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Starting today, there will actually be real baseball news coming out of Chase Field. It looks and feels drastically different than it used to, and it may never feel exactly the same way that it did ever again, but folks, baseball is back. It will be nice to put the fighting between the MLBPA and the Owners behind us, even if it is only for a year and a half until the current CBA agreement expires. It will be nice to look at one aspect of life returning to some semblance of normal, even as the governor takes steps to roll back the reopening of our state. Play ball.
(The Athletic) Prohibition baseball: Inside the biggest All-Star Game no one watched
A group that included Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton and more than 30 other big leaguers had quietly been working together – from a safe distance. They formed a secret baseball group while playing at Palm Beach Gardens High School.
(BR.com) Saying Goodbye to the Hitting Pitcher in MLB After Long-Overdue Switch to NL DH*
Today’s top slugging pitcher is a coin flip between Greinke and Bumgarner. But if the universal DH becomes permanent, neither one will have had the honor of turning out the lights on this era. That would be Gerrit Cole, who faced Sean Doolittle in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the 2019 World Series.
Naturally, he struck out.
*Views contained in this article regarding how over due or needed the NL switch to the DH is neither reflect this author’s opinion or reality
(The Athletic) ‘We’re never satisfied’: The next great Arizona rotation is already on the farm
Kelly is one to watch, but that hardly makes him unique among Diamondbacks prospects. Over the past few years, thanks to blockbuster trades and two pitching-heavy drafts, the Diamondbacks have built an enviable amount of pitching depth. Some of that is in the majors already, such as Luke Weaver and Zac Gallen, and others – Jon Duplantier, Taylor Clarke, Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas and more – are waiting in the wings for a shot that could come any minute.