Derek Jeter was out in full support of the Wolverines on Saturday.
The New York Yankees legend, who grew up in Michigan, received a personalized jersey from head coach Jim Harbaugh before the team took on BYU:
With The Captain behind them, the Wolverines will look to upset the No. 22 team in the nation.
[Twitter]
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The Curse of the Billy Goat has hovered over the Chicago Cubs for 70 years. But competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi tried to change that.
He and four others powered home an entire goat on Thursday, and brief chants of “Break the curse!” could be heard from Cubs fans.
Chicago is seated comfortably as a National League wild-card team, so we’ll have to wait and see if those goat demons have officially been exorcised.
[MLB]
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After walking a batter in the bottom of the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres on Thursday night, San Francisco Giants stud Madison Bumgarner had an epic staredown with umpire Joe West.
If you’re unfamiliar with West’s work, he’s the kind of umpire who isn’t afraid of a little airtime. He is to baseball what Joey Crawford is to the NBA.
Bumgarner clearly wasn’t amused after the call, so West removed his mask, likely hoping the pitcher would give him a reason toss him.
Instead, he got an ice-cold gaze that apparently lasted over 17 seconds, per SportsCenter (h/t CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic):
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The Washington Nationals are shrewd.
In the midst of a letdown season, the team is set to allow season-ticket holders the opportunity to earn their subscription to next year’s games for free. All they have to do is hit a home run.
Sounds easy enough, right?
Scott Allen of the Washington Post explained the promotion:
One person per ticket plan is eligible to compete in the “Swing for Your Seats” promotion. … On or about Oct. 5, the Nationals will notify the primary account holder for every eligible plan with information about how to register for the event.
Fans will stand at home plate and receive up to one swing at up to two pitches from an automatic pitching machine. The Nationals will provide wood bats and batting helmets and they’ll have the final say if there’s any dispute about whether a batted ball clears the fence in fair territory.
Anyone who hits a home run will receive the full payment amount of his or her 2016 ticket plan, not to exceed $10,000. A $10,000 credit will be applied toward the cost of the seats for winners with ticket plans that exceed that amount.
Allen also noted that when the San Diego Padres ran a similar promotion in 2014, none of the 1,000 fans who gave it a try cleared the fence.
Hm, interesting. Are the Nats, nine games back in the National League wild-card race, really looking to give out free tickets, or are they trying to add an extra bat to the lineup?
Seems like this is a two birds, one stone type of deal.
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Former President Jimmy Carter was put on the Kiss Cam at the Atlanta Braves game Thursday night.
He delivered.
The 90-year-old is undergoing cancer treatment, but it was great to see him having fun at the ballpark with his wife and former first lady Rosalynn Carter despite Atlanta’s 5-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
[MLB]
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If you load the bases for Mike Trout, good things are going to happen.
In the second inning against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Angels did just that—and the reigning American League MVP delivered.
Trout took A.J. Achter’s pitch deep to right-center field and gave his Angels a 6-5 lead. It was his 37th long ball of the season.
[MLB]
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On Friday, Ben Revere experienced the type of nightmare that causes outfielders to wake up in a cold sweat.
Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters belted a ball deep to left in the sixth inning of his team’s 10-2 win, and the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder got on his horse. He leaped and got some leather on it but accidentally knocked the ball over the fence.
Without some help, the bomb definitely would not have cleared the wall. The Orioles loved it:
Revere won’t be able to sleep for quite some time after this.
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Marcell Ozuna of the Miami Marlins started his first game in right field Friday night, but he didn’t look like a first-timer out there.
New York Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson belted a ball deep to right at Marlins Park, but the 24-year-old got a bead on it and clung to the wall while making the snag for the game’s first out.
Now, this ball was certainly not headed for the seats, but Ozuna’s superhero-esque play definitely set the tone.
Miami beat the Mets 6-5.
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Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has bounce.
After poking a grounder up the middle in the bottom of the sixth of a 10-2 loss to the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, the 30-year-old overran first base following an errant throw.
Backing up the bag, though, was O’s catcher Matt Wieters, so Tulo was in trouble. The Jays star sprinted back to the base, but Wieters had him beat.
So Tulowitzki, being the acrobat that he is, decided to casually leap over his diving opponent and land safely on the base.
No big deal.
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Pittsburgh Pirates star center fielder Andrew McCutchen is popular for many reasons. Let’s boil them down to three.
1. He’s really good.
2. He’s a nice guy. (Ask these kids.)
3. He’s the life of the party.
That third peg was on display Tuesday night before Pittsburgh took the field against the Miami Marlins. With his teammates egging him on, ‘Cutch started grooving and could not be stopped.
The Pirates are 3.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central, and they’ve won six of their last seven.
If McCutchen has his way, the team will be shimmying well into the fall.
[MLB]
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