (and how the MLB draft works): ~ The MLB draft revolves around a team's bonus pool. This is the money that a team has to sign players in the top 10 rounds or pay those in the next 10 more than $150,000. That bonus pool gets broken down by the picks a team has, here is an example... ~ The Cleveland Guardians selected first and had a total bonus pool of $18,334,000. $10,570,600 of was for the #1 pick in the draft. This is where it gets interesting... ~ Step in Travis Bazzana, the presumed #1 pick. Yet not a slam dunk like Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg from years past. You see there were other players in the mix for that pick. So here is why the Indians took Bazzana... ~ First, they thought he was the best player for them. Second, they agreed to pay him $1,620,600 less than the $10,570,600 slot. Before you say this is one-sided, let me explain why both Bazanna and the Guardians win here... ~ Bazanna gets a bonus higher than any slot from pick number four down. If he plays hardball perhaps he falls, remember there was a list of players in the mix for those top picks. The Guardians win by allocating an additional $1,600,000+ toward other picks. ~ So remember, the next time you see any contract negotiation there is usually more to the story. When it comes to the MLB draft that is certainly the case. If you enjoyed this share it with your network and follow me for more at the intersection of sports and money. ***If you enjoyed this share it with your network andd follow me for more at the intersection of sports and money.