May 15, 2026 [LINK / comment]
I have been admittedly skeptical of the Sacramento (!) Athletics' plans for a new stadium in downtown Las Vegas, where groundbreaking ceremonies took place last June. Imagine my surprise when I saw photos of an actual stadium being built, with a substantial portion of the grandstand steel beams already in place! If everything goes according to schedule, the Athletics will move to their new domed stadium in 2028. Just in case there's any doubt, you can watch the live construction cam, courtesy of MLB.com!
The Tampa Bay Rays announced a "nonbinding memorandum of understanding" with local governments with regard to their plans for a new stadium east of the Tampa airport, near where the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers play. The Rays would pay slightly more than half the cost of the $2 billion project, but it could be a few more years before construction begins. There are still many ifs... See ballparkdigest.com.
The Kansas City Royals unveiled a proposal to build a stadium where the Hallmark Corporation is currently located, east of the Amtrak station. See MLB.com. I remain dubious of that scheme, however. The neighborhood is already crowded with buildings that would have to be demolished, and there would be hardly any parking. Meanwhile, Kauffman Stadium has a classic, iconic design, and I think it should be preserved.
With the two struggling, virtually "homeless" MLB franchises apparently taking care of their "housing shortage," it would seem that almost all 30 major league franchises are now squared-away, stadium-wise. Which other current stadiums might end up being replaced in the next several years? Angel Stadium in Anaheim (built in 1966) is often mentioned, and sometimes Guaranteed Rate Field (built in 1991) comes up as well. It's almost unthinkable that any other stadium would be replaced, but I've been wrong before.
In one of the most absurd stadium-naming deals that I can think of, the L.A. Dodgers have officially renamed their home "UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium." If anybody other than public relations officials and sports announcers actually uses that name, I will be extremely surprised. But I suppose I'll have to update the Stadium names chronology page in the near future.
Bobby Cox, who managed the Atlanta Braves during their period of dominance in the National League East, passed away last week at the age of 84. He played with the Yankees in the late 1960s, and managed in Atlanta in 1980 and 1981, and then from 1990 to 2002. He epitomized the gruff but smart manager, much like Casey Stengel.
And the media tycoon who eventually transformed the Braves from perennial also-rans to regular winners also died: Ted Turner passed away. The owner of Turner Broadcasting System he purchased the Braves in was instrumental in the complicated deal whereby the 1996 Olympic Stadium was transformed into the stadium that bore his name -- until the Braves moved to the suburbs a few years ago, that is.
With their new ace pitcher on the mound (Foster Griffin), the Washington Nationals seemed poised to complete a sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati yesterday. He had gone 7 full innings against the Marlins in Miami the previous Friday, getting his 4th win and bringing his ERA down to 2.29. Might he get chosen for the All-Star Game this year? After yesterday's debacle, as we shall describe below, his chances at that honor seem to have faded.
But first, let's review the past week. The Nats jumped on top with a 3-run 1st inning in that first game in Miami, and then the Marlins came back with 2 runs of their own. And then nobody else scored for the rest of that game (3-2), which was quite peculiar. On Saturday, James Wood started the game with a home run, and four batters later C.J. Abrams knocked in 2 more runs with a single. It was 4-0 after 3 innings, but the Marlins gradually closed the gap, and when Mitchell Parker came in as a relief pitcher in the 8th inning, all hell broke loose. The Marlins led 8-4 going into the top of the 9th, whereupon the Nats put together an admirably heroic rally that fell just short. Final score: 8-7. Then on Sunday Cade Cavalli had a respectable outing, giving up just 2 runs over almost 6 innings. But then the Marlins had another 8th inning rally, this time with 3 runs that were charged to reliever Gus Varland. The Nats could not answer and therefore lost, 5-2.
After a day of rest the Nationals began a series in Cincinnati, and to the surprise of many, Miles Mikolas got through 3 1/3 innings in good shape. The Nats got on the board with back-to-back solo homers by James Wood and Luis Garcia in the 3rd inning, and kept adding more runs in a 10-4 win over the Reds. Altogether, the Nats hit SIX (6) home runs in that game for just the 7th time ever! (According to my meticulous and usually-accurate records, twice they hit 8 home runs in a game, and once they hit 7.) On the next day, the Nats ended up prevailing 8-7 in 10 innings, with the deciding runs coming from Daylen Lile's 2-run home run high up into the right field seats at cozy Great American Ballpark. That game lifted the Nationals's record to 21-22, and hopes were high for a sweep to guarantee sole possession of 2nd place in the NL East. But things got out of hand for Foster Griffin in the 4th inning, when the Reds scored 4 runs to take a 6-0 lead. The Nats' bats were ice cold, and Griffin gave up 3 more runs in the 5th inning, almost doubling his season total of earned runs, which went from 11 to 20. His ERA is now 3.53. Meanwhile, the Nats' only run came on a wild pitch, as they suffered their worst defeat of the season, 15-1. No sweep! So for the umpteenth time over the past two years, the Nats wasted a golden opportunity to bring their win-loss record up to an even .500. Oh, well...
With that mixed bag of good news and bad news to digest, the Nats return to D.C. today, welcoming the regional rival Baltimore Orioles to town. And I'll be there!