Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was named the organization’s 2025 Heart & Hustle Award winner Thursday.

Created by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in 2005, the Heart & Hustle Award is voted on by Alumni and active Major League players and is presented annually to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.

Each team had a winner. The overall winner of the honor was Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

The MLBPAA formed 30 committees, comprised of Alumni players with established relationships to each team. One player from each major league team is chosen by the committees based on the passion, desire, and work ethic demonstrated both on and off the field. As the season draws to a close, fans, all Alumni and active players will vote to select the final winner from the 30 team winners.

Mariners to retire 51

SEATTLE — Hall of Fame left-hander Randy Johnson will have his No. 51 retired by the Seattle Mariners during a pregame ceremony on May 2, 2026, the club announced Thursday.

In June, the Mariners said Johnson’s No. 51 would become the fifth number retired by the franchise, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24), Edgar Martinez (No. 11) and Ichiro Suzuki, who had his No. 51 retired this summer. All MLB teams have retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42.

Johnson went 130-74 with a 3.42 ERA across 10 seasons with the Mariners.

“I’m happy that my contributions over the 10 years that I was there are being acknowledged now,” the 62-year-old Johnson said via Zoom in June. “It’s been a long time, that’s for sure.”

Johnson enjoyed more success with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with whom he won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in addition to a World Series in 2001. However, the lanky left-hander nicknamed the “Big Unit” because of his 6-foot-10 frame fondly remembers his Seattle tenure.

Johnson made his major league debut in 1988 with the Montreal Expos and was traded to Seattle in 1989. After some initial control issues with the Mariners, he found his stride with a breakout season in 1993. He went 19-8 with a 3.24 ERA that year, the first of his six 300+ strikeout seasons.

The year Johnson looks back on with particular fondness is the 1995 season, during which he went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA and won his first of five Cy Young Awards. The Mariners’ future in Seattle was cast into doubt when in September of that year, King County voters rejected subsidy taxes to build a new stadium.

Wong agrees to deal

BOSTON — Catcher Connor Wong and the Boston Red Sox agreed Thursday to a one-year deal for $1,375,000, a day ahead of the deadline for teams to offer 2026 contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters.

Wong can earn an additional $75,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances: $25,000 each for 250, 300 and 350.

A 29-year-old who has made occasional appearances at first, second, third and the outfield, Wong hit .190 with eight doubles and seven RBIs in 63 games last season that included 52 starts at catcher.

Obtained from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wong has a .245 career average with 23 homers and 103 RBIs in 348 games over five major league seasons. He was on track to be eligible for salary arbitration for the first time if tendered a contract.