SF Giants Press Clips Wednesday, April 12, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle Without Buster Posey, Giants fall to Diamondbacks 4-3 John Shea

It’s tough to keep track of all of baseball’s unwritten rules, especially because they’re not written anywhere.

There’s one that everybody in the game lives by: You drill our top guy, we drill your top guy.

And so it went a day after Buster Posey got popped on the helmet by the Diamondbacks’ Taijuan Walker. The Giants’ Jeff Samardzija answered in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss by popping Paul Goldschmidt.

It’s how baseball has policed itself for generations.

Until further notice, it’s over. Posey got hit, and the Giants responded. Or is it? Posey went on the seven-day concussion disabled list. Goldschmidt simply went to first base.

Samardzija said he wanted to pitch inside after Goldschmidt homered off him Thursday in Arizona but said nothing when asked if the pitch was retaliation.

Manager Bruce Bochy was asked about the pitch and said, “I don’t have anything to say about that.”

Without Posey, the Giants had Aaron Hill batting fourth and Nick Hundley catching. Bochy was planning to rest Brandon Crawford, anyway, so the lineup was missing two major pieces.

“We just couldn’t get a big hit. We left too many guys on base,” said Bochy, speaking of the 13 stranded runners. “We need to start getting these guys in.”

The Giants trailed 4-0 until Joe Panik’s RBI double in the eighth off reliever Jorge De La Rosa, who plunked pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie before striking out Gorkys Hernandez to end the inning.

In the ninth, Hundley doubled to score Hunter Pence, who drew a one-out walk off Fernando Rodney. Eduardo Nuñez singled home Hundley and stole second, but the game ended when Crawford, pinch hitting, struck out.

Samardzija lasted into the seventh and struck out seven batters — “It feels good when late in the game, your pitches are even better than in the beginning” — but the difference in the game was simple:

The Diamondbacks’ center fielder made a fantastic play, and the Giants’ center fielder didn’t.

Jake Lamb hit a bases-loaded triple in the third inning, a ball that seemed catchable but that Hernandez missed by inches. Had Hernandez made the catch, it would have been the second out and no worse than a sacrifice fly.

Instead, it stood as the game’s decisive moment.

“I was pretty close. I almost got it. It happens,” Hernandez said. “I try to do the best I can for Samardzija and the team.”

Said Bochy: “He’ s a gifted center fielder. It looked like he had a shot there. He just didn’t come up with it, and that was the difference in the game probably.”

The next half inning, Arizona’s center fielder, A.J. Pollock, showed how making a running-to-the-wall catch is done. He did it to rob Hill.

Hernandez, playing for Denard Span because Arizona started a left-handed pitcher, not only came close to preventing three runs, but he also came close to producing four runs. With the bases loaded in the second inning, he hit a ball to the left-field warning track.

Samardzija drilled Goldschmidt on the backside, and Goldschmidt knew the drill. He dropped his bat and took first without hesitation, and the game went on.

Posey said before Tuesday’s game that he didn’t think Walker hit him on purpose. Even so, it wasn’t surprising that Samardzija responded as he did, following the age-old tradition of the unwritten rule.

Both plunkings were in the first inning on the second pitch of the plate appearance.

San Francisco Chronicle Buster Posey’s replacement: Tim Federowicz John Shea When Tim Federowicz signed a minor-league contract with the Giants in December, he included an opt-out clause in case he didn’t make the big-league roster out of spring training.

He didn’t exercise it and reported to Triple-A Sacramento.

And a bit more than a week into the season, Federowicz is a big-leaguer as the replacement for Buster Posey, who went on the seven-day concussion disabled list Tuesday.

Asked why he chose to stay in the organization, Federowicz cited his relationship with general manager Bobby Evans.

“He’s straightforward, speaks the truth. Everything he’s told me has held up,” Federowicz said. “Yes, he gave me the opportunity to leave, but I’d love to play for somebody who’s truthful in what they say and treats me straight. It’s hard to find in this business sometimes.”

Federowicz, 29, who spent parts of four seasons with the Dodgers before appearing in 17 games with last year’s champion Cubs, was advised to stay in Sacramento on Tuesday and not accompany the River Cats to Salt Lake City in case he was needed in San Francisco. He was.

With Sacramento, he caught Tyler Beede’s Triple-A debut. The Giants’ top pitching prospect surrendered one run in six innings.

“Really good stuff. I was very impressed,” Federowicz said. “He had life to his fastball, a really sharp breaking ball, control of all four of his pitches. He was fun to catch.”

Blackburn out: Pitching prospect Clayton Blackburn could be on the verge of getting traded.

The Giants designated him for assignment to open space on the 40-man roster for Federowicz, and they have seven days to trade, release or try passing him through waivers, in which case he’d surely be claimed by another team.

Evans said Blackburn is highly regarded elsewhere.

“I would like to keep him,” Evans said, “but I don’t really see that being an easy solution.”

The San Jose Mercury News Giants, Hernandez can’t catch up to Diamondbacks in 4-3 loss Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO – One day after Buster Posey took a fastball to the helmet, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ best player turned the other cheek.

Jeff Samardzija threw a 96.7 mph fastball that drilled Paul Goldschmidt in the gluteus maximus in the first inning. There were no warnings issued, and no escalation of tensions as Goldschmidt jogged to first base. It was nothing but peace, love and mutual understanding of an obvious, ritual bit of retribution.

As for Tuesday night’s game, the score was settled in center field. Gorkys Hernandez couldn’t make a running catch near the wall in the third inning. A.J. Pollock could. And although the Giants scored twice with two outs in the ninth, that early defensive sequence was the difference as the Giants lost 4-3 at AT&T Park.

“I almost got it,” said Hernandez, who couldn’t catch Jake Lamb’s three-run triple with one out and the bases loaded. “I jumped a little bit and the ball hit my glove.”

Hernandez flung himself into the padding as Chris Marrero chased down the ball. Instead of a sacrifice fly, the Diamondbacks led 3-0.

The Giants nearly answered in the bottom of the third when Hunter Pence walked and Aaron Hill, batting cleanup with Posey on the concussion list and Brandon Crawford getting a day of rest, hit a drive to deep center. But Pollock didn’t let the looming wall distract him as he made a sprinting catch over one shoulder.

It was a killer defensive play on a night when the Giants’ depleted lineup probably needed a break. There must be a charitable gifts limit in this series: the Giants already got more than they deserved in Monday’s home opener, when two Arizona errors allowed them to score three runs on a swinging bunt.

Instead, the Giants lamented 13 runners left on base.

Bochy loaded his lineup with right-handed bats against Arizona lefty Robbie Ray, and among his moves was resting center fielder Denard Span in favor of Hernandez.

On the whole, Hernandez did not have a good experience with the warning track. He barely missed hitting a grand slam in the second inning when left fielder Yasmany Tomas camped under a fly ball with his back against the wall.

Hernandez also missed a shot at redemption amid drizzling skies in the eighth, striking out after Joe Panik had snapped the shutout with an RBI double and pinch hitter Conor Gillaspie was hit by a pitch.

The Giants threatened again with two outs, the bases empty and the rain intensifying in the ninth. Nick Hundley hit an RBI double through the sheets of drizzle against Arizona closer Fernando Rodney, and Nuñez followed with an RBI single to get the winning run to the plate with two outs in the ninth. Nuñez then proceeded to steal his way into scoring position. But Crawford couldn’t appease the remainder of the crowd. He struck out as a pinch hitter.

The Giants are still striving for their first ninth-inning comeback victory since 2015. They were 0-62 when trailing after eight innings last year.

“We’ve battled back and can’t quite finish it,” Bochy said. “We had the right guy up and they made some good pitches there. It’s a long season. Hopefully you find a way to make up those games.”

Samardzija almost certainly had payback on his mind on his second pitch to Goldschmidt.

Bochy, asked about the pitch, cut off the questioner: “I’ve got nothing to say about that.”

Samardzija remarked that Goldschmidt had hit an opposite-field home run against him at Chase Field last week: “We’ve got to attack him in. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to go over the plate. We went in, and that was it.”

Pressed on whether it was intentional, Samardzija neither attempted to lie nor to volunteer himself for a fine from the league office. He answered with stony silence.

Lamb’s triple was the only scoring play in Samardzija’s 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander’s outing was a major improvement over his season debut in Arizona, when the Diamondbacks hit three home runs against him. But two of those shots at Chase Field went to the opposite field. Samardzija’s hard fastball and slider played much better in a more forgiving park.

“I really liked our game plan tonight,” said Samardzija, who threw 112 pitches and insisted he felt fresh till the end. “The pitch to (Lamb) was a sinker away and he stayed on it and put a charge into it, and that was it right there.

“It sours the day.”

Bochy said he would keep faith in Hernandez.

“He’s so good out there,” Bochy said. “He was upset with himself. He’s a gifted center fielder and he just didn’t quite catch up with it. You take your chances with him out there.”

The San Jose Mercury News Giants’ Buster Posey after going on concussion list: “I don’t anticipate it being a long time” Andrew Baggarly SAN FRANCISCO – Buster Posey drove himself home Monday afternoon. He had a normal night of sleep. He went to bed clear headed and felt good despite taking a 93 mph fastball to the helmet.

But the Giants understand better than most that head injuries involve some deep woods. And sure enough, Posey reported feeling some after-effects on Tuesday.

The next move was automatic: the Giants placed their cleanup-hitting catcher on the 7-day disabled list for players with concussion symptoms, and purchased the contract of catcher Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Sacramento.

To create space on the 40-man roster for Federowicz, the Giants designated right-hander Clayton Blackburn for assignment. GM Bobby Evans said he anticipated working out a trade involving Blackburn before the club would have to place him on waivers in a week.

The Giants are hopeful that Posey will be back within a week’s time, too. That was Posey’s expectation as well.

“I don’t anticipate it being a long time,” Posey said. “That’s just based on how I feel. We’ve seen some guys having lingering effects, but again, I feel pretty good. I want to keep feeling good.”

Posey would be eligible to return April 18, when the Giants begin a two-game interleague series at Kansas City. Manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged it might make sense to use Posey at designated hitter there, if he’s symptom free.

The Giants did not say whether Posey was diagnosed with a concussion, but given the position he plays, the slightest symptom was enough to make the roster move. They could not risk functioning with one catcher on the roster, and they weren’t about to risk putting Posey behind the plate where he could be exposed to a foul tip off the mask.

“If he’s not available one or two days, that’s one or two days too many,” Evans said. “It’s important to exercise caution. There’s no reason to put him at further risk.”

Posey was “a little foggy,” according to Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Posey declined to elaborate on his symptoms, but said they were not debilitating.

“Nothing crazy at all,” he said. “Just enough to know something wasn’t normal. It’s nothing I feel concerned about. … But it’s hard to evaluate, probably the hardest part of the body to evaluate, someone’s head. So it’s good to have some caution.”

Posey has gotten his bell rung in the past by foul tips, but it was his belief that he hadn’t definitively been diagnosed with concussions in the past.

“I would like to say none,” Posey said. “I feel I’ve been fortunate in that respect.”

