At the end of baseball’s first month, things are starting to take shape.
It seems impossible that a full month of baseball has passed us by. It feels like only yesterday we were celebrating Opening Day, and now we’re getting to a point where it might be time to stop saying “small sample size” as an excuse.
The Dodgers aren’t a shocker as the NL West leaders, but the surprises might be the Guardians having baseball’s best record, and the Mariners (?!) are leading the AL West. The Astros and Rays at the bottom of their respective divisions is surprising as well.
There’s still PLENTY of baseball to go, but it’s sure fun to watch how things were shaking out.
Now onto today’s links!
- The Athletic staff asked 40 front office execs to rank the top 10 front offices in MLB. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- MLB is looking draw on public funding for the Athletic’s Las Vegas stadium. Story by Michael Hiltzik.
- Ben Clemens checks in on the hot starts for the AL East and NL Central divisions.
- Juan Toribio looks at the crazy-good six-inning outing for Yoshinobu Yamamoto against the Nationals.
- In that same game, Yamamoto made an incredible catch to block a comebacker. Story by Karl Rasmussen.
- Jim Bowden determines the 10 biggest disappointments to start the season. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Dusty Baker has won the Baseball Digest lifetime achievement award. (AP)
- Oops.
Letting the intrusive thoughts win pic.twitter.com/cR9BTgjFiP
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 25, 2024
- Gabe Lacques takes a look into the history of baseball in Japanese internment camps during the Second World War.
- MLB Players Weekend is coming back! But if you’re hoping for fun nicknames on the uniforms, prepare to be disappointed. Story by Jesse Rogers.
- Max Scherzer is suggesting a rating system for umpires. Story by Ben Wrixon.
- Davy Andrews explores the bizarre ejection of Aaron Boone that Boone is suggested was actually a fan being misheard.
- Todd Zolecki brings us the story of Bryce Harper swinging hot after returning from paternity leave, saying “dad power” is real.
- Dan Gartland brings us proof that Elly De La Cruz can convert anything into a run.
- Chad Kuhl welcomes a return to normalcy as he comes back to baseball. Story by Stephen J. Nesbitt. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- ESPN visits the Power Rankings after the first month of the season.
- Kids meeting their heroes gets me every time.
New haircut inspo for the captain ✂️ pic.twitter.com/qKWLxCSeB3
— Play Ball (@PlayBall) April 25, 2024
- Andy McCullough shares how Shohei Ohtani was able to lean into his new team for support in the recent betting scandal. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Andy Nesbitt looks at how the Angels’ announcers shredded an umpire after a recent game-ending bad call.
- Dan Szymborski wonders if the White Sox can lose 120 games.
- The Athletic staff are likewise looking at the downward slide of the White Sox. (The Athletic subscription required.)
- Karl Rasmussen brings us an award-worthy performance from Julio Rodriguez faking a home run robbery. Rasmussen also shares the most bizarre series of plays from Sixto Sanchez you might ever see.
- Brian McTaggart and Thomas Harding give us a breakdown of this weekend’s Mexico City series.
- Father-Son baseball duos!
New haircut inspo for the captain ✂️ pic.twitter.com/qKWLxCSeB3
— Play Ball (@PlayBall) April 25, 2024
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.