TBNL: Fay Vincent passes; ABL crowns a champ; promo pettiness

Former MLB Commissioner Francis T. “Fay” Vincent passed away on Sunday. He was 86.

Vincent was the eighth commissioner in MLB history, serving in the role from 1989-92.

A Yale law school graduate, Vincent had a prominent career working for Columbia Pictures and Coca-Cola, among others, before becoming deputy commissioner under his friend, A. Bartlett Giamatti. In September 1989, Giamatti suddenly died from a heart attack, and Vincent assumed the league’s most prominent role.

As MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince notes, Vincent’s brief tenure as commissioner was a turbulent one — having to deal with an earthquake erupting in San Francisco just minutes before Game 3 of the 1989 World Series was to start; overseeing the owners locking players out and delaying the start of the 1990 season; banning and later reinstating George Steinbrenner; and the implementation and planning of the league’s expansion in Florida and Colorado that came in 1993.

Through this, MLB owners grew unhappy with the job Vincent was doing as commissioner. 18 of the 28 owners issued a vote of “no confidence” during a special meeting held in September 1992. Vincent still had almost 18 months left to his tenure as commissioner but ceded to ownership pressure and resigned. Two days later, Bud Selig was named the Chairman of MLB’s Executive Council, making him the de facto commissioner. It would not be until July 1998 that owners would remove the interim tag from his title and name him as the ninth commissioner in baseball history.

Vincent may have left MLB but didn’t leave baseball behind, serving as the president of the New England Collegiate Baseball League from 1998-2004. He also published an autobiography in 2002.

Australia names a champion

Winter league seasons are starting to wrap up with spring training reporting dates on the horizon.

The Australian Baseball League (ABL) season ended Friday night in Perth, Australia. The Canberra Cavalry defeated the Perth Heat to win their first title in the six-team league since 2013.

Canberra finished the regular season with an 18-22 record, sneaking into the playoffs on the season’s final day. They then swept their way through the playoffs, upsetting the Sydney Blue Sox before eliminating the Heat in two games.

Colten Davis was named MVP of the series after pitching 8.2 shutout innings in Game 2 of the Championship Series. The 25-year-old right-hander went undrafted after pitching collegiately but has spent the last two seasons in the independent American Association with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks.

Lachlan Wells won this year’s Helms Award, which the ABL gives annually to the most outstanding player in the league (essentially their MVP). The left-hander made ten starts for the Adelaide Giants, going 5-1 with a 3.17 ERA over 54.0 IP with 66 strikeouts and 16 walks.

Wells is currently a free agent but spent the 2024 season with Philadelphia’s Double-A affiliate, posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.029 WHIP over 91.1 IP.

While at least 12 MLB organizations sent players to the ABL this year (per the ABL’s official website), few are household names or even close to being MLB-ready with the lone exception of Houston’s Miguel Palma. The 23-year-old catcher has spent the last five years in the Astros organization after signing with the team as an international amateur free agent out of Venezuela. He hit .232/.326/.309 over 236 PA last season, with most of that coming at Double-A. Given the organization’s limited catching depth behind Yainer Diaz, Palma could potentially see himself in the mix as a backup option later this season or by 2026.

Palma batted .276/.359/.433 in 145 PA with a dozen extra-base hits (8 2B, 4 HR) and 16 RBI over 38 games with the Cavalry.

Promotional pettiness

Los Angeles has one of the most extensive promotional schedules around the league this season. Whoever is in charge of scheduling when these dates are planned has a pretty direct sense of humor, with a pair of big promotions scheduled for June when the division-rival Padres come to town.

First, on Monday, June 16, the Dodgers will give away Blake Snell bobbleheads.

Snell spent three years in San Diego before pitching for the Giants last season. He won the second Cy Young Award of his career in his final season with the Padres. Los Angeles signed him to a five-year, $182M deal just days into free agency.

Then, on Tuesday the 17th, LA will give out World Series replica trophies.

LA topped the Padres to win the NL West last season and then knocked them out of the playoffs in the Divisional Round.

This will help keep the rivalry growing, I’d think.

Mizuhara sentencing is close

Ippei Mizuhara’s claims that a gambling addiction fueled the actions that led to him stealing millions of dollars from Shohei Ohtani are being challenged by the prosecutors, according to court documents reviewed by ESPN’s Tisha Thompson.

Mizuhara filed a request to the court last month asking for an 18-month sentence rather than the five-year sentence recommended by the prosecution. Mizuhara’s complaint essentially stated that he’d had a gambling addiction for years and that he was “overworked and underpaid” by Ohtani. Sentencing is scheduled for February 6.

Prosecutors found no evidence to support Mizuhara’s claims of a long-standing addiction and have “doubled down on their sentencing recommendation,” according to Thompson.

Mizuhara admitted to stealing almost $17M from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. He pled guilty in June to bank and tax fraud charges.

Elsewhere, around the league …

• Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams launched the Orlando Dreamers — a group focused on bringing an MLB team to Orlando — in 2019. Williams passed away last July, but the Dreamers still live on and the group has added to their contingent of advisors, bringing aboard Hall of Famer Barry Larkin as an MLB ambassador. The Dreamers are said to have $450M in verbal commitments from potential investors already lined up, per CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa.

• Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested that Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound will be delayed to May, which makes sense if the club is hoping he’ll be available to pitch in the postseason.