Baseball

5/4/2024 |  Baseball umpires aren't as bad as you think this season (AXIOS Sports) Despite what you may have heard — or think you've seen with your own two eyes — Major League Baseball's umpires are actually doing pretty well this season, at least when it comes to calling balls and strikes.
By the numbers: League-wide, baseball umps have a nearly 94% accuracy rating so far in 2024, per unofficial metric-keeper UmpScorecards.

• That's down a bit from 2023 but up from a relatively miserable 90% or so in 2015.

5/2/2024 |  Tri-City Chili Peppers to play 'cosmic baseball' game under black lights on June 1 (CBS Sports) A minor league baseball team based in Colonial Heights, Va. will become the first team to ever play a "cosmic baseball" game, as they will play a game on June 1 under a special artificial lighting system with UV-reactive equipment. The Tri-City Chili Peppers' game will utilize black lights that will interact with the UV-reactive equipment -- including uniforms, bats, caps and balls -- to create a glow-in-the-dark effect for both the Chili Peppers and their opponent.

5/2/2024 |  Wally, the emotional support alligator famously denied access to Phillies game, goes missing (CBS Sports) A Pennsylvania man is looking for his emotional support alligator, better known as Wally, after the pet went missing during a vacation in Georgia. Wally went viral last year when he was denied entry into a Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park.

4/30/2024 |  Videos of Georgia pitcher before and during his dominant outing leads A&M coach to suspect cheating (Associated Press (AP)) A social media video of Georgia’s Christian Mracna’s activity in the bullpen and during a dominant performance on the mound in a weekend game at top-ranked Texas A&M has led Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle to suspect the pitcher was putting a foreign substance on the ball in violation of the rules.

4/30/2024 |  The Twins’ home-run sausage is fueling their eight-game winning streak (Associated Press (AP)) CHICAGO (AP) — The Minnesota Twins are no stranger to unique home-run celebrations. Last season, the team introduced a fishing vest and toy fishing pole to the dugout, a nod to the state’s 10,000 lakes.
This year, it’s none other than a midwestern delicacy — the summer sausage — fueling the Twins’ eight-game winning streak.
In Thursday’s matchup against the White Sox, the Twins faced a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning. Then, hitting coach David Popkins brought a Cloverdale Foods tangy summer sausage into the dugout and beckoned his players to tap it before they hit.