| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Jeff Tracy · May 10, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! I hope you have a better day today than the Rays pitcher who had to face Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani back-to-back with the bases loaded in his MLB debut last night. Today's word count: 1,724 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ The kids are getting their chance |  Table: Axios Visuals 11 prospects on Baseball America's Top 100 list debuted in the first week of the 2022 season, per The Ringer. Why it matters: That's the most in a non-strike-shortened season since BA debuted its list in 1990, likely due to the new CBA incentivizing teams to stop the much-maligned practice of "service-time manipulation." - Yes, but: Five weeks into the season, those prospects are mostly proving just how hard this game really is.
How it works: One year of service time comprises 172 days on the active roster, and since players reach free agency after six years, clubs often call up prospects just deep enough into their rookie season to squeeze out a seventh year of team control. - The new CBA rewards teams with additional draft picks if a prospect earns a full year of service and finishes top three for ROY or top five for MVP/Cy Young that season.
- It also rewards prospects who get called up later, granting a full year of service if they finish top two for ROY.
State of play: Here's where things get less rosy: Among those 11 (eight batters, three pitchers), one's on the IL, three were sent down, four have negative WAR and just two have an above-average OPS. - Highlights: Astros' SS Jeremy Peña has the fifth-most WAR among all position players (1.7) ... Cubs RF Seiya Suzuki has an .833 OPS ... Mariners CF Julio Rodríguez leads MLB with 10 steals.
- Struggling: Royals SS Bobby Witt Jr. (.593 OPS); Tigers 1B Spencer Torkelson (.561 OPS); Padres SS C.J. Abrams (.543 OPS); Reds RHP Hunter Greene (8.71 ERA).
- IL/minors: Reds LHP Nick Lodolo (IL); Mariners RHP Matt Brash (sent down); Giants OF Heliot Ramos (sent down); Phillies IF Bryson Stott (sent down, though just recalled).
The big picture: Playing in the majors is a challenge unlike pretty much anything else in sports. For every Juan Soto who torches the league from day one, there are hundreds of players who require more seasoning (even Mike Trout struggled during his first call-up). The bottom line: Top prospects have flooded the league this season in record numbers, but in a game this hard, opportunity doesn't necessarily equal success. |     | | | | | | 2. 🏀 Another MVP for the Joker | | Source: Giphy Nikola Jokić will be named the NBA MVP for the second straight season, beating out finalists Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Why it matters: He's the 15th player to win the award multiple times and the 13th to win it in back-to-back seasons: - Three straight: Bill Russell (1961–63); Wilt Chamberlain (1966–68); Larry Bird (1984–86)
- Two in a row: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971–72; 1976–77); Moses Malone (1982–83); Magic Johnson (1989–90); Michael Jordan (1991–92); Tim Duncan (2002–03); Steve Nash (2005–06); LeBron James (2009–10; 2012–13); Steph Curry (2015–16); Antetokounmpo (2019–20); Jokić (2021–22)
- Other multi-time winners: Bob Pettit (1956, 1959); Karl Malone (1997, 1999)
By the numbers: Jokić averaged career-highs in points (27.1; 10th in the league), rebounds (13.8; 2nd) and FG% (58.3%; 8th), adding 7.9 assists per game for good measure (8th). - His 32.85 PER absolutely shattered the single-season record (32.08; Chamberlain), and he's one of just three players whose career PER is over 27 (MJ, LeBron).
- He became the first player ever with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season.
- His 19 triple-doubles blew away second place (13; Dejounte Murray), and with 76 in his career he's just two behind Chamberlain for most all-time by a center.
The big picture: Jokić and Antetokounmpo are both just 27 and have won the past four MVPs, while Embiid, 28, could — and many believe should — have swooped in and won it this year. How many more seasons will this trio finish at the top of the vote? | | | | | | | | 3. ⚽️ MLS snapshot: Just past the quarter-mark |  Data: CBS Sports; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios With the MLS regular season paused until Saturday as teams compete in the U.S. Open Cup round of 32, here's a quick look at the league nearly one-third through the season. State of play: A record 28 teams — welcome to the league, Charlotte FC — have played between eight and 11 of their 34 regular-season games. - Playoff shakeup: Six of last year's 14 playoff teams would miss the cut if the season ended today (Revolution, Rapids, Sounders, Sporting KC, Timbers, Vancouver).
- La La Land: The only team with more wins than the Galaxy (6) is LAFC (7). Both teams missed the playoffs last year.
Wild stat: The Red Bulls are the only team that has neither won a game at home (0-3-2) nor lost a game on the road (5-0-0), and they're the second team in MLS history to win their first five road games in regulation. Top performers: - Goals: Sebastián Driussi, ATX (7); Jesús Ferreira, DAL (7); Jesús Jiménez, TOR (7); Brandon Vazquez, CIN (6); seven players tied (5)
- Assists: Diego Fagúndez, ATX (6); Talles Magno, NYC (5); Raheem Edwards, LA (5); Carles Gil, NE (5); Ján Gregus, SJ (5); Mauricio Pereyra, ORL (5)
- Saves: Zac MacMath, RSL (47); Alex Bono, TOR (46); Kristijan Kahlina, CLT (43); J.T. Marcinkowski, SJ (36); Dayne St. Clair, MIN (36)
Go deeper: Power rankings (ESPN) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Advertise in Axios Sports | | |  | | | | Are you a marketer looking to reach decision makers who care about sports? Consider advertising with us: - Reach hundreds of thousands of people daily.
