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The Padres won’t be on Bally Sports, the discussion about Pride Month has gotten ugly, and I need a nap because there’s now a minor-league player who was born in 2006. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Stuck out in the same ol’ storm again
Let’s try to untangle the broader conversation happening in baseball right now about Pride Month, which starts Thursday.
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The controversy started on May 15, when Senator Marco Rubio of Florida wrote a letter to the commissioner’s office. In it, he decried the decision of the Los Angeles Dodgers to give a Community Hero Award to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
The non-profit organization uses “humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit,” according to its website. It has raised thousands of dollars for a number of (primarily LGBTQ+-centric) small businesses and charitable organizations, as well as participating in LGBTQ+ rights activism.
Rubio’s assertion was that their schtick was offensive and disrespectful to Catholics.
The Dodgers initially rescinded their invitation, but reversed course when a number of other organizations announced that they would no longer participate in the event.
Recently, a number of players have made their opinions known — both on the specific situation, and on the broader topic of LGBTQ+ rights. Anthony Bass shared a post on Instagram that cited Bible verses as reasons for boycotting Bud Light and Target for their support of Pride Month. Bass later apologized.
On Friday, Clayton Kershaw promoted a previously planned “Christian Faith and Family Day” at Dodger Stadium on his Twitter account. Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times this week he decided to promote something he felt strongly about instead of speaking out against something he disagreed with, but also said the timing of the announcement was “in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.”
GO DEEPER
Kershaw disagreed with ‘Sisters’ inclusion in Dodgers Pride night
On Tuesday, Trevor Williams of the Nationals joined the conversation, opting to do what Kershaw didn’t: He called for his “fellow Catholics” to reconsider their support of the Dodgers.
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Maybe it would be helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture. Per the Library of Congress, Pride Month recognizes the impact LGBTQ+ people have had on history. It’s held in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, a response to the police raids of the Stonewall Inn.
Bringing it into the present, according to the NIH National Library of Medicine, LGBTQ+ people are 11 times more likely to be the victim of a violent hate crime than non-LGBTQ+ people, and “hate crimes against LGBT people disproportionately occurred in public spaces like streets, parking garages, or public transit, as opposed to private homes, workplaces or stores.”
Ken’s Corner: The Orioles’ good health
Going back to last season, when the Orioles climbed out of a five-year ditch by finishing a surprising 83-79, the team’s best players largely have avoided major injuries.
Left-hander John Means, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022, was one significant exception. Then came Tuesday, when center fielder Cedric Mullins, a 2021 All-Star and member of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, went on the injured list with a strained right groin.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Mullins’ absence would be “best measured in weeks instead of months.” Still, Elias wasted no time attempting to fortify his roster, signing outfielder Aaron Hicks to a major-league contract. Hicks, a switch-hitter the Yankees released last Friday, will at least give the team an alternative who, like Mullins, can hit from the left side while playing center field.
The Orioles, as an organization, are deeper than they were in years past and seemingly better positioned to withstand injuries. This season, they’ve survived the absences of relievers Dillon Tate, who still hasn’t returned from a strained right forearm, and Mychal Givens, who was out until May 21 with left knee inflammation. Backup catcher James McCann, infielder Ramón Urías and pitcher Kyle Bradish also have missed time, but not for extended periods.
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The Orioles certainly have been more fortunate than the Yankees, whose injury list includes Carlos Rodón, Frankie Montas, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson and once again, Harrison Bader. Elsewhere in the AL East, the Rays (Drew Rasmussen, Jeffrey Springs, Andrew Kittredge) and Red Sox (Adam Duvall, Trevor Story) also have endured major losses.
Mullins’ injury highlights just how fortunate the Orioles have been. Their 35-20 record is the third-best in the majors. And their relative health has been no small factor in their success.
Given evidence that it might end
Well, we have another development in the Bally Sports saga. The Padres’ TV broadcasts are now officially under control of MLB. Here’s a quick rundown:
Feb. 15: Diamond Sports Group (parent company of Bally Sports) announces it will skip a $140 million debt payment in an effort to right the ship.
