Today’s TBNL covers some lengthy thoughts on MLB and the Giants’ failure to respond to last week’s Pride Night incident; a look into Harry Ford’s continued struggles; reminders of how the sport has evolved over time; managers for the All-Star Futures Game have been announced; the D-backs sign a top Korean prospect; and more college transfer portal news.

Last Friday’s embarrassing display from several San Francisco Giants pitchers on the club’s annual Pride Night is not going away. The club has done little to make things right.

To quickly recap, if somehow you’re unclear what transpired:

Roupp’s postgame comments to reporters, via NBC Sports Bay Area:

As many, many others have pointed out, there’s a real disconnect here in Roupp’s explanation. Namely, it’s the timing.

Roupp — and other players with similar beliefs — have never taken such a stand during a “regular” game. He’s never taken the mound with words, a Bible verse or otherwise, scrawled across his hat. Nobody “protests” wearing a camo-themed hat on Memorial Day (there are Bible verses against war, aren’t there?) or a hat with pink logos on Mother’s Day. Why, then, is it suddenly okay for Roupp (and others) to speak up on Pride Night? It’s a hypocritical defense on his part.

These players chose to make a statement. And they chose to make that statement on this particular day.

This wasn’t about their beliefs, but more about showing how they disagree with those the day was meant to honor.

Even if these players don’t agree with the lifestyle of those in the LGBTQ+ community, how easy would it be to simply go about their business like any other day? Players “pretend to care” about the fans during the other 161 games of the season, don’t they? Baseball is a long season, and no one game is necessarily bigger than the rest. Yet, by objecting to a segment of the fan base — a fan base that has been far more loyal and committed to the franchise than many of these same players — these players are making that one game about themselves instead. And making fools of themselves in the process.

They made the Giants organization look foolish, as well. Though they didn’t help themselves in that regard. The club hardly addressed the incident or the players involved directly. The Giants have only released a brief statement, refusing to make someone available to speak with local media.

San Francisco’s connection to the LGBTQ+ community has existed for decades. The community has had an undeniable impact on the city's culture. Historically, the Giants have been strong supporters of that symbiotic relationship — the club was the first pro sports team to make any efforts to raise awareness and funds in support of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in 1994. And yet, five players (a fifth of the active roster) felt the need to demonstrate their objection to that same community on the one game of the season that’s meant to simply recognize their existence.

Had the Giants taken a firm stance in response to these players’ actions — even issuing fines that could be donated to local organizations, let alone issuing suspensions — the reaction from the team’s fans and those around the sport may have been much different. Instead, they’ve done very little.

Major League Baseball took notice — or, at least, they noticed the backlash that Friday’s incident created — and responded on Monday by “issuing warnings that similar behavior will not be tolerated” to the three players who wrote on their caps (Roupp, Brubaker, and Walker). Per The Athletic’s Steve Berman, the league offered some clarity to the “warnings” on Tuesday:

Routine verbal warning. Not disciplinary. The league is effectively barely slapping these players on the wrist.

And there’s nothing to prevent them or others from doing so again.

There’s also no evidence to suggest that the league has ever issued such warnings previously: two Dodgers players, Blake Treinen and Alex Call, refused to wear the team’s rainbow-logo hats on Pride Night earlier this month; several Dodgers and Blue Jays relievers wrote “51” on their hats during the World Series after the death of Alex Vesia’s newborn daughter; Treinen drew a pair of crosses on his hat last seasons following Charlie Kirk’s assassination; Clayton Kerhsaw wrote the same Bible verse on his hat during a start on Pride Night in 2025; five Rays players refused to wear the rainbow-logo hats for a game in 2022.

The “warnings” issued to Roupp, Brubaker, and Walker didn’t elicit a response from the players or the Giants. They did, however, prompt a sitting U.S. Senator, Missouri’s Josh Hawley, to pen a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in which he suggests that the league is creating “a pattern of discrimination” against Christian players (per The Athletic’s Johnny Flores Jr.). The league hasn’t responded to the criticism.

