Free Republic

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series, securing their second title in the last five seasons after the 2020 title. Since that 2020 win came during an election year, the team made the traditional ceremonial visit to the White House under the Biden Administration. Though it's unclear if Joe Biden knew who the Dodgers were, where he was at the time, or what sport the team plays. As the 2024 title also came in an election year, the Dodgers should now be set to visit the White House under the second Trump administration. And some opinion writers are...

A posthumous presidential pardon for the late baseball legend Pete Rose "would mean the world" to the family, says his son Tyler Rose. President Trump stated last week that Major League Baseball should never have banned Rose, and the Hall of Fame should have inducted him during his lifetime. He also promised to posthumously pardon Rose, since he was permanently banned from the league after an investigation found that he had bet on games involving the Cincinnati Reds when he was a player and a manager. Rose hadn’t been charged with a crime for placing the bets, but had pleaded...

Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, is heard impersonating Ohtani to try to get a $200,000 wire transfer approved from Ohtani's bank account in a recording obtained by The Athletic from the Department of Justice.Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges in June, admitting to stealing almost $17 million from Ohtani as he amassed a large gambling debt while working as Ohtani's interpreter with the Angels and Dodgers. According to Mizuhara’s plea agreement, he had placed approximately 24 phone calls in which he impersonated Ohtani.In the audio recording, Mizuhara tells a bank agent over the phone that he...

President Donald Trump said Friday that Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) appears as though he was “hit with a baseball bat” or “beat around” after seeing him on television Thursday. Trump made his comments at a press conference in North Carolina, responding to a reporter who asked if he was “disappointed” Schiff was not with him on his trip to the Tar Heel State and California to inspect hurricane and fire damage in the respective states. “I was told that Schiff was going to travel with us to California. I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest with you,” Trump said. “And I...

Bob Uecker, the legendary radio voice of the Brewers who had called their games since 1971 and was nicknamed “Mr. Baseball,” died on Thursday, the team announced. He was 90. Uecker was beloved for his sense of humor and gained national acclaim for his role as announcer Harry Doyle in the “Major League” movies. A Milwaukee native, Uecker was an MLB catcher for six seasons, playing his first two years with his hometown Milwaukee Braves and winning a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. Uecker was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 as the...

The Baltimore Orioles announced Tuesday that former pitcher Brian Matusz died at the age of 37. Matusz, who spent nearly his entire MLB career with the organization.. His cause of death was not announced. The Grand Junction, Colorado, native played at least part of eight MLB seasons for the Orioles and appeared in one game for the Chicago Cubs during his career, which stretched from 2009 through 2016. After starring collegiately at the University of San Diego, and earning the 2008 West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year Award, Matusz was selected No. 4 overall by the O's in the...

Rickey Henderson, a Baseball Hall of Famer and MLB’s all-time stolen bases leader, has died, The Post has confirmed. He was 65. Henderson, a 10-time All-Star and 1990 American League MVP, was the game’s greatest base stealer, racking up 1,406 stolen bags in his career, an MLB record that still stands. SNIP “I still cannot believe I’ve lost one of my favorite teammates and great friend Rickey Henderson. Rest in peace,” former Yankees teammate Dave Winfield wrote on Instagram.

The sweepstakes to land free agent Juan Soto came to a surprising end, as the star outfielder decided to retire from professional baseball and play for the New York Mets instead. Soto explained his decision to the press, noting that though playing professional baseball had been his lifelong dream, the opportunity to sign a 15-year contract for $765 million to enjoy a quiet retirement playing baseball recreationally for an amateur team like the Mets was too attractive to pass up. "I can now live comfortably while playing inconsequential games no one will watch or care about," Soto explained. "I am...

What a Juan-der-ful holiday season it will be for the Mets. In a move that will reverberate through not just MLB, but the entire worldwide sports landscape, Juan Soto agreed to a record 15-year contract worth $765 million with the Mets on Sunday, according to sources, to usher in the Winter Meetings. The deal eclipses the $700 million contract over 10 years (which included significant deferrals) that Shohei Ohtani received from the Dodgers last winter. MLB valued that deal at $460 million in present-day value because of the deferrals. SNIP The Yankees pushed hard to re-sign Soto, with managing partner...