Bochy originally stated something different, saying Posey has “had one before,” but then clarified his comments by saying there were times the Giants had watched him carefully without an actual diagnosis.

The Giants have gone through enough of these brain injuries to know there are no simple or quick answers. Last year, Joe Panik was hit on the helmet by a pitch at Tampa Bay and stayed in the game, even hitting a three-run homer, but reported symptoms the following day. He missed a month, and acknowledged this spring that his visual acuity wasn’t fully restored until the offseason.

Brandon Belt also has dealt with recurring concussion symptoms after being hit by a thrown ball. Former Giants Gregor Blanco and Ehire Adrianza also had concussions after seemingly minor incidents. And of course, Mike Matheny’s career ended unexpectedly when he took a foul tip to the mask in a 2005 game at Miami.

Matheny’s case illustrates how repeated head trauma can cause symptoms to become exponentially worse.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Taijuan Walker struck Posey with the second pitch of his at-bat in the first inning of the Giants’ home opener Monday. Posey turned his head as the ball struck him on the helmet just behind the left ear. He hit the dirt and stayed seated for a few minutes, stretching his jaw while staring into space.

“It was kind of just taking inventory and seeing how I felt before I hopped up,” Posey said. “And for the most part I felt pretty good. I didn’t really feel dizzy or out of it or anything.”

Posey said he hasn’t gotten a chance to speak with Walker, who passed along his apologies to backup catcher Nick Hundley when he stepped to the plate for an at-bat Monday. But if Posey is harboring any negatives toward the Arizona pitcher, it’s no more than annoyance.

“I never thought he was trying to hit me,” Posey said. “It’s a bad miss, but I never thought he was trying to hit me.”

Posey was able to find humor in the fact that he finally changed his walk-up music from Brantley Gilbert’s “Hell on Wheels,” which he has used pretty much his entire career. He chose something by the country band Florida Georgia Line.

Two pitches later…

“I might need to change it,” Posey said. “I’ve already thought about it, actually.”

The San Jose Mercury News Giants’ Buster Posey placed on 7-day concussion disabled list Jimmy Durkin A day after taking a fastball to the helmet, Giants catcher Buster Posey was placed on the seven-day disabled list on Tuesday with concussion symptoms. Tim Federowicz had his contract purchased from Triple-A Sacramento and the team designated right-handed pitcher Clayton Blackburn for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. Posey, who was drilled by a 93 mph fastball from Arizona Diamondbacks starter Taijuan Walker in Monday’s home-opening victory, was said to be doing well after the game and had apparently passed initial concussion tests. But symptoms often take time before they are felt — second baseman Joe Panik stayed in a game last year after taking a hit to the head and even hit a three-run home run before the concussion effects took hold the next day — and the Giants are at the very least taking the most cautious approach with Posey. Posey will meet with the media at his locker at 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday to provide a further update. The San Jose Mercury News Could Barry Bonds have still dominated without ever swinging the bat? Jimmy Durkin It’s a ridiculous concept. Could Barry Bonds have remained a dominant offensive force even if he never swung the bat? Not a chance, right? Well… SB Nation’s Jon Bois tackled the subject in an entertaining YouTube video posted on Tuesday. The question Bois poises is “What if Barry Bonds had played baseball without a bat?” and attempts to simulate his ridiculous 2004 season when he set a major league record for OPS at 1.422. The premise requires that pitchers don’t know that Bonds doesn’t have the ability to swing and thus are still making the same pitches to him they otherwise would. (Yes, it’s unrealistic, but we’re having fun here.) The question starts by factoring his 191 plate appearances in which he actually didn’t take a swing. He struck out looking twice, so that gave him a .990 on-base percentage for those trips to the plate. Bois then simulated each of Bonds’ walks that season. Since there’s no possible way for the batless Bonds to foul off a pitch, a solution needed to be found. PITCHf/x data didn’t become available until 2006, so that couldn’t be used. Instead, Bois used Bonds’ FanGraphs rate that showed 80.9 percent of the pitches he swung at were strikes and applied some random generation using that percentage to shave six walks off Bonds’ major league record 232 he drew that season. Then it came time to examine his 41 strikeouts. When forced to randomly generate the outcome of foul balls during those strikeouts, Bois was left with some at-bats that needed more pitches. For those pitches he needed to add in, Bois used the friendlier rate that showed 58.7 percent of pitches to Bonds

were outside the strike zone and was able to add seven walks back to Bonds’ ledger. At that point, he had a solid .392 on-base percentage. Finally, there was the pesky task of 335 plate appearances on balls that Bonds put in play. After simulating all of those, Bois calculated Bonds would finish the season with 366 walks and nine hit by pitches over the 617 plate appearances he recorded. That gave him an otherwordly on-base percentage of .608, just a sliver shy of the .609 OBP he actually finished the year with. Of course, it means he doesn’t also have the 45 homers, ends up with just a small fraction of his 101 RBIs and doesn’t come anywhere close to approaching his .812 slugging percentage that was the fourth-best of all time. An eye-popping year, but we’ll still take Bonds actually swinging the bat. MLB.com Giants can't recover after D-backs' triple Steve Gilbert and Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Arizona third baseman Jake Lamb, who typically thrives at AT&T Park, lashed a bases-loaded triple in Tuesday night's third inning to propel the D-backs to a 4-3 triumph over the San Francisco Giants. Lamb, a career .333 hitter in San Francisco, drove a Jeff Samardzija pitch into deep left-center field to clear the bases and break a scoreless tie. "Lamber gets a quality pitch and drives it off the left-center field wall," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "That was the big moment in the game, but there was some quality at-bats that led up to that. Jake Lamb has worked long and hard for those types of moments to come through and I'm thrilled for him." Chris Iannetta's RBI single in the eighth off Neil Ramirez proved vital to preserve the victory for a dominant Robbie Ray, who surrendered four hits in 6 2/3 innings, then watched as the bullpen hung on despite allowing a run in the eighth and two in the ninth. Samardzija also lasted 6 2/3 innings, yielding three runs and five hits. He improved significantly upon his previous outing last Thursday at Arizona, where he worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed six runs and eight hits, including three homers. "When you face a team back-to-back, you have a pretty good idea of what you need to fix," Samardzija said. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED A step or two away: San Francisco's Gorkys Hernandez has proven capable of making excellent defensive plays, but he missed another chance in the third inning as he couldn't quite reach Lamb's fly to deep left-center field with the bases loaded and one out. The ball barely cleared Hernandez's glove and all three runners scored. "It was not an easy play," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That was the difference in the game, probably." Running it down: Meanwhile, A.J. Pollock demonstrated what playing center field is all about. With one on and one out in the Giants' half of the third, Aaron Hill smoked a drive to deep left-center field that looked like a sure extra-base hit. Except Pollock simply outran the ball and snared it.

"I was just trying to make a play," Pollock said. "Robbie is pitching so well and you take a couple of good steps and think you might have a chance at it. Then the last couple, it's decision time if you think you can make it or not. I just felt like I could have a chance at that ball and was fortunate enough to catch it." BIG NIGHT FOR NUNEZ Bochy said he has no plans to elevate Eduardo Nunez in the batting order, though the infielder went 4-for-5 with an RBI and raised his batting average to .389. "I just like him there," Bochy said, referring to the sixth spot Nunez typically occupies. "He fits in well, it breaks up the lefties, it puts him in a position where he can drive in runs or steal bases. I could put him in the leadoff spot, but I just like him in that area." WHAT'S NEXT D-backs: The D-backs wrap up a three-game series with the Giants on Wednesday night at 7:15 p.m. MST. Shelby Miller makes his second start of the year after beating the Indians last Friday night at Chase Field. Giants: The Giants say goodbye until August to the D-backs with Wednesday night's series finale beginning at 7:15 PT. San Francisco's starter will be Matt Cain, the only member of the rotation who didn't face Arizona in last week's season-opening series. He's 14-8 with a 3.45 ERA in 36 career starts against the D-backs. MLB.com Samardzija finishes strong in loss to D-backs Chris Haft SAN FRANCISCO -- Jeff Samardzija met all the minimum requirements for a satisfying evening. All he lacked was a victory. The Giants starter remained at close to peak effectiveness for 6 2/3 innings Tuesday but absorbed the decision in San Francisco's 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Samardzija improved vastly over his previous outing last Thursday, which also happened to be against the D-backs. That night at Chase Field, he yielded homers to David Peralta, Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb, which accounted for five of the six runs he allowed through 5 1/3 innings in San Francisco's 9-3 loss. This time, Samardzija kept the ball in the park. He yielded three runs in 6 2/3 innings and struck out the final two batters he faced in the sixth inning, reflecting his reserve of physical strength. That convinced Giants manager Bruce Bochy to let Samardzija work into the seventh. "To go out and finish strong felt great," Samardzija said. "Obviously, in those spots, you want to make sure you do a good job so they remember how you finished up and they're not scared to do it again for you. I felt like I could attack them there in the seventh using all my pitches." The 3-0 deficit that the bullpen inherited from Samardzija easily could have been smaller. Center fielder Gorkys Hernandez barely missed catching Lamb's third-inning, bases-loaded triple, which accounted for all of Arizona's runs off Samardzija.

"I thought he had a bead on it," Bochy said, referring to Hernandez's attempt. "He's so good out there. He was upset with himself [for not catching the ball]. That was a big play, obviously. He's a gifted center fielder and he didn't come up with it." Said Hernandez, "It was pretty close. I almost got him. That happens. I tried to do the best I can for Samardzija and the team. I jumped a litle bit to try to catch the ball and it hit my glove." Hitting Goldschmidt with a first-inning pitch was less of a close call for Samardzija. His delivery smacked Goldschmidt in the buttocks. It was perceived as retaliation for the pitch that beaned Buster Posey on Monday and put him on the seven-day concussion disabled list. But none of the Giants would admit that. Reminding reporters that Goldschmidt hit an opposite-field home run off him last Thursday, Samardzija said, "We gotta attack him [inside]. ... I obviously didn't feel like any pitches out over the plate was a good idea." Said Bochy, "I don't have anything to say about that." MLB.com Cain looks to rebound against D-backs Chris Haft The D-backs and Giants will have faced each other seven times in the season's first 10 games after Wednesday night's series finale at AT&T. But it will be awhile before they see each other again as the two teams will next meet Aug. 4 in San Francisco. Matt Cain will start for the Giants. The right-hander beat out Ty Blach for the No. 5 spot in the rotation this spring, and he suffered the loss in his first start of the year against the Padres. D-backs starter Shelby Miller got the win in his first start against the Indians. Miller allowed three runs in the first two innings, but then seemed to find his rhythm and held Cleveland in check before departing after 5 1/3 innings. Things to know about this game • Giants second baseman Joe Panik has hit .417 (5-for-12) against Miller in his career with a home run. On the other end of the spectrum, Brandon Belt is just 1-for-22 against Miller. • Cain has made 36 career starts against the D-backs, but has not faced them since May 15, when he allowed one run over seven innings of a 2-1 San Francisco victory. • D-backs outfielder A.J. Pollock has hit .400 (6-for-15) in his career against Cain while Chris Owings has a .455 (5-for-11) mark. • In his season debut last Friday against the Indians, Miller showed off some of his best fastball velocity of the Statcast Era. He threw five of his six fastest four-seamers since the start of 2015, topping out at

