SOURCE SPORTS: Blue Jays Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Speaks About The Negro Leagues, BodyArmor At All Star 2024

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Joins BODYARMOR as Brand Expands

Even with the suggestions of Vladdy potentially being the centerpiece of a four-way swap to the Mariners just in time for the MLB deadline in a couple of weeks, the son of the reputed Hall Of Famer is still just as excited about this year’s All Star Game as he was last night when his former teammate Teoscar Hernandez took home the Home Run Derby title.

At just 25 years old, Guerrero Jr. is well on his way to matching his father’s All Star fly, with already four All Star Game appearances, including his first in 2021 where he made history as the youngest to be voted as the All Star MVP. Ironically, the then 22-year-old also landed second in votes as the American League MVP as well. The former top Minor League prospect who earned $3.8 million to sign with Toronto at only 16 years oldis now half-way up the ladder to reaching his dad, Guerrero Sr’s nine-time All Star game appearances.

In an exclusive interview with TheSource.com, Guerrero Jr. sits down to delve into the impact that the Latin and Caribbean Leagues had on his dream to play baseball, who he’s looking forward to playing with and against on the diamond during the All Star Game and even his health regimen, which he gives substantial credit to his new sponsor, BodyArmor Sports Drink.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Blue Jays Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Speaks About The Negro Leagues, Body Armour At All Star 2024

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Joins BODYARMOR as Brand Expands

Even with the suggestions of Vladdy potentially being the centerpiece of a four-way swap to the Mariners just in time for the MLB deadline in a couple of weeks, the son of the reputed Hall Of Famer is still just as excited about this year’s All Star Game as he was last night when his former teammate Teoscar Hernandez took home the Home Run Derby title.

At just 25 years old, Guerrero Jr. is well on his way to matching his father’s All Star fly, with already four All Star Game appearances, including his first in 2021 where he made history as the youngest to be voted as the All Star MVP. Ironically, the then 22-year-old also landed second in votes as the American League MVP as well. The former top Minor League prospect who earned $3.8 million to sign with Toronto at only 16 years oldis now half-way up the ladder to reaching his dad, Guerrero Sr’s nine-time All Star game appearances.

In an exclusive interview with TheSource.com, Guerrero Jr. sits down to delve into the impact that the Latin and Caribbean Leagues had on his dream to play baseball, who he’s looking forward to playing with and against on the diamond during the All Star Game and even his health regimen, which he gives substantial credit to his new sponsor, Body Armour Sports Drink.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Blue Jays Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Speaks About The Negro Leagues, Body Armour At All Star 2024 first appeared on The Source.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Blue Jays Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Speaks About The Negro Leagues, Body Armour At All Star 2024 appeared first on The Source.

Ingrid Andress Delivers Horrific Rendition Of National Anthem

Ingrid Andress kicked off the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby with a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that had everyone talking. The country music star and four-time Grammy-nominated singer’s performance of the National Anthem live at Globe Life Field on Monday quickly sparked a reaction on social media moments after it was over. It was not a positive reaction, to say the least. Baseball fans and social media users who don’t even watch baseball are still not done joking about it.

Andress, a somewhat new act in the country music scene, broke through with her single “More Hearts Than Mine” in 2019, which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. She released her debut album Lady Like in September 2020 and followed up with Good Person in August 2022. She was an opening act on country music legend Keith Urban’s The Speed of Now World Tour in 2022. Her father, Brad Andress, was a strength and conditioning coach for several professional baseball teams, including the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets.

Fans React To Ingrid Andress’ National Anthem Performance

Of course, fans quickly compared Ingrid Andress’s performance to Fergie’s infamous showing at the 2018 NBA All-Star game. That rendition was so poorly received that players tried to hide their laughter. It sparked a variety of remixes and memes. When Fergie finally reflected on her performance, she explained that she “wanted to try something special for the NBA, but clearly [this] rendition didn’t strike the intended tone.” Maybe Andress was trying something special for Major League Baseball with her performance on Monday evening.

As for Andress herself, she has not yet addressed the performance, or the internet’s reaction to her performance. Earlier in the day, she announced a new single and two concerts for later in July. One in Nashville, Tennessee, and another in Denver, Colorado, her home state. Following her performance, she disabled comments on her Instagram page, likely to avoid seeing additional criticism. Musicians don’t get nominated for four Grammy Awards for no reason, so it was likely an off day for Andress. Hopefully, she gets the chance to redeem herself in the future.

