Backlash against Major League Baseball is continuing to build after the league condemned and warned Christian baseball players for counter-signaling or outright rejecting an LGBT &#8220;Pride Night&#8221; last week.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mlb-targets-christian-players-who-rejected-lgbt-pride-night">The Daily Wire</a>, several San Francisco Giants players marked their gay pride-themed baseball caps with Bible passages, while another player refused to wear the cap at all. In response, the MLB boasted to The Athletic — a subsidiary of The New York Times — that it &#8220;warned&#8221; these players against &#8220;future violations.&#8221;
Conservative commentators quickly reacted, condemning the MLB for supposedly preaching &#8220;inclusion&#8221; while targeting the handful of players who expressed their Christian beliefs. The MLB also caught the attention of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who posted, &#8220;Do you practice religious discrimination in Florida, [MLB]? You’ll be hearing from my office soon.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Do you practice religious discrimination in Florida, <a href="https://x.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a>?
You’ll be hearing from my office soon. <a href="https://t.co/znUcRXH8p6">https://t.co/znUcRXH8p6</a>
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) <a href="https://x.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2066923867189260382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is demanding answers, too. &#8220;What does MLB think it’s doing penalizing players for their Christian faith? They owe us some answers. Right now,&#8221; he wrote on X.
The post captions a letter asking MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred about the apparent discrimination. Demanding answers by June 19, Hawley asks for information on &#8220;[a]ny policy, directive, or expectation-formal or informal governing whether players are required, encouraged, or expected to wear Pride Night caps, jerseys, or other themed apparel, and whether a player who declines to do so faces any consequence beyond the league&#8217;s written rules, including in playing time, roster or assignment decisions, club media and promotion, or standing within the organization.&#8221;
He also asks for information on &#8220;[a]ll approvals, authorizations, or directives by which the league created, permitted, or arranged the display of &#8216;Black Lives Matter,&#8217; &#8216;United for Change,&#8217; or comparable messaging on jerseys, mounds, or equipment, and any guidance by which the league relaxed its equipment rules to allow players to display social or political messages.&#8221;
The senator ended the letter with the following message: &#8220;The freedom to live out one&#8217;s faith does not end at the ballpark gate. Americans of every creed are entitled to confidence that the institutions of our national pastime will not single out religious expression for punishment while celebrating messages of the league&#8217;s own choosing. I trust the league shares that commitment, and I look forward to your prompt and complete response.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What does MLB think it’s doing penalizing players for their Christian faith?
They owe us some answers. Right now. <a href="https://t.co/yDPmjC6SMZ">pic.twitter.com/yDPmjC6SMZ</a>
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) <a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/2066929408913645917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
As The Daily Wire previously reported, starting Giants pitcher <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/giants-pitcher-refuses-to-hide-christian-faith-during-pride-night">Landen Roupp</a> on Friday etched a Bible passage found in Genesis onto his Giants cap, right next to the LGBT-themed rainbow logo the team had directed him to wear. Other players, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker, followed suit in standing up for their Christian faith, also adding Bible verses. And relief pitcher Sam Hentges refused to wear the rainbow cap altogether, stating, “I don’t morally support it.”
MLB’s chief communications officer Pat Courtney told The Athletic on Monday that these players have been “warned” about “future violations.” He said that writing on the team’s baseball caps “violates our rules.”
The Giants also addressed the Christian players. In a statement ironically about “inclusion,” the team apologized for its players apparently causing “pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community.”
“The San Francisco Giants are proud to support Pride Night and the LGBTQ+ community,” the statement said. “Baseball should be a place where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued. We also respect that individuals may make personal choices about participating in team activations. We understand that the choices by individual players have caused pain and anger to many in the LGBTQ+ community and we are sorry for that.”
“Those choices do not change our organization’s commitment to inclusion, belonging, and creating a welcoming environment for all,” the team closed. “We remain grateful to our fans, partners, employees, players, and coaches who help make Pride Night a meaningful celebration.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mlb-targets-christian-players-who-rejected-lgbt-pride-night">MLB Targets Christian Players Who Rejected LGBT ‘Pride Night’</a>

Chicago Cubs v San Francisco Giants

Backlash Mounts Against MLB For Targeting Christians: ‘You’ll Be Hearing From My Office’

Baseball

Christians

LGBTQ

Politics

Sports

After hosting Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Athletics for a third of their season with plans to do so until 2028, Sacramento announced its wager of one billion dollars of taxpayer money to bring an MLB team to the city for good.
In what is being called “The Sacramento Pitch,” the city plans to raise $ 1.8 billion to fund a stadium and team. $800 million of the proposition would come from land and tribal investments, while the remaining billion would come from tax-increment financing from the stadium, parking, and hotels currently or soon to be in the area. 
West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero seemed unbothered by the large-scale gamble when discussing the plan.
“Over 40 years, the ballpark district will lead to $1.77 billion in new revenue for the entire city, Yolo County, and our schools,” Mayor Guerrero stated in the announcement of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtqEyI4OPwI">bid</a>. “One billion of that will be dispersed to the City of West Sacramento and reinvested into the ballpark district. This one billion investment would be generated solely by activity in the ballpark district.”
The area around the proposed stadium will use taxpayer dollars to fund the tax-increment financing that is discussed in “The Sacramento Pitch.” While Mayor Guerrero mentions that they will not tap into the general fund and no taxpayer vote will be necessary, concerns are still being raised about whether public resources are being committed indirectly. Future increases in property taxes may be used for stadium upgrades down the line if the ballpark is built in West Sacramento.
This tension between economic development promises and the public’s part in the project is what led officials to propose the stadium initiative in the first place, as they attempt to structure financing in a way that appears fiscally neutral while still making the project viable.
West Sacramento’s proposition was born after the current MLB commissioner expressed his desire to expand the league to 32 teams before he retires in January of 2029. Sacramento is among Salt Lake City, Nashville, and Portland as potential cities looking to add a team. 
Currently, the capital region is home to the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, as well as the former Oakland Athletics, who are waiting to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028. The support for baseball for a major league team that isn’t even theirs sparked the plan.
“The momentum around the team is growing, attendance is increasing, and community enthusiasm is building because people are starting to think that if we do a lot for the Athletics, we&#8217;re also demonstrating to Major League Baseball that Sacramento is ready,” president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council Barry Broome told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/sacramento-makes-case-mlbs-next-expansion-city-calling-market-big-ignore">Fox News</a>.
Regardless of how ready Sacramento believes they are for a baseball team, gambling close to $1 billion in tax-increment financing is not always the safest way to spend a city’s money.