98.1 mph and averaged 95.7 mph with the pitch. That was his third best for a single game in that span, and higher than in any outing last year. MLB.com Hunter Pence meets Mini Pence Adrian Garro Hunter Pence does things his way. The Giants' exuberant outfielder, who doesn't shy away from all-out effort on the field while making incredible faces, has a style all his own. It's an inspirational sort of style, really, and that point was driven home before San Francisco's game with the D-backs on Tuesday night, when Pence had a pregame meeting with one of his biggest (OK, smallest) fans, a young man named Charlie Teague from neraby Davis, Calif.: That's ... some impressive work from the kid and whoever helped him put this outfit together, as it really nails the Essence of Pence. The two talked shop around home plate, and the kid even had his own bat! Grown-up Hunter shaved his facial hair situation before the season started, but that didn't stop lil' Hunter from sporting that classic look: Naturally, this meet-up facilitated a great photo-op: As for just how convincing mini-Hunter was when it comes to game-ready situations, well ... Like looking in a mirror, only the mirror shows a precious miniature likeness of yourself. NBC Sports Bay Area GIANTS FINALIZE MINOR LEAGUE DEAL WITH MELVIN UPTON JR. Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants finalized a minor league deal with Melvin Upton Jr. on Wednesday morning, adding a depth piece that looks more and more critical by the game. Upton Jr., released earlier this month by the Blue Jays, is at the facility in Scottsdale getting up to speed at extended spring training. He is expected to join Triple-A Sacramento at some point soon. The Giants have added two veterans -- Upton Jr. and Drew Stubbs -- in recent weeks to potentially fill holes in the outfield. Two of their spring depth options, Michael Morse and Mac Williamson, remain in Arizona rehabbing injuries. Steven Duggar, their top center field prospect, is also hurt. At the big league level, the outfield is off to a rough start. Giants left fielders are 2-for-32 this season with 13 strikeouts. Gorkys Hernandez, the current backup in center field, has two hits in 25 at-bats and a misplay in center field Tuesday night was costly. Upton Jr., 32, is also prone to striking out and he has never been a high-average or on-base player, but he hit 20 homers last season for the Blue Jays and Padres and stole 27 bases. He can play all three outfield spots but he has primarily been a center fielder.

NBC Sports Bay Area MISPLAY IN CENTER IS COSTLY FOR GIANTS, WHO AGAIN FALL SHORT OF A COMEBACK Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO — The rain arrived in the late innings Tuesday night, swirling around the field and soaking a home team that was trying to come back and a visiting squad that was desperately trying to keep a hot start to the season going. For the Giants — especially center fielder Gorkys Hernandez — the rain and the accompanying wind arrived a few innings too late. Hernandez couldn’t haul in a Jake Lamb blast that kept carrying to the wall in the third inning. The three-run triple was the deciding play for the Diamondbacks, who gave up three in the eighth and ninth as the ballpark got smaller but held on for a 4-3 win. “I thought he had a bead on it, I did,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s so good out there. He was upset with himself. That’s a big play obviously. He’s a gifted center fielder and he just didn’t quite come up with it. That’s not an easy play. He just didn’t come up with it and that was the difference, probably.” For Hernandez, starting in place of Denard Span, it was a night where the inches never went his way. He scalded a ball the other way in the first but right at Paul Goldschmidt. In the bottom of the second, he came a few feet from a grand slam. That ball settled into a glove. Hernandez couldn’t say the same after Lamb’s shot. “I was pretty close, I almost got it,” he said. “It happens. I was trying to do the best I could for (Jeff) Samardzija and the team. It happens. I jumped and tried to catch the ball, and it didn’t get in my glove. Sometimes that happens.” The Diamondbacks added a little salt to the fresh wound in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Hill lined what looked to be an RBI double to left-center, but center fielder A.J. Pollock made a spectacular grab. It was that kind of night for the Giants, who hit several balls hard but left 13 on base. They finally inched closer in the eighth, getting a run back. In the ninth, Nick Hundley and Eduardo Nuñez drove in runs, and Nuñez swiped second with Brandon Crawford pinch-hitting. The Giants couldn’t finish the rally against Fernando Rodney. “We’ve done that three times where we battled back to get within one run and just couldn’t finish it,” Bochy said. --- Samardzija was much better in his second start, allowing just the three runs on the Lamb triple. He struck out seven in 6 2/3, stretching it out to 112 pitches. “It’s good to get there and feel good,” he said of the pitch count. “I still felt I could attack them there in the seventh and I was still using all my pitches.” Bochy has pushed his starters early. For all the holes that are opening up, the Giants still have a strong starting staff, and they certainly intend to ride those guys hard.

--- Nuñez had four hits, raising his average to .389. He stole his fifth base, so he’s already one-third of the way to last year’s Giants leader. Bochy said he will continue to hit sixth for now. It’s a spot Nuñez likes. “I just like him there,” Bochy said. “It breaks up the lefties and puts him in a position where he’s driving in runs or stealing bases. I could put him in the leadoff spot, but I just like him in that area. It doesn’t mean I won’t change it (at some point).” --- Look, it was clear that Samardzija got a bit of revenge on the day Buster Posey went on the DL. The Giants did not feel Taijuan Walker was throwing at Posey, and they don’t generally throw at hitters themselves, but there are unwritten rules and all that. So, Paul Goldschmidt -- the Buster Posey of Arizona -- got one right on the backside. If you follow the unwritten rules, an early plunking somewhere around the waist is exactly how you do it. Samardzija did not answer a question about it and Bochy cut one off, which is fine. No point in getting on the commissioner’s radar. But good for Goldschmidt for understanding the situation and not escalating it, and good for the umpires for not freaking out with a series of warnings. This beef now seems squashed. NBC Sports Bay Area INSTANT REPLAY: GIANTS SHUT DOWN BY RAY, COME UP SHORT VS D'BACKS Alex Pavlovic SAN FRANCISCO — Jeff Samardzija and Robbie Ray both had filthy stuff Tuesday night, one from the right side and one from the left. They each recorded 20 outs with similar lines, but there was one big difference. Ray caught the break he needed, Samardzija did not. In the end, Samardzija and the Giants were left with a 4-3 loss on a wet night at AT&T Park. Playing without Buster Posey for the first time, the lineup didn't get going until the ninth, when Nick Hundley and Eduardo Nuñez got the Giants within one. Brandon Crawford struck out with the tying run on second. The game turned on a couple of plays at the track involving Gorkys Hernandez. Starting in place of Denard Span against the lefty, Hernandez came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the second. His deep fly to left was caught a few feet in front of the wall. The Diamondbacks came right back and loaded the bases in the top of the third, starting with a single by Ray. Jake Lamb crushed a fastball to left-center and Hernandez seemed to have it in his sights. As he approached the wall, he stumbled a bit, and his reach came up a few inches short. The triple made it 3-0 Diamondbacks. That was the only damage against Samardzija, who put plenty of traffic on the bases but limited the damage. Samardjiza allowed five hits and walked four in 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven. Ray gave up four hits, walked five and struck out eight. Starting pitching report: On the day Posey went on the concussion DL, Samardzija drilled Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona’s best player. It didn’t seem to be an accident. The pitch was a 96 mph fastball

that struck him on the backside, the desired spot for retaliatory throws. Goldschmidt walked to first without incident. Bullpen report: Ty Blach was in full LOOGY mode. He came on in the seventh with a runner on and Lamb up, getting a liner to right that ended the inning. At the plate: Hundley will get most of the starts over the next week. He had a single and two doubles in five at-bats. In the field: Nuñez made his first start of the year at shortstop. He didn’t get a chance until the seventh, and he handled it easily. He’ll be Crawford’s backup this year. Attendance: The Giants announced a crowd of 41,562 human beings. One of them wore an Aaron Roward jersey. Apparently on purpose. Up next: Matt Cain makes his second start of the year. Given the fact that the Giants can skip their No. 5 starter next week, it’s a big one for Cain. Santa Rosa Press Democrat Giants rally comes up short in 4-3 loss to Diamondbacks Michael Wagaman SAN FRANCISCO — Robbie Ray pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning despite some control issues, Jake Lamb hit a bases-loaded triple and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 4-3 on Tuesday night. Chris Iannetta added an RBI single, and A.J. Pollock singled, scored and made a stellar play in center field to rob Aaron Hill of extra bases in the third. The Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in six games against San Francisco. Arizona improved to 7-2, matching its best start in franchise history. Ray (1-0) settled in after pitching out of a pair of early jams and overcame matching his career high of five walks. He struck out eight and allowed four hits over 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander also got some help from Pollock, who made a running catch on Aaron Hill’s deep fly ball to center in the third then slammed into the wall before quickly getting up to hold a runner at first. Fernando Rodney struck out pinch-hitter Brandon Crawford with the tying run at second to end the game. Rodney allowed two runs but earned his third save. Eduardo Nunez had four hits and an RBI for San Francisco. Lamb got to Jeff Samardzija (0-2) with his triple in the third to extend his hitting streak to eight games after the Giants starter gave up back-to-back singles and a one-out walk to load the bases. Gorkys Hernandez crashed into the center field wall chasing the ball, allowing all three runners to score easily.