The post Ingrid Andress Delivers Horrific Rendition Of National Anthem appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

The Home Run Derby National Anthem Was Such A Trainwreck It Had People Wondering If It Was A Prank

ingrid andress
MLB

The start of Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities arrived on Monday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, where eight of the league’s best hitters were set to compete in the Home Run Derby.

However, before the Derby could begin, they had Ingrid Andress sing the national anthem and, well, it did not go well.

There are bad anthems and then there are anthems that get remembered forever for how bad they are. This, unfortunately for Andress, likely falls into the latter category alongside infamous renditions by Fergie, Carl Lewis, Roseanne Barr, and others who have either butchered or taken significant artistic liberties with the anthem. It’s not abundantly clear what happened here to cause things to go this badly, but people in attendance and watching on TV were completely dumbfounded, with many wondering if this was all some elaborate prank.

Folks also immediately compared it to some of those disastrous sports anthems of the past, with the Fergie anthem the most recent example, as Draymond Green cracking during her All-Star rendition being an all-timer. For the Andress anthem, Alex Bohm starred in the Draymond role as he couldn’t hold back a confused smirk while things spiraled downhill.

https://twitter.com/BrianMFloyd/status/1813003838271455604

SOURCE SPORTS: Fentanyl Intoxication Revealed As Former MLB Player Sean Burroughs’ Cause Of Death

Screenshot 2024 05 28 at 11.41.18 AM

It has been revealed that the cause of death of former MLB player Sean Burroughs died from a fentanyl overdose, according to the toxicology report, the Los Angeles County Coroner.

As reported back in May, the the ninth-overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft was found unresponsive next to his car in a Long Beach parking lot outside his son’s Little League baseball game. He was 43 years old.

Burroughs was a coach on his son’s team and folks got worried when he didn’t show up for the start of the game. That’s when they went looking for him and found him next to his car.

As a player, Sean won back-to-back Little League World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 with the Long Beach all-star team. He became the first American-born pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters, earning him an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman.

Sean was signed to play college baseball at USC, but decided to go pro instead. He eventually made it to the Majors, playing 7 seasons with the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Sean told ESPN in 2011 that he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse during his final seasons in MLB.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Fentanyl Intoxication Revealed As Former MLB Player Sean Burroughs’ Cause Of Death first appeared on The Source.

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SOURCE SPORTS: Minority Baseball Prospects’ Ty Wyche Set To Even Out Opportunities On The Field For Black And Brown Players

Screenshot 2024 06 28 at 11.53.50 PM

Regardless of the sport or field of expertise that anyone decides to pursue, in order to advance and thrive in that said field, must first be recognized for their talents by those who make executive decisions before any sort level up can occur. In any professional level sport, getting seen by scouts and coaches while among the amateur ranks seems likes a million to one shot, especially for Black baseball players. Black players make up less than 10% on the baseball diamond on the professional level, while their basketball and football counterparts are an overwhelming 80% of professional rosters.

Enter into the world of Minority Baseball Prospects’ Creative Director and VP Tyrone Wyche. The Atlanta native started the mission of magnifying a focus on Black and Brown baseball players along with his brother Alex during the pandemic, when national baseball showcases broadcasted white players while all but shunning minority players who boasted better stats in tougher leagues. There is no doubt that Black players have made unprecedented history in baseball, but with baseball being predominately white since its inception in 1890, back when Black players were totally excluded from competing on a professional level, Black baseball players’ opportunities to gain national exposure are not even comparable to their white counterparts. Also, the racism faced by Black players in the early 20th century that forced them to create the Negro Leagues are the same hurdles that have now forced people like Wyche into a niche to properly expose Black baseball prospects.

Minority Baseball Prospects and its sister organization, Minority Softball Prospects, have literally spread over half of the country and have produced unparalleled results. MBP is currently facilitating events and showcases in 26 states, have showcased 565 collegiate signees including 2024 NCAA D1 Collegiate Champions Tennessee Vols’ Christian Moore, Kavares Tears and Ariel Antigua, 47 MLB Draft Picks including Pittsburgh Pirates’ Temarr Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks Druw Jones, Reds’ 2022 1st Round Draft Pick Cam Collier, Padres’ 2023 1st Round Draft Pick Dillon Head, Yankees 2023 1st Round Draft Pick George Lombard Jr., Rangers’ 2022 5th Round Draft Pick Chandler Pollard and hundreds of HBCU All-American and All-American Game Black players.

