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Hall of Fame weekend went swimmingly, Ken tells us about Shohei Ohtani’s triad of trust and Nick Castellanos cannot stop hitting for the (news) cycle. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Hall of Fame: Class of 2024 inducted
Another summer, another Hall of Fame class. Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, Jim Leyland and Joe Mauer were inducted into Cooperstown yesterday.
If you want to read all about the induction, and what made each of their careers so distinct, Jayson Stark has the statistical oddities of their careers, and their path to induction, while Tyler Kepner did a little crowd work to talk to some of the people who came to see each inductee on their historic day.
But while I’m on the topic, I found an interesting little fact. A friend texted me yesterday, marveling at the fact that Beltré never made an All-Star Game with the Dodgers or Mariners — his first one was in 2010 with the Red Sox, at age 31. This, of course, sent me down a wormhole. Two hours of research later, I have a fun fact for you:
Adrián Beltré is the oldest* first-time All-Star in the Hall of Fame.
* Caveat: There was no All-Star Game before 1933. Babe Ruth was 38 that year, and that was technically his first All-Star Game, but he absolutely would have made it before then. (And he’s just one example.)
But among players who played the bulk of their careers after 1933, Beltré was the oldest. The next-oldest? Trevor Hoffman, whose first All-Star Game was in 1998, when he was 30.
Congrats to the inductees and their families. And uhh [checks watch] I guess it’s about time to start debating next year’s class, isn’t it?
More HOF: Joe Castiglione was this year’s Ford Frick Award winner for excellence in broadcasting, while Gerry Fraley posthumously received the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award.
Ken’s Corner: How Ohtani’s inner circle let him down
From my latest story:
Someone always wanted something from Shohei Ohtani. An autographed baseball. A special meeting on the field. But often during his time with the Angels, Ohtani could not be bothered. His regimen as a two-way player left him with limited time. His preference was to focus only on baseball.
Virtually every request needed to go through Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo of CAA. Many of them were denied. But was it Ohtani actually balking? Was his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, interceding? Or was it Balelo making the call? The three formed such a united front, such a protective cocoon, the Angels could not always tell.
One Angels official likened Team Ohtani to “a well-oiled machine,” efficient and impenetrable. Or so people thought.
The insular relationship among Ohtani, Mizuhara and Balelo, marked by immense trust despite a language barrier that hindered their communication, created the landscape for the unthinkable — Mizuhara’s theft of almost $17 million from Ohtani to cover gambling debts, and his plea of guilty last month to charges of bank and tax fraud. The two counts carry a maximum sentence of 33 years.
Could Mizuhara have pulled off such a theft without Ohtani and Balelo knowing? The only way it was even plausible was because of the unusual dynamic among the three, as detailed by more than 25 past and present Angels employees, Dodgers officials and others familiar with the evolution of their relationship. Many of those who spoke to The Athletic were granted anonymity so that they could speak candidly. Ohtani, Balelo and Mizuhara declined to answer questions for this story.
As one Angels employee put it, Ohtani’s whole world was baseball, and Balelo’s whole world was Ohtani. Mizuhara, the only one of the three fluent in both English and Japanese, filled the communication gap and assumed greater responsibility than a typical interpreter. Mizuhara, according to those interviewed, fit a variety of descriptions. Buffer. Blocker. Human wall. The U.S. government, in its 37-page complaint against Mizuhara, referred to him as a de facto manager and assistant, employed by Ohtani.
Ohtani, consumed with his unprecedented effort to succeed as both a hitter and pitcher, placed inordinate faith in Mizuhara to handle his day-to-day affairs. And Balelo, perhaps out of fear of losing Ohtani as a client with a record payday looming, failed to make an issue of the bank account Mizuhara said Ohtani wanted kept private — the account the interpreter plundered.
Read the whole story here.
Flukes: Castellanos does it again
At what point does a series of coincidences give way to confirmation bias?
Whenever it is, we’re well past that point with Nick Castellanos and his knack for stealing the spotlight from major news stories. It happened again yesterday, when — not long after President Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race — Castellanos went deep against the Pirates.
It all started with the phrase: “I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith — as there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos, it will be a home run. And so that will make it a 4–0 ballgame. I don’t know if I’m gonna be putting on this headset again…”
Those words were spoken by Reds announcer Thom Brennaman after a hot mic caught him saying a homophobic slur on the air in 2020. Since then, Castellanos has interrupted eulogies, Memorial Day remembrances, well wishes and somber discussions.
This year, the theme has mutated a bit — Castellanos has taken to coinciding big offensive performances with major news stories, such as the death of Willie Mays, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and yesterday’s announcement by President Biden.
Ready for the bonus plot twist? For the first time since that fateful day in 2020, news also broke yesterday that Brennaman is being hired as a broadcaster again.
This was going to just be a newsletter blurb, but I simply had too much to include. Oh yes, there’s more, including the time Castellanos didn’t even have to be in the ballpark to continue the legend. You can read it about here.
John Froschauer / USA Today
Trending Up/Down: The Astros are on top (again)
👍 Astros: When Houston started the season 7-19, the question was ubiquitous: Is this the end of a dynasty, or just a slow start? After taking two of three in Seattle (with Yordan Álvarez hitting for the cycle in the one loss) over the weekend, they’re back in first place in the AL West.
👍 Padres: San Diego swept the weekend’s games against the Guardians, who hit the break with the best record in the AL, and now they’re in a three-way tie (with the Diamondbacks and Mets) for the final wild-card spot in the NL.
👍 Royals: Sure, it was against the White Sox. But Kansas City’s sweep over the weekend vaulted them into a tie with the Twins for the second wild-card position in the AL.
👎 Mariners: On June 18, they had a 10-game lead in the division. Now they’re technically behind Houston (by the smallest of percentage points) and 2.5 back in the Wild Card. Over the weekend, they DFA’d first baseman Ty France — one more reason to watch the 1B market at the deadline.
👎 Reds: They went into the break just three games out of a playoff position. After being swept in D.C., they’re still just four back, but tied with the Nationals for last place (non-Rockies-or-Marlins division) in the NL. Time to pack it in?
👎 Rangers: It’s not like Texas had an easy opponent, but losing two of three to Baltimore leaves the Rangers 7 1/2 games out in the wild card. Their only path to October appears to be a divisional win. But Houston’s looking tough.
(Dis)honorable mention: The Twins were also swept (albeit in a two-game series) by the Brewers, and Carlos Correa is back on the IL.
Handshakes and High Fives
Tim Britton and Aaron Gleeman have a new big board up — the top 50 players who could be traded at this year’s deadline — while our trade deadline crew reports the Cubs are unlikely to be buyers this year.
The parade of injuries continues unabated in Atlanta, where second baseman Ozzie Albies has a fractured wrist, and Max Fried has a forearm injury.
What matters to Juan Soto when it comes to deciding where he’ll play? Championships, of course.
Earlier this season, the Phillies had too many starting pitchers. Now, they’re calling on rookie Tyler Phillips to fill the fifth spot in the rotation. He’s been good! Meanwhile, J.T. Realmuto is back.
Well, this complicates the Blue Jays’ trade deadline: Bo Bichette is on the IL with another right calf strain.
Britt Ghiroli gives us a preview of “See Her, Be Her” — a documentary on women playing baseball.
Eno Sarris looks for some second-half All-Stars.
Most-clicked in Friday’s newsletter: Fabian Ardaya’s second-half Dodgers preview.
Most-read MLB story on the website yesterday: Tyler Kepner on his trip to Cooperstown with $100 and a trinket-filled dream.
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(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
