What’s Happening in Baseball Today

The First Pitch: March 23, 2025

Shane McClanahan, who’s thrown seven shutout innings this spring for Tampa Bay after undergoing Tommy John surgery, departs from the Rays’ 14-2 victory over Boston in the third inning as he painfully lowers his pitching arm against his side following a pitch. It’s a triceps injury, the severity of which has yet to be determined—but Rays manager Kevin Cash mentions that McClanahan will “miss some time.” 

In two-plus seasons, McClanahan has posted a 33-16 record with a 3.02 ERA, 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings and two All-Star roster spots. He last pitched in a regular season game on August 2, 2023.

The Cleveland Guardians hand anticipated Opening Day starting pitcher Tanner Bibee a five-year extension totaling $48 million, with a team option for 2030. The contract will overlap Bibee’s first year of free-agent eligibility, in 2029. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 22-12 record and 3.25 ERA in 56 career regular season starts; this spring, he’s 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA. 

The Guardians make another deal on the day by trading utility player Tyler Freeman to the Rockies for outfielder Nolan Jones. Freeman is defensively versatile but has been weak with the bat; in 118 games last season, he batted .209 with seven home runs. Jones, on the other hand, looked to be the Next Big Thing after a terrific rookie showing in 2023—but he badly regressed last year, with back and knee injuries not helping. 

Pitching both outstanding and really awful is on display in Saturday’s Spring Training action. In Bradenton, Florida, the Orioles’ Zach Eflin and six relievers combine on a no-hitter in a 4-0 win over Paul Skenes and the Pirates, walking three batters; not bad for a team that started the day with the majors’ worst spring ERA, at 6.36. Meanwhile out in the Cactus League, the White Sox are pummeled twice in split-squad action, losing 14-1 to Seattle and 10-4 to Colorado. Sloppiness is the rule for Chicago pitchers; between the two games, the White Sox walk 23 batters while allowing 22 hits. Overall this spring, only the Houston Astros (136) have walked more batters than the White Sox (135).

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1938: The Cardinals are found overstuffing their minor league system and ordered to release 74 players by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who’s never been a big fan of the farm system concept. Among the players released is Pete Reiser, who ends up with the Dodgers under a gentleman’s agreement that he would be traded back to the Cardinals—but when he becomes too good of a player too quick, the proposed swap becomes untenable.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Pittsburgh infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is 30; five-time All-Star pitcher and author of perfect game Mark Buehrle is 46. Born on this date is boomer and eight-time Gold Glover at first base George Scott (1944), slugger of 354 home runs Lee May (1943), shortstop of the 1950s Braves Johnny Logan (1926), two-time NL ERA champ Ray Kremer (1895), Deadball Era slugger Gavvy Cravath (1881), and 1880s pitcher converted into 1890s outfielder Elmer Smith (1868).

Shameless Link of the Day

Who were the 10 best hitters and pitchers from each league in 1960? Find out here.

And Now For Something Completely Different From TGG Co-Founder Eric Gouldsberry

From 1975-78, my father, Ray Gouldsberry, took photographs of the original San Jose Earthquakes soccer team, an ingeniously marketed collection of colorful players embraced by a growing, sports-starved community which constantly sold out ancient, cozy Spartan Stadium. Shortly after my father’s passing in 2019, I took the negatives of all the precious, invaluable photos he snapped, scanned them, and put together Our Life & Times with the Earthquakes: Images and Memories from the Glory Days of San Jose’s Original Pro Soccer Team. It’s not only a tribute to the Earthquakes and the North American Soccer League, but to my father for capturing all the wonderful memories we shared during our time as season ticket holders of the team through its entire existence (1974-84).

Much like baseball’s Deadball Era, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes looks at a similar era in soccer history when the game in America was boldly attempting to blaze its own trail clad in flamboyance and imperfection, giving the NASL vivid character. As with those early times of baseball, historical images from the NASL remain scarce and elusive, making Ray Gouldsberry’s photographic collection of the Earthquakes and other star NASL players all the more cherished.

Although the Earthquakes are the primary focus of Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes, the book also spotlights the vibrant and turbulent history of the NASL and its legendary list of stars such as Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia and George Best (who briefly played for the Earthquakes), all through my father’s photos and the treasure trove of memorabilia I collected during those years.

Formatted at 8.25” x 8.25”, running 200 pages plus cover and containing over 200 photos, 100 images of memorabilia, and a foreword by former Quake and U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Johnny Moore, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes is available for purchase on Amazon. Read and enjoy!

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