I think it’s worth noting that no other political figure has commented on the players’ refusal to accept others.

Pride events are meant to raise awareness for a marginalized segment of our population. That’s as simple an explanation as one can make for the events, yet it still conveys their importance. MLB teams (except the Texas Rangers) dedicate one game out of 162 to these events.

1 of 162.

And five Giants players couldn’t put their personal opinions aside for a few hours to just acknowledge the existence of their fans.

These five players embarrassed themselves, the Giants organization, alienated a massive segment of the club’s loyal fan base, and the team and league did nothing in response.

2025 was Harry Ford’s fourth full professional season, not counting his 19-game stint in the Arizona Complex League in 2021 after the Mariners selected him 12th overall in that summer’s draft out of a Georgia high school. Ford played in 97 games with Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .283/.408/.460 in 458 PA with 18 2B, 16 HR, 7 SB, 74 BB, and 88 SO. The season included career-high marks in homers and slugging percentage, but most importantly, Ford appeared to be handling the upper-level pitching he was facing.

Seattle had little reason to call Ford up to the big leagues last season, not with Cal Raleigh entrenched behind the plate en route to hitting an MLB-leading 60 HR with a .247/.359/.589 line in 705 PA. Ford would only receive a brief stint with the club in September, appearing in eight games while going 1-for-6 at the plate. Raleigh agreed to a six-year, $105 million contract extension months before his historic season at the plate was finished. It was clear Ford’s future wasn’t in Seattle (unless the team moved him to left field).

The Mariners didn’t wait long to capitalize on an opportunity to deal Ford, agreeing on Dec. 6 to send Ford and right-hander Isaac Lyon to the Washington Nationals for left-hander Jose A. Ferrer.

Ford was expected to come into spring training with a chance to win the Nationals’ starting catching job, but that never came to fruition. He played for Team England in the World Baseball Classic (going 3-for-15 with a homer in five games) and struggled to show consistency upon returning to camp before Washington ultimately decided to send him to Triple-A Rochester to start the season.

That’s where things get tricky, as Ford has struggled greatly. His results in May were stronger than April, but the 23-year-old is still hitting just .204/.333/.268 in 189 PA this season (entering play on Tuesday) with 7 2B, 1 HR, 0 SB, 29 BB, and 51 SO. He doesn’t look at all like the same player.

Some dropoff in Ford’s minor league production was expected as he climbed the levels. His 35 stolen bases at Double-A in 2024, for instance, set a modern-day minor league record by a catcher. Ford is just 7-for-14 in stolen base attempts since moving up to Triple-A (including 0-for-3 this season), virtually removing that aspect of his offensive profile from his game completely. Other struggles can also be justified by similar reasoning, but the change in Ford’s production from last season to this (from the Triple-A Pacific League to the Triple-A International League) is still staggering.

Meanwhile, Washington’s catchers — Keibert Ruiz and Drew Milas — have combined to hit .237/.284/.402 (the group’s .689 OPS ranks 12th) with 8 HR (14th) and 38 RBI (8th) through the team’s first 73 games.

The Nats don’t need to rush any decisions with Ford. He was only added to Seattle’s 40-man roster for his call-up in Sept., so Washington sending him to Triple-A in late March only triggered the first of three option years. Still, the franchise must be hoping he can find himself in the coming weeks.

Baseball tends to change over time. The sport's evolution has been ingrained since its beginnings. It’s natural and normal. There have been several reminders of this in recent days.

Ted Williams spent 19 seasons in MLB — even after losing three years to military service during World War II — and amassed 9,792 plate appearances. Williams faced 447 different pitchers during his MLB career.

James Wood is in his third full season and has stepped to the plate 1,370 times (roughly 14% of Williams’ total). Wood has already faced 447 different pitchers in his career.

Pitching has changed greatly over the decades, and it’s not just in terms of how hard the ball is thrown or the fact that there are more teams (and thereby more jobs for pitchers) than in prior eras. The sport has adapted; starting pitchers work less and teams bring in arms in specialized relief roles that didn’t exist during Williams’ era. Change and evolution are both expected and normal.

