minor league baseball

WISE Sports Radio baseball: Minor league union, Mickey Mantle card, Ichiro and Willie Mays honored

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Topics on this week’s WISE Sports Radio baseball segment include a 1952 Mickey Mantle card going for $12.6 million, Justin Verlander’s calf injury, Ichiro being honored by the Seattle Mariners, a surprise number retirement for Willie Mays, and Paul Goldschmidt’s MVP-caliber season for the St. Louis Cardinals.

We also discuss the Major League Baseball Players Association giving minor-league players the opportunity to join their union, a benefit that is long overdue for a labor force that is woefully underpaid.

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WISE Sports Radio baseball talk: Mike Shildt’s next stop, Cardinals manager search, Braves lead Dodgers in NLCS

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Baseball’s postseason is now in the Championship Series round. Four teams remain! The winners go to the World Series. Both the American League and National League series were very entertaining over the weekend, providing close games and thrilling finishes. Our WISE Sports Radio baseball segment leads off with the Dodgers-Braves and Red Sox-Astros matchups

We also discuss Major League Baseball planning to provide housing for all of its minor-league players beginning next season, a long overdue move. And after the St. Louis Cardinals’ shocking firing of manager Mike Shildt on Thursday, we look at who might take over that job and Shildt being a possible candidate for the San Diego Padres’ opening.

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WISE Sports Radio MLB update: June 29, 2020

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We began Monday’s baseball update on WISE Sports Radio with some football talk, reacting to Cam Newton signing with the New England Patriots. Big NFL news regardless, but this story has some local flavor since Newton played the past nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

Also of local concern is the Asheville Tourists since it looks like there won’t be a Minor League Baseball season. Nothing official has been announced, though Baseball America is reporting that MLB teams will allow their minor leaguers to play in independent leagues if affiliated leagues continue to be shut down.

Apologies in advance for the part about celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues being kind of choppy. My recording dropped out a couple times, probably because my computer was doing too much. But I got most of it, which was a relief because it’s an important subject to me.

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WISE Sports Radio MLB segment: April 22, 2020

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Major League Baseball finally got around to punishing the Boston Red Sox for their sign-stealing shenanigans during their World Series-winning 2018 season. But their penalties are nowhere near as harsh as what the Houston Astros suffered for their cheating scandal.

On Wednesday’s WISE Sports Radio baseball segment, I talk with Pat Ryan and Charlie Metcalf about that, COVID-19’s effects on the minor leagues, and reports of Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez making moves to buy the New York Mets. Oh, J-Lo and A-Rod owning a piece of a baseball team would be fun…

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WISE Sports Radio MLB segment: April 6, 2020

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Shortly before I called into WISE Sports Radio for my regular baseball segment with Pat Ryan, news of Al Kaline’s death was being widely reported. I have far more to say on the Detroit Tigers legend and Hall of Famer than I could articulate on show. But I’m glad I did have an opportunity to express my feelings about Kaline.

We also discussed the MLB players union making sure that established major leaguers who signed minor-league contracts in spring training, hoping to catch on with a roster, were being paid during baseball’s shutdown. And a proposal for extra innings from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Justin Turner that could be a lot of fun.

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