John Wetteland Indicted On Three Counts Of Continuous Sexual Assault Of A Child

NBC Sports reports:

Former major league pitcher John Wetteland was arrested in mid-January on child sex abuse charges. Yesterday a Texas grand jury indicted him on three counts of “continuous sexual assault of a child.” He was released on $25,000 bond.

Specifically, Wetteland, 52, is accused of forcing a child to repeatedly perform a sex act on him. The assaults began in 2004, when the child was 4, and they allegedly occurred twice more during a two-year period.

Wettleland was a big league pitcher from 1989-2000, starring for the Dodgers, Expos, Yankees and Rangers. He led the American League with 43 saves in 1996 and, with Mariano Rivera setting up for him, helped the Yankees win their first World Series title in 18 years. He was a three-time All-Star and completed his 12-year career with 330 saves, which currently has him at 15th on the All-Time list.

Following his playing career he served as a bullpen coach for both the Washington Nationals and the Seattle Mariners.

This is not the first time pedophile busts and MLB stars have collided. Chad Curtis got busted for allegedly having interactions with a minor too.

Curtis is serving seven to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting the three student athletes while he was a substitute teacher volunteering in Lakewood High School's weight room. The victims, who were 15 and 16 at the time the assaults occurred, said Curtis touched their breasts, buttocks and genitalia under the guise of giving them "rehabilitative massages" in a secluded room. A Barry County jury found Curtis guilty of six counts of criminal sexual conduct after a week-long trial in August. He is serving his sentence at Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian. The lawsuit filed Friday, April 11, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids accuses Curtis of counts of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Lakewood Public Schools and the board of education are accused of violating the plaintiffs' constitutional rights and violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which protects people from discrimination in education programs or activities based on sex.

Washington DC and Hollywood are currently covering up a major pedophile scandal of their own called PIZZAGATE that centers around the death of two late rock n roll stars, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington. Learn more HERE.

Jacob deGrom Ties Bob Gibson's Consecutive Quality Starts Streak And Hits A Homer!

Newsday reports:

The Mets’ ace dominated the Marlins for seven shutout innings, plus hit the second home run of his career in a 6-4 win Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep. He struck out a career-high 14 and allowed three hits and one walk.

“That was probably the best I’ve felt in a long time,” said deGrom, the best pitcher in baseball last year.

Manager Mickey Callaway said: “There’s been so many [good deGrom games] in a row I didn’t even realize that it was 14 Ks. He just does the same thing every time. You look up at the end and it’s something really impressive.”

Combined with RBI extra-base hits from Amed Rosario, Pete Alonso and Robinson Cano, deGrom’s all-around masterpiece was enough for another Mets victory, the finishing touch on a 5-1 season-opening road trip ahead of their first game at Citi Field at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The game was an ordinary one until the top of the third, when deGrom crushed a first-pitch fastball from Trevor Richards (six innings, three runs) into the Mets’ bullpen in right field. His only other homer came July 18, 2017, at Citi Field against the Nationals.

DeGrom said he stepped up to the plate trying to go deep.

Among deGrom’s noteworthy numbers:

* Wednesday was his 26th consecutive quality start (at least six innings, three runs or fewer). That ties Bob Gibson (1967-68) for the longest such streak in major-league history. 

Gibson’s quality start streak ran from Sept. 12, 1967 until July 30, 1968. DeGrom’s streak started on May 18, 2018. He’ll attempt to break the record next week against the Minnesota Twins.

* DeGrom racked up double-digit strikeouts in each of his first two starts, the first pitcher in Mets history to do so. He has 24 total in those 13 innings.

* He is up to 26 consecutive scoreless innings dating to last season, a personal best (topping his 24 1/3-inning run in early 2018).

“It’s showing off that he probably has the best stuff in all of the major leagues,” Callaway said.

 “What he’s doing is historic. You got to have really nasty stuff to be able to do that.”

Last March, DeGrom and NY Mets agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $137.5 million.

Christian Yelich Starts Season Off With 4 Homers In 4 Games

Last year's National League MVP is back at it again. After striking for a four game homer streak that was ended finally... he still won the latest Brewers victory with a clutch double.

ESPN.com reports:

Yelich homered for the fourth straight game on Sunday, becoming the sixth player to homer in his team's first four games, joining Willie Mays, Mark McGwire, Nelson Cruz, Chris Davis and Trevor Story. That was only the first part of his Sunday heroics, as he came up in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on and the Brewers down a run -- and did this off Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks:

Yelich had a perfect day Sunday, going 2-for-2 with three walks. He hit .500 in his first series, with six runs, eight RBIs, six walks and only one strikeout as the Brewers took three of four from the Cardinals. It was a nice lift for Milwaukee, which opened the season with closer Corey Knebel and All-Star reliever Jeremy Jeffress on the injured list, with Knebel electing Friday to undergo Tommy John surgery.

For a team that relied so heavily on its bullpen last season, it's a big cloud hanging over the start of the season, especially with a tough schedule the first month. By the end of April, the Brewers will have played three series against the Cardinals and two against the Dodgers, along with facing the Reds, Cubs, Angels, Mets and Rockies.

That puts a lot of pressure on Yelich to show that his 2018 MVP season wasn't a fluke. He nearly won the Triple Crown, thanks to a Babe Ruth-like second half in which he hit .367/.449/.770 with 25 home runs in 65 games. In September, with a division title at stake, Yelich hit .370, slugged .804 and drove in 34 runs in 27 games. It was one of the best clutch stretch runs in MLB history. Ryan Braun is just one teammate in awe of Yelich right now:

Ryan Braun on Christian Yelich: "I’ve never seen anyone this good at baseball for this long. I mean, maybe Bonds in his prime. As great as Trout is. I’ve seen Pujols. Like, I’ve never seen anyone this good for this long."