Samardzija allowed three runs over 62/3 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts. Payback Paul Goldschmidt was plunked by a 97 mph fastball from Samardzija in the first inning, one day after San Francisco catcher Buster Posey was hit in the head by a 94 mph fastball from Arizona’s Taijuan Walker. Samardzija hit only one batter in 2031/3 innings in 2016. Diamondbacks reliever Jorge De La Rosa hit pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie with a pitch in the eighth. Medal Time Crawford and closer Mark Melancon received their gold medals for being part of the US team that won the World Baseball Classic. Hitting coach Hensley Meulens, who managed the Netherlands, was also honored during the pregame ceremony. Trainer’s room Giants: Posey was placed on the seven-day disabled list with concussion symptoms before the game. Posey said he was feeling well but the Giants weren’t taking any risks. “He’s got some symptoms so we’re being cautious,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “You just have to be really careful about these things.” ... Crawford was given a planned day off. Third baseman Nunez is scheduled be off Wednesday. ... Catcher Tim Federowicz had his contract purchased from Triple-A Sacramento to take Posey’s spot, while RHP Clayton Blackburn was designated for assignment. Up next The two teams meet for the seventh time in 11 days when they end the three-game series Wednesday. Matt Cain (0-0) tries to bounce back from his rough season debut for San Francisco while Shelby Miller (1-0) starts for Arizona. San Francisco Examiner Giants take careful approach with Buster Posey’s head injury Jacob. C. Palmer AT&T PARK — The unofficial word of the day for the San Francisco Giants was “caution.” When general manager Bobby Evans met with the media on Tuesday to discuss the team placing Buster Posey on the seven-day disabled list — which is designated for players with brain injuries — he used a derivative of the word at least nine times. Before his team lost, 4-3, to the Diamondbacks, manager Bruce Bochy shared a similar message: When it comes to preserving the face of the franchise, who was hit in the head by a Taijuan Walker fastball the day before, the team wasn’t going to leave anything to chance — even if Posey, Evans and Bochy wouldn’t admit the all-star catcher had a concussion, only admitting he suffered from “symptoms.” “Probably the hardest part of the body to evaluate is someone’s head,” Posey said. “… It’s tough because it’s never black and white, it’s pretty subjective when it comes to it and a lot of it is player feel.” Posey said he mostly felt fine, but knew something wasn’t normal Tuesday morning. Instead of waiting to get a more complete picture, the Giants decided to make the move because they only had two

catchers on the 25-man roster and didn’t want to force Aaron Hill — the team’s unsuspecting emergency backstop — into action should Nick Hundley suffer an injury. “With a catcher, if he’s unavailable for a day or two, that’s a day or two too many,” Evans explained. But taking that kind of care comes with costs: In this case, a young starting pitcher who’s shown promise. To purchase catcher Tim Federowicz’s contract from Triple-A Sacramento, the Giants had to designate Clayton Blackburn for assignment. In 2015, Blackburn carried a 2.85 ERA across 20 starts, leading many to believe he would one day be a solid contributor in the back-end of the Giants rotation. He regressed to the norm in 2016 and has struggled in one outing this season. Evans is confident he’ll receive trade offers for Blackburn as the minor-leaguer processes through waivers. “I think it’ll be hard to retain him because he just has a lot of value in the market,” he said. Moving to lose a player like Blackburn isn’t what the organization wanted, but with experience dealing with prolonged concussion recoveries — like Joe Panik’s last season after being hit in the head with a pitch — the team had to prioritize the big-league club, starting with its most valuable asset. “I don’t take it lightly when you’re talking about your head. It’s bigger than baseball,” Posey said. ESPN.com Giants place Buster Posey on 7-day DL after taking fastball to head Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO -- Catcher Buster Posey was placed on the seven-day disabled list with concussion symptoms Tuesday, a day after he was struck in the helmet by a 94 mph fastball from Arizona's Taijuan Walker. While manager Bruce Bochy said following Monday's 4-1 victory that Posey was doing fine, the Giants planned to check in with him overnight and re-evaluate him Tuesday. They weren't going to take any chances with the 2012 NL MVP and 2010 Rookie of the Year. "He's got some symptoms so we're being cautious," Bochy said. "We'll continue to monitor how he's doing and he'll stay there until we think he's ready to play. The biggest reason probably is the fact that he is a catcher. You just have to be really careful about these things." The 0-1 fastball with two outs in the first inning sent the Gold Glove catcher immediately to the ground. Athletic trainer Dave Groeschner sprinted toward the plate and Bochy was right behind. Posey got up on his own but exited the game, with Nick Hundley entering to pinch run and stay in the game behind the plate. Posey told reporters that he was able to drive home following the game and had no problems sleeping afterward. He said he had some lingering symptoms but declined to go into detail whether that included headaches or nausea.

"We just thought this was the smart move, especially being a catcher," Posey said. "When you're dealing with your head you have to use caution. It's different than a hip or a knee obviously. I feel like it's the right move." Posey will be restricted from any baseball activities for the next few days while continuing to go through the concussion protocol. He could come off the disabled list as early as April 18 when the Giants begin a two-game series in Kansas City. Bochy noted that Posey could potentially be San Francisco's designated hitter against the Royals. "We're going to try to get this thing cleared up and we'll get him back on the field as soon as we can," Bochy said. Catcher Tim Federowicz had his contract purchased from Triple-A Sacramento to take Posey's spot, while right-hander Clayton Blackburn was designated for assignment. CBS Sports 2016 strugglers start for D-backs, Giants STATS SAN FRANCISCO -- Two pitchers who lost their starting jobs last year but received a reprieve this season match up when the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants complete a three-game series Wednesday. Right-handers Shelby Miller and Matt Cain, who combined to lose 20 games last season, will try to maintain their managers' confidence when they duel in the rubber match of the series. Starting pitching has been the name of the game in the first two contests, with left-handers Matt Moore of the Giants and Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks taking turn shutting down the opposition in wins. Recent history indicates that trend is unlikely to continue Wednesday. Miller (1-0) did win his season debut last week against the Cleveland Indians, but only after allowing three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 7-3 victory. The right-hander was once a 15-game winner for the St. Louis Cardinals, but he fell upon hard times in 2015 (6-17 record despite a 3.02 ERA for the Atlanta Braves) and last season (3-12 with a 6.15 ERA for Arizona). He was so bad early last year (2-9 with a 7.14 ERA), he was sent to the minors. Miller was only marginally better when recalled late in the year, winning just one of his final four decisions. He had never won a home game for the Diamondbacks until beating the Indians. "It's nice," he said. "I didn't pitch good at home last year at all. We didn't win, either, at home last year." Cain (0-0) was less likely than Miller to retain his starting spot this season because of the competition in spring training. The Giants were considering left-hander Ty Blach, a late-season sensation last

September, for the fifth spot. And it appeared Cain did nothing to help his cause, sporting a 7.82 ERA in Cactus League action. However, Giants manager Bruce Bochy, one of the most loyal skippers in the game, decided to give Cain one more shot nonetheless. "I thought Matt handled everything well. He was healthy, he threw strikes and he got better as it went," Bochy said on the eve of the season upon making the call on his fifth starter. "He deserves to be our fifth starter right now." The veteran's first start wasn't encouraging, He couldn't get out of the fifth inning in San Diego, allowing four runs on six hits. The form was similar to what produced 2-7, 2-4 and 4-8 records the past three seasons, with last year's losing mark attached to a 5.64 ERA. Cain, a Cy Young Award candidate on more than one occasion early in his Giants career, lost his rotation spot not once but twice last season, although Bochy labeled the first demotion a rest. Neither team has done much scoring in the series so far, but both were on the verge of big things in Arizona's 4-3 win on Tuesday night. The Giants had 10 hits and stranded 13 baserunners. The Diamondbacks countered with nine hits, but they stranded 10 baserunners. Ten walks were issued in the contest. The Sporting News Jeff Samardzija, Paul Goldschmidt know how to play by the (unwritten) rules Tom Gatto The Giants and Diamondbacks provided a textbook example Tuesday of how to enforce baseball's unwritten rules. From start to finish, it was one of the most casual, most professional retaliations you'll see. It helped that the principals were veterans who know how this stuff is supposed to work. In a matter of seconds, Giants starter Jeff Samardzija defended the honor of a teammate and Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt absorbed the punishment without complaint. Samardzija dotted Goldschmidt's left butt cheek with a 96 mph fastball in the first inning because the Giants' best player, catcher Buster Posey, was hit in the head by a pitch — unintentionally — the day before. Posey was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list earlier Tuesday. Samardzija knew he had to deliver the payback to Arizona's best player, and that's Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt, also knowing what was up, turned and offered his backside. The pitch went where it needed to go — nowhere near the head and neck area. Goldschmidt dropped his bat, put his head down and went to first base.

That was that. A plunking in response to a beaning. No mound charge, no staredown, no loud noises. Even the umpires got it right; no ejections or warnings. It was played "the right way" all around. And "all around" extended to the postgame with reporters. Giants manager Bruce Bochy refused to talk about the pitch. Samardzija issued the expected denial; he gave a line about wanting to pitch Goldschmidt inside after giving up a home run to him last week. Samardzija then gave the game away without saying another word. Reporter: "Looked like it might have been, you know, retaliation." Samardzija: *Long pause* *Knowing smirk* *Head shake* *Pause continues* *Says he's done talking* Cry not for Goldschmidt, though. He got satisfaction later in the game. His team held on for a 4-3 win, and he contributed to the victory with a walk and a run scored in the third inning when Arizona went up 3-0 on Samardzija, who took the loss. Mock the whole dance if you want. This stuff matters to players, so it's notable when the steps are so graceful. MLB Trade Rumors Giants Receiving Trade Interest In Clayton Blackburn Steve Adams Giants general manager Bobby Evans expects to be able to trade minor league right-hander Clayton Blackburn after designating him for assignment yesterday, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Baggarly tweeted after the DFA that trade interest in Blackburn has been constant over the life of the winter, and he speculates within his column that the Giants may already have the framework of a deal in place. As I noted at the time Blackburn was designated, it seems quite likely that another club would have interest in striking up a deal to land the 24-year-old. Long touted as one of the Giants’ top 10 prospects, Blackburn took a step back in 2016 with a 4.36 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent ground-ball rate in Triple-A, but he posted a league-leading 2.85 ERA in 123 1/3 Triple-A innings back in 2015. Overall, Blackburn has a strong minor league track record, having logged a 3.30 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in parts of seven professional seasons. The righty still has two minor league options remaining, so any club that acquires Blackburn can option him to the minors without first having to expose him to waivers. While Blackburn’s stock may have slipped with last year’s lackluster results, it’s not surprising that an optionable 24-year-old with 262 1/3 reasonably successful innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League would generate interest. Blackburn won’t return an elite prospect or much help to the Giants’ Major League roster, one wouldn’t think, but this is the type of MLB-ready depth piece that the Mariners, Cubs and Orioles have stocked up on in recent months.

The Mets, of course, have sustained multiple injuries on their pitching staff already, though there’s little sense in speculating too heavily as to where Blackburn could land, as it’s easy to make the argument that any club could use some additional upper-level rotation depth. MLB Trade Rumors Giants Place Posey On 7-Day DL, Select Federowicz, Designate Blackburn Steve Adams The Giants announced that they’ve placed Buster Posey on the 7-day disabled list and selected the contract of veteran backstop Tim Federowicz. To clear a spot for Federowicz on the 40-man roster, the team has designated right-hander Clayton Blackburn for assignment. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area first reported that Posey would be placed on the DL and that Federowicz is on his way to the Majors. Posey was hit in the head by a 94 mph fastball from D-backs right-hander Taijuan Walker yesterday, and though Pavlovic notes that he’s said to be feeling good, the team wants to proceed with caution in a potential concussion scenario. As Pavlovic notes, the Giants have been burned in recent years by rushing both Brandon Belt and Joe Panik back from concussions, and it only stands to reason that they’d want to not only avoid repeating those mistakes but proceed with extreme caution regarding their top position player. Federowicz, 29, is a veteran of five Major League seasons, although he’s never been much of a source of offense in the big leagues. He’s a .194/.243/.295 hitter in 304 plate appearances with the Dodgers and Cubs, but he does come with a strong Triple-A track record (to say nothing of his solid performance in Spring Training). In 304 Triple-A games over the course of his career, Federowicz is a .304/.375/.511 hitter, and he also slashed an impressive .323/.417/.625 in 21 games with the Giants this spring. Federowicz is out of minor league options, so he’ll likely be exposed to waivers once again once Posey is healthy enough to return. In the meantime, Nick Hundley figures to step up and catch on a regular basis. Blackburn, 24, rated as the Giants’ No. 5 prospect (per Baseball America) as recently as the 2014-15 offseason and rated among the team’s Top 10 prospects from 2012 through 2016. BA praised Blackburn for his pitchability and control, noting that he’s able to generate good sink on his low-90s heater. Blackburn, though, had a rough 2016 season in Triple-A, pitching to a 4.36 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 and a 46.8 percent ground-ball rate. He was tagged for five runs on six hits and a walk with one strikeout across three innings in his first Triple-A start of the 2017 season. Given his proximity to the Majors, his control and his fairly recent prospect status, he seems like a reasonable candidate to command trade interest or be claimed on waivers by a pitching-needy organization with strong waiver priority. USA TODAY Sports The 100 most powerful people in MLB Larry Bear ranked 26th on The Top 100 list Barry Bonds ranked 93rd on The Top 100 List 1. Rob Manfred A protégé of Hall of Fame Commissioner Bud Selig, Manfred has shown a radically different approach in his two years as baseball’s chief executive. While Selig was painfully slow adopting change, awaiting

