Good God almighty.

Get a load of this:

BREAKING: Star center fielder Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are finalizing a record-breaking 12-year contract worth more than $430 million, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Details: https://t.co/bROnnC11Uh

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2019

!!!!

Writes Passan at ESPN:

The 27-year-old Trout, who has won two American League MVP awards and finished second four times, will receive an average of nearly $36 million a year, topping Zack Greinke‘s previous record average of $34.4 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The $430 million-plus total is more than 30 percent larger than the $330 million deal Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on March 2 and bests boxer Canelo Alvarez’s deal with DAZN by more than $65 million.

Not only is this deal bigger than Harper’s, it basically obliterates it. It pulverizes the Harper deal into dust. Trout was set to become a free agent in 2020, when we had hoped he’d he return home to finish out his career alongside Bryce in a Phils jersey.

I guess this will not be the case.

Well, it’s not really the Iron Throne. It’s a throne of baseball bats, so it’s wooden, but Bryce Harper is doing his best Jon Snow/Game of Thrones crossover acting job here, a promotion for the MLB: The Show video game.

Here’s Bryce as a #playstationambassador –

This is it … #playstationambassador https://t.co/NyheFe903m pic.twitter.com/l3oAsO5Rj6

— Bryce Harper (@bryceharper3) March 18, 2019

Game of Thrones returns soon, April 14th. I’m pretty excited about that. NBA playoffs, warmer weather, and GOT? Inject that into my veins, as they say.

Let’s get something out of the way:

Fortnite sucks. It’s just a bad game.

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, Jeff Passan has a crazy article at ESPN describing ex-Phillies 1st baseman Carlos Santana and an incident in where he smashed a TV with a baseball bat because his teammates were playing that God awful, overrated, trash game during actual baseball games.

Writes Passan:

When the Philadelphia Phillies lost their ninth consecutive game toward the end of last September, veteran first baseman Carlos Santana felt like he needed to send a message to his teammates who he said spent portions of the game against the Atlanta Braves playing video games in the clubhouse. Santana grabbed a bat, retreated to the room at Citizens Bank Park where the gaming took place and smashed the TV to ensure there would be no more “Fortnite” the final two days of the season.

“I see a couple players — I don’t want to say names — they play video games during the game,” Santana told ESPN. “We come and lose too many games, and I feel like they weren’t worried about it. Weren’t respecting their teammates or coaches or the staff or the [front] office. It’s not my personality. But I’m angry because I want to make it good.”

….

To avoid a similar situation this year, sources told ESPN, (Gabe) Kapler convened 13 players — a mixture of veterans and others considered leaders — and asked them to outline a policy that will include players coming out for the national anthem and pitchers remaining in the dugout during games.

There are quotes from Jake Arrieta later in the story that describe the in-game Fortnite sessions as not being a “consistent theme,” so it sounds like this was not some season-long epidemic, just something that happened towards the end of the year when the Phils were eliminated from playoff contention.

A few thoughts, after the jump:

Continue Reading

Yeesh:

Ouch.

Bryce Harper exits today's game after being hit in his right ankle. pic.twitter.com/RIZHGluHQM

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 15, 2019

He was up and moving around in the dugout and has apparently now gone into the locker room. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious. That sounded bad.

UPDATE:

No reason for major concern –

Harper has a right foot contusion, Kapler says. Harper is going to get an X-ray, but as of right now, “We don’t have reason for major concern,” Kapler said. #Phillies

— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 15, 2019

As you were.

Remember a few months back, when Lenny Dykstra was indicted by a grand jury on charges of cocaine and meth possession, plus making terroristic threats? He was accused of pulling a gun and threatening to kill an Uber driver.

Those felony charges were dismissed today and Nails instead pleaded guilty to a petty offense.

From USA Today:

Former Major League Baseball player Lenny Dykstra has pleaded guilty to a petty disorderly persons offense in connection with an argument with an Uber driver after a judge granted a motion to suppress evidence related to drugs allegedly found in Dykstra’s bags.

Dykstra also was sentenced to $125 in fines and ordered to have no contact with the Uber driver, either directly or indirectly, such as through social media.

“The fact that the charges are dropped is something that I’m very happy with,” Dykstra said after the court proceeding.

….

“We’re pleased, all felony charges dismissed,” Dykstra’s attorney David Bahuriak said. “It’s a great outcome.”

More on the Superior Court judge’s motion, after the jump:

Continue Reading

You’ve seen these shirts on South Street and/or “down the shore” on the boardwalk. You can get them in Wildwood along with whatever other $20 iron-on design is popular in 2019.

Now the Philly “ill” logo has found its way to Bryce Harper’s knob:

Bryce Harper’s custom bat knobs pic.twitter.com/maWiIMbPaT

— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) March 15, 2019

He’s doing everything right. I think… I’m not sure if I’m in on the “ill” t-shirts, but maybe you are.

Happy Friday.