Khris Davis Hit His Fifth Home Run In 7 Games

                                 Janie McCauley of The Associated Press reports:

Khris Davis hit his fifth home run over Oakland’s first seven games, Ramon Laureano connected and also saved a run with a perfect throw home from center field, and the Oakland Athletics scored their first five runs via homer to beat the struggling Boston Red Sox 7-0 on Monday night.

Davis led the majors with 48 homers last season, and he went deep again leading off the second against David Price (0-1), who then struck out three straight before giving up Laureano’s leadoff drive the next inning.

Chad Pinder added a two-run homer in the sixth for the A’s to back Aaron Brooks (1-0). The right-hander tossed six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and a walk to continue a stretch of stellar outings by A’s starters. They have given up just one run over 30 innings the past five games since the team returned from an 0-2 trip to Tokyo, all allowing three hits or fewer. There has been a pair of shutouts, too.

Paul Goldschmidt Blasts Three Homers To Lead Cardinals Past Brewers

The NY Post reports:

Paul Goldschmidt was hoping to swing for baseball history when Brewers manager Craig Counsell took the bat out of his hands.

Though he felt for the boo-bird Cardinals fans behind the visiting dugout, the move wasn’t much of a surprise to Goldschmidt.

“We’re still in a tight game there,” the six-time All-Star said. “They’re going to do what they think is best.”

Goldschmidt hit three home runs and then was intentionally walked in the ninth inning, leaving him one shy of the big league record in St. Louis’ 9-5 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night.

Counsell signaled for the free pass with one out and a runner on second, his team trailing by four runs. Cardinals fans in enemy territory cheered as Goldschmidt approached the plate, and booed even louder when Counsell sent Goldschmidt to first.

“Trying to win the game,” Counsell said. “There’s a base open. It’s the logical thing to do.”
Goldschmidt thought it was a practical decision.

“You understand the situation,” Goldschmidt said. “You understand what (the fans) were thinking, but you also understand that we’re out there trying to win. That’s the number one thing. Not anything individual or personal.”

Just 18 players have hit four homers in a game, including J.D. Martinez and Scooter Gennett in 2017.
Goldschmidt had four hits and drove in five in his second game with St. Louis. He was 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in his debut Thursday after an offseason trade from Arizona. Set to test free agency after this season, Goldschmidt instead signed a $130 million deal to stay with St. Louis through 2024 last weekend.

Goldschmidt crushed a fastball from Freddy Peralta in the first inning for a two-run shot. He hit a solo drive off Taylor Williams (0-1) in the sixth, then another two-run homer against Jacob Barnes in the seventh.

“When those guys are locked in, the mistakes are likely to get hard,” Counsell said.

It was Goldschmidt’s second career three-homer game and his first since tallying a career-best six RBIs against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aug. 3, 2017.

Goldschmidt also flashed some nifty glove work at first base. He snared Yasmani Grandal’s one-out hot shot down the line, threw to second for an out and caught the return throw to end the sixth.

All 48 Home Runs from MLB Opening Day 2019

Relive 2019 Opening Day's historic power display with every single long ball.

View HERE.

About Major League Baseball: 

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S. and Canada, representing the highest level of professional baseball. Led by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., MLB currently features record levels of labor peace, competitive balance and industry revenues, as well as the most comprehensive drug-testing program in American professional sports. MLB remains committed to making an impact in the communities of the U.S., Canada and throughout the world, perpetuating the sport’s larger role in society and permeating every facet of baseball’s business, marketing and community relations endeavors. With the continued success of MLB Advanced Media and MLB Network, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy America’s National Pastime and a truly global game.

The American League consists of the following teams: Baltimore Orioles; Boston Red Sox; Chicago White Sox; Cleveland Indians; Detroit Tigers; Houston Astros; Kansas City Royals; Los Angeles Angels ; Minnesota Twins; New York Yankees; Oakland Athletics; Seattle Mariners; Tampa Bay Rays; Texas Rangers; and Toronto Blue Jays. The National League, originally founded in 1876, consists of the following teams: Arizona Diamondbacks; Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs; Cincinnati Reds; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Dodgers; Miami Marlins; Milwaukee Brewers; New York Mets; Philadelphia Phillies; Pittsburgh Pirates; San Diego Padres; San Francisco Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; and Washington Nationals

Mike Trout And The L.A. Angels Are Finalizing The Largest Contract In Pro Sports History

ESPN.com reports:

Star center fielder Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are finalizing the largest contract in professional sports history, a 12-year deal worth more than $430 million that will smash previous records and could keep the greatest player of his generation with the Angels for the remainder of his career, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN on Tuesday.

Trout, who has won two American League MVP awards and finished second four times, will receive an average of nearly $36 million a year, topping Zack Greinke's previous record average of $34.4 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

EDITOR'S PICKS

• 

  A $430M bargain? Why Mike Trout might be worth a billion dollars

  What if L.A. had given the outfielder $600 million? $700 million? Heck, with what the Angels will get for the next 12 years -- and beyond -- they could've handed him 10 figures.
• 

  Five reasons $430M man Mike Trout can win a World Series with Angels

  The best player of his generation just got the biggest contract in sports history, but is he sacrificing his shot at October glory by staying in Anaheim?
• 

  Sports world reacts to Mike Trout's $430 million deal

  From J.J. Watt angling for a similar contract to a fellow MLB player asking for a loan, Trout's huge payday has social media buzzing.

The $430 million-plus total is more than 30 percent larger than the $330 million deal Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on March 2 and bests boxer Canelo Alvarez's deal with DAZN by more than $65 million.

Trout, 27, was due to be a free agent following the 2020 season, at which point he was expected to set off a frenzied bidding war among the largest-market teams in the game.