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Let's Chat | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images | | | | 🏀 COY: Suns coach Monty Williams on Monday was named the NBA's Coach of the Year, beating Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies) and Erik Spoelstra (Heat) in a landslide. 🏒 Top defenders: Victor Hedman (Lightning), Roman Josi (Predators) and Cale Makar (Avalanche) are the finalists for the Norris Trophy, honoring the league's best defender. 🎾 Stars withdraw: Naomi Osaka (Achilles) and Carlos Alcaraz (ankle) withdrew from this week's Italian Open to rest and rehab ahead of the French Open, which begins this Monday, May 16. ⚾️ MLB travels abroad: MLB announced Monday that regular-season games will return to London in 2023, 2024 and 2026 for the first time since 2019, and the Dodgers will play in Paris in 2025, reports Reuters. 💔 Tragedy in Florida: Adreian Payne, the former Michigan State basketball star and Hawks 2014 draft pick, was shot and killed Monday in Orlando. He was 31. | | | | | | | | 5. 💵 California takes step towards legalization |  Reproduced from American Gaming Association; Cartogram: Axios Visuals California voters recently gathered enough signatures to send a mobile sports betting initiative to their state's November ballot. Why it matters: If it passes, the amount of money wagered (handle) on sports in California is going to be astronomical. - When New York legalized mobile betting in January, it broke the single-month record for handle in just three weeks. New York's population is 19 million. California's: 39 million.
State(s) of play: California isn't the only state making progress towards legalization. - Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a sports betting bill into law last week, though the state's first legal sports bets aren't likely to be placed before mid-2023 at the earliest.
- 30 states plus Washington, D.C., already have active, legal sports betting.
| | | | | | | | 6. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Carter Verhaeghe came up huge in Game 4. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Panthers (2-2) got a huge win on the road, tying the series with the Capitals on Carter Verhaeghe's OT game winner. - Elsewhere: The Avalanche (4-0) beat the Predators, 5-3, to complete the sweep ... The Flames (2-2) beat the Stars, 4-1 ... The Penguins (up 3-1) thrashed the Rangers, 7-2.
Photo: Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors (up 3-1) took down the Grizzlies, 101-98, despite not leading until the final minute, and Steph Curry became the first player in NBA history to hit 500 career playoff threes. - Elsewhere: The Celtics (2-2) stormed back in the 4th to beat the Bucks, 116-108, behind 30 points each from Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.
Photo: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani hit his first career grand slam (NPB or MLB), part of a two-homer, three-hit night in an 11-3 rout of the Rays. - Elsewhere: Guardians 1B Josh Naylor hit a game-tying grand slam in the 9th and a go-ahead three-run shot in the 11th to beat the White Sox, 12-9, becoming the first player in MLB history with two 3+ run HR in the 9th inning or later.
| | | | | | | | 7. ⚾️ Watchlist: Pitchers' duel |  | | | Kyle Wright (L) and Garrett Whitlock. Photos: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire, Adam Glanzman/Getty Images | | | | Two of the best pitchers through the season's first month take the mound tonight when the Braves host the Red Sox (7:20pm ET, TBS). - Kyle Wright: The Atlanta righty has clearly figured something out: In his first four seasons, his ERA was a dismal 6.56 across 70 innings. This year? 1.74 in 31 innings.
- Garrett Whitlock: Boston's second-year righty began the year in the bullpen but has since moved into the rotation, and his 0.69 WHIP is the best in the majors (min. 20 IP).
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 8. The Ocho: 🦈 Diving with sharks |  | | | French free diver Guillaume Nery at the Paris Aquarium. Photo: Zakaria Abdelkafi/AFP via Getty Images | | | | Denis Grosmaire is French Polynesia's deepest free diver, having reached depths of nearly 350 feet. But even when he's not competing he likes to dive for fun. Why it matters: For Grosmaire, fun often means diving with sharks. - In fact, when he's home at the coral atoll of Tikehau, he swims with tiger sharks at least once a week, knowing two of them well enough to have named them, Chuppa and Victoria.
- Grosmaire's passion for sharks is stronger even than his love of diving, writes NYT, but he's hardly alone in taking his "fun dives" to such an extreme.
What they're saying: "It might seem crazy if you don't know how to be comfortable in the open water with big animals around, but the comfort comes from trusting one's own ability and ... environment," Alexey Molchanov, the deepest free diver ever, told NYT. Between the lines: Though there hasn't been a deadly shark attack in French Polynesia in more than 50 years, Grosmaire's preferred diversion still comes with serious risk. - "I didn't pay attention about the trajectory of the shark. I was too comfortable," he said, recalling a time when he accidentally and terrifyingly found his head inside Chuppa's open mouth. "I didn't sleep for two nights."
Look: Grosmaire documents his shark dives (Instagram) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏆 MVP trivia |  | | | Photo: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | Who is the NBA MVP trophy named for? - Hint: He was the league's first president.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏟 1 Baltimore thing: The wall is working |  | | | Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images | | | | Remember how the Orioles made their left-field fence higher and deeper to make Camden Yards less of a hitter-friendly park? Well, so far it's working. By the numbers: Here are the batting splits for right-handed hitters (both Orioles and visitors) last year compared to this year, entering Monday: - 2021: .265/.328/.466 with 2.3 HR per game
- 2022: .243/.316/.348 with 0.8 HR per game
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Advertise in Axios Sports | | | | | | | | Are you a marketer looking to reach decision makers who care about sports? Consider advertising with us: - Reach hundreds of thousands of people daily.
- Achieve your KPIs around business development, awareness, and product sales.
- Over 60% of our audience earns six figures per year and makes business purchasing decisions.
Let's Chat | | | | Talk tomorrow, Jeff "Also hit a grand slam last night" Tracy Trivia answer: Maurice Podoloff 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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