Sports
Three Storylines Entering 2025 MLB Spring Training: Dodgers, Mets, & More
Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) singles during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees in game five of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images It is that time of the year for all things grapefruit and cactus to distract from winter’s deep freeze while allowing a window into summer.
Spring has sprung for all 30 MLB teams, with 29 of those left to wonder how they can sling their way past the goliath under construction in Los Angeles.
Those World Series champion Dodgers are set to begin the season first when they take on the Chicago Cubs at Tokyo in mid-March. Do the mightiest of all really need a head start?
Here are three of the biggest stories to watch as the 2025 season works its way to Opening Day:
Will the rich get richer in L.A.?
The criticism of the Dodgers’ front office for trying to make their roster better than yours has fast-forwarded all the way to the annihilation of the game itself. Criticizing one team for doing what your team won’t, or can’t, surely is one way to go.
The Dodgers do seem intent on becoming the first repeat champion in 25 years. They have two decades of evidence on what doesn’t work, so they went out and made the game’s best roster even better.
A pair of Hernandezs were re-signed: Kiké and Teoscar. A Cy Young winner from two different countries was added: Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. Infielder Hyesong Kim of South Korea already has impressed. The bullpen should be better with Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, while veteran Michael Conforto will try to deliver his eighth season of double-digit home runs.
Yet none of it holds the intrigue of Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound after a second elbow surgery since arriving from Japan into the United States in 2018. After one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, Ohtani will add what he can from the mound. It will make astoundingly great theater.
Will the Dodgers win 120 games? Will they crumble under the weight of expectation? No matter the case, everybody will be watching.
What is the empire state of mind?
Dec 12, 2024; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets general manager David Stearns hands a cap to New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) during Soto’s introductory press conference at Citi Field. Also pictured New York Mets owner Steve Cohen (left) and agent Scott Boras (right). Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images After a season when MLB was this close to another Subway World Series, expectations abound in a pair of New York boroughs for 2025.
After they helped the Dodgers’ cause in the deciding game of the World Series, the Yankees hope to give themselves another chance with additions like lefty Max Fried and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Outfielder Cody Bellinger and closer Devin Williams arrived in trades.
Can all of it cover for the departure of the dynamic Juan Soto? An even more well-rounded roster suggests it will, although depth might be the biggest indicator of how far the Yankees go.
Soto’s new home is with the Mets, and he has promised to be the same guy as always. A small step back in production still would make him one of the top players in the game. The road to Pete Alonso’s return was slow and awkward. The veteran slugger insists he is “happy” now. He said it over and over. Was he convincing us, or himself?
Are summer rentals good for the game?
source: Getty Images Baseball’s rentals used to be players arriving at the deadline with a few months to produce in the stretch drive before their contracts expired. Right-hander Jack Flaherty was a quintessential example, pitching in 15 games, counting playoffs, for the Dodgers, then going back to where he came from in Detroit this offseason.
In 2025, rentals now refer to entire teams taking up residence in temporary locales. The Oakland/Northern California/Sacramento A’s are going Airbnb style with a move to the California capital to play in a minor league park for a few seasons. The Tampa Bay Rays are being true to their name by moving into a spring training park for regular season games in … Tampa.
Two of baseball’s smaller draws now will be a tough ticket, although the ultimate goal is for both to be in brand new stadiums at some point down the road. So is it a good time for baseball to have reduced attendance for two teams?
Last season, 71.3 million fans saw games in person. That’s 17th all-time in MLB history and well below the record 79.5 million in 2007. World Series TV ratings were slightly up in 2024 with an average of 15 million viewers per game, but nowhere near the late 1970s and early 80s, when those numbers were in the area of 40 million.
Yet payroll is higher than it has ever been, and so is revenue sharing, with summer’s ultimate sporting draw healthy as ever, even if fewer tickets are available.
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Best Mothers Day gifts: Show mom some love