BREAKING: Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest deal in professional sports history. Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets includes no deferred money, according to sources, and has escalators that can reach above $800 million.

Mykalai Kontilai, the broadcast executive-turned-entrepreneur who bought Jackie Robinson's first major and minor league professional contracts and then used them to launch a sports memorabilia/auction business, pleaded guilty to wire fraud Thursday in Las Vegas. He will be sentenced Dec. 4 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice. Kontilai, 55, purchased Robinson's Montreal Royals contract for the 1946 season and Robinson's 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers contract for $2 million in 2013, subsequently using their purported value to lure investors into his sports memorabilia/auction business called, at various times, Collector's Café or Collector's...

More than Freddie Freeman or Francisco Lindor or those Yankee jamokes who tried to rip off Mookie Betts's hand, I will remember the 2024 MLB postseason for the commercials. Specifically, it was impossible to sit through any game across the entire month of October without being forced to watch multiple Donald Trump campaign ads that fear- and hate-mongered about trans people. Here's an example, if you somehow missed them ... {that ad with Kamala Harris pitching sex change operations for prisoners} ... That incarcerated people must have access to a high standard of health care should be non-negotiable for all...

A federal judge in New York on Saturday authorized two Georgia poll workers defamed by Rudy Giuliani to pursue information about four Yankees World Series rings owned by the former New York City mayor. Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss laid claim to the rings as part of their $148 million defamation judgment but when it came time to collect Giuliani asserted that he had given the rings to his son, Andrew, as a gift. The judge's Saturday morning order allows Freeman and Miss to serve a subpoena on Giuliani's accounting firm for his tax returns. An attorney for Freeman and...

In Game 4 of the World Series, baseball fans got a moment as unforgettable as it was controversial, unfolding between Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts and a front-row Yankees fan at Yankee Stadium. In the bottom of the first inning, Gleyber Torres sent a fly ball slicing toward foul territory. Betts, ever the defensive powerhouse, sprinted to the wall, poised to make the grab. But just as he leapt for the ball, the fan reached over, grabbed Betts’ glove, and yanked the ball away. The umpire’s decision was swift: Torres was out due to fan interference, and security quickly escorted the...

The twelfth meeting of the Yankees and the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. A coast to coast championship. The Yankees are up 8 - 3 all time. Who will win it all this year? I say Yankees in 7.

Prior to Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam, MLB fans couldn't get over a certain fan's hat for Game 1 of the World Series. There was a fan wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat while sitting in the first row behind home plate. It's unclear if she was rooting for the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers. For all we know, she could've went to the game strictly to make a political statement before the presidential election.

There’s no bigger stage in baseball than a World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and there’s no bigger star than Japanese slugger Shohei Ohtani. The 30-year-old’s ability to hit mammoth home runs, pitch over 100 mph and steal bases with ease got him a $700 million contract from the Dodgers this past offseason. But despite his on-field exploits, the 30-year-old is also known for being one of the most humble players in the league. It’s an approach that was instilled in him when he was just a promising high school athlete. Ohtani attended Hanamaki...

Baseball star and Los Angeles Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela passed away Oct. 22 at the age of 63. The team said the talented athlete died at a Los Angeles hospital, but did not provide any further details. Valenzuela was a true force in the sport and will forever be remembered as one of the most dominant players of his era. The Mexican-born star inspired “Fernandomania” and has a loyal, devoted fanbase that is now mourning his loss.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Dodgers' dream season continues. The Boys in Blue punched a ticket to the World Series after beating the New York Mets 10-5 in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. Sunday's historic win marks the Dodgers' fourth trip to the Fall Classic since 2017; their first since the 2020 bubble season.

Juan Soto belted a three-run homer in the 10th inning to send the Yankees to the World Series with a 5-2 Game 5 ALCS-clinching win over the Guardians on Saturday night in Cleveland. Soto’s historic blast followed Giancarlo’s two-run homer in the sixth inning, which had tied the game at two apiece.