strong consensus among owners, Manfred is quick to make change. He is showing a strong willingness for innovation and a burning desire is to speed up the pace of play, marketing it to youth without damaging its fabric of being a timeless sport, or offending baseball’s conservative and traditional fan base. 2. Dan Halem Halem is Manfred’s right-hand man, performing all of Manfred’s duties before he became commissioner. A brilliant man, he’s the point person on all of the labor, economic and legal fronts, and was the driving force on the new collective bargaining agreement and baseball’s Biogenesis drug investigation. He widely is viewed as Manfred’s successor if he stays in baseball. 3. Tony Petitti Petitti is the creative force in Manfred’s inner circle in baseball’s hierarchy as the chief operating officer. Petitti, the former executive vice president of CBS sports, created and developed the Major League Baseball Network. He also is the catalyst behind baseball’s vision of speeding up the pace of the game to engage younger fans and the viewing audience. 4. Bill DeWitt Dewitt has been CEO of the Cardinals since 1996, but has risen to considerable power under Rob Manfred, and is Manfred’s closest ally in ownership circles. He is a former chairman of the executive council and also a former chairman of the Commissioner’s succession committee that helped elect Manfred. Manfred, in fact, may not have been elected commissioner without DeWitt’s strong influence. He succeeds Jerry Reinsdorf as the most powerful owner in the game. 5. Scott Boras Still – and probably always – the uber agent. Boras Corporation enjoyed $132.3 million in commissions last year, according to Forbes, and even as some of its legacy players retire – Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder and others – the client list remains deep, relevant and lucrative. Bryce Harper will hit the market in two years; Kris Bryant may surpass whatever Harper fetches come 2021. Players love Boras for getting top dollar; ownership and front offices have no choice but to respect his clout, passion and knowledge of the industry and game. 6. Bob Bowman The longtime president and CEO of MLB’s uber-successful advanced media wing, Bowman has helped the league generate billions in income thanks in large part to a successful – if sometimes frustratingly territorial – online video product that governs and profits off all the sport’s streaming broadcast packages and highlights. Since the 2015 implementation of Statcast in all 30 MLB parks, MLBAM now tracks an overwhelming amount of raw on-field data to be synthesized by its teams, its broadcasts, and its team of in-house. 7. Tony Clark

Executive director, players association. Clark, now in his fourth season as head of the union, is the first former major leaguer to hold that position. In December he and MLB officials negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement that extends through the 2021 season and increases the minimum player salary to $535,000 this year. The MLBPA has long been regarded as the strongest union in major pro sports, and baseball remains the only one among them without a salary cap. 8. Terry McGuirk The Braves’ CEO since 2001, McGuirk a powerful voice among baseball executives, while also having the ear of Manfred. The former Turner broadcasting executive maneuvered the stunning deal that led the Braves to move from downtown Atlanta to $672 million SunTrust Park, with a surrounding $452 million mixed-use development, without it being publicly known before an announcement. 9. Casey Close He helped keep Derek Jeter’s name out of blaring headlines for the better part of two decades, and now Close is making his own name by controlling much of the ever-lucrative pitching market. Close changed the game – at least for a while – by negotiating opt-out clauses into deals for Zack Greinke, Masahiro Tanaka and Clayton Kershaw. Greinke already cashed in, to the tune of a new $206.5 million deal after the 2015 season. Tanaka and Kershaw are up next the next two winters. The low-key approach combined with lucrative results will ensure blue-chip players arrive in the Excel Sports Management stable. 10. Rob McGlarry President of MLB network, reporting directly to Bob Bowman. McGlarry, an executive at the network since it launched in 2009, has played an instrumental role in negotiating MLB’s broadcasting agreements since arriving in 2003. 11. Bryce Harper He’s supposedly second to Kris Bryant in fan recognition and likability among active major leaguers, but Harper’s relevance can’t be denied. He cast himself as the unofficial torch bearer for the expressive, occasionally brash young ballplayer with his “Make Baseball Fun Again” exhortation. The rare athlete who lived up to and perhaps exceeded the significant hype preceding him, Harper was an MVP by 22, and now boasts endorsements for almost every significant MLB corporate partner: Gatorade, T-Mobile and Under Armour, to name a few. After the 2018 season, it’s almost certain he will set a new standard for biggest contract. D.C.? New York? L.A.? Soon, it will be Harper making that call. 12. Kevin Plank Under Armour inked a deal in December that will have the sportswear company supplying Major League Baseball’s uniforms beginning in 2020. The company’s logo is set to feature on the front of jerseys once they take over, rather than the tiny logo on a sleeve as we have become accustomed to. MLB fan apparel has become a big part of Under Armour’s business, challenging Nike’s long-standing dominance. Under Armour also sponsors Clayton Kershaw and Bryce Harper, two of the most high-profile stars in the game.

13. Eric Shanks He’s the co-president and COO of the powerful Fox Sports Media Group, Major League Baseball’s largest broadcast rights holder, which annually produces the World Series. He has been only the third president of the company at the age of 38, believed to be the youngest leader of a broadcast network sports division. 14. Joe Torre The Hall of Fame manager and former star player brings and on-field and dugout perspective to his job as chief baseball officer, the main connection between the commissioner’s office and the teams and umpires in matters related to the playing of the game. Torre oversees discipline for on-field actions and has been involved in the implementation of instant replay and pace-of-play rules. 15. Tom Ricketts The Ricketts family owns the Cubs, and Tom is the chairman of a board of directors that also includes siblings Pete, Laura and Todd. Under the Ricketts’ ownership, the Cubs have embarked on a $550 million renovation of Wrigley Field and its surroundings that is still ongoing. The product on the field has also been upgraded, as confirmed by last year’s World Series championship – the franchise’s first since 1908. In the pipeline: A possible Cubs TV network. 16. Theo Epstein When you build potential dynasties in Boston and Chicago, and break century-long “curses” for the Red Sox and Cubs, it puts you in a different stratosphere, even in an ra where front-office executives are idolized to an extent. Epstein, president of baseball operations for the Cubs, has broken even further away from the pack of genius GMs, building not just a champion but, by all appearances, a perennial powerhouse in Wrigleyville. Ricketts gave him a reported $50 million deal to stick around; then-President Obama suggested he run the Democratic National Committee, an East Room joke that had more than a shred of truth to it. Still just 43, Epstein and his trusted lieutenants will almost assuredly keep the Cubs humming, but the baseball industry – and beyond – can’t help but ponder his next move. 17. Brian Seeley Seeley is MLB’s top investigative cop and a former assistant U.S. attorney. He has a prosecutor’s mindset and a rich legal background. In 2014, he led the investigative unit that exposed the Biogenesis doping scandal -- one of the most extensive drug investigations in sports history -- that resulted in 14 player suspensions. 18. Hal Steinbrenner For a few years after George Steinbrenner ceded control of the Yankees to his sons in 2008, it appeared the brash and outspoken Hank Steinbrenner might carry on the family’s tradition of hands-on, front-facing, controversy-courting ownership. But Hal Steinbrenner, by reputation the far more reserved brother, seems instead to be guiding the club toward an unlikely pragmatism now culminating in the club’s fruitful youth movement. The new-look Yankees seem primed to foster a core of good young

players apt to complement whatever big fish they inevitably lure in free agency in the coming offseasons, all while still raking in significant revenue from the YES Network. 19. Mark Walter Los Angeles Dodgers owner. Walter, a Chicago financier, and his investment group bought the Dodgers for a record $2.15 billion in 2012, then parlayed that purchase into a $8.3 billion TV contract. The Dodgers finished second in Walter’s first year as owner and have won four consecutive NL West crowns since then, though they’re still seeking their first World Series appearance since 1988. 20. Jerry Reinsdorf Reinsdorf, who owns the Chicago White Sox and Bulls, is one of only three men who have owned sports franchises that won championships in multiple sports. Reinsdorf, who has owned the White Sox since 1981, was former Commissioner Bud Selig’s closest ally and easily the most powerful owner in the sport during Selig’s reign. He still wields considerable power among owners, but his attempt to have someone else succeed Selig instead of Manfred failed. 21. John Henry The 67-year-old investor is the principal owner of the group that purchased the Boston Red Sox in 2002, two years before the team ended its celebrated “Curse of the Bambino” by winning the World Series for the first time since 1918. Since then, the Red Sox have won twice more and are ranked third on Forbes’ list of the most valuable franchises – with a value in 2016 of $2.3 billion. Henry’s reach also extends to the media that cover the Red Sox. His Fenway Sports Group owns 80% of the New England Sports Network (NESN), which broadcasts Red Sox games. He also owns The Boston Globe. 22. Derek Jeter Long the face of baseball and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, the telegenic former Yankee shortstop still carries a lot of weight in the sport. His online media outlet, The Players’ Tribune, offers baseball's biggest stars a direct means of communication with fans that extends far beyond social-media character limits. And Jeter, who earned $265 million in salary across his career plus millions more in endorsements, may soon make his long-held dreams of ownership come true, as he’s reportedly part of an ownership group vying to purchase the Miami Marlins. 23. John Skipper President, ESPN. Skipper greenlighted the current eight-year, $5.6 billion deal with MLB that extends both sides’ partnership through 2021. Though ESPN televises three games a week during the regular season, the network has become a minor presence in the postseason, with rights only to one of the wild-card games. As ESPN feels the financial strain of cord-cutting, its relationship with baseball in future years will bear watching. 24. Stuart Sternberg He owns one of MLB’s smaller fish – the Tampa Bay Rays – and voted against the most recent collective bargaining agreement, calling it a missed opportunity “to address the extraordinary and widening

