[VIDEO] Derek Jeter Slides into 8th Place on All-Time Hits List

With a leadoff single to right field in the third inning of his New York Yankees 6-4 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto on Sunday, Derek Jeter tied Hall of Famer Paul Molitor for eighth place on the all-time hits list. One inning later, he singled a grounder the same direction, again off starter Drew Hutchison, to have sole possession with 3,320 career hits.

In what he has deemed his 20th and final season in the game, the veteran short stop needs only 99 more hits before he passes Boston Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski.

It seems Jeter has yet to shake the dust of the offseason after being limited to just 17 games in 2013 due to injury. He sat out of Friday's contest, went 0-for-2 on Saturday, and 2-for-5 on Sunday before entering Monday's game batting just .250 with one hit and one RBI, though he has walked four times.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are About to Make Matt Kemp Rich as Hell

Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of a ginormous deal that would keep him with the team over the next eight seasons for $160 million.

This would mark the richest contract in the Dodgers' long history, making the All-Star center fielder one of the highest-paid players in the game. LA wooed right-hander Kevin Brown away from the San Diego Padres for a record $105 million, seven-year contract back in 1998, but we all know how that worked out... Awesome for Kevin.

Kemp, 27, led the National League with 39 home runs and 126 RBI to end the 2011 season. Sadly, he finished with the third-best batting average at .324 behind NL batting champion Jose Reyes and second-best hitter Ryan Braun to let the Triple Crown slip away.

Apparently, the two sides are still working on some finishing touches. While the Dodgers declined to comment, Kemp had this to say regarding his sweet new deal:

“We’ve still got a little bit more to go, little more things to work out. Hopefully I’ll be a Dodger for years to come.”

[ESPN]

David Freese is an Animal, St. Louis Cardinals are World Series Champions

World Series MVP David Freese gave credit to just about everyone but himself Friday night after his Cardinals came away with a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers to bring their 11th Championship title back to St. Louis.

The 28-year-old thanked Albert Pujols for being a great teammate who helped put him on the right path back to success. He thanked Tony La Russa for being an over-managing mess excellent manager, and Mark McGwire for little hitting tips that came up big.

Mariano Rivera is the New All-Time MLB Saves Leader

After pitching a perfect ninth inning, Mariano Rivera stood on the mound at Yankees Stadium and blew a kiss to the cheering crowd of 40,045 fans -- the smallest in the stadium's three year history.

Rivera, shutting the door on his New York Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins, became the new all-time saves leader after recording his 602nd career save on Monday. The 41-year-old closer put down Trevor Plouffe, Michael Cuddyer, and Chris Parmelee in order to snap Trevor Hoffman’s mark set before his retirement last season.

Mark Teixeira is a Switch-Hitting Animal

Mark Teixeira set a big league record Tuesday evening when he went yard from both sides of the plate in his team's rainy 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

The All-Star first baseman hit a two-run shot batting right-handed off John Danks in the third inning before adding his second longball of the night batting left-handed against Jason Frasor in the seventh. Well done.

Jim Thome is About to Go Yard and No One Cares

*except the good folks of Minnesota and Cleveland.

Of course, I'm a Twins fan at heart, but I appreciate each and every club in Major League Baseball. All 30 of them. Even the Yankees. So, if there was a 40-year-old man just four home runs shy of joining the elusive 600 home run club playing in a Marlins uniform, I'd still be way interested. But if the guy was playing for a bigger market team, would it be a bigger market deal? Would more people care? Would there be a Sportscenter countdown?

Um, yes.

Mariano Rivera Makes History with the Yankees

Mariano Rivera became the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to make 1,000 appearances with the same team on Wednesday, doing business as usual cleaning up the ninth inning of a 7-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

It was just another day at the office for the 41-year-old closer, as Enter Sandman blasted over the Yankee Stadium speakers when he took the mound in relief of Joba Chamberlain. He allowed an Eric Thames single to kick off the inning, but got Rajai Davis and Edwin Encarnacion to fly out before J.P. Arencibia struck out swinging to end the game.

Nationals Enjoy Record-Setting Rout of Orioles

Yay Interleague baseball! After being shut out twice in a row, the Washington Nationals enjoyed some batting practice Friday evening, right through their 17-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

In their team's biggest offensive show since the Expos moved to Washington in 2005, Danny Espinosa -- who entered the game with a terrible .194 batting average -- homered and drove in five runs. Jayson Werth smashed two longballs and four RBI, with Roger Bernadina, Wilson Ramos, and Laynce Nix also going yard during the 19-hit attack.

B.J. Upton Avoids Arbitration, Gets a Raise

The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to give B.J. Upton a $4.825 million contract, avoiding arbitration and keeping the center fielder around for one more season.

Losing his arbitration hearing in 2009, the tall and slender 26-year-old was awarded $3 million rather than his request for $3.3 million so the Rays wouldn't break the bank.

