January 19, 2022

1. The Skeeters are now the Space Cowboys

This is a landmark, probably awful day in baseball history.

Sugar Land Skeeters (short for “Mosquitos”) rings with such Dr. Seuss linguistic excellence that even a name as admittedly great as Space Cowboys can’t dull the blues from this sad news.

2. Mookie Betts went to the Rams playoff game in L.A.

In the VIP section with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, no less.

And guess which former high school teammate of Clayton Kershaw was the winning quarterback for the Rams?

3. Greg Maddux claims he didn’t become a Yankee in the ’90s because of a heart attack in the organization

“I was there, I went there to sign with the Yankees.”

And current Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay thinks the story is either bogus, or Maddux was misled by someone:

4. Baseball withdrawal symptoms, from the Wrigley Field PA announcer

Very relatable.

5. The absolutely wild stat of the day

Or maybe I don’t understand statistics enough to know if it’s possible to cherry-pick and this is more common than we think.

Either way, it’s a mind-bender:

And in other Cubs vs. Sox news, here’s a barbershop mural in Chicago.

6. Today’s highlight from the Dominican Winter League final series

Marcell Ozuna hitting a three-run HR, doing the bat flip, doing the selfie celebration — in Game 2 of the final series last night:

7. A promotion in the Dodgers organization

It’s hard to tell what a “General Manager” even means anymore, when there’s a “President of Baseball Operations” above them, but hey, the Dodgers technically have a new GM.

And yesterday was “Dodgers Night” at the L.A. Kings game:

8. The Dallas Stars wore special Rangers jerseys last night

Don’t think they’d go for the Cowboys version, given what happened on Sunday.

9. And some White Sox went to a Blackhawks game

White Sox. White Soxes? Members of the White Sox organization?

10. An optimistic sign for the upcoming MLB season

Not that the Rays have much pull, but still.

11. Cubs manager David Ross hung out with the Duke basketball team

He lives in Tallahassee, and the Blue Devils (emphasis on the “devils”) were in town to play Florida State.

12. Jonathan Papelbon says the Phillies were the best team he played for

From the article (link below):

And on why baseball isn’t boring:

13. Jomboy Media has a huge, brand new office in Manhattan

14. And lastly, listen to this Dominican baseball announcer

Not quite as much stamina as the “Goooooooolllllll” soccer guy in Mexico, but still — it’s a baseball highlight in January. We’ll take it.