There were highlights and lowlights this week in baseball. Baseball’s young stars continue to dominate; the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr hit his 15th home run of the young season, leading the league. Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr is right behind him with 13 home runs despite missing 17 games already.
Tatis hit a grand slam yesterday in a game against the Seattle Mariners and currently has an OPS of 1.111.
Albert Pujols hit his first home run with the Dodgers, with the defending champions currently on a nine-game winning streak.
On a negative note, New York Mets center fielder Kevin Pillar was hit in the face with a pitch that drew blood. He was put on the injured list afterwards.
Relief Pitcher Felipe Vazquez, who was arrested for statutory sexual assault in 2019, has been convicted on 15 counts related to the arrest. Although the Pittsburgh Pirates have not released him from the team, they have him on the restricted list.
Tony La Russa, Twins Under Fire for Unwritten Rules Controversy
Hall of Famer Tony La Russa is one of the greatest managers of all time, but he returned to the game of baseball at a time when old-school philosophies are changing.
The unwritten rules are an historic, yet controversial secret code of etiquette that baseball players were once required to follow. Now, many players, fans, and pundits believe these rules are outdated. Apparently, not the Minnesota Twins and the old-school La Russa.
In a game in which La Russa’s Chicago White Sox were blowing out the Twins 15-4, breakout star Yermin “The Yerminator” Mercedes came to bat. Minnesota waved the white flag and sent position player Willians “La Tortuga” Astudillo to pitch.
The count reached 3-0. On the next pitch, Mercedes hit a home run. In a blowout game with a 3-0 count, the code is to not swing at the next pitch, whether it is a strike or a ball. Mercedes swung at the pitch and hit a home run.
The next day, Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey threw a baseball at Mercedes. Duffey was ejected and ultimately suspended three games.
The Twins received backlash for their actions, with many questioning them for sending out a non-pitcher like Astudillo if they did not want to give up more runs. However, no one received more criticism than La Russa.
After the Mercedes home run, La Russa criticised his own player, calling him “clueless” and that there will be “consequences” for his actions. He also felt the need to apologize to the Twins for Mercedes hitting the home run.
After Mercedes almost got hit by the Duffey pitch, La Russa seemed to defend the Twins more so than Mercedes.
Many White Sox players, including Tim Anderson and pitcher Lance Lynn defended Mercedes and claimed he did nothing wrong.
Former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia went on a profanity-laced rant on his podcast condemning La Russa for not standing up for his own player.
Despite La Russa leading the White Sox to the best record in the MLB, there has been speculation that he and his players are at odds with one another.
Two More No-Hitters this Week… Is this a problem?
A few weeks ago, I was thrilled when the Orioles threw their first no-hitter in three decades. Now, the feat does not seem that tremendous. Everybody is throwing no-hitters this season.
Spencer Turnbull of the Detroit Tigers threw a no-hitter Tuesday in a 5-0 win against the Seattle Mariners. The very next day, Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers.
There have already been six no-hitters this season, not including Madison Bumgarner’s no-hitter in a seven-inning game against the Braves. The record for no-hitters in a season is seven. There are still four months of baseball left this season.
Many analysts and pundits believe that hitters need to adjust. Strikeout totals have increased recently as many players are now focusing more on hitting home runs than hitting to get on base.
That being said, perhaps only three teams need to adjust. The Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers have all been no-hit twice.
The Craftsports 
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