He and Carl Crawford then became the first teammates in big league history to surpass 60 extra-base hits and 40 steals in the same season. Upton is also the only player in baseball with at least 100 doubles and 100 steals since 2008.

Don't let those numbers fool you, though. Upton hit 18 homers and drove in only 62 runs over 154 games last year, striking out 164 times while batting just .234... which allotted him a $1.8 million raise. However, he did nail 38 doubles and steal 42 bases in 51 attempts for the American League East champions.

Either way, he'll have the glory all to himself now, as Crawford hit the road last month for greener pastures: a $142 million, seven-year contract with the Boston Red Sox.

[Tampa Tribune on Twitter]

And I Got Mad Hits Like I Was Rod Carew

Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki on tying a major league record with his 10th 200-hit season.

The Seattle Mariners right fielder entered Thursday with 198 hits before collecting no. 199 with a third-inning double down the left-field line and a base hit two innings later in his team's tough 1-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, which was highlighted by an outstanding performance by Felix Hernandez, which was crushed by Jose Bautista's 50th home run of the season.

Until today, the 200-hit record was all Pete Rose's since back in September of 1979.

Ichiro is officially the first and only player to record 200 hits in 10 consecutive seasons to extend his own record. He's also the youngest guy to hit the mark, since Rose was 38 years old in his 17th big league season and Ty Cobb, who had only nine 200-hit seasons, was 37 when he last hit the milestone in his 20th and final season in the majors.

Ichiro, clearly one of the best hitters ever, will be 37 on October 22, and is polishing off his 10th season in the bigs. Way to go buddy!

[MLB Video]

A-Rod Finally Hits 600

We've been oh so tired, recovering from all the interviews we did at the Twins and Pins Charity Bowling Classic last week, so forgive us for ignoring you, our dear readers.

In the past week, we've let the trade deadline come and go, injuries have happened, and the sports news world was all abuzz because Alex Rodriguez was sitting at 599 homeruns for what seemed like an eternity. Well now, maybe baseball writers will finally have something better to talk about because he finally hit number 600.

Ichiro Makes Mariners History

Ichiro Suzuki has extended his hitting streak to 26 games, breaking his 2007 record of most consecutive games with a hit and setting the new standard in Seattle Mariners territory.

It took only three pitches into the first inning from Baltimore Orioles rookie right-hander David Hernandez for the sweet-swinging centerfielder to line a base hit to short. He then made his way around the horn and scored on a two-out double by Jose Lopez.

Ichiro, batting .354 on the season, is currently 1-for-2 with a run scored in the top half of the third inning. We'll keep you posted if he does anything else spectacular.

Update: Ichiro went 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored, adding a two-out single to left in the fourth in the Mariners 8-2 win.

And I Got Mad Hits Like I Was Rod Carew

If we were in Japan right now, Ichiro Suzuki's record-tying hit Wednesday would be a very, very big deal. I mean, it's still a pretty big deal, but it was sort of over-shadowed by the awesomeness of Ken Griffey Jr.'s 400th bomb as a Seattle Mariner.

Isao Harimoto's 3,085 hits (a lone, long-standing Japanese record until yesterday) was knotted up after Ichiro went 2-for-5 including a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh during his team's 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

K-Rod Is Out of Control

Francisco Rodriguez earned his 50th save Sunday, helping the Los Angeles Angels seal a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins and reaffirm his consistent 2008 badassery.

K-Rod got three outs in the ninth and caught a surly Denard Span looking to end the game, moving him within seven saves of Bobby Thigpen’s 1990 single-season record with the Chicago White Sox.

"I would love to get that record. I’m not going to lie to you," he said.

Petty sure that won't be a problem, what with closing for the best team in baseball, whose magic number is 16 after creating a 17-game lead over the second-place Texas Rangers in the AL West.

[Angels Blog] | [Captain K's House] | [Larry Brown Sports]

Brad Ziegler: I'm Your Set-Up Man

With his sixth recorded out Sunday, Oakland Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler set a major league record with 27 scoreless innings to kick off his promising career.

The 28-year-old right-hander who was promoted to the big leagues at the end of May, fanned three and allowed two base hits over two innings against the Texas Rangers in his otherwise perfect outing during the A's 6-5 victory.

Ziegler shattered the previous record of 25 innings set 101 years ago by Philadelphia Phillies long-gone righty George McQuillan in 1907.

[MVN] | [Athletics Supporters] | [Baseball Geeks] | [Oakland Athletics News]

Omar Vizquel: Now That's Dedication

San Francisco Giants veteran Omar Vizquel set the big league record for most games played at shortstop after a doubleheader against the Florida Marlins Sunday.

These things tend to happen with old people. Nevertheless, we are impressed with the 11-time Gold Glover's resilience and dedication.