MLB: JUN 02 Orioles at Giants

West Sacramento Makes A Billion Dollar Tax-Payer Gamble To Keep Major League Baseball Around

Entertainment

Major League Baseball

Sacramento

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Celebrations are so engrained in the history and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/on-opening-day-keep-your-eye-on-community">culture of baseball</a> that the <a href="https://x.com/MLBEurope/status/1912877725813010517">first ever recorded high five</a> came after a Dusty Baker home run in 1977. Joy is baked right into the soil of the diamond. 
Great traditions and celebrations also include the likes of the “Bash Brothers” — Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco — smashing meaty forearms after a homer, players spraying champagne on teammates after clinching a playoff berth, and even Ozzie Smith’s <a href="https://x.com/BSmile/status/1254401583087071233">beautiful backflip</a>. But as the modern game embraces a louder, more expressive era, a critical line is beginning to blur. There is a fundamental difference between celebrating with your teammates and hotdogging at your opponent. One builds the game up; the other tears sportsmanship down.
Look no further than the viral antics of the San Francisco Giants’ outfield. After clinching victories, Harrison Bader, Drew Gilbert, and a hilariously enthusiastic Jung Hoo Lee have huddled in center field to unleash a bizarre, Key &amp; Peele-inspired communal hip-thrusting routine. Old-head former players <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/former-giant-slams-team-hip-thrusts-outfield-losing-record">like Will Clark</a> grumbled about it, especially with the team grinding through a tough season under Tony Vitello, and MLB’s front office eventually sent a subtle &#8220;keep it family-friendly&#8221; warning.
But at its core it’s completely harmless. It is goofy, insular, and entirely about the bonds of the clubhouse. It’s simple fun between teammates.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Giants postgame celebrations have escalated <a href="https://t.co/ctJ6oTdueq">pic.twitter.com/ctJ6oTdueq</a>
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) <a href="https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/2054223181230096783?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
The same can be said for the beautiful art of the bat flip. While American critics historically decried it as &#8220;showing up the pitcher,&#8221; we only have to look to the high-respect, intensely competitive baseball cultures of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/sports/baseball/bat-flipping-draws-shrugs-in-south-korea-but-scorn-in-america.html">South Korea&#8217;s KBO</a> and Japan&#8217;s NPB to see its true context. 
There, a bat flip isn&#8217;t a personalized insult; it’s a release of pure kinetic energy and personal triumph. The focus remains on the accomplishment, not the loser.
When done right, a bat flip can encapsulate the raw theater of sports. Consider the 2015 American League Division Series, when Toronto’s Jose Bautista launched a tie-breaking, sky-scraping three-run home run into the Rogers Centre sky. His subsequent <a href="https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/1978162377620082842">bat flip</a> — a defiant, majestic hurl of lumber — stands as one of the single greatest moments of modern baseball history. It was the organic climax of an incredibly tense, emotionally draining inning. Yet, the next year it led to an ugly, benches-clearing brawl when the Rangers hit Bautista with a pitch and second baseman Rougned Odor took exception to a slide into second base.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1106275" style="width: 402px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1106275" class=" wp-image-1106275" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-492830792-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="392" height="261" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-492830792-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-492830792-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-492830792-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-492830792.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 392px) 100vw, 392px" />Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images</div>
That fight never should have happened. Bautista wasn’t staring down the pitcher or showing up the Texas Rangers; he was reacting to a city-shaking moment. This is where baseball&#8217;s infamous &#8220;unwritten rules&#8221; require a heavy dose of contemporary prudence. Those rules exist for a reason: to prevent chaos and preserve a baseline of dignity. But they must be tempered with situational awareness. A game-winning postseason blast or slam-the-door strikeout warrants a theatrical release; an unprompted ego trip does not. The unwritten rules are meant to guard the respect of the game, not act as a fragile ego-saving mechanism for a pitcher who just gave up a 450-foot bomb to dead-center.
But then we cross the line into the unsportsmanlike.
Just last week, Milwaukee Brewers reliever Abner Uribe struck out a St. Louis Cardinals batter and immediately turned toward the opposing dugout to fire off a series of aggressive, WWE-style crotch chops. MLB swiftly handed down a one-game suspension, and rightly so. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Abner Uribe with a triple chop toward the Cardinals dugout and Pat Murphy wasn’t happy about it <a href="https://t.co/tutsuCvSTq">pic.twitter.com/tutsuCvSTq</a>
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) <a href="https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/2059473061926076469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
Uribe wasn&#8217;t celebrating with his catcher; he was actively taunting his peers. Even his own manager, Pat Murphy, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48887705/brewers-manager-pat-murphy-calls-abner-uribe-mound-antics-unacceptable">pulled no punches</a>, calling the behavior entirely “unacceptable” and “embarrassing.”
When a celebration transforms from an internal burst of team camaraderie into an outward display of playground antagonism, something has gone wrong. Baseball is a game built on the tension of failure. If you fail seven out of ten times at the plate, you&#8217;re probably a Hall of Famer. Because the game is inherently humbling, it demands a baseline of mutual respect between the lines.
If you want to thrust with your buddies in the outfield, mimic a sketch comedy show, or throw a high-five that alters pop culture history, go for it. Let the clubhouse chemistry spill onto the field. But the moment you turn your joy into a middle finger aimed at the guy holding the bat or standing on the mound, it isn&#8217;t pageantry anymore. It’s just cheap.

