Free Republic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has picked another fight with progressive corporate America, this time the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. When he signed the state budget last week, Mr. DeSantis zeroed out $35 million to help build a new site for the Rays’ spring training. “I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period,” he said Friday. This is a good policy that too few states emulate, and Florida taxpayers can be grateful that their Governor has a line-item veto and is willing to use it

Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $35 million the state legislature had approved in the latest state budget to help build a spring training facility for the Tampa Bay Rays. “I don’t support giving taxpayer dollars to professional sports stadiums, period,” DeSantis said.

Multi-Millionaire Washington Nationals’ pitcher Sean Doolittle recently joined a webinar hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America to speak about socialism and baseball. The event held Sunday was put on by the DSA’s Baseball Caucus, the Democratic Socialist Labor Commission, and the DSA’s National Political Education Committee. “Join us for a webinar about baseball workers brought to you by DSA baseball fans featuring Simon Rosenblum-Larson (founder of More Than Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays affiliate), Max Gerboc (SEIU Local 1 stadium worker organizer), and Sean Doolittle (DSA member and Washington National).” Doolittle, who is a proud socialist, signed a five-year...

One of the hallmarks of a bully, of a cruel human being, is attacking people who don't always have the political power or resources to defend themselves. We saw a good example of this in 2019, when the Trump administration, in a remarkably cold move, attempted to kill federal funding for the Special Olympics. If you've never seen the Special Olympics, which gives athletes with certain intellectual disabilities the opportunity to compete in several different events, it is a remarkable thing to watch. These Olympics don't just represent the best of sports. They represent the best of humanity. The motto...

A number of Tampa Bay Rays players decided not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniforms as part of the team's annual 'Pride Night' on Saturday. In the buildup to Saturday's MLB game against the Chicago White Sox, which also marked the franchise's annual 16th Pride Night celebration, the Rays added rainbow-colored logos to their uniforms, caps and on the right sleeve of their shirts. 'Our Pride Nights continue to grow both in terms of visibility and participation,' Rays president Matt Silverman told the Tampa Bay Times. 'By doing this, we extend an invitation not just for this game but...

At least five players on the Tampa Bay Rays roster opted not to wear a patch the team added to their uniforms intended to celebrate Pride month in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox (box score). During the team's 16th annual Pride Night celebration Rays caps and uniforms had logos colored in the style of the modern LGBTQ+ pride flag, but not everyone in the clubhouse chose to participate. Pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson were among the players who did not wear the patch on their uniforms and chose to wear...

DeSantis’s decision is in response to the Rays politicizing recent shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde ahead of a matchup with the Yankees in May. Here’s what the Rays posted before the start of the game: (at link) The decision follows DeSantis’ response to Disney earlier this year. In April, DeSantis revoked Disney’s special tax and self-governing privileges after the company injected itself into the debate over a Florida parental rights law, inaccurately dubbed as “Don’t Say Gay.” DeSantis is giving a voice to the people who do not want their sports and children’s companies on the front lines of the...

A portion of the proceeds raised at the upcoming “Pride Night” festivities at Tigers Stadium in Detroit will be directed towards providing “gender-affirming” surgeries for children, according to a report from National Review. In a story that ran on Friday, National Review’s Nate Hochman reveals that Detroit Tigers fans will be given the option of donating to groups such as the Trans Sistas of Color Project and the Ruth Ellis Center. Both of those organizations help fund trans surgeries to minors and children. According to Outkick: A portion of the proceeds raised at the upcoming “Pride Night” festivities at Tigers...

In a pointed letter to teams last week, Major League Baseball said numerous clubs' stadiums "fall embarrassingly below the high standards" necessary for women who are part of the game's traveling parties to do their jobs, create an "untenable working environment" and that organizations soon must reconfigure their facilities to fix what the league deemed "unacceptable," according to a copy of the memo obtained by ESPN on Thursday. The letter, sent May 20 by MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill to general managers, assistant general managers and some ballpark-operations staff, highlighted the issues a wide array of...

Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu has resigned. The announcement comes just days after it was revealed that Sidhu is one of the subjects of an FBI corruption probe. Last week, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra asked an Orange County judge to put a hold on a deal to sell Angel Stadium, citing federal documents alleging that Sidhu was trying to leverage the deal to secure campaign contributions from the Angels. The city of Anaheim had planned to sell the stadium to Los Angeles Angels team own Arte Moreno's company and would use money from the sale to fund affordable housing throughout...

