The 2024 Championship Season marks a decade of Uzma Rawn Dowler’s contributions to Major League Baseball, culminating in her recent promotion to Chief Marketing Officer. In her previous role as Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Partnerships, Rawn established herself as a vital force in forging impactful alliances and driving the league’s marketing strategies.
In her expanded position, Rawn will continue overseeing the global corporate partnerships team while reporting to Bill Morningstar, MLB Network President and MLB Executive Vice President of Sponsorship Sales. With nearly 20 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies and sports organizations—including the NBA and Premier Partnerships before joining MLB—Rawn is well-positioned to lead MLB’s marketing evolution.
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. praised Rawn’s contributions and the potential of her new role: “Uzma has been an invaluable resource for our industry, and this expanded role is a natural evolution for her to make even larger contributions in helping to grow the sport. Uzma already helps Baseball reach new, diverse audiences through her collaborations with our corporate partners where she provides marketing solutions for some of the biggest brands in the world. Now, combined with her energetic personality, never-ending commitment to the game, and cross-industry relationships, Uzma can help bring Baseball closer to our fans and partners alike—both in the U.S. and around the world.”
During her tenure at MLB, Rawn has spearheaded partnerships with iconic brands such as Adobe, Budweiser, Capital One, Chevrolet, Corona, Gatorade, GEICO, Google, Mastercard, and T-Mobile, ensuring that these brands effectively engage with MLB’s expansive multimedia audiences.
Rawn’s impact on the industry has been widely recognized. She was named to Sports Business Journal’s prestigious Forty Under 40 lists in both 2024 and 2020. In 2015, she earned a spot on Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 in Sports. Additionally, SportsPro and the Ivy Sports Symposium honored her as part of their 10 NEXT Class of 2013, recognizing her as one of the most outstanding sports executives under 30.
With a proven track record of innovation and a deep understanding of the sports and marketing landscapes, Rawn Dowler’s leadership promises to usher in a dynamic new era for Major League Baseball.
The end of 2024 is already upon us and we’re 100 days from Opening Day in the major leagues. For baseball fans, that’s like the 10-second countdown until the ball drops in Times Square on New Years.
Just as much that will remain the same for all 30 teams in MLB in the next 162-game season, a lot has changed since the Dodgers took the Commissioner’s Trophy home to L.A. in October. While the good news of deserved legends being voted into Cooperstown by the BBWAA will occur annually with the consistency of a Northeast Corridor Acela, the unpredictability of rule changers and rule breakers continue to loom in the shadows of what’s to be expected before the first pitch of the season. As the old saying goes, some things change while some things always remain the same. Besides, the allure of the game is all of the possibilities of what could happen. On or off the diamond.
Here is a list of ten of the most newsworthy off season occurrences in MLB 100 days before the start of the 2025 regular season and some of these moments may become historic in their outcome in the upcoming season and beyond.
10. The “Golden At-Bat” Rule
There was a confirmed rumor that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred came up with the impromptu idea of creating a rule that would allow the best hitter/player of a team one at-bat per game that will allow them to hit anywhere in the order regardless of their original place in the lineup. This could be done at any point in the game, which, of course, could dramatically change the trajectory of any given game. This new rule was met with immediate resistance from critics, however, it’s still not certain if this “Golden At-Bat” rule will be implemented in 2025 or ever.
9. Dave Parker And Dick Allen Inducted Into The Baseball Hall Of Fame Class of ’25
The BBWAA announced from the Winter Meetings in Dallas last week that longtime Pittsburgh Pirates favorite Dave Parker, better known among fans as “The Cobra” and 14-year MLB vet and Phillies star Dick Allen were voted into Baseball’s coveted Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Parker received 14 while Allen received 13 votes from the 16 Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting committee members, which only required 12 votes. Allen and Parker will be a part of the 2025 Induction Ceremony, which will take place July 27 in Cooperstown, however, other inductees will be announced on July 21.
8. Wander Franco Catches Another Case In The Dominican Republic
This guy just can’t stay out of trouble. Earlier this year, Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop Wander Franco was charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic less than a week shy of this year’s All-Star Game in Arlington. TX. The 23-year-old was placed on MLB’s restricted list in August, but was arrested again last month in the DR in an incident where police officials say that “guns were drawn”. Franco still faces up to 20 years behind bars for the sexual assault case, but let’s see how all of this pans out for him and his 11-year, $182 million contract by the end of his trial.