San Francisco Giants v Athletics

Baseball’s Biggest Culture War Isn’t About Politics

Special Reporting

Upstream

A Washington Nationals executive was fired this week after he claimed on a hidden-camera video that an outspoken Christian pitcher was excluded from some of the team&#8217;s promotional content because of his religious views.
The Nationals fired Sean Hudson, its director of community relations, after undercover journalist James O&#8217;Keefe posted a video showing Hudson admit to blacklisting pitcher Trevor Williams from the team&#8217;s social media content.
&#8220;One of our pitchers, Trevor Williams, he is very Catholic,&#8221; Hudson said on the hidden camera video.
The former Nationals executive then provided an example of why he avoided featuring Williams for the team&#8217;s promotional content.
&#8220;The Dodgers had a group out to the stadium who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. He went on social media [and wrote], ‘This is wrong. This is my religion. You all are mocking it.&#8217; Because of that, we don&#8217;t use him on social [media],&#8221; Hudson said.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/l-a-dodgers-will-honor-drag-group-mocking-catholics-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence">condemned</a> by Christians across the country, including multiple MLB players, for inviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag queen group that mocks Jesus Christ and Christians, to perform at one of their games in 2023.
After Hudson was canned, Washington Nationals President of Business Operations Jason Sinnarajah went on live TV to <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2060560136804954555">apologize</a> to Williams and the team&#8217;s Christian fans for Hudson&#8217;s remarks. He also said Hudson&#8217;s comments were false and &#8220;don&#8217;t reflect us as an organization, our values, who we are.&#8221;
&#8220;We took action right away, and [Hudson] is no longer employed by the team,&#8221; Sinnarajah added.
&#8220;We do not hide players from social media. Even just last week, we featured several players, including Trevor Williams, as part of their visit to the Museum of the Bible,&#8221; Sinnarajah <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2060560136804954555">said</a>.
In the hidden-camera video, Hudson also talked about his disdain for War Secretary Pete Hegseth and said that he prevented some Nationals players from meeting Hegseth after they expressed interest in talking to the top Trump official when he attended a game.
&#8220;We had Pete Hegseth at Space Force Day last year &#8230; and a few players texted me and they were like, &#8216;Is he going to be here after the game? I want to say hi.&#8217; And I&#8217;m like, &#8216;Oh, no he left, he&#8217;s gone, sorry.'&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING NEWS: Washington <a href="https://x.com/Nationals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Nationals</a> Director of Community Relations Admits on Hidden Camera to Active Religious Discrimination Against Starting Pitcher Trevor Williams, Surveillance of Nationals Fans’ Google History, and Segregated LGBTQ+ Corporate Meetings to an O’Keefe… <a href="https://t.co/AWqlq6wXV9">pic.twitter.com/AWqlq6wXV9</a>
— James O&#8217;Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/2059322421371605039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
One of the team&#8217;s social media stunts that Hudson claimed specifically excluded Williams was a video of Nationals players being asked whether a hot dog is a sandwich. Williams posted a photo on Instagram on Friday that appeared to reference Hudson&#8217;s comment about the hot dog video. The post showed numerous photos, including one that features a hat that reads &#8220;Bad Day to Be a Hot Dog.&#8221;
In the post, Williams also discussed his reading of 1 Peter chapter four and wrote, &#8220;This entire chapter really addresses the social costs of the faith &#8230; As my friend Fr. Joshua said &#8216;Sometimes we lean into it and bravely bear witness to Christ’s truth; sometimes we dodge it and regret it later, feeling we’ve let Jesus down.'&#8221;

Trevor Williams

MLB Exec Fired After He Claimed To Exclude Christian Player From Team’s Social Media