In this exclusive interview with TheSource.com, this Black baseball executive speaks about the importance of having showcases and tournaments exclusively for Black and Brown baseball players and his plans to expand the Minority Prospects umbrella into other sports.

Wyche stated his purpose for establishing MBP: “At the end of the day, me and my brother felt like this void needed to be filled…it’s never been talked about. So for us, it just felt like the right timing. It showed us that it really needed to be done because it happened so fast…we did it for the passion. We didn’t do it for the money. We did it for the representation.”

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Minority Baseball Prospects’ Ty Wyche Set To Even Out Opportunities On The Field For Black And Brown Players first appeared on The Source.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Minority Baseball Prospects’ Ty Wyche Set To Even Out Opportunities On The Field For Black And Brown Players appeared first on The Source.

SOURCE SPORTS: Minority Baseball Prospects’ Ty Wyche Set To Even Out Opportunities On The Field For Black And Brown Players

Screenshot 2024 06 28 at 11.53.50 PM

Regardless of the sport or field of expertise that anyone decides to pursue, in order to advance and thrive in that said field, must first be recognized for their talents by those who make executive decisions before any sort level up can occur. In any professional level sport, getting seen by scouts and coaches while among the amateur ranks seems likes a million to one shot, especially for Black baseball players. Black players make up less than 10% on the baseball diamond on the professional level, while their basketball and football counterparts are an overwhelming 80% of professional rosters.

Enter into the world of Minority Baseball Prospects’ Creative Director and VP Tyrone Wyche. The Atlanta native started the mission of magnifying a focus on Black and Brown baseball players along with his brother Alex during the pandemic, when national baseball showcases broadcasted white players while all but shunning minority players who boasted better stats in tougher leagues. There is no doubt that Black players have made unprecedented history in baseball, but with baseball being predominately white since its inception in 1890, back when Black players were totally excluded from competing on a professional level, Black baseball players’ opportunities to gain national exposure are not even comparable to their white counterparts. Also, the racism faced by Black players in the early 20th century that forced them to create the Negro Leagues are the same hurdles that have now forced people like Wyche into a niche to properly expose Black baseball prospects.

Minority Baseball Prospects and its sister organization, Minority Softball Prospects, have literally spread over half of the country and have produced unparalleled results. MBP is currently facilitating events and showcases in 26 states, have showcased 565 collegiate signees including 2024 NCAA D1 Collegiate Champions Tennessee Vols’ Christian Moore, Kavares Tears and Ariel Antigua, 47 MLB Draft Picks including Pittsburgh Pirates’ Temarr Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks Druw Jones, Reds’ 2022 1st Round Draft Pick Cam Collier, Padres’ 2023 1st Round Draft Pick Dillon Head, Yankees 2023 1st Round Draft Pick George Lombard Jr., Rangers’ 2022 5th Round Draft Pick Chandler Pollard and hundreds of HBCU All-American and All-American Game Black players.

In this exclusive interview with TheSource.com, this Black baseball executive speaks about the importance of having showcases and tournaments exclusively for Black and Brown baseball players and his plans to expand the Minority Prospects umbrella into other sports.

Wyche stated his purpose for establishing MBP: “At the end of the day, me and my brother felt like this void needed to be filled…it’s never been talked about. So for us, it just felt like the right timing. It showed us that it really needed to be done because it happened so fast…we did it for the passion. We didn’t do it for the money. We did it for the representation.”

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Minority Baseball Prospects’ Ty Wyche Set To Even Out Opportunities On The Field For Black And Brown Players first appeared on The Source.

The post SOURCE SPORTS: Minority Baseball Prospects’ Ty Wyche Set To Even Out Opportunities On The Field For Black And Brown Players appeared first on The Source.

DJ Diesel And Guardians Pitcher Triston McKenzie Got The Crowd Jumping With ‘Since U Been Gone’ After A Game

shaq-kelly-clarkson-top
Instagram/silly_willy18

Now that the NBA season is over, Shaquille O’Neal can shift his focus to his true love: music. The Hall of Famer spends his summers touring as DJ Diesel, as he’s shifted his focus away from hip-hop, when he was once a platinum selling artist, to EDM and house music, previously explaining that he just loves the energy of those crowds.

