MLB News & Moments You Should Know – 6/1/23

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

Today’s Headlines

Flamethrower Kirby

I guess George Kirby swallowed a lighter or something before the game because he was bringing the heat last night:

George Kirby opens tonight's game with a swinging strikeout from Gleyber Torres on a 99.1 mph two-seam fastball.

That's the fastest pitch of his career, including the postseason. pic.twitter.com/lJ79yMdVKD

— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) June 1, 2023

His line from the game: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K. Pretty mean.

He’s got a 3.04 ERA for the year and a 0.76 BB/9. That’s…incredible. The second-best BB/9 in the league belongs to Anthony DeSclafani, and it’s 1.20. Which I guess shouldn’t be very surprising since back in April, Kirby pretty much just decided he was done giving out free passes:

“Up until that point I was like any other guy, just walking people, whatever,” he says. Now, “trying to beat guys in the zone is my whole mentality. I hate giving free bags, so I’m going to do my best to be in the zone.”

Wait, just like that? He just woke up one morning and decided he was through walking people?

“Pretty much.”

The M’s ended up walking it off in the 10th thanks to Cal Raleigh and no, I will never get tired of his nickname being used in official capacities.

BIG DUMPER WALKS IT OFF!!

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 1, 2023

Comeback Ending

The play that sealed the Brewers’ 4-2 win over Toronto was something, as Devin Williams barely dodged an Alejandro Kirk line drive and also managed to glove it on the way by:

Cat-like reflexes 😳

🎥: @MLB pic.twitter.com/mdPLfELCVi

— Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) June 1, 2023

But that somehow seems fitting given the line the entire Milwaukee staff authored:

I’m willing to go out there and say that this is more impressive than when the O’s lost to the Royals and two of their pitchers combined for a 0 BB/0 K affair in early May. In either case, I hope Nick likes his toast just absolutely bone dry, nary even the concept of butter to be found in the vicinity.

Not At All Having A Ball(y)

MLB will take over production and distribution of all local #Padres games starting 5/31. The new arrangement gives fans the option to now watch on TV or stream digitally without local blackouts (subject to national exclusivity)!

San Diegans can NOW watch Padres games in-market… pic.twitter.com/937YNWxmNN

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 31, 2023

Oh, wait, MLB is broadcasting San Diego games? And you can stream in-market via MLB.tv with a special sub? That seems pretty cool and also not how things usually go?!

I wonder why that would be happe-

Diamond skips Padres rights fee payment. Tonight is the last Padres game Bally Sports San Diego will produce.
MLB will produce and distribute tomorrow's Padres-Marlins game.

SBJ's story: https://t.co/pZdx3kkoFd

— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) May 30, 2023

Oh. That seems bad. This is still a pretty quickly evolving situation and also definitely the type of thing that people smarter than me who understand the law, business and business law are better off explaining, so, to quote John Ourand from the linked article:

Diamond filed for bankruptcy protection around two months ago, and has been negotiating with MLB and its teams to get access to streaming rights. Diamond committed to pay its full rights fees over the lifetime of its contracts in exchange for those streaming rights. Those talks have not progressed, so Diamond is looking to shed contracts, like the Padres, where it loses money.

…

In a statement emailed to SBJ, Diamond confirmed that it would not make a payment and no longer would produce or carry Padres games after tonight. “While DSG has significant liquidity and have been making rights payments to teams, the economics of the Padres’ contract were not aligned with market realities. MLB has forced our hand by its continued refusal to negotiate direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming rights for all teams in our portfolio despite our proposal to pay every team in full in exchange for those rights. We are continuing to broadcast games for teams under our contracts.”

Thankfully, this is also directly in the wheelhouse of Daniel Kaplan and Evan Drellich over at The Athletic, who added some extra context when the news first broke on Tuesday (sub req’d):

Bally Sports San Diego — the San Diego RSN and broadcaster of Padres games — is not part of Diamond’s bankruptcy filing since it is a joint venture between the Padres and Diamond Sports. Therefore, Diamond cannot argue against it in bankruptcy court and there are no bankruptcy law protections that can overcome a missed payment.

But it’s not only the Padres, Diamond has stopped paying the Rangers, Twins, Diamondbacks, and Guardians. This situation is assuredly going to get worse before it gets any better, and I highly doubt it’s going to be enjoyable for any fans of the teams involved. Which, given the scope of the whole Bally Sports net is…a lot.

Best Moments From Yesterday

Twice As Nice

Hey, have you heard about this Shohei Ohtani guy?

Troutani is so real 🥹#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/h8W4GtLhZS

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 31, 2023

He seems pretty good. But anybody can hit a big ol’ 420-foot bomb, it takes a real capital-D Dude to do it twice in a game.

GAVE 'EM THE OLD RAZZLE DAZZLE 😱#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/es5CGWeGmp

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 31, 2023

Oh, well then.

Think Fast!

Just your ordinary, super casual 3-1 groundout 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZVeDIMwBb6

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 1, 2023

The ol’ “Ball’s stuck in the mitt, gotta throw the whole thing to first!” play is among my favorite that can happen in baseball, even though it practically never happens. It’s such a wild “Yes, and…” moment of athletic improvisation by both the guy having the mitt problem and the guy suddenly tasked with catching a whole mitt with a ball stuck in it.

Steer Knows Stache