Need more evidence that the game has evolved? Just look at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ career strikeout leaderboard (h/t to online friend Will Harris for pointing this one out):

Keller struck out seven in his latest start on Tuesday, pushing him into 7th on the club’s all-time leaderboard. The 30-year-old is under contract with the Pirates through the end of the 2028 season. He’s the only player on the leaderboards to play after the 1980s.

Strikeout rates across the sport have been rising over the last two decades, yet few franchises have seen new leaders set records. The tale in Pittsburgh is no different from that in other cities.

MLB’s All-Star Week festivities will take place next month in Philadelphia, PA. As has become customary in recent years, that means the host team’s franchise greats will be pulled into various roles throughout the week’s events. This includes the All-Star Futures Game, which will have a former member of the club leading each dugout. Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa have been announced as managers for the game.

Victorino spent eight seasons with the Phillies from 2005 to 2012, making two All-Star Games and winning three Gold Glove Awards. Bowa played for the club from 1970 to 1981, making five All-Star squads and winning two Gold Gloves, before managing the team from 2001 to 2004.

Two-way prospect Jun-Sang Eom was expected to be among the first picks in the next KBO Draft (Sept.), but he was introduced at Arizona’s Chase Field on Tuesday after signing with the Diamondbacks as an international amateur free agent. The 18-year-old received a $1.5 million signing bonus, per MLB.com’s Jesse Borek.

A right-handed pitcher and shortstop, Eom “excels defensively” and is viewed as a contact-over-power type of hitter. Those within the organization that Borek spoke with seem to think Eom’s future is playing the field every day instead of focusing on the mound.

Clemson Tigers catcher/outfielder Nate Savoie announced his plans to transfer to Texas A&M. The 20-year-old (21 in Aug.) played in 57 games this season and was among the Tigers’ most valuable hitters, slashing .329/.413/.596 in 264 PA with 13 2B and 16 HR.

Clemson has made additions to its roster, most recently with left-hander Jackson Miller from Bowling Green. The 19-year-old (20 in Aug.) southpaw posted a 5.84 ERA in 44.2 IP (14 G, 10 starts) as a freshman this past season. Bryant Univ. (RI) right-hander Landon White will also be transferring to Clemson. White has a 3.28 ERA in 57.2 IP during his collegiate career, all coming in relief.

Arizona State Univ. landed another offensive weapon in outfielder Jackson Hotchkiss, who they will pair alongside Landon Hairston. Hotchkiss had a big sophomore season for the Univ. of Washington Huskies, hitting .337/.416/.717 in 219 PA with 20 HR in 46 games. The Washington native has seen his name mentioned in some way-too-early 2027 draft talk.

Just days after luring pitching coach Rich Dorman away from Oregon State, the Univ. of Florida added one of Dorman’s top arms for the Beavers last season in left-hander Trey Morris. The 19-year-old (20 in Aug.) made 16 appearances (8 starts) this past season as a freshman, with a 7-0 record, 1.98 ERA, 15 BB, and 67 SO in 59.0 IP. His 0.831 WHIP led all pitchers in Division I.

Mississippi State will add a big piece to its roster through the transfer portal, with 1B/RHP Josiah Overbeek joining the program following his freshman season at Army. Overbeek hit .314/.514/.712 in 220 PA (mostly at DH) with 8 2B, 17 HR, 56 BB, and 41 SO, while posting a 5.57 ERA in 21.0 IP on the mound.

Olivia Pichardo made history in 2023 when she played in a game for Brown Univ. (RI), becoming the first woman to appear in a Division I baseball game. Pichardo’s career was notable, but brief: she faced one hitter on the mound, inducing a ground ball out, and was 0-for-4 at the plate with a hit-by-pitch and a run scored. Pichardo, who is still just 22 years old, completed her undergraduate degree at Brown. On Monday, the Univ. of California softball team announced on social media that Pichardo would be transferring to the school this fall and joining the softball team.