Ex-big leaguers Dotel, Blanco, Cruz's sister die in roof collapse
Nuggets pull a George Steinbrenner; fire coach with team in contention
Tragic news out of the Dominican Republic, where former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco have died, along with the sister of former player Nelson Cruz, following the collapse of a nightclub roof. The roof of the Jet Set Club collapsed in Santo Domingo early Tuesday morning, killing 27 people. Dotel, Blanco and Cruz were among the victims.
Dotel, who broke in with the Mets, pitched for 13 clubs. He appeared in 758 games, saving 109 and was a member of the 2011 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. He retired in 2014. Dotel, 51, pitched for the Yankees and was part of a combined no-hitter by the Astros against the Yankees on June 11, 2003 at Yankee Stadium.
Blanco, 43, played mostly in the minor leagues and in Japan but had a brief stint with the Washington Nationals in 2005. He was mostly a first baseman. Blanco was the father of Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Tony Blanco Jr.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement about the tragedy.
I am reading New York sportswriter Bill Madden’s biography: Yankees, Typewriters, Scandals and Cooperstown: A Baseball Memoir. It is a must read if you are a baseball fan, especially of the New York baseball scene. Madden’s chapters about Yankees owner George Steinbrenner are classic. Despite the revisionist history and pleading for an “owner like George Steinbrenner” since his death on July 13, 2010, the reality is the Steinbrenner years were chaotic. And that is a chartable description. So what does this have to do with the Denver Nuggets?
On Tuesday, Nuggets ownership pulled a move right out of the Steinbrenner playbook, firing head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth. The Nuggets, who won the NBA championship in 2023, are on a four-game losing streak but own a 47-32 record with three games left in the season. They are in fourth place in the Western Conference and in a tight playoff race. Team Vice President Josh Kroenke said the firings give the Nuggets the “best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA championship.”
Assistant David Adelman will assume the head coaching duties. Presumably, Billy Martin was not available. But if this move doesn’t smack of the George Steinbrenner Era Yankees, I don’t know what does.
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