⚾️ Axios Sports: Chasing 700

Plus: Roll Tide Roll | Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By SiriusXM   Axios Sports By Jeff Tracy · Aug 23, 2022 👋 Good morning! We've got a very Alabama-heavy newsletter today. College football season must be coming soon... Today's word count: 1,584 words (6 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: ⚾️ Chasing 700 Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Scott Kane, Diamond Images, Ron Vesely/MLB Photos, Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images   Only three players in MLB history have launched 700 career home runs. Can Albert Pujols, weeks from his retirement and on the doorstep of joining that exclusive club, become the fourth? Driving the news: Pujols, 42, hit yet another bomb last night — his 14th of the season and seventh in his last 10 games. He's now at 693 HR, and with 41 games left — and one HR every 4.4 at-bats in the past two weeks — 700 is legitimately in play. Wild stat: Pujols' is slugging 1.300 in his past 10 games, the highest SLG of any 10-game span in his career. What he's saying: "I'm still going to retire, no matter [how many I hit]," Pujols told USA Today amid speculation that he might come back just to reach 700. "I don't get caught up in numbers." "If you were going to tell me 22 years ago that I would be this close, I would have told you that you're freakin' crazy. My career has been amazing." Between the lines: Barry Bonds (762 HR), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) are the only three to reach the milestone Pujols is chasing. Pujols has followed a similar blueprint as Aaron, as neither hit 50 in a season, but routinely put up solid numbers for two decades. Bonds and Ruth leaned on long, productive primes, both averaging over 40 bombs a year from age 25 to 39. The big picture: A handful of active players are long shots to reach 700. Mike Trout (334), Bryce Harper (282), Juan Soto (121) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (98), to name a few. But there's a reason the club is so small. For 20+ years, just about everything has to break right. Just ask Ken Griffey Jr. (630), who looked like a lock until injuries derailed his career. Or Alex Rodriguez, who will forever be stuck at 696. The bottom line: 700 home runs is hallowed ground, and Pujols is so close. Let's see if "The Machine" can go out with a bang. Go deeper: Pujols' renaissance (FanGraphs)     2. 🏈 AP poll: Bama's reign continues Data: AP; Table: Axios Visuals Alabama fell just short of its perennial championship goal with its loss to Georgia in January's CFP title game. But the Tide are back in familiar territory days ahead of the 2022 season: on top. State of play: For the second straight year and ninth overall, Alabama is ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll. Only Oklahoma (10 times) has topped that poll more often since the AP's first such rankings in 1950. Two of the nation's top players, QB Bryce Young and LB Will Anderson Jr. — the reigning Heisman and Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defender) winners, respectively — are back in Tuscaloosa. Then there's Nick Saban, whose résumé since taking over the Tide in 2007 reads like a typo: six national titles, a 183-25 record and 13 consecutive top-three AP preseason rankings. Notes: Conference call: The SEC leads the way with six ranked teams, including three of the top six. Next are the ACC (five), Big Ten (four), Big 12 (three), Pac-12 (three), American (two) and Independents (two). Welcome back: No. 20 Kentucky has its first preseason ranking since 1978. Also returning after long absences are No. 13 NC State (2003), No. 22 Wake Forest (2008) and No. 17 Pittsburgh (2010). Ain't no Sunshine (State): For the first time since 1974, both Florida and Florida State are unranked in the preseason poll. If not for No. 16 Miami, the state would be shut out entirely. What's next: The season begins this Saturday with an abbreviated "Week 0" slate before the majority of FBS teams kick off their campaigns next weekend. Go deeper: College football looks more top-heavy than usual this year (FiveThirtyEight)     3. ⚡️ Lightning round Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   🎓 NIL first: Sports technology company KONGiQ on Monday announced it's offering an NIL deal to every player on St. John Bosco's (California) high school football team — the first-ever team-wide high school NIL deal. High school NIL is currently permitted in 17 states, per On3. 