Shaq will do it all, from hitting the festival circuit to a Las Vegas residency at Encore Beach Club to performances at MLB stadiums after games. His most recent stop came on Saturday night in Cleveland, where he was at Blue Jays-Guardians and performed on the field for fans after the Guards picked up a 6-3 win to improve to 46-26 on the season.

The vibes are incredibly high for the Guards right now, and that only continued with DJ Diesel hopping on the 1s and 2s and bringing out some special guests from the clubhouse, as Cleveland pitcher Triston McKenzie (and a number of ofther Guardians players) joined Shaq on stage and performed “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson to the delight of the fans.

First off, this is a reminder that “Since U Been Gone” is 20 years old and is still an absolute banger. Kelly Clarkson was really in her bag with that one. Secondly, DJ Diesel knows what the people want, which is a Kelly Clarkson interlude before going right back into some EDM. A true showman, through and through, who absolutely knows how to work a crowd — he hyped up the Guards as a World Series contender during his set as well.

Snoop Dogg Joining The Broadcast Booth For A Reds-Brewers Game Was As Incredible As You’d Expect

Few, if any, people do a better job parlaying being famous into doing fun stuff than Snoop Dogg. While you don’t always know where he’s going to pop up, it’s usually not a shock when Snoop shows up at a thing — it can be a game, it can be a random television show, whatever else — and is clearly having the time of his life.

The latest example of this came on Saturday night, when the Milwaukee Brewers played host to the Cincinnati Reds in an NL Central matchup. Snoop had a show at a casino in Milwaukee a little later in the evening, but before that, he threw out the first pitch — he got it across the plate, which means relatively speaking, that’s a very good first pitch — then made his way into the broadcast booth during the second inning. He proceeded to spend two full innings up there, and unsurprisingly, he took over the booth and injected some life into a mid-June baseball game.

Just listen to how much fun he had watching Christian Yelich hit an infield single, then follow it up by stealing second base. I am pretty sure everyone will agree with this, but we should 100 percent let Snoop pop into the booth during baseball games whenever he wants.

As for the game itself, the Brewers picked up a 3-1 win.

The MLB Players Association Accuses Bad Bunny’s Sports Agency Of ‘Egregious And Systemic Violations’ In Legal Filing

bad bunny
Getty Image

Rebellious spirits are beloved in music. But Bad Bunny is learning that doesn’t quite work in sports. Since April, the “Baticano” rapper’s sports agency, Rimas Sports, has been engulfed in a heated legal battle with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).

According to Billboard, on June 5, things were dialed up a notch. In a new filing, the MLBPA outlined several alleged “egregious and systemic violations” to combat Rimas Sports’ discrimination and being targeted by a “pre-determined investigation” claim.

The motion stated that its decision to ban the agency was due to its supposed findings that Rimas gave out improper gifts to players such as VIP concert tickets, granted suite access to prospects at outside sporting events, and extended interest-free loan offers.

“The regulations strictly forbid such inducements,” wrote the union’s lawyers. “Player agents must compete for clients based on the quality of their representation, not the quality of their gifts.”

The representative went on to outline how if the agency’s alleged actions were left unpunished, it could cause damage across the league. “Immunizing Rimas from the consequences of its own bad conduct will harm players and other player agents by encouraging player-player agent relationships borne out of perquisites, not performance,” the rep wrote. “What Rimas seeks is a get out of jail free card for itself. The public has no interest in such an outcome. This kind of conduct became culture at Rimas.”

The agency has not yet responded to MLBPA’s latest motion. However, last month, attorneys for Rimas did issue a statement regarding the union’s initial ruling.

“The ‘good ole boy’ order of baseball sports agency … was being put at risk, as these Puerto Rican ‘outsiders’ were disrupting baseball sports agency order too much, too fast,” wrote Rimas attorneys. “This was something that the MLBPA and Rimas Sports’ competitors would not allow.”

Rimas’ went on to refer to the “extraordinary and unprecedented” measures from the MLBPA as a “death penalty” on its operations. Rimas claimed the ruling killed its deal with then prospect client Ronald Acuña Jr. Those actions being, as outlined by Billboard as, decertification of one of its agent, preventing co-owner and Bad Bunny’s longtime manage Noah Assad from applying for certification, and blocking already certified sports agents from coming aboard the team.

While the MLBPA appears to be stern in its decision, it doesn’t appear this legal fight is over.