competitive gap that exists on-field between higher and lower revenue clubs.” But the Rays’ stadium situation is untenable, everyone knows it and the franchise, while not a free agent, has a greater potential for mobility than any other. Tampa Bay? St. Petersburg? Montreal? The first two are far more likely, but the twists in their venue saga bear watching as 2027 – when their lease at Tropicana Field expires – approaches. 25. James Andrews The foremost authority in the elbow-reconstruction procedure known as Tommy John surgery, Andrews has extended the careers of hundreds of pitchers. He would like to prevent at least that many from requiring the operation. Andrews has spoken out about the dangers of overusing youth pitchers and co-authored a set of guidelines known as Pitch Smart to help them avoid injuries. 26. Larry Baer Baer was one of the key figures in keeping the San Francisco Giants from moving to Tampa Bay in the early 1990s and in getting their privately financed ballpark built; he has since ascended to CEO. The club’s current streak of 489 sellouts is the majors’ longest. The Giants have won three World Series under Baer’s stewardship while becoming innovators in areas such as ticket pricing and player rest. 27. Andrew Friedman The Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations since 2014, Friedman first rose to prominence in baseball when he was named the Tampa Bay Rays general manager in 2005 at age 28. His analytic approach turned the perennial losers into a playoff team for the first time in franchise history when they reached the World Series in 2008. With the Dodgers, he has assembled what could be described as an all-star front office that includes former MLB GMs Josh Byrnes (San Diego) and Farhan Zaidi (Oakland). Friedman now has big-city dollars to mix with his baseball savvy: For the past three seasons, the Dodgers have had baseball’s largest payroll. 28. Jeffrey Loria Five years after opening a stadium made possible by strong-arming area taxpayers, the Miami Marlins owner is now hard at work on a multi-billion dollar exit strategy: Selling the club. Numerous bidders have reportedly emerged for the club, including names such as Derek Jeter and the Kushner family. Loria had a huge hand in baseball’s exit from Montreal and solidifying the Marlins’ future in South Florida. Now, he’ll hold all the cards in determining who will steer the franchise in the future. 29. Billy Bean Still one of only two former MLB players to publicly come out as gay, Bean now serves as the league’s Ambassador for Inclusion. In that role, Bean tours clubhouses every year to engage with players in the hopes of fostering environments more accepting than those he confronted during his playing days in the late 1980s. Bean’s visits have come with some controversy – most notably when then-Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy said he “disagree(s) with the (gay) lifestyle” during spring training in 2015 – but Bean persists in shepherding the league into the 21st century. The results are already evident, as the club has outlawed cross-dressing as a rookie hazing ritual.

30. Jane Forbes Clark Hall of Fame chairman. The granddaughter of Hall of Fame founder Stephen C. Clark, she’s a major mover and shaker in Cooperstown, N.Y., which swells to several times its size every year at the end of July for the induction ceremonies. She also serves as a liaison between the Hall and the players who return yearly to welcome new inductees. 31. Bill James The impact of James as a baseball writer, historian and statistician cannot be overstated in the game we know today. He was the first to use what’s now known as “sabermetrics” (a term he coined from the Society for American Baseball Research’s acronym) as a new way of looking at and measuring the game – often in direct opposition to conventional wisdom at the time. His annual self-published Baseball Abstract spawned a new generation of analytically minded sportswriters. He is currently a Senior Baseball Operations Advisor for the Boston Red Sox, a position he’s held since 2002. 32. David Ortiz Even in retirement, Big Papi remains an influential figure. Ortiz still appears in national TV commercials and he’s revered by both American and Latin players, especially those from his native Dominican Republic. He’s baseball’s quintessential ambassador, and he has the commissioner’s ear. 33. Mark Shapiro Shapiro, president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, is one of the most powerful disciples of Atlanta Braves vice president John Schuerholz. He was a fixture in the Cleveland Indians organization for 24 years, and groomed such GMs and executives as Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff of Cleveland, Ross Atkins of Toronto, Neal Huntington of Pittsburgh, Derek Falvey of Minnesota, David Stearns of Milwaukee and Mike Hazen of Arizona. He has been so instrumental in the hiring of new GMs that MLB cut ties with search firm Korn Ferry. 34. Mike Trout The best player in baseball by far, Trout enters his sixth full big-league season with two MVP awards, five All-Star nods and countless statistical accomplishments on his resume, but a bafflingly low Q rating only partly explained by the Angels’ middling performances in 2015 and 2016. At this point, Trout’s stature as an on-field great is so certain and so widely recognized throughout the sport that he could easily generate headlines with even the mildest of opinions, but Trout, for now, seems content to just be incredibly good at baseball. 35. Brodie Van Wagenen Sports management with a side of glitz. Van Wagenen, co-head of Creative Artists Agency’s baseball division, teamed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for two years, during which he negotiated a $240 million contract for Robinson Cano with the Seattle Mariners. He also managed to fetch, over the course of two off-seasons, $137.5 million for Yoenis Cespedes despite an iffy market for the slugger after the 2015 season. And he’s also the man who deftly brought you Tim Tebow, baseball player.

36. Fred Wilpon Wilpon’s involvement in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and ensuing financial crisis made the Mets a laughingstock in the early part of this decade. Things have calmed down since and the team is winning, thanks in large part to the Wilpons’ patience with general manager Sandy Alderson. Fans still call for Wilpon’s ousting, but he has done all the right things in recent years and the Mets are now dominating back pages in New York for the right reasons. 37. Neal ElAttrache The team doctor for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams is known as the orthopedic surgeon to the stars, having operated on the likes of Kobe Bryant and Zack Greinke, as well as actors Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger (the last two on the same day). ElAttrache is also an expert on Tommy John surgery. 38. Kris Bryant Perhaps the most prominent and most promising young star on a Cubs roster chock full of them, the bright-eyed Bryant represents a rare Northside player who has only known success: The Cubs won 97 games in Bryant’s first big-league season in 2015 then, you may have heard, won 103 games and the World Series in his sophomore year. With teammate Anthony Rizzo, he forms half of a formidable and marketable set of middle-of-order sluggers known to adoring Cubs fans as “Bryzzo.” Off the diamond, his matinee-idol looks are on display as a pitchman for Express. 39. Clayton Kershaw Baseball’s highest-paid player at $33 million a season, Kershaw is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and generally regarded as the game’s top pitcher. Kershaw, 29, can opt out of his seven-year, $215 million contract after next season, setting up the possibility of a bidding war for his services. 40. Kim Ng The highest-ranking woman in baseball, Ng, as senior VP of baseball operations, oversees MLB’s international operations. Ng was an assistant general manager with the Yankees and Dodgers and interviewed for the Los Angeles GM post before joining the MLB office in 2011. Her name has surfaced in connection with other GM jobs, but so far no female has been hired for such a post. 41. Bud Selig Selig, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, perhaps was the most powerful commissioner in baseball history. He led baseball into its golden era where revenues are expected to exceed $10 billion. He’s the Commissioner Emeritus for three more years, and still has a powerful voice among long-time owners. Manfred, who was Selig’s protégé, does not have daily interaction with him, but utilizes Selig’s strengths when needing support from certain ownership factions. 42. David Levy

At the end of the 2012 season, Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting System, brokered an eight-year TV deal with MLB that, combined with deals with ESPN and Fox, will deliver a combined $12.4 billion. Turner will retain exclusive rights to one League Championship Series each year. 43. Joe Garagiola Jr. The long title - MLB senior VP of standards and on-field operations - mostly means Garagiola, son of the late player and broadcaster of the same name, hands out discipline for on-field incidents. Garagiola served as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ general manager from 1997-2005. 44. John Fisher Fisher, the son of The Gap founders, has been the Oakland Athletics’ majority owner since 2005, but he remained on the background until replacing Lew Wolff as managing partner in November. With the NFL’s Raiders headed to Las Vegas, the A’s appear primed to finally get a new stadium in Oakland. 45. Gary Green Green, a clinical professor at UCLA, is Major League Baseball’s medical director. He has been the chief consultant to MLB on anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs since 2003, and helped shape baseball’s powerful drug-testing program. 46. Andy MacPhail He laid the foundation for the Baltimore Orioles’ current success – Adam Jones, Manny Machado and Buck Showalter all bear his fingerprints – and now holds a ton of cards in Philadelphia, where he’s president of baseball operations. The Phillies have just $28 million committed beyond 2018, when perhaps the greatest free agent class in baseball history hits the market. Their payday from a 25-year, $2.5 billion local TV contract will rise every year. Translation: The Phillies will be ready to strike, and soon. 47. Shohei Otani By changing the rules governing international signees in the new collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the MLBPA likely cost the league a couple of years’ worth of the services of one of the sport’s most fascinating players. Japan’s best starting pitcher and one of its top sluggers as a part-time DH, Otani considered entering the American ranks out of high school but signed with Nippon Ham of the NPB when the club promised him the opportunity to be a two-way player. Unless MLB creates some form of loophole in the CBA, its fans might not see Otani before the 2020 season. The ankle injury that kept him out of the 2017 WBC also kept Otani off the mound for the start of the NPB season, but he opened the campaign by going 10-for-20 with four doubles and two homers as a designated hitter. When he does come to the USA, the bidding war for his services – and how the winning team may deploy him – will be fascinating. 48. Ted Lerner As the Nationals’ owner, Lerner is going to be in the spotlight as Bryce Harper’s free agency approaches. The organization has recently committed $385 million for Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, but will

Lerner foot the bill for Harper’s sure-to-be mega deal? He has already been the benefactor of four $100 million+ contracts since 2010. 49. Sean Forman The founder of Baseball-Reference.com, the most complete source of baseball statistics on the Internet. MLB executives, as well as writers, broadcasters and fans rely heavily on the database Forman – and his company Sports Reference -- has collected and maintained since 2000. One of the site’s major contributions to the sabermetric revolution is its efforts to roll all of a player’s contributions into a single, quantifiable number: Wins Above Replacement (WAR). 50. Pedro Martinez The second Dominican elected to the Hall of Fame, Martinez has remained a visible presence in the game as an analyst for TBS and the MLB Network and as special assistant for the Boston Red Sox. He also released an autobiography in 2015, the year he entered the Hall. Martinez is the pitching version of David Ortiz, a widely admired figure in the U.S. and Latin America. 51. Ken Rosenthal Known to the general public as the insightful but unassuming bow-tied dugout reporter and interviewer for Fox’s MLB broadcasts, Rosenthal doubles as a deadly accurate and accountable must-follow source for inside-baseball scoops and trends. Nicknamed “Robothal” in some circles for his tireless and comprehensive reporting, especially before the trade deadline and during the winter meetings, Rosenthal smoothly negotiates the contemporary media landscape across multiple platforms despite output that reflects a dogged pursuit of information. 52. Jeff Idelson President Baseball Hall of Fame. Idelson oversees daily operations of a museum attended by about 300,000 visitors a year and gathers memorabilia to add to the shrine’s collection. Idelson represents the Hall at international events and maintains close contact with players who have been inducted. 53. Joe West ‘Country Joe’ is the president of the World Umpires Association. He spent 39 seasons as an umpire, in which he umpired six Word Series and two All-Star Games. In 2014, West helped negotiate a five year labor agreement with the league and get the largest umpiring contract in baseball history. 54. Jim Crane Crane, one of baseball’s newest owners as chairman of the Houston Astros, quickly is gaining power and influence. He purchased the Astros for $680 million in 2011, and agreed to move his team to the American League in 2013. The franchise now is worth in excess of $2 billion while becoming a power in the American League. 55. Manny Machado