Catholics

Christianity

The Tulsa Drillers have suspended their &#8220;bat dog&#8221; program after a bizarre on-field collision left top Dodgers prospect Kendall George with a knee injury earlier this week.
The Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the suspension after Monday&#8217;s Memorial Day game, according to <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/27/sports/dodgers-affiliate-suspends-bat-dog-program-after-freak-injury/">The New York Post</a>.
George, the Dodgers’ No. 13 prospect and a 2023 first-round draft pick, appeared to leap out of the way of the team&#8217;s bat dog as the animal ran onto the field to retrieve a bat. The outfielder landed awkwardly and injured his knee.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Tulsa Drillers plan to suspend bat dog program after Kendall George knee injury, per <a href="https://x.com/ByJackHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ByJackHarris</a>.<a href="https://t.co/CDjKsTGMSg">pic.twitter.com/CDjKsTGMSg</a>
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) <a href="https://x.com/UnderdogMLB/status/2059694968059404293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
The incident was caught on camera, showing George limping after the run-in with the four-legged friend.
Minor league teams have recently started using &#8220;bat dogs&#8221; as a way to add to the eccentric atmosphere that comes with the minor leagues. Tulsa has been incorporating a dog into game day since 2022, per <a href="https://www.newson6.com/story/6657a715fa70eac939a5aa7e/fans-love-the-new-bat-dogs-for-the-tulsa-drillers">News On 6</a>. When the Drillers decided to go all in on the “dog days of summer” baseball trend, the team used dogs that were trained to retrieve bats after plate appearances and return them to the dugout.
The dog-induced knee injury that George sustained is an unfortunate setback for a guy who was the fourth minor league player since 2005 to steal 100 bases in a single season while posting a .409 on-base percentage.
This season, George had already stolen a division-leading 26 bases in 43 games while batting .333 for the Drillers. He also leads the Texas League in runs scored with 52.
The timing of the suspension is ironic: Tulsa&#8217;s home game Wednesday night against Northwest Arkansas is also the team&#8217;s first &#8220;Bark in the Park&#8221; promotion of the season, where fans are encouraged to bring their canine friends to the stadium.

Bat Dog

WATCH: Bat Dog Benched After Freak Injury To Dodgers Prospect

Dodgers

Dogs

L.A.

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
I coach Little League Baseball with one of my best friends, “Barney.” Before I considered him a friend, he played 10 years of pro ball. Shortly before our first practice this year, he called a coaching staff meeting. This would be the first season of kid-pitch, and the intensity would be different than in years past. This is the same guy who puts six hours of effort into compiling stats and providing each kid with a customized report on what he did well and what he needs to work on at the end of the season.
So, I leaned in when he announced we would have a coaching mantra for this season: “Make every kid want to come back tomorrow.” That was it. Meeting over. While I expected notes on mechanics, technique drills, and precision, instead, I got a lesson in the emotional experience.
The only kids who get good at baseball are the kids who keep playing baseball. And the only kids who keep playing baseball are the kids who love it. If you love something, you come back to it. Tomorrow. 
While I am on the more intense end of the spectrum when it comes to my kids’ activities — youth sports led to me being a college athlete — over the years, I have become observant of the culture that has changed so much since my childhood. In modern youth sports, so many adults become obsessed with performance before kids ever fall in love with the game. 
As a conduit between the parents in the stands and the kids on the field, I have to be aware of this, whether or not it is my approach. Thus, my expectation for this season was that I was here to teach baseball. What I learned instead was that if a kid quits, none of the instruction matters. So before we taught a kid how to throw from the mound, we vowed to teach him to enjoy showing up. 
Now, all this is admirable in theory. But for many kids, including my son, winning is always the most “fun” part. And we were far from winning form at the start of the year. We began the season with multiple first-year ballplayers, but if I’m being honest, some of our veterans looked like rookies. Errors were abundant, our best sluggers were going down looking, and for the life of us as coaches, we couldn’t convey what a cutoff man’s job was. 
After a 1-2 start, a little luck allowed us to win our fourth by one run. The dugout floor was damp with tears more than once. 
Up to this point, we had yet to lock our kids into their best positions. Every team has that star shortstop, stud pitcher, and big first baseman. But if a kid lived in right field all season, would he want to “come back tomorrow”? 
The easy approach would have been to panic and optimize. Lock everyone into their primary positions and prioritize winning immediately. But were we going to emphasize short-term efficiency, or continue to develop our kids over the course of the season? In a culture obsessed with early specialization, we chose patience. 
We learned something else along the way. Fun doesn’t have to be a distraction from learning. In fact, with 8-year-old boys in the Florida spring sun, fun should be encouraged. Practices started with water balloon fights and ended with everyone competing for the fastest throw on the radar gun. This wasn’t unserious coaching. It was an understanding of childhood. Eight-year-olds don’t learn well when they are terrified of disappointing adults. 
After the slow start, we sat the team down at Monday’s practice. Barney brought a picture from his time with the Brewers. In the clubhouse, a sign reads, “Effort Knows No Score.” He then gave a talk about effort and attitude being the only two things we can control. Wins and stats are outcomes. Effort and attitude are inputs. Choices. The two things we can control. We made each player vow to bring those two things to the field every day.  
We immediately noticed the results. Kids were showing up early, asking for extra time in the cage; team chemistry was improving (watching two eight-year-olds at shortstop and second base communicate on a double-play is pretty darn cool). The point is, the transition started internally before it showed externally. The season turned on a dime.
The season ended with us riding a 9-game winning streak into the championship. That day began with me being awoken at 6 a.m. by my son, completely dressed in his uniform, asking if we could head to the cages two hours early to “warm up.” This is the kid who wasn’t sure if he wanted to sign up for this season. 
We headed into the last inning down 4-1. The bats were ice cold. Adversity had hit us for the first time in a long time, and you could feel the pressure in the dugout. This would be our ultimate test: What does effort and attitude look like when things finally go wrong again?
What it looked like for us was our left-fielder, who was 0-6 in the playoffs, hitting a leadoff triple, followed by our right-fielder, who had learned how to swing a bat three months prior, following on with a double to spark a rally to send us into extra innings. My son, who is no Aaron Judge, smacked one down the line too for his first hit of the game.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1099063" style="width: 215px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1099063" class="size-medium wp-image-1099063" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_5590-205x300.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_5590-205x300.jpg 205w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_5590-393x576.jpg 393w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_5590-768x1125.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_5590.jpg 819w" sizes=" (max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px" />Photo courtesy of Gates Garcia</div>
We won by one run in extra innings and were crowned champions. But “championship” is too small for this team. The championship became evidence of something larger. It was proof of what kids become when adults create environments where effort matters, failure is survivable, joy exists, belief is constant, and toughness is encouraged without humiliation.
I entered the season thinking my job was to help boys become better at baseball. I left realizing my real responsibility was to help shape how they experience challenge, failure, teamwork, accountability, and belief in themselves.  
My son was in his uniform at 6 a.m., not because someone forced him — I was asleep. Not because of pressure — I was in no rush to be there that early. But because he had fallen in love with the process, and that goes for both of us. 
At the end of every season, Barney defines the success of the season on one metric. How many of our 12 players are going to sign up again next year? While our record on the field was 18-3-1, we know we really went 12-0.
***
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People with Gates Garcia. Follow him on X and Instagram @GatesGarciaFL.