The second game of the twin bill marked game #2,584 for the 41-year-old Vizquel, surpassing Hall of Famer and fellow Venezuelan Luis Aparicio.

Way to go, buddy! You can totally retire now.

[ESPN]

Venezuelan Heat

August 1, 1986: Bert Blyleven struck out 15 Oakland batters to become the fourth to tie the Minnesota Twins franchise record.

Blyleven, now the Twins' tv color analyst, watched Sunday afternoon as Johan Santana raised the bar, 21 years later. It was bound to happen.

Santana (13-9, 2.88 ERA) was absolutely dealing, polishing off his 1-0, 8-inning shutout with 17 strikeouts to lead the Twins past the Texas Rangers. He's reached double digits in strikeouts four other times this season, fanning 13 in a 7-1 win at Texas on May 22nd.

[video]

The two-time Cy Young award ace retired the first 12 batters he faced before Sammy Sosa led off the fifth with a smash that hushed the Metrodome until it hooked just left of the foul pole. Seconds later, he drove a single to left-center to break up the no-hit bid. Sosa also doubled with two outs in the seventh for the Rangers' only other hit against the lefty.

Johan struck out six of the last seven batters he faced, punctuated by a 93 mph fastball that zoomed past Jarrod Saltalamacchia on his 112th and final pitch.

Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save in 29 chances. It was shaky and terrifying, as he allowed Ian Kinsler on base with an error after over-stepping the bag as he covered first for Morneau. Then Kinsler stole second without a throw from Redmond. Nathan retaliated, striking out Brad Wilkerson and Michael Young to save Johan's dominating performance.

Add in Joe Nate's 2 K's and you've got another club record for most combined strikeouts in a single game. The previous mark was 18, set in a 4-3, 13-inning victory over Cleveland on June 2, 2005. Santana just so happened to start that game as well, finishing with 14 Ks in that win.

Twins sluggers Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter each drove balls deep to center - both of them caught at the wall. The lone Twins run came on a 425-foot Michael Cuddyer bomb off Texas starter Kevin Millwood in the second inning.

No more mistakes for Millwood (8-10, 5.39 ERA) though, as he allowed just four hits and struck out three over seven innings for Texas.

Fun fact from Elias: Johan's display marked the most in a game since Milwaukee Brewers' ace Ben Sheets fanned 18 in their 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves in 2004.

[Around The Majors]

Polanco Errorless, Chokes On Water

Congratulations to Detroit Tigers infielder Placido Polanco and his horribly misshapen head for setting a big league record for second basemen on Monday by going 144 consecutive games without an error.

The record, which Polanco tied on Sunday, was previously held by Luis Castillo when he still played with the Minnesota Twins.

The all-time mark for infielders is 193 games, set by Steve Garvey, who accomplished the feat between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1983-85.

[Mack Avenue Tigers]

Fun With Polls: Old People and Baseball

As previously mentioned, there are seven gentlemen over the age of 40 starting games today. Yep, seven - obviously a record. And here they are with their age in parenthesis:

• Roger Clemens (44)
• Jamie Moyer (44)
• Kenny Rogers (42)
• Greg Maddux (41)
• Tom Glavine (41)
• Woody Williams (40)
• John Smoltz (40)

Does this impress or alarm you? Players hurling into their greys used to be a novelty... not anymore. These guys are pitching well into their 40's, regardless of the state of their brittle bones.

It seems the Arizona Diamondbacks didn't get the memo, however. Randy Johnson (43) doesn't pitch until tomorrow.

Boomer Wells (44) and El Duque (41) have the day off, as well... since there's only room on the bump for one old fart at a time.

• 
  It's great these guys are pitching into their 40s.
• 
  They should try golfing or fishing.
• 
  If they can stay healthy, more power to them.
• 
  They're taking away starting spots from young pitchers.

view results

[Yahoo! Sports]

Barry Bonds Edges Closer With Homer No. 748

Fun fact: After going hitless in 8 at bats against Tim Wakefield, Barry Bonds hit #748 Sunday, marking the first time he's nailed one off a knuckleballer since he hit #73 off Los Angeles Dodger Dennis Springer in 2001 and the first one he's hit at Fenway Park. He also singled in the eighth.

That solo shot didn't do much in the way of winning, however.

Wakefield pitched well before hitting a kink in the sixth to help the Boston Red Sox complete the three-game sweep over the San Francisco Giants. He allowed five runs and eight hits with a walk, striking out three over 5.2 innings.

Manny Ramirez was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, David Ortiz had a pair of doubles, and Kevin Youkilis went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs for the Sox.

Matt Morris lasted just four innings for San Francisco, allowing eight runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out two.

In just his sixth career game, Nate Schierholtz had three hits, including his first career triple while Pedro Feliz hit a solo homer for the Giants - his ninth of the season and 98th of his career.