7. Tampa Bay Rays Lose Tropicana Field, Set To Play In Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field In 2025
After losing their star shortstop to severe legal issues, the next-to-last place AL East Rays lost their home stadium in what insurance companies call an “act of God”. Hurricane Milton destroyed The Trop in October, forcing the Rays to find a new home at Steinbrenner Field, the location of the Yankees Spring Training Camp as well as Tampa Bay’s NFL squad, the Bucs. The Rays are building a new facility called the Gas Plant Stadium, which will reportedly cost the Rays, the Hines Development Company and taxpayers a whopping $1.2 billion.
6. Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. In The Studio Cooking Up Hits
While most players have been on vacation with their families or tweaking their workout regimens before spring training, Bronx Bomber rookie third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been in the booth banging out tracks and truth be told, Jazz has some real audible flavors frying in the pan in his off season. Chisholm went live on IG with a couple of his homies in the stu and previewed some of the tracks and with his current popularity, this kid could have a future on the music biz. Check out a preview of a track from his IG page HERE.
5. Keith McPherson Makes Jon Heyman Crack In On-Air Interview Over Boras Comment
Yankees WFAN broadcaster Keith McPherson got the dial tone during a live on-air interview with esteemed baseball journalist and insider Jon Heyman after the Jersey native hinted that Heyman was in famed baseball agent Scott Boras’ pocket while discussing Mets’ record-breaking signee Juan Soto. To add injury to insult, the KM 2 AM host brought up a two-year-old Heyman blunder when he mistakenly tweeted that “Arson” Judge was signed by the San Francisco Giants. Heyman replied to McPherson, “I’ve had 100,000 tweets and you get one that was wrong — and it did say ‘appears’ — and I know I rushed it and it was a big mistake.” He added, “At some point, I think someone could probably drop it if they’re a nice person.” Heyman then referenced the earlier comment McPherson jokingly made about Soto, saying, “I’m being serious. Yeah. Asking me if I’m getting a cut because I have a relationship with an agent. It’s outrageous.” Heyman, sounding like he was on the verge of tears, concluded before hanging up by saying, “I’m done with you and I’m done with WFAN. I can’t even believe it. I can’t even believe it…” The result? Heyman vows to never come back on air at WFAN again.
4. Top Dominican Prospect In Talks With Padres Found To Be 19 Years Old, Not 14
Cesar Altagracia, a teenage Dominican baseball prospect who had a verbal agreement to sign with the San Diego Padres was believed to be 14 years old, but actually found to be 19 years old after an MLB investigation, meaning he had falsified his age on paperwork, likely to appear younger and more desirable to major league teams. Altagarcia was reportedly in talks to sign with the Padres before the discovery of his true age led to the agreement being withdrawn. Altagarcia, which wasn’t even his real name, represented the Dominican Republic at the 2022 U-12 Baseball World Cup and at the U-15 Pan American Championships this summer under the false identity. This prompted an investigation which discovered that several high profile prospects had falsified birth certificates to make themselves appear as much as five years younger than their actual age. Many of those players have had their bonuses pulled after investigations uncovered the information with some receiving a one-year suspension before they are allowed to reapply.
3. The A’s Leave Oakland, Talks of the Athletics Relocating To Las Vegas
Even though the entire MLB world knew that the 2024 regular season would be the last for the Oakland Athletics, at least in the beloved Northern California city where the A’s have lived since 1967, this is still one of the biggest changes that Bay Area baseball fans will feel in 2025. The aging Oakland Alameda County Stadium saw the A’s win in their last game against the Texas Rangers on September 26, with emotional fans taking dirt from the field that won’t get a chance to see any of the newly acquired talent that will be forced to play in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park in 2025. The permanent move for the A’s is slated for Las Vegas ,which according to Athletics ownership, will not happen until the 2028 season.