GettyImages-2274794637

The Simple Fix For America’s Broken Youth Sports Machine

The Baseball Gods are a famously touchy pantheon. They do not tolerate arrogance, they do not care about your draft stock, and they certainly do not approve of a man with a 4.96 ERA shouting, &#8220;You’re f***ing mine!&#8221; after pumping in a blistering, radar-melting&#8230; 89 mph fastball.
During Tuesday’s single-elimination SEC tournament opener, Vanderbilt starter Connor Fennell clearly forgot the golden rule of the diamond: never write checks with your mouth that your arm can&#8217;t cash.
In his classic book &#8220;The Boys of Summer,&#8221; Roger Kahn wrote about the poetic, tragic beauty of aging players losing their fastballs. But Fennell didn&#8217;t lose his — he just never had one to begin with. Throwing 89 mph in 2026 isn&#8217;t pitching; it’s an invitation to a batting practice session. Yet, after getting a strike against Kentucky&#8217;s Carson Hansen, Fennell puffed his chest like he was peak Sandy Koufax.
Fennell yelled at Hansen, &#8220;You’re f*cking mine, let’s go!&#8221;
&#8220;No way this guy is talking like this and topping 89,&#8221; one fan <a href="https://x.com/JHumphry25/status/2056850582816625124">wrote</a> on X. Another <a href="https://x.com/Tyler_Palmer9/status/2056853076225523742">noted</a>, &#8220;Kid should be in jail for doing this throwing squirrel nuts.&#8221;
The universe’s reaction was instantaneous. If Fennell had read &#8220;The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop,&#8221; he’d know that the dice of fate are unforgiving. On the very next pitch, Hansen channeled his inner Roy Hobbs from &#8220;The Natural.&#8221; He didn&#8217;t just hit the ball; he launched a cosmic missile over the left-center field wall, reducing Fennell&#8217;s bravado to atoms. The way the pitcher flinched at the crack of the bat was Chad Harbach’s &#8220;The Art of Fielding&#8221; rewritten as a tragicomedy.
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The Karma Police got Connor Fennell. 🔊🚨 <a href="https://t.co/B1v5acm9oI">pic.twitter.com/B1v5acm9oI</a>
&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/2056829739248001211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Mercifully for Vanderbilt, the rest of the team actually showed up. While Fennell was left contemplating the universe, Alex Kranzler emerged from the bullpen like a mythical savior, throwing 4.1 innings of spectacular, one-hit shutdown ball to secure the 8-5 win. A four-run sixth inning and a clutch Brodie Johnston home run saved the Commodores from elimination and set up a date with Florida.
Vanderbilt survives to play another day, but Fennell’s reputation remains somewhere in orbit alongside Hansen’s home run ball.
Next time, Connor, just throw the ball and let the defense do the talking.

