The home run seen around the world
Dramatic comeback by the Orioles. Coach apologizes to gamblers
Good morning, all! I hope your weekend is going well!
Who would have predicted a home run hit by Harrison Bader would gain more traction than a Jalen Carter spit? Such is the world of social media.
If you missed it, you are probably the only one. Bader of the Phillies, homered in the top of the fourth inning of Friday night’s game at Miami. The ball landed in the upper deck and a scramble ensued. A father ended up getting the ball for his son but a woman confronted the dad seconds later, claiming he stole the ball. All of them, by the way, were apparently Phillies fans.
The dad gave the ball to the woman but the incident, caught on video, went viral and public sentiment was against the woman being dubbed “Phillies Karen.”
As for the kid, he made out fairly well. First the Marlins showed up with a gift bag and then Bader gave him an autographed bat.
But here is the bottom line - and I tell this to my family all the time - assume you are always on camera. If you have a phone in your pocket, it means you have a video recorder. There are cameras everywhere: on buildings, in stores, in automobiles, etc. Assume you are being watched, because you are. Two days ago, no one knew of a “Phillies Karen.” Most never heard of Harrison Bader. Now the entire world knows. Welcome to 2025.
Here are some other thoughts, as I ponder the upcoming NFL season:
I will be resuming my Picks for Kicks segment, as a new NFL season kicks off. Living in New England, I get deluged with information about the Patriots, Giants and Jets. So here is the deal. I will be picking games involving those three teams, plus two other games each week and my selection will involve the spread. In other words, if I pick an underdog to beat the spread, that counts as a win and vice versa. So here goes: Washington will beat the Giants and cover the six points. The Steelers will beat the Jets and cover the three points. Take the Raiders, who are 2.5 point underdogs to the Patriots. The Packers will defeat the Lions and cover the 1.5 points. Finally, take the Ravens and the 1.5 points over the Bills. I am going with the line, as of Saturday night on DraftKings.
That was some win by the Orioles last night. Yoshinobu Yamamoto carries a no-hitter into the ninth inning for the Dodgers and retires the first two Orioles batters. One out away from history, he surrenders a home run to Jackson Holiday. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts then goes to his bullpen, which implodes, and the Orioles stage a dramatic, two-out rally to beat the stumbling, bumbling defending World Champs, 4-3. The Dodgers have now lost five straight.
By the way, what a night the Orioles picked for a comeback. The ballpark was sold out as Cal Ripken Jr. was honored on the anniversary of breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak. Iconic baseball broadcaster Jon Miller was in the park and joined the Orioles broadcast. Standings-wise, it has been a disappointing season for the Birds, but they have won five straight and have too much talent not to bounce back next year. Not to mention, they could make life difficult for the Yankees, as they play them in two series down the stretch.
Finally, it has come down to this. Mississippi was an 8.5 point favorite over Kentucky on Saturday and led the Wild Cats, 30-20, when Kentucky kicked a field goal with 8 seconds left, hoping to then recover the ball on an onside kick. That did not happen and Kentucky lost but won the game for the bettors, who took the points. So how did Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin close his interview: “Sorry to a lot of gamblers at the end.” As I wrote earlier, welcome to 2025.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a great Sunday!
DAN