Vladi Jr. and The Machine, the Hall of Fame’s new president and Fernando honored

Dominican Heroes Meet

The Toronto Blue Jays are in Anaheim this week, which means Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is back where is father played a significant part of his career. It also means he’s crossing paths with arguably the best hitter to ever come from the Dominican Republic, Albert Pujols. The two shared a special moment during batting practice before the series began on Tuesday.

Cooperstown’s new leader

On Tuesday afternoon the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced Tim Mead will serve as the new president, beginning later this year. Mead has spent 40 years with the Los Angeles Angels organization, including the last 22 years as the team’s Vice President of Communications.

When he wasn’t hugging it out with a future Hall of Famer (can we say that about Vladi Jr already?), Pujols was congratulating Mead on his new appointment.

34 Forever

Tuesday also saw a significant announcement from the Mexican League. Fernando Valenzuela‘s number – 34 – will be retired league-wide later this season. As Los Angeles Times writer Bill Shaikin points out, perhaps it’s time for the Dodgers to formally retire it as well.

Grassroots Baseball

Jean Fruth is crossing the country to promote her beautiful new book, Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, and made a stop in San Francisco to sign copies with Hensley Meulens. Meulens made his debut with the Yankees in 1989, becoming the first player from Curaçao to appear in a major league game. The book will be on shelves on June 4 but can be preordered now.

Jean will be joined by retiring National Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson on the “Grassroots Baseball” tour along historic Route 66 beginning today. Be sure to follow the tour on Instagram for incredible photos and updates on where they’ll be stopping next!

The growing legend

Clint Hurdle might have to manage against him at some point, but he can still be a fan of Vladi Jr. The stories about the Blue Jays’ phenom continue to be told and the legend grows.

Fan Post of the Day

Kiké Hernández is a favorite of ours at La Vida Baseball, so we totally understand the jersey of the Dodgers’ infielder playing important part of a prom invitation. The best part? A retweet from Hernández himself.

Pro Post of the Day

Toronto’s Marcus Stroman celebrates his 28th birthday today. He started the party early with some motivation on his Instagram feed.

OTD

2015 – Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez hits career home run No. 660 against the Red Sox, tying Willie Mays for
fourth place on the all-time home run list.

2005 – Twins ace Johan Santana‘s 17-game winning streak comes to the end. Santana was dominant – seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed in eight innings. Unfortunately for Santana, those two hits were solo home runs by Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Molina. The Angels won 2-1.

1951 – On Mother’s Day at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Minnie Miñoso becomes the first black player in the history of the White Sox franchise. Miñoso belts a home run in his first at-bat for the team off Vic Raschi but the White Sox lose to the Yankees 8-3. In the game, a young Yankees outfielder named Mickey Mantle hit his first career home run off Randy Gumpert.

Happy birthday!

Marcus Stroman (b. 1991)
A.J. Jiménez (b. 1990)
Iván De Jesús (b. 1987)
Manny Acosta (b. 1981)
Armando Reynoso (b. 1966)
José Lind (b. 1964)
Félix Torres (b. 1932)