2. Trades, Acquisitions and Multi-Million Dollar Free Agent Contracts
Some of the most extreme changes that will change the landscape in the division standings are the trades and acquisitions of free agents and new talent, but with landscape still transforming as the 100-day countdown begins, it’s virtually impossible to list all of the alterations that we’ll see in the 2025 rosters. One thing is for certain; even though every team wants bats to bang in more runs, most teams have an integral focus this upcoming season on who they have on the mound. The following are some of the most impactful new contracts in MLB: SS Willy Adames’ record-breaking, seven-year $182 million contract with the San Fran Giants, LHP Blake Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract after declining his player option and electing free agency to sign with the Dodgers, former Mets’ Luis Severino three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s, former Yankees RHP Clay Holmes’ three-year, $38 million contract with the Mets and the Amazins’ acquisition of starter Frankie Montas from Milwaukee under a two-year, $34 million contract. Also, the Yankees gained free agent righty Devin Williams from the Brewers in exchange for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin.
1. The Mets Acquire Free Agent Juan Soto In Historic 15-Year, $765 Million Deal, Largest Professional Sports Contract Ever
In the largest contract in not only Major League Baseball, but in all of professional sports, Juan Soto surpassed Shohei Ohtani as the most expensive player in baseball as Steve Cohen spared no expense in making sure the 4X All-Star lefty was headed for Citi Field in 2025. Yankees fans were livid when Soto decided to go to Queens, especially when he was courted by the Boston Red Sox, L.A. Dodgers, K.C. Royals, the Blue Jays, Tampa Bay and, of course, the Yanks. In this one-of-a-kind signing, Soto can either opt out after the fifth year or receive a $4 million raise per season for the last 10 years of his contract, which will take his current salary of $51 million per season to $55 million per season. There will be no deferred payments in his contract, either. The biggest issue Soto will have is keeping number 22, which, according to reports, he would have to buy from Mets’ current number 22, Brett Baty.
Several reports have confirmed that free agent outfielder Juan Soto formally rejected the $21 million qualifying offer from the New York Yankees, becoming one of twelve free agents who declined a similar one-year offer. The Yanks will receive Draft compensation if Soto is picked up by another team, but the Bronx Bombers are working hard to keep that from happening, calling in managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone to their meeting yesterday with Soto.
According to MLB.com, the left-hander has already fielded meetings with the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Mets. Other teams such as the 2024 World Series Champion L.A. Dodgers, the Giants, Phillies and Rays have expressed interest in the 26-year-old outfielder.
Juan Soto wrapped up an exceptional season in 2024, earning $31 million while posting some of the best numbers of his young career. Across 157 regular-season games, Soto slashed .288/.419/.569, tallying 128 runs, 31 doubles, 41 home runs, 109 RBIs, and 129 walks. His performance set career highs in several key categories, including runs scored (128), hits (166), home runs (41), total bases (328), and extra-base hits (76).
“It was a remarkable season,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said last week. “As I’ve said all year, what Juan did for us between the lines was pretty special. But equally, I was just impressed with the person. Really getting to know him and managing him was a pleasure.”
Soto’s stellar contributions have sparked significant interest across the league, and his future remains a hot topic of discussion. Boone didn’t hide his desire to keep Soto in pinstripes but acknowledged the fierce competition to secure the star outfielder.
“I certainly would love to have him back, obviously,” Boone added. “I want him in pinstripes moving forward. But you also know there’s going to be a lot of people competing for that, and who knows where it ends up?”
As teams line up for the chance to acquire one of baseball’s brightest talents, Soto’s impact in 2024 is a testament to his consistency and superstar potential.
This past weekend, Boardroom and Major League Baseball (MLB) hosted a star-studded weekend in Las Vegas, following Thursday night’s All-MLB Awards. Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman and MLB legend-turned-executive CC Sabathia curated a high-profile gathering of influential leaders from sports, music, entertainment, and business at The NoMad Bar on Friday night. The event, which featured music by Chase B, brought together an impressive roster of guests including retired MLB stars like Gary Sheffield, Nick Swisher, and Justin Upton, as well as active players like Lars Nootbaar of the St. Louis Cardinals and Tommy Pham.
