Jason Heyward retires
Jason Heyward announced his retirement on Thursday, putting an end to his 16-year career in the big leagues. The five-time Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder slashed .255/.336/.408 (101 OPS+) in nearly 7,000 plate appearances during his career, collecting 306 2B, 186 HR, 730 RBI, and 125 SB.
He was just 20-for-138 (.145/.203/.232) in his postseason career, but Heyward won a World Series with the 2016 Cubs.
Heyward won the starting right field job for the Braves in 2010 with a strong spring training, debuting with the team at just 20 years old. Heyward hit .277/.393/.456 (131 OPS+) with 29 2B, 18 HR, and 72 RBI that first season, making his lone All-Star appearance and finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting (to Buster Posey). At 6.4 bWAR, it was the best single season of his career.
Tom Hanks will star in a new baseball movie
Tom Hanks is set to star in a new baseball movie, according to reporting from Variety’s Matt Donnelly. Hanks is reuniting with director Marielle Heller — the two worked together on the Oscar-nominated “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” — to star in an adaptation of the short story “The Comebacker”.
From Donnelly:
““The Comebacker” is the first in a series of shorts by [Dave] Eggers for a story collection titled “The Forgetters.” It follows a fading sports journalist named Lionel whose passion for his craft and his life is awakened by a pitcher called up from the minor leagues. The title refers to an injury the pitcher suffered, when a batter sent a ball back with brute force into the pitcher’s skull. After the injury, the pitcher exhibits unexpected behavior, including poetic speed that makes stories written by Hanks’ journalist resonate with readers across the country. The short story centers on the San Francisco Giants, but one source said the screenplay will revolve around the New York Mets.”
Rapper Bad Bunny and actor Coleman Domingo are also attached to the project, which is currently being pursued by multiple studios.
It’s been some time since the last baseball movie. Perhaps this one will offer a new addition to my full roster of fictional players from film/TV.
Around the sport ….
MLB players receive $10,000 any time they are “mic’d up” during a game, according to reporting from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. That fee comes from the league and MLBPA, rather than the broadcast partner, after the two sides “recognized they need to entice players” to participate in the segments.
Dodgers players found a pair of gifts upon arriving at the clubhouse ahead of Opening Day, per ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez (via Reddit): an expensive bottle of whiskey from manager Dave Roberts and a $4,000 Seiko watch from Shohei Ohtani with a note that simply read “Let’s three-peat.”
The Division III Pennsylvania College of Technology has canceled the remainder of its season and fired nearly the entire coaching staff following an “undisclosed off-campus incident”, according to PennLive’s John Beauge. The unspecified concerns were reportedly captured on video while the team was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a series in early March. It is unclear exactly what happened, but with several players removed from the roster and the entire coaching staff (aside from the strength and conditioning coach) let go, it must have been something fairly serious.
Florida State University first baseman Myles Bailey suffered an awkward injury sliding into second base on Saturday during the Seminoles’ game against Duke. Bailey’s leg had to be placed in an air cast, and he was stretchered off the field before being taken to a local hospital. He will miss the remainder of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on Sunday. Bailey was hitting .363/.582/.913 in 122 PA with 13 HR and 33 RBI on the year. Bailey is No. 95 on MLB Pipeline’s pre-draft rankings.
Less than two months after mass layoffs and the complete dismantling of several sections of the once-famed newspaper, resulting in “tens of thousands of subscriptions canceled”, the Washington Post is looking to reverse course a little. The Post has hired Danielle Allentuck as its new Nationals reporter, per Brendon Kleen at Awful Announcing. Allentuck has covered the Orioles for the Baltimore Banner since June 2023.