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Diamondbacks news
[AZ Central] Former D-Backs slugger Kevin Cron on playing in Japan: ‘I might not get this chance again’
I totally missed out on this news, but as Chuck and Jim pointed out in the comments on the review of Kevin Cron, the AAA slugger whose “rights were bought by a Japanese team” signed for the Hiroshima Carp. It will be interesting to see how that pans out, since the team of former Dodger Kenta Maeda plays in the Central League where there is no DH.
Around the MLB
[MLB] These are the Top 100 Plays of 2020
D-Backs number one, yeah!
[Yahoo Sports] Former Rays prospect Brandon Martin gets life in prison after murdering three people with baseball bat
The Martin family was reportedly having a security system installed on the day of the murder. Martin beat his father, uncle and a security technician with a bat engraved with Martin’s name.
Martin, who had reportedly been experiencing unspecified psychiatric issues, previously admitted to police he choked his mother and threatened her with scissors. He also previously punched his father and put his mother in a headlock, according to court records.
Martin, 27, was selected in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Rays. He went in the supplemental round and was the No. 38 overall pick. Martin, a shortstop, spent three seasons in the minors, hitting .211/.281/.371 over 628 plate appearances. Martin did not play in the minors following the 2013 season. He was released by the Rays in March 2015.
And went on to kill.
[MLB] Here are 10 intriguing 40-man roster adds
Former D-Back prospect Sam McWilliams (Hellickson trade) got a $750,000 guaranteed contract with the Mets.
[WBSC] Pro women’s baseball league in USA?
Sue Parsons Zipay founded American Girls Baseball, an affiliate organization of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) Players Association, intending to create a professional women’s baseball league in the United States. Zipay, now 86, played in the final two seasons (1953, 1954) of the AAGPBL, the women’s professional league that inspired the film A League of Their Own.
Zipays says retired citizens who move to Florida are a prime audience for a new women’s baseball league. Zipay envisions a Fall or Winter League using Major League Baseball spring training venues.
“I’d like to see it gain a good, strong foothold before I go to the big diamond in the sky,” Zipay said. “That motivates me.”
Across the Pacific
[Japan] Baseball: Complete game master Ono wins prestigious Sawamura Award
Chunichi Dragons left-hander Yudai Ono, who threw 10 complete games in an abbreviated, virus-hit season where teams played 23 fewer games. In addition to leading both the Central and Pacific leagues in complete games, 32-year-old Ono also topped both circuits with 148-2/3 innings pitched and a 1.82 ERA.
“He (Ono) threw five straight complete game victories, and did so in an environment where pitchers really aren’t allowed to go the distance,” said Hall of Famer Masaji Hiramatsu.
[Japan] Tomoyuki Sugano’s future bright despite loss in Japan Series opener
The best team in Japan got the best of one of the country’s top pitchers, as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks rolled to a 5-1 win over Sugano and the Kyojin in Game 1 of the Japan Series on Saturday at Kyocera Dome in Osaka.
Sugano’s future has been the subject of rampant speculation this year. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman kicked off the latest round last month, writing Sugano “is viewed as more likely than not to be posted in the coming weeks and become available to major league teams.”
The 2017 and 2018 Sawamura Award winner experienced a bad 2019 season which led him to make changes in his delivery.
In the Japan Series, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have taken a 2-0 lead over the Yomiuri Giants.
[South Korea] KBO to allow clubs to cut salary in case of extraordinary events
Starting next year, South Korean baseball clubs will be allowed to reduce player salaries if the season is interrupted by extraordinary events.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Thursday that, following their board meeting, general managers from its 10 clubs agreed to add the “force majeure” clause into player contracts.
Under that clause, teams will be able to cut wages without liability, if events beyond their control disrupt the season.
The Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (KPBPA) said its members are on the same page with the KBO and that they’d accept prorated wages.
Across the Atlantic
[Spain] Astros Valencia win Spanish Division de Honor 2020
The Astros Valencia have captured the Spanish Division de Honor in the 2020 season. They finished the season with a 17-1 record ahead of the Tenerife Marlins and San Inazio Bilbao.
We don’t know if cheating was involved.
Across The Wall
[Dominican Republic] COVID-19 thrashing the Dominican Winter League
Top favorites Licey and Cibao Giants had several players infected by COVID-19, leading to a total of 5 suspended matches in the LIDOM since last Friday. Club announced that it has the situation “under control”, but Rays slugger Nate Lowe announced that he would leave the Licey team immediately to work on his condition for the next MLB season in the States.
In what is normally already quite a chaotic competition with players being designated continuously, two games were suspended this weekend because of the bad terrain in one of the baseball stadiums, forcing the LIDOM to become creative already early in the season.
[Dominican Republic] Dominican players have lost US $ 103 million due to links to doping
Robinson Canó will have lost US $ 35,851,852 when he completes 162 pending games and thus will exceed the US $ 25 million that A-Rod stopped earning when he had to miss all of 2014 serving his penalty. No other player has lost so much money this way.
Of the 17 suspensions for doping that have resulted in losses of at least seven digits, there are 13 that have corresponded to Dominican players.
Since the new anti-doping program was established, 538 Dominicans have played at the big league level and 10.4% of them have been punished for using or being related to substances.
And did you know that the Diamondback...
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