With about one month of Major League Baseball’s 2022 season in the books, it appears that the woke pro league is having trouble getting fans to turn on their TVs. According to Sports Media Watch, no game has reached 300,000 viewers over the past two weeks. Even a college softball game beat the 300,000 mark. “Brewers-Phillies averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.11 million viewers on last weekend’s edition of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, down sharply from Padres-Dodgers on ESPN and ESPN2 on the same weekend last year (2.01M*),” Sports Media Watch reported. “With ESPN’s regular season coverage now consisting almost...

Major League Baseball announced a 324-game suspension for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer on Friday, the equivalent of two full seasons and by far the most severe punishment handed out under the sport's domestic violence policy. Bauer promptly released a statement announcing he was appealing the suspension, thus becoming the first player to appeal punishment through MLB's domestic violence policy.

SNIP “The MLB has a very big problem with the baseballs — they are bad,” Bassitt said after his team’s 3-0 victory over the Cardinals. “Everyone knows it. Every pitcher in the league knows it. MLB doesn’t give a damn about it. They don’t care. We have told them our problems with them, they don’t care.” Bassitt said there is too much inconsistency among the baseballs being used this season, and the problem is exacerbated in different climates. “There is no common ground with the balls,” he said. “There is nothing the same, outing to outing.”

FOR MONTHS DURING the lockout, Major League Baseball players had a consistent gripe about the system they were attempting to change -- a gripe to which fans, too, could relate. At issue is a strategy that has become commonplace in baseball: Tanking. Popularized during World Series title runs first by the Chicago Cubs and then the Houston Astros, tanking has become an often-imitated way to rebuild. Instead of risking mediocre play that keeps a team stuck in the middle, a team will trade away veteran players and bottom out. The club will then start over with small payrolls, load up...

John Smoltz, the longtime MLB pitcher turned analyst, is reportedly no longer working for MLB Network. Smoltz has declined to receive the mandatory vaccine to work on MLB Network, according to a report. The network has made the decision to remove him from his role, as a result. MLB Network’s vaccine policy took effect in fall of 2021. Smoltz declined the vaccine and then no longer appeared on set. His contract with the company has since expired and he’s no longer employed by MLB Network. “John Smoltz is no longer on MLB Network after a vaccination policy took effect last...

For Marxism to take hold, everything that came before it must be burnt to the ground, according to the standards of today’s radical leftists. No matter the historical background, if it does not serve the purposes of the Great Reset’s dystopian agenda, it must be torn down to the ground. Even if it’s something as simple as a name. This has been proven across the culture, from iconic food brands like Aunt Jemima, which is no more – to Sports, where the Cleveland Indians have gone the way of the dodo – across all areas, the illiberal left is on...

Joe Maddon selected an adjective usually applied to a gallon of milk. Then again, for all the romance that surrounds the sport, baseball is a consumer product too. “Once you eradicate National League rules, then everything becomes homogenized,” the Angels manager said. With the adoption of the designated hitter in both leagues this year, and with the expansion of interleague play next year, Major League Baseball is giving their consumers what the league believes they want. The National League dates to 1876, the oldest surviving professional sports league in the world, according to MLB historian John Thorn. The American League...

A Purdue University professor of women's studies drew criticism for saying transgender UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas should be celebrated as a 'trailblazer' in the same way as Jackie Robinson and that her achievements are good for women's sports. Cheryl Cooky - Purdue professor of American studies and of women's, gender and sexuality studies- claimed in an NBC op-ed piece that Thomas' victories should be highlighted as a historical first alongside Jackie Robison, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Oakland Athletics are purging top players, trading Chris Bassitt and Matt Olson. It should be the last straw for the team’s few remaining fans.A’s fans deserve better. But sadly, any fans who have stuck around know the drill by now. The A’s are tearing it all down, again. This weekend, All-Star starting pitcher Chris Bassitt was traded to the Mets. Monday, Matt Olson, a legitimate MVP candidate, was sent to the Braves. More will come in the days and weeks to come. Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas — anyone wearing green and yellow and anywhere near arbitration is...

Yankees star Aaron Judge refused to directly answer a question about his vaccine status Tuesday amid a requirement in New York City that every private sector employee be inoculated against the coronavirus. "I'm still focused on just getting to the first game of spring training," Judge said from the team's Florida training complex. "So I think we'll cross that bridge after the time comes. But right now, so many things could change. So I'm not really too worried about that right now." SNIP The employer mandate is the same across the board, whether it's a sports team playing indoors or...