COLLEGE BASEBALL: MAY 19 SEC Baseball Tournament – Vanderbilt vs Kentucky

Talk Trash, Get Smashed: Never Write Checks Your Fastball Can’t Cash

University of Kentucky

Vanderbilt University

One of the San Diego Padres&#8217; top prospects self-deported to Mexico after pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to The Athletic.
Border Patrol agents caught Humberto Cruz, who came legally to the United States, in October transporting two Mexican illegal immigrants at the Arizona border. The Padres signed Cruz, the right-handed pitcher from Mexico, in February 2024 for a $750,000 bonus, the outlet <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7264972/2026/05/08/top-padres-prospect-self-deported-to-mexico-after-plea-related-to-human-smuggling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Cruz, 19, later pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to improper entry and expressed &#8220;sincere regret for a recent lapse in judgment that has caused disappointment to many people I deeply respect,&#8221; he said in a statement issued by the Padres.
&#8220;I understand that my actions have fallen short of the standards expected of me as a professional and as a representative of this organization,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I take responsibility for my conduct and recognize the impact it has had on my teammates, the club, and those who support us. To my teammates and coaches, I apologize for becoming a distraction and for not upholding the level of professionalism you deserve. To the fans, I am sorry for letting you down and for failing to meet the trust placed in me.&#8221;
Cruz went on to say he&#8217;s &#8220;committed to reflecting on this moment, learning from it, and taking the appropriate steps to move forward in a positive and responsible manner.&#8221;
&#8220;I will cooperate fully with the organization and any steps required of me. … Thank you to everyone who has reached out with support and honesty. I understand that trust must be earned, and I am prepared to do that through my actions going forward,&#8221; he added.
On the morning of Oct. 28, Border Patrol agents observed a 2020 BMW SUV with Mexican license plates traveling south near Lukeville, Arizona, with one man inside, according to The Athletic, citing a criminal complaint. The agents grew suspicious after seeing the same car an hour later traveling north with multiple people inside.
They pulled them over, finding Cruz in the driver&#8217;s seat with two Mexican illegal immigrants in tow, according to the report. One of the passengers was deported four days before through Nogales, Arizona.
Cruz waived his Miranda rights, telling the agents that he responded to a call on social media for drivers &#8220;to pick up people for easy money,&#8221; The Athletic reported. He was offered $1,000 for each person he picked up at different locations through pin drops sent to his phone by an unknown contact.
The human smuggling operator instructed Cruz to drive to Tucson and then to Phoenix, according to The Athletic. Cruz also apparently admitted that he knew the people he picked up &#8220;were illegal.&#8221;
Federal authorities charged Cruz with one felony count of transportation of illegal aliens for profit and one misdemeanor count of accessory after the fact to improper entry, the outlet reported. He entered into a plea agreement that resulted in the dismissal of the felony charge in exchange for a guilty plea on the misdemeanor and a 30-day sentence with credit for time served.
Cruz entered the plea four months before being placed on the minor-league restricted list, according to The Athletic. He was already expected to miss the 2026 season following his elbow surgery in September.
He is ranked as the Padres&#8217; fifth top prospect, <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/padres-prospect-transporting-undocumented-immigrants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CBS Sports.

Untitled design – 2026-05-11T083814.401

Top MLB Prospect Self-Deports After Smuggling Illegal Immigrants

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It might be a coincidence — or it might not.
The New York Mets are on an 11 game skid since New York mayor Zohran Mamdani hugged the team’s mascot.
An apology seems to be in order.
Forget the Red Sox&#8217; long-dead &#8220;Curse of the Bambino&#8221;—New York has a new, much more bureaucratically efficient disaster: The Mamdani Curse. On April 9, Mayor Zohran Mamdani stepped onto the field and wrapped his arms around Mrs. Met. Since that cold-blooded act of political affection, the Mets have gone 0-11. It’s as if the Mayor’s touch carried the same administrative efficiency he brings to City Hall, successfully grinding a <a href="https://www.wfmd.com/2026/04/18/new-york-mets-500-million-team-has-lost-10-games-in-a-row-after-zohran-mamdani-meeting/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">$507 million engine of hope</a> into a stationary pile of expensive scrap metal.
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The New York Mets haven&#8217;t won a game since Mr &amp; Mrs Met hugged Zohran Mamdani <a href="https://t.co/VI0zqnoHRt">pic.twitter.com/VI0zqnoHRt</a>
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/2044420722240729143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Statistically, Mamdani is the most effective defensive player in Major League Baseball history. Since he made contact with the mascot, the Mets have scored a pathetic 1.8 runs per game. He has managed to do what no opposing pitcher could: he neutralized Francisco Lindor, turned Bo Bichette’s bat into a decorative toothpick, and sent the team’s playoff odds off a cliff, plummeting from a confident 89% to an almost certainly too hopefuly 47%.
While the mayor might be used to managing deficits, this 11-game skid is a masterclass in bankruptcy. It takes a special kind of political talent to walk into a stadium and accidentally lobby for a 100% tax on hits, runs, and basic competence. Watching the Mets right now is like watching a city council meeting on a Tuesday morning: long, painful, and ending with everyone wondering where all the money went.
Even when the team tries to fight back, the &#8220;Mamdani Curse&#8221; lingers like a bad zoning law. Against the Cubs, the Mets <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/19/sports/mets-drop-11th-straight-in-nightmare-extra-inning-loss-to-cubs/">managed to go</a> 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They aren&#8217;t just losing; they are failing with the kind of bureaucratic precision that suggests they’ve been ordered to stay in last place by the mayor&#8217;s office.
At this point, an apology may not be enough. For the sake of the city, the mayor needs to be banned from within 500 feet of Citi Field, and Mrs. Met needs to be dipped in holy water.
If Mamdani decides to hug the Statue of Liberty next, New Yorkers should expect the torch to go out and the harbor to freeze over by sunset.
The Mets have 27 outs to work with every game, and thanks to the mayor, they are treating every single one of them like a campaign promise: discarded, forgotten, and leaving the public in tears.

