This is the kind of baseball theatre Major League Baseball by itself couldn't create.
Top of the 9th inning, finals of the World Baseball Classic. Two out. Angels 2-way star Shohei Ohtani on the mound for the save. The last obstacle is Angels teammate Mike Trout. Japan was designated as the home team for the 2nd straight night, by the way.
Unable to put Trout away with heat (fastballs clocking around 100 MPH), Ohtani closed it by getting Trout to chase a slider out of the strike zone. The celebration began immediately.
Photo courtesy Yahoo!.
For Japan, this was their 3rd WBC title, and their first since 2009. In the most star-packed WBC yet, it came down to the two best teams in the tournament in terms of talent. And it may be the last under the old rules of MLB, as there won't be any more defensive shifts, now that the tournament is over.
You can imagine Trout & Ohtani sharing a few laughs on the flight back to the Angels' spring camp in Arizona.
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A 1st round exit in the NCAA men's tournament last Friday at MVP Arena spelled the end for Rick Pitino at Iona.
On Monday, it was confirmed that Pitino was leaving for St. John's, swapping the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for the Big East. Iona wasted little time bringing in Pitino's successor, hiring Tobin Anderson away from Fairleigh Dickinson. Anderson got on the Gaels' radar after a Friday upset of Purdue.
The carousel will continue spinning while the tournament continues, and even after it ends on April 3.
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For basketball fans who grew up in the 70's, this hurts.
Until the WBC concluded Tuesday night, the biggest sports story of the day was the passing of NBA Hall of Famer Willis Reed at 80.
Reed played 10 seasons, all with the Knicks, winning two championships, the captain of a team that was loaded with future Hall of Famers, not just Reed. Dave DeBusschere, future Senator Bill Bradley, Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Earl Monroe, and Phil Jackson were all part of those title teams in 1970 and '73.
Reed would later coach the Knicks and the Nets, then moved to the college ranks at Creighton.
Rest in peace.
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