'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
As the 2023 MLB regular season approaches, we have more spring training action. Here’s an update on what's happening in the MLB world, with news, injuries, top player performances and more.
2023 World Baseball Classic kicks off tonight
The opening round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic will begin with a match-up between Cuba and the Netherlands at Taiwan's Taichung Stadium tonight (11pm ET.)
Trending
The Netherlands are looking to make a stronger impression than in the past two Classics, where they came up short in the semifinals. Cuba have advanced past the first round in all four Classics, but have not progressed beyond the second round since their 2006 championship game appearance.
This year's tournament marks the first time that MLB players are eligible to play for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic. The teams are part of Pool A, with Chinese Taipei, Italy, and Panama.
Boston Red Sox’s Justin Turner hit in the face with pitch
Boston Red Sox player Justin Turner was hit in the face by a fastball in the first inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers at JetBlue Park on March 6.
Turner was attended to by medical staff and transported to a local hospital for observation via ambulance. Early indications are that he avoided a serious head injury, but he is being monitored for concussion and is undergoing further testing.
In a statement, the Red Sox said Turner is receiving treatment for soft tissue injuries and is in good spirits. Detroit Tigers right-hander Matt Manning, who threw the pitch, said the ball got away from him and it was not intentional.
Turner, who recently signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox, is expected to be the team's primary designated hitter and will also play first base at times against lefties.
Aaron Judge hits his first spring homer
New York Yankees player Aaron Judge hit his first Grapefruit League home run of the spring against the Pittsburgh Pirates at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Judge, who recently signed a nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees, launched an opposite-field, three-run blast off the Pirates' Colin Selby. Judge finished the game 1-for-2 and is batting .500 with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs in four exhibition games.
Aaron Judge is expected to be the Yankees' starting right fielder. However, manager Aaron Boone said that he plans to have Judge play left field for the first time this spring on March 9 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Reporter claims MLB should "boycott Florida under DeSantis"
Washington Post opinion writer Kevin B. Blackistone called for Major League Baseball to boycott spring training in Florida. This is due to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' "hostile approach" to "woke politics."
Blackistone also compared baseball in Jackie Robinson's time to modern Florida and called for the MLB to "take a stand" against DeSantis. DeSantis' aide Christina Pushaw joked that failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams would be proud of Blackistone’s opinion piece.
In 2021, the MLB relocated the All-Star Game away from Georgia in response to a voting law that the league broadly called "restrictions to the ballot box." Blackistone suggested that all 15 MLB franchises that started spring training last month in Florida move to Arizona as a way to prove a commitment to racial equality.
You can read Blackistone's piece here.