There’s a case to be made that the Orioles infielder is already the best player in the game. The 24-year-old infielder is a once-in-a-generation talent, and should go toe-to-toe with Harper for the biggest contracts in MLB history when they are both free agents after the 2018 season. Machado may not currently have the name recognition of Trout and Harper, but that’s going to change as rumors begin to swirl ahead of his free agency. 56. Brian Cashman Closing in on 20 years as general manager of the New York Yankees, Cashman’s influence continues to grow years after gaining greater autonomy from Tampa-based forces in the organization. Under his watch, the Yankees have won seven American League pennants and five World Series titles, and thanks to his maneuvers last year, are positioned to combine young, cheap talent with big-money acquisitions. 57. Jerry Ford Perfect Game USA began as a small outfit in Iowa designed to provide exposure to baseball players in an area not traditionally mined for prospects. Two decades later, Ford’s local project has ballooned into a multi-million dollar national powerhouse. Its year-round travel ball events are a must-stop for scouts and collegiate evaluators – and for parents hungry for their kids to get drafted or receive scholarships. Perfect Game estimated that 37 2015 major league All-Stars were alums of its events; its influence figures to grow, although it has received criticism for perpetuating the year-round travel ball culture that might possibly compromise the health of pitching arms. 58. Joe Maddon Maddon is so highly regarded that the Cubs hired him after the 2014 season when their managerial job wasn’t even vacant. He’s quirky and unconventional, doing things as a manager that the rest of the league ends up trying to imitate. Aside from leading the Cubs to their first World Series in 108 years, he turned the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays into a perennial in the late 2000s. His glasses are by far the most recognizable feature among managers and the way he commands a microphone is unrivaled. 59. Tony Reagins Reagins, the former GM of the Los Angeles Angels, is the leader of MLB’s entire youth program as MLB’s senior vice president. The role is vitally importantly to Manfred’s challenge of luring youngsters back to the game, particularly within minority groups, where only 7% of opening-day rosters are comprised of African-Americans. 60. Cal Ripken A deity in the state of Maryland for decades, Ripken has become even more influential in the sport since retiring in 2001. The 56-year-old is president and CEO of Ripken Baseball, which seeks to promote baseball at a grassroots level organization through tournaments and camps. Ripken has called postseason games on TBS for the last four years and features on the studio show as well. He has purchased three minor league teams including the Aberdeen IronBirds, who he relocated from Utica to play at Ripken Stadium, now a landmark overlooking I-95 in northern Maryland. 61. Pat O’Conner

President of the minor leagues, O’Conner has spent 33 years in professional baseball, including the last 23 years in the minors. The minor leagues have never been more profitable under his reign, drawing 42 million fans in 2014 and 2015, while garnering unprecedented attention to its prospects. 62. David Appelman The creator of Fangraphs, a website that not only features player and team statistics, but analytical articles and charts as well. The writing at Fangraphs has not gone unnoticed by MLB front offices looking to add more analytically minded and data-driven viewpoints to their decision-making process as a number of the site’s former writers have been hired by MLB teams. 63. David Ross How does a 40-year-old retired former backup catcher become one of baseball’s most well-known ambassadors? Ross won World Series rings with the Red Sox in 2013 and the Cubs in 2016 and developed a reputation as one of baseball’s most respected clubhouse leaders during his tenure in the league, but Ross made his biggest star turn when he became the first baseball player to compete on Dancing With The Stars. He’ll remain involved with the Cubs as a special assistant in 2017, and will also serve as an on-air analyst at ESPN this season. A book and a movie are forthcoming, along with an influential future in the sport seemingly of his choosing. 64. Peter Angelos Twelve years after the Washington Nationals moved to his backyard, the Baltimore Orioles owner still holds many of the cards in the region, thanks to an ongoing dispute regarding revenue distribution of the TV network that both clubs jointly own and operate. How deep is the enmity? The Washington Post reported that when the Orioles decided to trade a struggling Jake Arrieta in 2013, the club refused to entertain offers from the Nationals. 65. David Dombrowski Dombrowski has over 35 years as an executive in baseball and has been the general manager or vice president of baseball operations for four different franchises – the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and currently the Boston Red Sox. Dombrowski, who built the 1997 Marlins that won the World Series, is powerful in brokering deals and not afraid of the players he gives up – and now has more potent financial resources than ever in Boston. 66. Jason Robins The CEO of Boston-based DraftKings, one of the two major daily fantasy sports companies in the USA. Since 2015, DraftKings has had an exclusive sponsorship as the official daily fantasy game of MLB and as an official partner with 27 of the 30 MLB teams. DraftKings and its chief rival FanDuel (which have reached an agreement to merge in late 2017) have a major impact on the way MLB fans watch the game. And as fantasy sports and gambling become less taboo in the eyes of the four major sports leagues, its influence only figures to increase. 67. David Beirne

Beirne is a co-founder of Fantex, an investing platform that sells shares in "tracking stocks" tied to pro athletes. The rising company has lured several major leaguers to invest in the athlete stock exchange, which pays the athlete a one-time fee and in return gets a percentage stake in all of his future earnings. 68. Bob Tewksbary Hitting’s aerial revolution is in full swing, and Tewksbary is perhaps its most significant leader. A former minor leaguer turned hitting coach in New Hampshire, Tewksbary rode to prominence thanks to his work with Josh Donaldson, who went from fringe major leaguer to All-Star and MVP after adopting Tewksbary’s principles of movement. Now, a gaggle of major leaguers come to him in Florida every winter, and it’s as much players like Matt Joyce – who solidified a flagging career after working with Tewksbary – who give him and other coaches in this space their influence. 69. Ken Williams Williams, along with Michael Hill of the Miami Marlins, is the highest-ranking African-American team executive in baseball. The Chicago White Sox executive vice president became only the second African-American GM to win a World Series when the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 in 2005. He has tremendous influence in baseball’s African-American community. 70. Sandy Alderson A high-ranking baseball executive for more than three decades now, Alderson mentored Billy Beane in Oakland long before he took over the Mets' helm in 2010. Now 69, Alderson has pulled the New York franchise out of its Madoff-complicated rebuilding phase while collecting and developing a deep arsenal of fireballing starting pitchers. During his time working in the MLB commissioner's office from 1998 to 2005, Alderson helped the league combat the corruption that riddled the amateur free-agent process in the Dominican Republic. 71. Jessica Mendoza The Sunday Night Baseball platform is a powerful one, and manning it in a groundbreaking fashion will only boost Mendoza’s profile. The first woman to serve as a permanent lead analyst on a national baseball broadcast, Mendoza’s influence will rise as a generation grows up on her voice, and as MLB continues to nurture women and girls as fans. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s excellent at her job, fluent in the modern mechanics and metrics that continue to re-shape the game. 72. Nigel Eccles The CEO of FanDuel, the largest daily fantasy sports site in the USA. FanDuel and DraftKings have a combined 5 million users. 73: Rachel Robinson Robinson is the matriarch of the Civil Rights Movement, the wife of the late Jackie Robinson. Robinson, 94, is revered throughout the industry, and really, the world. She founded the instrumental Jackie

Robinson foundation, which has reached over 22 million students and 2.9 million educators. Their daughter, Sharon, is now the educational consultant for MLB. 74. Ron Fowler Fowler, co-owner of the San Diego Padres, emerged as a power broker in MLB when Fowler was appointed by Manfred to be chairman of the labor committee during their collective bargaining agreement. He also was selected in January to baseball’s executive council. He quickly has become entrenched as one of Manfred’s most trusted owners. 75. Scott Cutler As president of StubHub, Cutler and his group have a significant impact on how tickets are sold, distributed and – perhaps most notably – re-sold. StubHub has an exclusive deal as MLB’s secondary-market seller, and also has arrangements with a significant number of individual clubs. In 2016, StubHub reached a reported $100 million deal with the New York Yankees, who had opted out of the original deal with MLB. 76. Joe Buck The Fox Sports broadcaster, 47, has called more World Series (18) and All-Star Games (17) on TV than any play-by-play announcer in history. He succeeded his father, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, as the television voice of the St. Louis Cardinals before moving to Fox full-time. Perhaps more than any other broadcaster, Buck’s presence at any MLB event signifies it’s an important one. 77. Randy Marsh Marsh, a longtime ump now serving as the league’s director of umpires, must guide the sport’s officials through challenges unknown to their predecessors, brought upon by the explosion of technology. The ever-evolving replay review process, facilitated and necessitated by widespread use of high-definition slow-motion replay, draws attention to the performance of an umpiring corps that typically makes a goal out of remaining unnoticed. Now Marsh faces a small but growing call for computers to replace humans in calling balls and strikes – the long-awaited “robot umps” – precipitated, certainly, by the ubiquity of pitch-tracking graphics on MLB broadcasts. 78. Albert Pujols A three-time MVP with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols is midway through a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels that should afford him the chance to chase some hallowed milestones. Pujols, 37, is nine home runs short of reaching 600 for his career. Though slowed by age and injuries in recent years, Pujols hit a combined 71 homers the last two seasons. 79. John Mozeliak The man behind baseball's most consistently competitive roster, Mozeliak is in his 10th full season as the Cardinals' GM and looking for his tenth winning club in that span. One of his former aides, Jeff Luhnow, now runs the Houston Astros. Another, Chris Correa, is now banned for life from baseball for hacking the Houston Astros.