Saturday morning’s Toca Madera brunch continued the momentum, bringing together a mix of MLB players and executives, including Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. Among the VIP guests were rapper Travis Scott, retired NFL tight end Darren Waller, NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, Los Angeles Sparks player Dearica Hamby, and Top Dawg Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith.
Kleiman said, “We are proud to have brought together so many power players in music, sports, and business alongside our partners at MLB. Boardroom looks forward to continuing to expand our partnership through incredible events and storytelling with the MLB.”
Noah Garden, MLB’s Deputy Commissioner of Business and Media, echoed the sentiment, noting, “This weekend’s events really showcased what this partnership is all about – culturally impactful moments with our players and MLB at the forefront. Together with Rich and his team, and with the influence of Special Advisor to the Commissioner CC Sabathia, we have created events that leave a lasting impact for our players and attendees. We look forward to continuing to build these opportunities with Boardroom as part of our player marketing efforts.””These events showcase what this partnership is all about—culturally impactful moments with MLB at the forefront. Together with Rich and his team, and with CC Sabathia’s influence, we’re creating events that leave a lasting impact.”
The event marked another milestone in Boardroom’s partnership with MLB, which, since its announcement in May, has brought MLB players together with key figures across industries for unique networking opportunities and brand-building moments.
After Ice Cube took the field at Dodger Stadium on Saturday and performed his classic hit “Today Was A Good Day” before Los Angeles’ Game 2 win, who else would’ve been better to return the favor in the Bronx other than the BX’s heavy hitter Fat Joe? According to Yankees fans, it could’ve been anybody else, especially after the matching 4-2 loss against L.A..
Even though Joey Crack pulled out some of his biggest bops of the new millennium, including “Lean Back”, “All The Way Up” and of course, the Empire State anthem “New York”, the overall consensus of Yanks fans felt that Joe’s performance didn’t just miss the mark in exciting the Yankee Stadium crowd, but brought down the morale on 161 Street and River Avenue.
Were the fans right? Well, the Yankees could not score a run until the last out in the bottom of the ninth inning with a two-run HR from Alex Verdugo in the team’s valiant, but losing effort. The Bronx Bombers still have a chance to turn the series around tonight in Game 4, but fighting against a 0-3 deficit against Ohtani and the Dodgers might not end with a “Good Day” for the Yankees.
Before the second game of the World Series this past weekend, Ice Cube stood before the Dodger Stadium crowd in Los Angeles and performed his classic hit “It Was A Good Day.” So, when Game 3 of the series between the LA Dodgers and the New York Yankees shifted back to NYC yesterday (October 28), the Yankees had an answer.
As the New York Post notes, Joe Torre, CC Sabathia, Gary Sheffield, Dave Winfield, and Derek Jeter, the latter of whom threw out the ceremonial first pitch, participated in pre-game festivities. Then there was Bronx native Fat Joe, who delivered renditions of “Lean Back” and “All The Way Up.”
However, the consensus appears to be that Joe’s part didn’t go so well: Following the performance, Joe was one of the top-trending topics on X (formerly Twitter), and not because people were flooding the platform with praise.
One user wrote, “I’m not a hater, BUT Fat Joe opening up for the Yankees might be one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. I think they got him on SALE 50% OFF.” Somebody else said, “Fire whoever from the Yankees thought that was a good idea to have Fat Joe do whatever that was. I’m literally speechless at wtf I just watched. We don’t even deserve to win after that performance. George Steinbrenner would ban Fat Joe from Yankee Stadium after that.”
Another user wrote, “Me checking Twitter to make sure I’m not the only one who thought that Fat Joe intro was a miss.”
The Yankees would go on to lose the game 4-2, falling to 0-3 in the best-of-7 series.
This week’s MLB playlist comes from Terrance. California born utility man for the Cleveland Guardians organization, former USC star Tyresse Turner. The switch hitting right hander was recruited to the Guardians’ High-A Lake County Captains before being shifted to the Lynchburg Hillcats, hitting .238 with 23 RBIs and 30 stolen bases with both teams that year.
This year, the 24-year-old Turner took his talents to the Double-A Akron Rubberducks(another Cleveland Guardians affiliate) and back to Lake County, where he now boasts a .250 batting average, with 25 RBIs including four homers in 68 games. Turner was mainly used as an infielder in his first year, playing all positions except first first base for the Captains and the Hillcats, but was switched to left field and utilized as a designated hitter half of his time on the field for the Rubberducks and the Captains in 2024.