🏈 Baker's QB1: The Panthers on Monday named Baker Mayfield the Week 1 starter over Sam Darnold. Their first game? Home against the Browns. Thank you, schedule makers! ⚾️ Mad Max keeps climbing: With three strikeouts on Monday, Max Scherzer (3,157) passed Pedro Martínez (3,154) for the 13th-most in MLB history. Next up? Fergie Jenkins (3,192). ⚾️ Monty's hot streak: After another stellar outing on Monday, Cardinals lefty Jordan Montgomery has more wins in four starts with St. Louis (4) than he did in 21 this season with the Yankees (3), who traded him at the deadline. Baseball!     A message from SiriusXM Get 3 months free     Stream more than 425 channels on your devices for free on the SXM App, including expertly curated ad-free music, live NFL games, personalized stations and more. Next steps: Sign up now to get three months free. Cancel anytime. See offer details.     4. 🏈 Preseason All-Americans: Tide roll deep Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images   Surprise, surprise: No. 1 Alabama leads the nation with six preseason AP All-Americans, including four on the first team and two on the second. The teams were announced yesterday. Five other schools also had multiple first-teamers: No. 2 Ohio State (three, plus two on the second team), No. 3 Georgia (three, plus one), No. 5 Notre Dame (two, plus two), No. 14 USC (two) and Iowa (two). Four additional schools had multiple representatives across both teams: No. 4 Clemson and Texas each had one first and one second; No. 10 Baylor and No. 18 Wisconsin each had two seconds. First team Offense: Quarterback: Bryce Young (Jr., Alabama) Running backs: Bijan Robinson (Jr., Texas); TreVeyon Henderson (So., Ohio State) Tackles: Peter Skoronski (Jr. Northwestern); Paris Johnson Jr. (Jr., Ohio State) Guards: Andrew Vorhees (Sr., USC); Caleb Chandler (Sr., Louisville) Center: Jarrett Patterson (Sr., Notre Dame) Tight end: Brock Bowers (So., Georgia) Wide receivers: Jordan Addison (Jr., USC); Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Jr., Ohio State); Kayshon Boutte (Jr., LSU) All-purpose: Deuce Vaughn (Jr., Kansas State) Kicker: Jake Moody (Sr., Michigan) Defense: Edge rushers: Will McDonald IV (Sr., Iowa State); Isaiah Foskey (Sr., Notre Dame) Linemen: Bryan Bresee (Jr., Clemson); Jalen Carter (Jr., Georgia) Linebackers: Will Anderson Jr. (Jr., Alabama); Noah Sewell (Jr., Oregon); Jack Campbell (Sr., Iowa) Cornerbacks: Kelee Ringo (So., Georgia); Eli Ricks (Jr., Alabama) Safeties: Jordan Battle (Jr., Alabama); Antonio Johnson (Jr., Texas A&M) Defensive back: Riley Moss (Sr., Iowa) Punter: Adam Korsak (Sr., Rutgers) Second team Offense: Quarterback: C.J. Stroud (Jr., Ohio State) Running backs: Braelon Allen (So., Wisconsin); Sean Tucker (Jr., Syracuse) Tackles: Connor Galvin (Sr., Baylor); Dawand Jones (Sr., Ohio State) Guards: O'Cyrus Torrence (Sr., Florida); Emil Ekiyor (Sr., Alabama) Center: John Michael Schmitz (Sr., Minnesota) Tight end: Michael Mayer (Jr., Notre Dame) Wide receivers: Xavier Worthy (So., Texas); Josh Downs (Jr., UNC); A.T. Perry (Sr., Wake Forest) All-purpose: Jahmyr Gibbs (Jr., Alabama) Kicker: Harrison Mevis (Jr., Missouri) Defense: Edge rushers: Myles Murphy (Jr., Clemson); Nolan Smith (Sr., Georgia) Linemen: Calijah Kancey (Jr., Pittsburgh); Siaki Ika (Jr., Baylor) Linebackers: Nick Herbig (Jr., Wisconsin); Andre Carter II (Sr., Army); Edefuan Ulofoshio (Sr., Washington) Cornerbacks: Cam Smith (Jr., South Carolina); Clark Phillips III (Jr., Utah) Safeties: Brandon Joseph (Jr., Notre Dame); Jalen Catalon (Jr., Arkansas) Defensive back: Jammie Robinson (Sr., FSU) Punter: Kyle Ostendorp (Jr., Arizona)     5. ⚽️ Protesting the Glazers, in photos Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images MANCHESTER, England — Roughly 10,000 Manchester United supporters marched in protest against the Glazer family before Monday's match against Liverpool. United went on to win, 2-1, for their first points of the season. The protesters' message was loud and clear: Sell the team. Photo: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images The backdrop: The Glazers, who acquired the team in 2005 through a leveraged buyout, saddled the previously debt-free club with over $1.2 billion in debt. 17 years later, that number is still north of $700 million. Photo: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images The big picture: Debt isn't inherently bad, but the loans the Glazers took out to buy the club came with sky-high interest rates. Fans are furious that the owners of their once-great team aren't investing enough in the club to meet the standard of success they'd grown accustomed to. To wit, United haven't won the Premier League since 2013, nor any major trophy in five seasons — their worst run since the early 1980s. Go deeper: Why the Glazers are blamed for United's decline (Sporting News)     6. 📺 Watchlist: Win or go home Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images   The Liberty host the Sky in the decisive Game 3 of their first-round playoff series tonight in Brooklyn (9pm ET, ESPN). By the numbers: The defending champion and second-seeded Sky throttled the seventh-seeded Liberty in Game 2 by a WNBA playoff-record 38 points on Saturday. The backdrop: Sky coach and GM James Wade on Monday was named WNBA Executive of the Year after rebuilding a team that entered last offseason with Candace Parker as its only starter under contract. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Mets at Yankees (7pm, TBS); Brewers at Dodgers (10pm, ESPN+) ⚾️ Little League: Four games (1–7pm, ESPN) ... After today's games, just eight teams will remain. 🍿 Now streaming: "Untold: The Rise and Fall of AND1" (Netflix) ... Looking back at the AND1 Mixtape Tour from the turn of the century.     7. ⚾️ MLB trivia Source: Giphy Today's top story mentioned six of the top 10 all-time HR leaders: 1. Barry Bonds (762), 2. Hank Aaron (755), 3. Babe Ruth (714), 4. Alex Rodriguez (696), 5. Albert Pujols (693) and 7. Ken Griffey Jr. (630). Question: Who are Nos. 6 and 8–10? Hint: Two retired this century. Answer at the bottom.     8. ⚽️ 1 big winner: Zinchenko rarely loses Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Image   Ukraine's Oleksandr Zinchenko won his 65th career Premier League game in 79 tries when Arsenal defeated Bournemouth over the weekend. Why it matters: The win gave him an 82.3% career winning percentage in the Premier League, passing Arjen Robben for the best in league history (min. 50 appearances). The top five: Zinchenko (Manchester City, Arsenal): 82.3% (65/79) Robben (Chelsea): 82.1% (55/67) Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City): 81.5% (88/108) Phil Foden (Manchester City): 79.8% (79/99) Naby Keïta (Liverpool): 77.6% (59/76)     A message from SiriusXM Stream today and get 3 months free     With SiriusXM, stream expertly curated ad-free music on your devices with channels dedicated to your favorite decades, hits, styles and genres. The deets: Get access to more than 425 channels on the SXM app, plus podcasts, sports talk, Howard Stern and more. See offer details.   Talk tomorrow, Jeff "Please let Pujols get to 700" Tracy Trivia answer: No. 6 Willie Mays (660), No. 8 Jim Thome (612), No. 9 Sammy Sosa (609), No. 10 Frank Robinson (586) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. And of course, tell your friends to sign up. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. 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