80. Buck Showalter Always a respected baseball man, Showalter has reignited his influence by deftly managing the Baltimore Orioles to three postseason berths in the past five seasons. Working closely with GM Dan Duquette on roster machinations, Showalter is well-equipped to take on almost any job in baseball operations. He figures to be in high demand when his contract in Baltimore expires after 2018. 81. Buster Olney Another two-platform powerhouse, Olney is the Peter Gammons of the digital era, with a consistent presence on ESPN and a prolific output of influential online content. 82. Tom Tango Pseudonym of the co-author of a groundbreaking 2007 sabermetric work, The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, the enigmatic Tango has maintained his own sabermetric website and served as a consultant for several major league teams. In 2016, MLB Advanced Media hired him to help develop new ways of measuring and calculating data using its new Statcast technology. Among his most recently created Statcast metrics: barreled ball and defensive catch probability rates. 83. Billy Beane He’ll never be forgotten as the revolutionary who shook baseball evaluation and front office management to its core. Yet his loyalty to the Oakland A’s has ensured he wields less clout than those who followed in his footsteps, such as the Dodgers’ Friedman. Still, with an ownership stake in the club and an enduring name recognition to casual fans thanks to Moneyball, Beane will always remain relevant. 84. Lucas Herscovici Vice president of consumer connections for Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser and its line of beers. Herscovici’s name may not resonate with fans, but the company he represents certainly does. Herscovici oversees A-B InBev’s sports-sponsorship deals, including the one with MLB, a longtime partner which ensures Bud’s products and logo are in the background of every clubhouse celebration. 85. Alex Rodriguez The 41-year-old has the highest career earnings of any player in history, totaling more than $400 million on salary alone and is back in America’s good graces following his PED suspension in 2014. Since retiring last season, Rodriguez has become a fixture on Fox’s studio shows, and is already one of the more influential baseball pundits. A-Rod serves as a special instructor for the Yankees and is going to get a lot of credit for helping the organization’s promising young hitters. His new relationship with Jennifer Lopez is once again increasing his brand awareness outside of baseball. 86. Arte Moreno

Los Angeles Angels owner: Moreno purchased the then-Anaheim Angels in 2003 and changed their name to expand their appeal. Moreno has spent aggressively on players and has been rewarded with attendance totals of more than 3 million every year since he arrived. After reaching the playoffs five times in Moreno’s first seven seasons, the Angels have gotten there once in seven years. 87. Justine Siegal The first woman to serve as a coach for a major league team, Siegal helms Baseball For All, a non-profit that aims to expand girls’ participation in baseball. In 2015, Siegal spent two weeks as a coach at the Oakland Athletics’ instructional league. Next week, Major League Baseball will host its first girls’ baseball tournament in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles, featuring a large group of Baseball for All alums. As MLB aims to nurture growth among youth players, Siegal will be a key figure in tapping into the girls’ market. 88. Max Scherzer He has money - $215 million coming to him through 2021 – talent, smarts and charisma. Scherzer, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, remains one of the game’s most dominant pitchers and brighter mound minds. He was also excellent in postseason work for Fox Sports and has served on various MLB advisory committees. 89. Terry Francona A two-time World Series-winning manager in Boston, and now a pennant-winning skipper in Cleveland. Francona’s wizardry in guiding the pitching-thin Indians to Game 7 of the World Series reminded the baseball world he’s one of its great minds and charismatic leaders. 90. Mike Rizzo Five seasons after the controversial decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg in early September and hold the ace out of the postseason, the Nationals' president and GM can boast a strong working relationship with super agent Scott Boras -- who represents Nats stars like Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer -- and the type of budget necessary to pursue Boras' marquee players in free agency. The seven-year, $175 million extension Strasburg signed with Washington last season bucked a trend of big-name Boras clients eschewing extensions for free agency, and fuels some hope Rizzo and the Nats can do something similar for Harper. 91. Giancarlo Stanton If only his body would stop betraying him, Stanton would be much higher on this list. The home run remains baseball’s sexiest currency, and in the Statcast era, it is Stanton who clouts the sport’s mightiest shots. Not afraid to expose himself – be it participating in the Home Run Derby or posing in ESPN The Magazine’s Body issue – Stanton also has a $325 million contract. And he can opt out of that contract after the 2020 season. 92. Sheldon Adelson

What does the Las Vegas casino magnate have to do with baseball? Well, nothing at the moment. But the NFL and NHL’s Vegas entries only prove what Commissioner Rob Manfred said in February: Las Vegas is a “viable” market. While perhaps only the Tampa Bay Rays might eventually be viewed as a possible relocation candidate, Manfred has not shied away from expansion talk. And the road to Vegas often runs through Adelson, who has a net worth of $32.2 billion and was poised to finance the Raiders’ new stadium there. 93. Barry Bonds Baseball’s all-time home run leader has become a far more likable public figure since his playing days ended. Baseball as a whole is warming up to Bonds as he rebuilds his legacy after the BALCO scandal. Considered a Hall of Fame longshot not long ago, Bonds’ stock is rising, getting 53.8% of the vote this year – still well short of the required 75%, but way up from the 34.7% he received in 2014. Bonds was the Marlins’ hitting coach in 2016, and quietly works with hitters of all stripes. 94. John Schuerholz Schuerholz, the Atlanta Braves vice chairman who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, is considered one of the greatest baseball executives in baseball history. He led the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves to World Series titles. He was perhaps the most influential leader among team executives during former Commissioner Bud Selig’s watch, and still is on several of Manfred’s committees. 95. Jeff Kearney As head of Gatorade’s U.S. sports marketing, Kearney heads a division that is integral in determining which players will extend their brand through the popular sports drink. For now, it’s Bryce Harper on Gatorade’s Mount Rushmore with the likes of Serena Williams, Cam Newton and Lionel Messi. 96. Miguel Cabrera A surefire Hall of Famer if he stopped playing today, Cabrera has won two MVP awards and four batting titles. In 2012 he became the first player since 1967 to claim the Triple Crown of hitting, leading the league in batting average, home runs and RBI. Cabrera, who turns 34 April 18, is in the second season of an eight-year, $240 million extension. 97. John Smoltz The Hall of Fame pitcher has become Fox’s lead analyst alongside play-by-play man Joe Buck – arguably the most high-profile national baseball job –throughout the postseason and World Series. Smoltz’s philanthropic work in the Atlanta area is highly-regarded and his name was floated around in the past as a possible candidate for Congress. 98. Carlos Correa Houston Astros shortstop. The 2015 AL rookie of the year is at or near the top of a recent wave of standout shortstops in the majors, and the youngest at 22. In 2016 Correa signed a five-year endorsement deal with Adidas for an undisclosed amount estimated to be in the tens of millions of

dollars. Widely regarded as one of the emerging faces of the game, Correa won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season. 99. Dennis Gilbert Gilbert, formerly as powerful an agent as Scott Boras, switched to the ownership side after retiring as an agent now is a special assistant for Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He founded the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation in 2002 and holds an annual fund-raiser that has raised in excess of $2 million. His insurance firm also is used by many major league clubs to insure multi-year contracts of their highest-paid players. 100. Libby Schaaf As Oakland’s mayor, Schaaf stood up to the NFL, refusing to let the Raiders extort the city out of millions of dollars in stadium subsidies a second time. Mindful that the A’s represent 81 home dates compared to the Raiders’ 10 (including exhibitions), Schaaf made sure they stayed in town. The Raiders’ announced departure for Las Vegas will leave the A’s as Oakland’s only major sports franchise, and they may finally get their new ballpark. McCovey Chronicles Giants lose with defensive flub, feckless lineup Grant Brisbee I don’t know how the next 153 games will go in this 2017 season. The Giants could win all of them, and I could gain 100 pounds of muscle to play Mark Melancon in the movie. It’s early, and you can tell it’s early because I’m writing the words “it’s early” in every recap. But I do know what the first nine games felt like. They mostly felt like a soggy, overlong weeknight game, with dumb mistakes or misplays at the worst time and generally unwatchable baseball. This game, then. This game was 2017 nectar, the purest of the pure. It might not be a proxy for the season we’ve come to know by September, but it’ll sure do for these first two weeks. While it isn’t going to roll off the tongue like “The Joe Morgan Game,” “The Bob Brenly Game,” or “The Brian Johnson Game,” in five years, one of you will use the words “The Gorkys Hernandez game” in order, and the other person will nod. It’s unfair, but it’s too late for fair. We just watched The Gorkys Hernandez Game. And, lo, it was bad. The progression was so quick, so lacking in subtlety. It was like a streaker ran onto the field with “THIS IS GOING TO BE SO BRUTAL, WATCH GORKYS” written in body paint before the first installment. It went like this: 1. Gorkys Hernandez came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning. He worked the count to 2-0, then fouled off two borderline strikes. He got a 2-2 fastball and drove it 363 feet to left center. The only problem was that the fence was 365 feet away.

On a normal night, just the most important tough out at the top of a tough-out list. This night was a short story in an entry-level creative writing class, though, and it wasn’t going to let you miss the point. 2. In the next half-inning, approximately seven minutes later, the Diamondbacks had the bases loaded. See the symmetry winking at us? There was one out instead of two, but it still works. Jeff Samardzija is in trouble, walking a couple batters to get his mess, just like Robbie Ray did in the previous inning. The Diamondbacks hitter also comes up two feet short of a grand slam. I keep watching the end of the play, where Gorkys is thinking, “There’s no way the park can be this big,” and he’s slowed down a bit, and it’s like one of those dreams where you forget how to run or throw a punch. He’s almost there, almost there, almost there, and Jeff Samardzija (not pictured) is so hopeful, as we all are, and then ... I don’t know. Yeah, that. It’s a funnier image if you think of the “oO!” as the spectacles of a wealthy dowager who can’t believe what she just saw. Before we start picking on Hernandez too much, though, let’s see if we can find an example of a similar play in which he did good things. Like, oh, against the same team. To the same part of the field. THAT WAS THE SAME GUY. And while I bristled at suggestions that Angel Pagan would have caught it, I think he might have. That was a play that every center fielder makes, including Hernandez, 98 times out of 100. The larger point was that it was a play that was bad enough to bring up Pagan’s defense in center field wistfully. Brrrr. The Diamondbacks were up 3-0, and it’s hard to believe the Giants actually scored three runs after that. Didn’t feel possible at the time. 3. About seven minutes after that, Aaron Hill lined out to A.J. Pollock, who made the centerfieldiest damned play we’ve seen all season. Sailed back at full speed, wind whistling through his hair, reached out, and snared a triple away. The contrast was so immediate and wrong. Look at that play from last year, though. Hernandez can make that play. He’s pretty okay in center, usually. Just not tonight. Which is why this game is The Gorkys Hernandez Game. Just one of those things that’ll put the “-” next to a fifth outfielder’s WAR at the end of the year. He goes back, back, slows, and MISSES THE BALL, why did He goes back, back, slows, and MISSES THE BALL, why did He goes back, back, slows, and ... yeah, I should probably just delete that GIF. Of course, Jeff Samardzija allowed a hit to the pitcher and gave up two walks to set that play up. And you give money to the Giants, which encourages them to keep hosting baseball games. We’re all culpable in some way, here.

More specifically, though, Samardzija is more culpable than most. He pitched fine enough, missing bats again, but that was the death inning of the game. Tune in next week for the death inning of the next game. I will beat this ninth-inning comeback thing into the ground, don’t believe I won’t. The Giants scored two runs in the ninth inning of this game. They did not win. If they scored two runs in the ninth inning of the last save situation they were trying to blow, they would have taken the lead. They didn’t. They scored one run. Ah, but if they had scored one run in the save situation before that, they would have tied that game in the ninth. That’s the Giants from the last two seasons. Need three runs in the ninth? Here’s two! Need two runs in the ninth? Got one for you! Need one? Fresh out, ha ha! It’s mesmerizing. The Giants haven’t come back in a ninth inning since May, 2015. The Angels have come back in the ninth twice in their last three games. Ninth-inning comebacks, especially at home, are something normal teams do. In retrospect, Chris Marrero hitting a comeback walk-off homer in the very first game of the spring, then making the team, was the worst omen possible. Get me a chicken, some candles, and some incense, and we’ll put this right. The Giants were facing a lefty, and their best weapon against left-handed pitchers was injured, so Aaron Hill hit cleanup and Marrero wasn’t too far behind, oh, and Gorkys Hernandez led off, which was nice of him, seeing as it was his game, and all. The Giants knew they were going to have problems against lefties. This was obvious from the last pitch of the 2016 season. This was their solution out of camp. The early returns, well, they’re not good. They’re not good at all.