Moment of Appreciation for Melvin Manhoef, who just retired. Yes, he hasn't been top tier in a while. But he made his pro MMA debut in 1995 - before legends like Coleman, Goodridge, & Don Frye!! Still, he asked Bellator for his last fights to be against Romero & Corey Anderson. Respect to a pioneer.
Before Khamzat, there was Jeremy Horn. He once fought 21 times in 11 months, against the likes of Chuck Liddell, Steve Berger (who twice beat WEC champ Shonie Carter), and Daiju Takase (first man to finish Anderson Silva). He made 3 different UFC stints during that time. Oh, and he won all 21 fights
People say Kershaw loses in the postseason bc he pitches poorly. Not true. In 177 playoff IP, he's given up 146 hits, 47 BB, & 193 K. Among the top-10 career playoff IP leaders, his 4.1 SO/BB and 9.8 K/9 are tops, and his 1.088 WHIP is 2nd only to Verlander. He loses... because he's A DODGER LOSER!!
For comparisons of KBO vs the MLB: Dan Straily was the worst pitcher in baseball last year. He had a 9.82 ERA, a 1.993 WHIP, and gave up 22 dongs in 47 IP (4.2 per 9 IP). In Korea, he's 3rd in the league in ERA (2.10), 3rd in WHIP (1.006), 2nd in K/9 (10), and allowed 2 dongs in 55 IP (0.3 per 9IP)!
Remarkable MLB history: There haven’t been many guys with 6+ WS rings. You’ve heard of most, and they have a hall where they relax. But two men - Charlie Silvera and Ralph Hook - got 12 rings combined with just 1.2 combined WAR! Not only were they both Yankees, but they were BOTH Yogi’s backup C’s!!
Hector Sanchez was selected for the 'BASEBALL UNITED 2023 ALL-STAR SHOWCASE ' in Dubai. He is looking older than I remember, when in 2012 he became the youngest catcher EVER to start a World Series game at DH. Now, he's ALSO the youngest catcher to catch a game that featured a 6-RUN HR, kudos pablo!
Interesting Giants NRI #4: Yusniel Diaz! The 2015 Industriales de La Habana lineup was filled with future MLB guys: Yuli & Lourdes Gurriel, Dairon Blanco, Miguel Vargas & more. Yet the top hitter was 17-year-old(!) Yusniel Diaz who hit .348/.447/.440/.887 in 250 PA. Pre-2019 he was BA's #37 prospect
Moment of Appreciation for Darryl Brinkley. Despite starting pro ball at age 25, he played 16 seasons as a pro, including 5 seasons in AAA where he hit .319 in 1,522 AB’s... but never played in the MLB. His one chance at playing in the majors was prevented by the 9/11 attacks (see comments for info)