Even as a West Coaster, Turner still has a Dirty South musical taste, with heavy NoCap, Gunna, Rod Wave and others from South of the Mason/Dixon. He still reps the Golden State with some Nipsey and Buddy collaboration flavors. It’s a plenty lengthy array of Turner’s favorites, so check out the playlist courtesy of the good people at Black baseball Mixtape!
Ludacris is known for doing a number of different things — he’s an actor, a businessman, a philanthropist, and a guy who drinks glacier water in Alaska. Before he was able to make a career doing those things, though, Luda was a rapper from Atlanta who specialized in making some absolutely iconic music videos.
Perhaps his most well-known video is for the track “Get Back,” which was directed by Spike Jonze and is famous for the comically large arms that he wore the entire time. If you are like me, you’ve probably wondered what the hell happened to those arms after the video came out, and on Wednesday evening we got the answer: Ludacris still has them.
We know this because he threw out the first pitch for the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Colorado Rockies at Truist Park. And As you can guess, he wore the arms out to the mound, kept the baseball stuck to his palm, and launched it to home plate — you can watch the video here.
Shockingly, this was not the worst first pitch any of us have ever seen, because while it was a ball, he at least got it to the plate. Credit to Ludacris for that, and I hope this is not the last time that we see him throw out a first pitch at a baseball game while wearing the “Get Back” arms.
For the ninth year in a row, all 30 Major League Baseball teams will raise awareness for childhood cancer in all ballparks during all games on Sunday.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and MLB Together continues its community-based demonstrations of support for the cancer awareness among children, including outreach to local hospitals treating childhood patients.
According to the organization, all on-field personnel, including players, managers, coaches, and umpires will wear gold ribbon decals and wristbands during all games. Additionally, commemorative base jewels and line up cards will be featured on the day.
Club activations may include youth participation in pregame ceremonies, visits from players, mascots and other special recognitions. Nonprofit partners for Clubs may include partnering with local hospital or organizations focused on cancer among children such as Stand Up To Cancer, American Cancer Society, and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
As an extension of MLB’s relationship with Starlight Children’s Foundation, all 30 Clubs will be receiving either a Nintendo Switch Handheld or a Virtual Reality headset, which will be donated to a local children’s hospital, hospital pediatric cancer care unit or a pediatric cancer nonprofit organization. To learn more, visit www.mlbtogether.com/childhood-cancer-awareness-day and www.starlight.org/mlb.
This year, approximately 10,000 children under the age of 15 are expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in the United States. Across all demographics, this disease is the second-leading cause of death by disease in children ages 1-14. MLB, alongside other committed community leaders in this cause, are dedicated to lessening the statistics of cancer as a disease affecting young people.
Some of the most common types of childhood cancer include leukemia, brain tumors, central nervous system tumors, and malignant epithelial neoplasms and lymphomas. Over the past 50 years, cancer researchers have helped to develop treatments that have greatly changed the lives of patients with a pediatric cancer diagnosis. The five year survival rate for childhood cancer is now 85% (compared to 58% in the mid-1970’s).
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit his 300th homer, reaching that milestone faster than any other player in the history of Major League Baseball when he connected against the White Sox during a 10-2 victory Wednesday night.
“It’s a great achievement,” he said. “Like I said a couple days ago, I was hoping it would come in a win. It came in a big win for us. We were down for a little bit, couldn’t get much going, so I was just excited it was there in a big moment.”
Judge hit the mark in his 955th game and 3,431st at-bat with a three-run drive in the eighth inning. The six-time All-Star and 2022 American League MVP drove a 3-0 up-and-in sinker from Chad Kuhl into the White Sox bullpen in left for his major league-leading 43rd homer.
The Yankees let loose as the ball cleared the wall, jumping up and raising their arms and banging the dugout railing. After the game, DJ LeMahieu and Austin Wells doused Judge with a tub of water.
“That means a lot,” Judge said. “These guys grind with me every single day. I know the hard work they put in. They see what I do. That was pretty special.”