March 14: Well, that didn’t work. Diamond Sports files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but says that sports broadcasts will continue.
April 12: Diamond plans to stop payments to the Guardians, Diamondbacks and Twins, yet continues to exercise exclusive rights to the broadcasts. MLB files a motion that, more or less, amounts to “Um … what?” The Rangers join the motion almost a week later.
Yesterday: News broke that Tuesday night’s game would be the last one broadcast by Bally Sports San Diego, with Diamond Sports telling The Athletic they “decided not to provide additional funding to the San Diego RSN that would enable it to make the rights payment to the San Diego Padres during the grace period.”
MLB will take over production of the games, airing them for free on MLB TV through Sunday, then making them available to fans as a blackout-free standalone subscription for $19.99/month or $74.99/year. The league also has deals in place with a few cable providers. The on-camera talent, including Don Orsillo and Mark Grant, will not change.
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So why are the Padres the first team this is happening to? It’s all explained in the story, but the short version is: BSSD is a joint venture between the Padres and Diamond Sports, and not part of the bankruptcy filing. When Diamond missed its payment, the media rights reverted to the Padres. Thus, the Padres and MLB were able to do what the aforementioned four teams could not: find an alternative solution.
That could change soon. There’s a hearing today in bankruptcy court and Diamond is expected to argue it should pay the Guardians, Diamondbacks, Twins and Rangers less than the contracted rate because of changing economic conditions.
This definitely isn’t over.
Are you movin’ much too fast?
Back in early April, Keith Law wrote about Padres catching prospect Ethan Salas, saying “I can’t believe this kid is 16.”
Well, that 16-year-old kid (he turns 17 tomorrow) made his pro debut yesterday with the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm. He made quite a splash: he doubled, singled and walked in his three plate appearances, meaning he enters his last day as a 16-year-old with a 1.000 on-base percentage in the minor leagues.
Ethan Salas collects his first professional hit!
The third-ranked @Padres prospect wins an eight-pitch battle and laces an opposite-field double in the 16-year-old's first at-bat for @Storm_Baseball: pic.twitter.com/QuymGwsRVL
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 31, 2023
There hasn’t been a 19-year-old catcher in the big leagues since Pudge Rodriguez in 1991, but the Padres’ willingness to promote Salas to affiliated ball before his 17th birthday suggests that he could be on track to be the next one.
Of note: The Storm now feature both the youngest and the oldest roster members in the minor leagues. At 47 years old, “Padre for life” Matt LaChappa, who has been using a wheelchair since suffering a heart attack while warming up for a game in 1996, is on the Lake Elsinore roster in perpetuity, a gesture by the team that ensures he does not lose his health insurance.
Texts with Grant Brisbee
You know the drill: I text Grant Brisbee, he texts me back, we let you guys scroll through our phones any time you want.
The bottle opener is now exclusively for Topo Chico and Mexican Coca-Cola, by the way.
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You can catch Grant with Andy McCullough and Marc Carig on the Roundtable — the latest episode is right here.
Handshakes and High Fives
Shane Bieber was the unanimous AL Cy Young winner in 2020 (and has two other Top-10 finishes). This year, his strikeout rate (16.8 percent) is just over one third what it was that year (41.1 percent). He’s a different pitcher … and he’s still succeeding. What gives?
Eduardo Rodriguez hit the IL on Tuesday with a “ruptured A4 pulley in his left (pitching hand) index finger,” according to the team. The timeline for return is pretty variable with these injuries, but if it’s a bad one, it could be months. That’s not only bad news for the Tigers, but for teams looking to add starting pitching at the trade deadline.
Did a play in the 1920 World Series predict the ending of Succession? Well … no. Or at least not intentionally. But it’s a fun theory, and it’s been a heavy newsletter. Let’s lean into the fun theory.
The Yankees’ cavalry might be on the way. It looks like Josh Donaldson and Tommy Kahnle could return as early as this weekend in Los Angeles. Giancarlo Stanton shouldn’t be too far behind.
(Photo of Blake Snell: Elsa / Getty Images))
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