Arizona Diamondbacks v New York Mets

One Moment… Then Disaster. See The Streak Everyone’s Talking About

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New York Mets

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Zohran Mamdani

A truly heartwarming moment at a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game reminded Americans why baseball has always been America’s game, no matter the numbers.
Jake Mangum of the Pirates saw a young girl in the outfield bleachers wearing his jersey, and tossed the ball into the upper deck where her older brother caught it with his mitt. The young boy then turned and handed it to his sister, hugging her as he did so. Their father, behind them, was as excited as they were.
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Jake Mangum threw this baseball to a young fan &#8230;
The moment that unfolded after will melt your heart 🥹❤️ <a href="https://t.co/ppJSZz3moj">pic.twitter.com/ppJSZz3moj</a>
&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/2045953764792701310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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My neice and nephew!!! And he DID make their day!!
&mdash; betsyburgh (@betsy_burgh) <a href="https://twitter.com/betsy_burgh/status/2045968583818195083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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I can confirm!!!! Their dad…..my brother!
&mdash; betsyburgh (@betsy_burgh) <a href="https://twitter.com/betsy_burgh/status/2046029558730621339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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After the game, an interviewer asked Mangum, “You also created a core memory for a brother-sister duo, it looked like, in the stands, throwing them a ball. As a big brother yourself, what was that moment like?”
“It was cool. Watching the dad’s reaction to their kids catching the ball was really cool. That’s what it’s all about,” he answered.
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Jake creating core memories at the ballpark. 🥹 <a href="https://t.co/8sXwRmfKcB">pic.twitter.com/8sXwRmfKcB</a>
&mdash; Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/2045963773706404319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Mangum’s family also has a love and excitement about baseball; his beloved grandparents saved the tickets from his first high school game, on which they wrote, &#8220;On the way to the big league.” His mother framed them and saved them for him.
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When Jake Mangum played his first high school game, his grandparents saved their tickets &amp; wrote &quot;On the way to the big league&quot; on them ✏️🎟️
His mom was able to frame and gift them to Jake following his debut: &quot;If anyone knows my mom, she keeps a lot of stuff.&quot; 😆🥹… <a href="https://t.co/sjUyzmR1I3">pic.twitter.com/sjUyzmR1I3</a>
&mdash; SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) <a href="https://twitter.com/SNPittsburgh/status/2043809034164113795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2026</a></blockquote>
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As New York University president John Sexton wrote in his best-selling book, “Baseball As A Road To God,” “In an age of gigabytes and picoseconds, we tend to live too quickly and to miss much that we might see. Baseball as it turns out, can help us develop the capacity to see through to another, scared space.”
“I don&#8217;t have to tell you that the one constant through all the years has been baseball,” W.P. Kinsella wrote in “Shoeless Joe,” later filmed as &#8220;Field of Dreams.&#8221; “America has been erased like a blackboard, only to be rebuilt and then erased again. But baseball has marked time while America has rolled by like a procession of steamrollers.”
Famed Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda noted, “There are only two seasons—winter and baseball. And when baseball comes, families come together.”
The Chicago Cubs&#8217; beloved Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks enthused, “The only thing better than baseball is sharing it with someone you love.”
&#8220;Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too,” Yankees legend Yogi Berra declared.
As legendary Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby noted, &#8220;People ask me what I do in winter when there&#8217;s no baseball. I&#8217;ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.&#8221;

MLB: APR 08 Padres at Pirates

WATCH: Heartwarming Moment With Pirates Player And Kids Reminds Us Baseball Is Still America’s Game

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This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
One of the most important moments in baseball history occurred on Saturday, in the 6th inning of a closely contested but otherwise ordinary early-season game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. 
With two outs and the bases loaded, with the Reds up 5-3, C.B. Bucknor, one of the worst home-plate umpires in Major League Baseball, rung up Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez on a called strike three. Suarez immediately tapped his helmet, indicating he was disputing the call. This activated the computerized ABS, Automated Balls and Strikes system, which the MLB is officially implementing this year after several years of trial and error. 
TV viewers immediately saw the pitch, as did people in the Reds home stadium. The computer animation showed that Bucknor was wrong. It was a ball. The crowd roared. Any true baseball fan — and the Reds have a passionate and well-informed fan base — knows that Bucknor has long been a problem for the sport, an out-of-control, marginally-competent egomaniac who often gets calls wrong in key situations, imposing his will, deciding games in inappropriate situations. 
On the very next pitch, Bucknor rung up Suarez again. Again, Suarez challenged, and again, Bucknor was wrong. It was a ball. The stadium reacted like the Reds had just won the World Series. The Reds announcers remarked that it was the loudest cheer on a day where the Reds had already hit two home runs. 
On the next pitch after that, Suarez grounded out to end the inning. But even though the Reds ended up walking off the game in the 11th with a single, winning a 6-5 thriller, the real headline was the gauntlet that this new technology laid down to the home-plate umpire’s authority. The Red Sox and Reds challenged Bucknor eight times. And they were right six of those times. Tensions boiled over so extremely that Bucknor ended up ejecting Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the eighth inning. But that was the desperate act of exactly the type of professionally doomed person that the ABS means to expose. The game will never be the same.  
One of baseball’s most beautiful features is that it’s always changing. It used to take nine balls to draw a walk. Black players had a separate league. There were no night games. People rooted for players with names like “Dizzy” and “Dazzy” and “Moose.” And the game today, though basically the same as the one I knew as a kid, also has some significant differences. The Houston Astros used to be in the National League. The Milwaukee Brewers were in the American League. There were no Wild Card teams until 1995. There were no divisions until 1969. The introduction of in-season interleague play seemed like a dumb idea, and it remains a dumb idea, but there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it now. When the MLB added the designated hitter to the National League, it was a violation of all that’s holy. But that was before Shohei Ohtani signed with my beloved Dodgers. Now I like the DH. 
There was also a time when we couldn’t even conceive of robot umps, except on an episode of Futurama, but now they feel like they’ve always been inevitable. Fans used to have a lot of fun when fat old managers roared out of the dugout to scream at fat old umpires over ball-strike calls. But that was decades ago, when the calls were guesswork for everyone involved, fans, players, managers, and umpires alike. After TV broadcasts introduced pitch-tracking technology in 2008 and StatCast in 2015, suddenly everyone could see exactly what the umps were getting wrong. The era of “YER BLIND, UMP!” ended. It stopped being amusing and started just feeling pathetic. 
MLB first tried out the ABS system in the minor leagues and then last season in Spring Training. The system uses 12 Hawk-Eye cameras and T-Mobile’s 5G network to track pitches within one-sixth of an inch of accuracy. It takes the guesswork out of the way, removing the last major bone of contention that teams have with umpires. 
If a pitcher, catcher, or batter thinks an umpire has missed a strike call, they can &#8220;challenge.” This triggers an automatic robot review. If the challenger is right, the call is overturned. But the challenger can also be wrong, which allows the game to retain an element of human error. From Thursday through Sunday, roughly 54% of all challenged calls were overturned, which means that players were right slightly more often than umpires. 
Umpires are often right, but the bad ones can no longer take charge of a game behind the plate through bad calls, briefly becoming the main character when the focus should be on the players. Also, the ABS mostly gets rid of “pitch-framing,” a sub-skill among certain catchers where they can micro-jerk their mitts into the strike zone, sleight-of-hand fooling umpires into making the wrong call. It’s going to get a lot harder for catchers to pull a rabbit out of that hat, just like it’s going to get a lot harder for batters to throw temper tantrums when they think the umpire has done them dirty. The rational ABS will quickly dump ice water on those hotheads. 
Most importantly, it will be a lot harder for a missed ball-strike call to determine a game’s outcome. We saw perhaps the last instance of this in modern history in the 9th inning of the World Baseball Classic semifinal between the USA and the Dominican Republic. The WBC didn’t use the ABS, and it sure showed. With the 2-1 game on the line and a runner on third with a three-ball and two-strike count, U.S. pitcher Mason Miller threw a low slider to the DR’s Geraldo Perdomo. It was clearly a ball. Perdomo didn’t swing. Umpire Cory Blaser called it a strike anyway, and that was ballgame. 
Cory Blaser may be the last umpire ever to crush a national fan base’s dreams. The ABS cannot make a mistake like that. It sees all. 
Over the weekend, the Baltimore Orioles successfully challenged two separate pitches in the 9th inning against the Minnesota Twins, turning a potential walk into a strikeout to nail down an 8-6 win. We’ve yet to see a dramatic game-ending ABS overturn, but it’s coming, and the stadium will go nuts like a stadium has never gone nuts before. Because the robot umps are here to save baseball.
***
Neal Pollack, “the greatest living American writer,” is the author of 12 semi-bestselling books of fiction and nonfiction and is a three-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

