Jeter, a five-time World Series champion, would get no argument from Yankees fans \u2014 and most U.S. fans would probably agree, too. The way Rodriguez sees it, both events can be important in different ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne is your job, the other is for your country,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that one is more (about) pride. That\u2019s what I feel is different. When you play for pride, you play with all the pride that you have in you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Remembering \u201ca true student of the game\u201d<\/p>\n
Davey Lopes, who died on Wednesday<\/a> at 80 years old, was a prolific base stealer who knew how to pick his spots. When Lopes retired in 1987, nobody in history had as many steals (557) with as high a success rate (83 percent) as he did.<\/p>\n In three decades as a coach and manager, Lopes helped several teams excel in that aspect of the game. Most notably, Lopes was instrumental in helping the Philadelphia Phillies win four consecutive division titles from 2007 to 2010.<\/p>\n In those seasons, which included a championship in 2008, the Phillies had an 84.3 percent success rate on stolen bases, 6 percent better than any other team. They ranked fourth overall in steals, with 501. Chase Utley, in particular, excelled under Lopes, stealing successfully on 59 of 64 attempts \u2014 a 92.1 percent success rate.<\/p>\n \u201cDavey had a tremendous impact on our success over the years, especially with our baserunning,\u201d Utley said in an email. \u201cHe was a true student of the game, with an instinctive ability to pick up on details \u2014 often spotting something on nearly every pitcher that gave us a daily edge. That insight was invaluable in the moment, but just as importantly, his guidance instilled a lasting sense of confidence throughout our team.\u201d<\/p>\n Lopes later coached for the Los Angeles Dodgers, his primary team as a player. He was part of a draft class that might be the best ever by a team in a single season. In the 1968 draft \u2014 in all its variations \u2014 the Dodgers found nine players who would spend at least a decade in the majors.<\/p>\n Besides Lopes, the group included Doyle Alexander, Bill Buckner, Ron Cey, Joe Ferguson, Steve Garvey, Tom Paciorek, Bobby Valentine and Geoff Zahn. Seven of them would appear for the Dodgers in the 1974 World Series, and Cey, Garvey and Lopes were still in the lineup for their title in 1981.<\/p>\n In St. Louis, a number May have to change<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a tough start to the season for St. Louis Cardinals starter Dustin May. In two starts, both losses, he\u2019s given up 17 hits and 13 earned runs. Maybe he\u2019s just missing an old friend.<\/p>\n In his first six major-league seasons, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, May wore No. 85. As a Cardinal, he\u2019s wearing No. 3. The 82-digit drop is not a record (Taijuan Walker went from 99 to 00 when he changed teams in 2020), but it\u2019s striking for uniform nerds.<\/p>\n The new number is unusually low for a pitcher, and the old number was very high for any player. But it fit May just fine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was my first spring training number, and I just thought it was cool that nobody else had worn it in Dodger history,\u201d he said earlier this spring. \u201cSo I was kind of like, \u2018Cool. I\u2019ll just be the first. And I think it\u2019s a pretty neat number, so that\u2019s why I kept it. I got offered the chance to change, but I liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n One benefit, May thought, was that with a number like 85, he\u2019d always be able to get it no matter what team he joined. Then he got to St. Louis.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, I\u2019ll take 85, and (the equipment manager was) like, \u2018Uh, it\u2019s retired,’\u201d May said. \u201cI was, like, \u2018OK, I won\u2019t take 85.\u2019 There weren\u2019t many options available, and (3) was the one that I liked the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody in Cardinals history has ever worn No. 85, but the team retired it in 1984 to honor longtime owner August A. \u201cGussie\u201d Busch, who was 85 years old at the time.<\/p>\n 5 questions with the Royals\u2019 Carter Jensen<\/p>\n When Carter Jensen visited Kauffman Stadium growing up, he would spend the early innings in the outfield plaza<\/a>. It\u2019s a wonderland for kids, with a carousel, a playground, mini-golf, pop-a-shot, batting cages, a pitcher\u2019s mound and a small turf field for launching Wiffle balls.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would go out to the Little K behind left field, hit in the batting cages, do all that fun stuff,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cAnd then, when, like, the fifth inning rolled around, we\u2019d go to the seats and watch the end of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Jensen, 22, saw a lot of winning in the mid-2010s, when his Kansas City Royals won back-to-back pennants and took the crown in 2015. He went on to star at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, and hit .300 in 20 games last September.<\/p>\n Now, Jensen is playing every day for the Royals, splitting time with a childhood favorite, Salvador Perez, at designated hitter and catcher. Jensen, who is part of a deep rookie class<\/a> in the majors this season, spoke recently about what it\u2019s like to play for the hometown team.<\/p>\n An inspiring example: \u201cI had always loved baseball and always wanted to play for the Royals growing up, and of course seeing all the World Series stuff, I wanted to be in that position. I remember the parade and everything like that, seeing guys like Salvy, Hosmer, Moose during the parade. That\u2019s definitely motivation. That\u2019s what I want to do, so that\u2019s the goal from here on out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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