⚾️ Happy Saturday!

Tarps off.

It’s the phrase sweeping across baseball.

Shirts off.
Wave ‘em in the air.

It started last Friday in St. Louis.
Cards-Royals.

When suddenly…

A group of fans in the bleachers ripped their shirts off and started whipping them around.

The crowd lost it.

Oh — and the Cardinals won on a walk-off.

The instigators?

A group of baseball players from Stephen F. Austin.

Tarps Off was born.

Cards’ Manager Oliver Marmol invited the group back the next night.

Tarps off again!

Now there’s even a designated Tarps Off section in the upper right field bleachers at Busch Stadium.

And yes…

there are now official Tarps Off shirts.

Of course.

And the movement has spread.

New York.
Detroit.
Tampa Bay.
Philly.
Seattle.
Anaheim.

In Anaheim, fans even turned the moment into a protest chant:

“SELL THE TEAM!”

(Just in case was Arte Moreno wondering.)

For years, baseball has tried to manufacture fun with LED lights, gimmicks, and between-inning nonsense.

Turns out all it really needed…

was a bunch of shirtless lunatics with zero shame.

Really, nothing says baseball quite like bad sunburns, beer showers, and 40,000 people thinking:

“Should I go tarps off too?

Another story drawing attention this week:

fans vs. players.

It happened Sunday in Chicago.

Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong crashed hard into the fence chasing a fly ball.

As he got up, a female fan started yelling at him.

That’s when things escalated.

PCA turned toward the woman and fired back:

“Suck my f—ing d—-, b——.”

The exchange was caught on camera and exploded online.

PCA later apologized for his “choice of words.”

MLB fined him.

No suspension.

The reaction online has been fascinating.

It became less about one player losing his cool…

and more about where the line actually is between fans and players now.

I posted about the incident on Facebook and the responses were all over the map.

Fans who thought PCA crossed the line:

“As a Cubs fan, I agree 100%. Hefty fine, maybe a suspension for a few games.”

Another:

“As a player you’re a professional and representative of MLB. You can’t sink to that level.”

But plenty pushed back the other way:

“ANYONE who engages a player deserves whatever they get. Don’t like getting flamed…? Sit your ass in your seat….”

“I side with PCA. If the lady can dish it out…she better be able to take it too.”

Baseball markets itself as family entertainment…

while it also feeds off the emotion, and chaos of the game.

Fans chirp players.

Players chirp back.

Most of the time, it’s harmless.

This time?

Not so much.

Question is, doesn’t razzing the opponent come with the price of admission?

That’s baseball.

But we’ve seen plenty of fans cross the line with personal, and disgusting heckles.

Is it a byproduct of the times we live in?

Perhaps.

Fans see players making $30 million a year…

and think that gives them the right to unload for three hours.

While players increasingly see fans as part of the noise.

That pain in the ass sitting 12 rows up with a beer in one hand and a phone camera in the other.

The relationship between fans and players does feel bdifferent now.

And social media can sometimes pour gasoline on it.

You know how much I love the ABS challenge system. One of the best things MLB has done in years.

But hitters…

C’mon, man. Know the strike zone.

This week: Mets vs. Nationals.

Marcus Semien takes one right down Broadway. Catcher barely moves the glove.

Obvious strike.

And then…

tap to the helmet.

Challenge.

Even the broadcasters were stunned:

“Think they’re gonna lose this challenge.”

Yep.

Strike confirmed.

That’s the problem.

The ABS system works great when it fixes bad calls.

But when hitters start challenging pitches out of pure desperation? It starts looking ridiculous.

Rule of thumb:

If the catcher doesn’t move…

don’t tap the helmet.

Two years ago, the Chicago White Sox lost 121 games.

The worst season in modern baseball history.

A lifeless franchise.

A joke.

Today?

Almost unrecognizable.

The 2026 White Sox might be having more fun than anyone in baseball.

Picture this:

Players waving fake Harry Potter wands after big hits. After strikeouts.

Wand celebrations.

Dugout sorcery.

At one point, even a full Harry Potter costume showed up.

What the hell is going on?

It started as a joke.

Pitcher Mike Vasil walked around the clubhouse pretending to cast spells.

So a teammate bought him one of those cheap plastic magic wands from Amazon.

Then came the unthinkable.

The Sox got hot.

The wins started piling up.

And suddenly…

the wand became part of the act.

Chicago is 13-5 since the arrival of the wand.

Teams spend millions chasing chemistry.

Leadership.

Culture.

Edge.

The White Sox accidentally found theirs in what looks like the clearance aisle of a Halloween store.

The dugout feels loose.

Ridiculous.

Alive.

Grown men.

Major League Baseball players.

Waving a plastic magic wand.

And winning.

Only in baseball.

And honestly…

when you lose 121 games, you’ll try just about anything.

Watch video

With the success of baseball’s ultimate unicorn, Shohei Ohtani, MLB teams have been searching far and wide for the next Shohei.

The Yankees thought they had uncovered their version:

14-year-old Dominican phenom Angel García.

That’s right.

Fourteen years old.

And already being called by some the “Dominican Ohtani.”

His scouting report?

Absolutely ridiculous.

• 93 mph fastball/slider combo
• Runs a 6.7-second 60-yard dash
• Outfield throws topping 101 mph

Again…

he’s 14 f’ing years old.

The Yankees reportedly had a pre-agreement worth more than $5 million for 2029, when García would become eligible to sign.

Then the Yankees changed international directors.

Suddenly…

the deal collapsed.

Now García is back on the market.

And MLB teams are circling.

It’s amazing how insane baseball’s international market has become.

Kids are turning into multi-million dollar investments before they can even get a learner’s permit.

But now comes the interesting part:

Who lands the kid?

Somebody’s about to bet millions…

on a 14-year-old unicorn.

Lot of talk this week about the tension between players and fans.

But there was a nice moment that reminded us how its supposed to work.

Rangers and Astros playing in Houston.

Astros Yordan Alvarez drilled a pitch to right field that looked like a home run…

before Rangers Brandon Nimmo leaped and robbed Alvarez.

Looking at the replay.

A few Astros fans were there and could have interfered trying to snag a souvenir. Instead, they allowed Nimmo to make the play.

No reaching.

No grabbing.

Just fans respecting the game.

Nimmo noticed.

A few innings later, he jogged out and handed out signed baseballs with a thank-you note for letting him make the play.

Simple moment.

Kind of refreshing after the Pete Crow-Armstrong fan mess earlier this week.

Baseball works a whole lot better when players and fans remember there’s still supposed to be a line between passion and stupidity.

Have a great weekend.
If you have a suggestion or a story idea, I’d love to hear from you.

— Box

https://subscribe.box-seats.com/hnt