Arizona Diamondbacks v. Los Angeles Dodgers

Baseball Just Put An End To One Of Its Most Frustrating Problems

The smell of cracker jacks fills the air and the sound of bats cracking can be heard all across the United States, because it is Opening Day for America&#8217;s Pastime. Major League Baseball is kicking off the season in patriotic fashion with a league-wide campaign to celebrate 250 years of the United States.
All season, the Major League Baseball will recognize this milestone by accumulating 250,000 collective volunteer hours in 2026 across all 30 MLB clubs and other extensions of the league as part of the &#8220;MLB Together&#8221; initiative.
MLB is a partner of America250, the official nonpartisan organization established by Congress to lead the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
&#8220;MLB Together represents the very best of what our sport means to our fans and our communities,&#8221; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. &#8220;Baseball’s ability to bring people together through common values and causes has placed the game in a unique stature within our culture. We look forward to working with our Clubs, partners, and fans in making meaningful changes in our society through the MLB Together platform.&#8221;
250,000 hours is a challenge, but former players got a start earlier in March by participating in a beach cleanup in Miami ahead of the World Baseball Classic final. Volunteers joined players — including Michael Bourn and Scott Kazmir — removed debris and trash from the shoreline of Miami Beach.
It&#8217;s fitting that baseball is playing a role in celebrating America&#8217;s 250th birthday since the sport has been part of the nation&#8217;s culture since the 1800s. In addition to logging the 250,000 volunteer hours across the league, teams will display a &#8220;USA 250&#8221; on their jerseys through the July 4th games — and during the MLB All-Star Game, which takes place in America&#8217;s birthplace, Philadelphia.
The midsummer event returns to Philly, where the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago. This year&#8217;s game is the first time Citizens Bank Park will host the event since opening in 2004. The game has been held in Philadelphia four times in the past, one of which was held at Veterans Stadium for the nation&#8217;s Bicentennial in 1976.
Opening Day 2026 features some powerhouse pitching matchups with Pirates ace Paul Skenes facing off against Mets slinger Freddy Peralta.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-proudest-ive-ever-been-wearing-a-jersey-is-the-usa-jersey-paul-skenes-is-americas-ace">&#8216;The Proudest I’ve Ever Been Wearing A Jersey Is The USA Jersey&#8217;: Paul Skenes Is America’s Ace</a>
Other Thursday games to watch include the World Champion Dodgers beginning their journey toward a three-peat when they take on the Diamondbacks. The Mariners and Guardians compete in a battle of the 2025 division winners in Seattle.
The 162-game season leaves little time for players to have free time, but the MLB&#8217;s commitment to celebrating America will be felt every time players and coaches log their volunteer hours to hit the overall volunteer goal.
Fans can get involved too by <a href="https://www.mlb.com/mlb-together/america-250">signing up</a> to volunteer alongside their favorite players.

Credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Opening Day 2026 Kicks Off A Patriotic Season For America’s Pastime

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