Month: March 2025

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is one of the best hitters in baseball, but MLB’s all-time home run king thinks it’s a little easier now than it was in his heyday. Bonds appeared on the “All The Smoke” podcast and said players today have less to worry about at the plate.

When Bonds was asked about Ohtani’s brilliance, he did tip his cap to the 2024 NL MVP. Bonds said he admires Ohtani’s ability to excel in every aspect of the game.

“The pitching and hitting has been outstanding for what he’s done,” Bonds said. “Baserunning. He’s a complete player. There’s no doubt about the type of player he is and what he’s accomplished in his career.”

Despite that praise, Bonds asserted that hitting isn’t quite as difficult now because fewer pitchers are plunking hitters following home runs. Bonds said Ohtani wouldn’t have been able to hit multiple home runs without getting plunked in the old days.

“The game has just changed,” Bonds said. “The game is way different than it was when I played. The same way Michael (Jordan) talks about it or anybody does. Ohtani is not gonna hit two home runs without seeing one go (by his ear) in my generation. I don’t care what he does. He’s not gonna steal two bases without someone decapitating his kneecap to slow him down. It’s a different game back then.”

Justin Turner shames Mariners for offseason stagnation: ‘What the hell are we doing? Are you trying?’
Mike Axisa
Justin Turner shames Mariners for offseason stagnation: ‘What the hell are we doing? Are you trying?’
Bonds added there is less retribution for celebrating home runs in today’s era. He claimed he would have been hospitalized for gloating after parking a ball in the stands.

“They should be better than us hitting-wise because they can hit a home run, throw their bat up in the air, run around, get a taco, come back down and have a limo drive them around,” Bonds said. “All these antics that we weren’t allowed to do. If I did anything like that, I’m gonna see a star. I’m gonna see a hospital, but I ain’t gonna see baseball that day.”

Another difference Bonds alluded to was how much batting practice players get today. He noted “these guys hit more than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”

The good news for Bonds, and his home run record, is that Ohtani still has 537 homers to go before catching Bonds. Even with the supposed advantages Ohtani has, that’s a tall task for any hitter.

The Athletics have a new team president, and it is someone with experience moving a team from Oakland to Las Vegas. On Thursday, the A’s named Marc Badain their new president, a role he held with the NFL’s Raiders when the team relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. Badain left the Raiders one year later amid controversy.

“We are excited to welcome Marc to the Athletics,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “His vast experience, particularly his work on the opening of Allegiant Stadium and overseeing the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, makes him a great addition to our team at this pivotal moment. His leadership, commitment to the community, and ability to oversee transformative projects will be key as we look to build a strong and successful future in Southern Nevada.”

Prior to joining the A’s, Badain was president of sports and entertainment venues in Las Vegas run by real estate company Oak View Group. He joined the Raiders as an intern in 1991 and eventually climbed the ladder to CFO, assistant to the CEO, and then team president in 2015. Badain was instrumental in the Raiders securing Allegiant Stadium, a $1.9 billion facility on the Las Vegas Strip.

On July 19, 2021, Badain and several other high-ranking Raiders executives resigned after what owner Mark Davis called “accounting irregularities” surfaced. Davis said the team may have overpaid taxes over a period of several years and said the resignations “might be fairly characterized” as forced.

The A’s hope to move into a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip in time for the 2028 season. Last month, Fisher said construction is expected to begin this summer. The A’s will play at least the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Sutter Health Park is a Triple-A facility, and they will share the ballpark with the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.

“Is there a market for a baseball stadium (in Las Vegas)? I would hope so,” Badain told Sports Illustrated in 2023. “I would hope that the work has been done to study the market. I think it’s a little more challenging. The economics of baseball are very different than the other three sports. The regional sports television comes into play here. This is not a huge market for that. And you’re going to have to sell 2.5 million tickets. That’s not easy.”

Badain replaces former A’s president Dave Kaval, who left the team in December. Minority investor Sandy Dean had served as interim team president after Kaval’s departure.

Tyler Naquin has spent parts of eight seasons in the majors, his first five of which came in Cleveland. In 2016, he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting and appeared in five World Series games against the Cubs. He saw time at all three outfield positions, mostly in right and center, and last appeared in an MLB game for the White Sox in 2023.

The Guardians are bringing him back to the organization on a minor-league deal, but the wrinkle here is that he’s coming back as a pitcher. Naquin was a first-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2012 (15th overall) and didn’t pitch in the minors or even in college. He did have a very strong arm in the outfield (using Statcast data, he once ranked in the 99th percentile in arm strength among outfielders), but this is a pretty rare step.

Of course, a position player converting to pitcher isn’t unheard of. Closer Kenley Jansen was a catcher in the minors. Former closers Joe Nathan (shortstop) and Sean Doolittle (first baseman) were also position players to start their professional careers. Most recently, outfielder Anthony Gose converted from outfielder to pitcher.

Gose was an outfielder with Toronto and Detroit from 2012-16 and has appeared as a pitcher with Cleveland in 2021-22 and 2024, pitching to a 4.78 ERA in 32 innings. He’s now in the Mets organization.

It can go the other way, too, most notably, among recent players, with Rick Ankiel going from a pitcher to outfielder. Pitcher Michael Lorenzen has appeared in 34 games as an outfielder since 2018. And, of course, there’s always Babe Ruth, who came up as a pitcher and eventually becoming a full-time right fielder.

Naquin’s journey now as a pitcher will be fun to monitor, if nothing else.