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Tag: Homer

  • MLB free-agent tracker: Sluggers Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker and Kyle Schwarber head the list

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    Kyle Schwarber, 33, DH, 4.7, 19.9: Schwarber is a premier slugger with 187 home runs in four seasons with Philadelphia, where he also was an exceptional clubhouse leader. He is pretty much restricted to designated hitter and is approaching an age where offensive production might decline. He still merits a lucrative multi-year deal, although going longer than four years at a $30 million average annual value (AAV) might be inviting buyer’s remorse by 2030.

    Kyle Tucker, 29, OF, 4.5, 27.3: Although his 2025 bWAR was lower than that of Bellinger and Schwarber, Tucker might have the highest sticker price in this free-agent class. The average of projections from 20 ESPN experts is 10 years and $391.5 million for a $38.8 million AAV. The Dodgers are considered a prime suitor because of their deep pockets and need for a productive corner outfielder.

    Eugenio Suárez, 34, 3B, 3.6, 26.8: A drop of nearly one win above replacement from the top three free agents — Bellinger, Schwarber and Tucker — still puts Suárez in an enviable position. Splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, Suarez tied a career high with 49 home runs and drove in 118 runs.

    Alex Bregman, 32, 3B, 3.5, 43.1: Even though Bregman’s bWAR was slightly lower than that of Suárez, he should command a larger deal because he’s younger and more well-rounded. Bregman missed 44 games because of injury in his single season in Bosto but put up solid numbers. His average bWAR over his 10-year career is 4.3.

    Trent Grisham, 29, OF, 3.5, 14.6: Grisham is an enigma, a first-round draft pick who blossomed with the Padres only to crater and bat under .200 three years in a row. He rebounded in 2025, swatting a career-high 34 home runs with the Yankees. Grisham also has two Gold Gloves in center field.

    Bo Bichette, 28, SS, 3.4, 20.8: Bichette showed his toughness by playing effectively in the World Series despite a lingering knee injury. Bichette can flat-out hit, accumulating more than 175 hits in four of the last five seasons with above-average power. He also plays a premium position and will turn only 28 in March, meaning he could command a contract exceeded only by that of Tucker.

    Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette hits a three-run home run during Game 7 of the World Series, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto.

    (Ashley Landis/AP)

    Pete Alonso, 31, 1B, 3.4, 23.3: Alonso was disappointed by the tepid interest in him as a free agent last offseason, re-signing with the Mets on a one-year, $30-million deal with a player option. He’s expected to test the market again after once again posting the glittering power numbers that have made him a fan favorite in New York for seven years.

    Josh Naylor, 28, 1B, 3.1, 8.4: The 5-foot-10, 235-pound left-handed slugger produced well in 2025 while splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, batting a career-high .295 and hitting precisely 20 home runs for the third time in five seasons.

    Gleyber Torres, 29, 2B, 2.9, 18.7: Torres needed to restore his value after taking a one-year deal with the Tigers following a ho-hum 2024 season with the Yankees. He did so incrementally and should land a measured multi-year deal this time around.

    J.T. Realmuto, 35, C, 2.6, 38.8: Realmuto is recognized as one of the top-hitting catchers in baseball, and he’s clearly the top free-agent backstop, proving in 2025 that he can still catch upward of 130 games while putting up solid offensive numbers. Still, he will be 35 on opening day and his .700 OPS was his lowest in a decade.

    Jorge Polanco, 32, 2B, 2.6, 20.7: Polanco hit 26 home runs and posted an .821 OPS, the switch-hitter’s best season since 2021 when he hit 33 homers and drove in 98 runs. Chronic knee problems have put his shortstop days behind him and cut into his range at second or third base, but the bat still plays.

    Mike Yastrzemski, 35, OF, 2.6, 16.8: Although the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski posted his best OPS (.839) since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he might be entertaining only contract offers of one year at $10 million or so.

    Ryan O’Hearn, 31, 1B/DH, 2.4, 3.1: O’Hearn is an accomplished left-handed hitter coming off a season split between the Orioles and Padres. He can expect a large raise from the $3.5 million he made in 2025, perhaps tripling it.

    Marcell Ozuna, 35, OF/DH, 1.6, 29.5: Ozuna is a proven power bat who has exceeded 20 home runs in nine seasons and led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in pandemic-shortened 2020. After tremendous 2023 and 2024 seasons in which he totaled 79 homers and 204 RBIs, Ozuna slipped in 2025, batting .232 with 21 home runs while battling hip pain.

    Luis Arráez, 29, 1B, 1.3, 16.5: Arráez doesn’t get much love from bWAR or fWAR, but he sure can hit, leading all major leaguers with a .317 lifetime average. He led the NL with 181 hits in 2025, but because he doesn’t hit for power or walk much, his OPS was a pedestrian .719. The three-time batting champion should continue to be paid about $14 million a year, with the question becoming for how long.

    Paul Goldschmidt, 38, 1B, 1.2, 63.8: Goldschmidt boasts the highest career bWAR of any free-agent hitter and he has made it clear that he is not ready to retire. His productivity, however, is trending downward, especially his power. With only 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 534 plate appearances with the Yankees last season, Goldschmidt is no longer an elite hitter.

    Victor Caratini, 32, C, 0.9, 4.3: Catchers are at a premium in this free-agent class and Caratini is one of the few with a potent bat and ability to play more than 100 games in a season. He most recently delivered on a two-year, $12-million deal with the Astros and could land a similar contract because of the scarcity of backstops.

    Steve Henson

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  • Another big Sho: Ohtani hits 2 homers, ties record with 4 extra-base hits in World Series Game 3

    Shohei Ohtani homered twice and tied a 119-year-old major league record with four extra-base hits in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, putting on yet another historic postseason show at Dodger Stadium.Ohtani led off the bottom of the first inning with a ground-rule double to right field. He followed with a solo homer to right in the third inning off Toronto starter Max Scherzer and added an RBI double in the fifth off reliever Mason Fluharty during a tying rally for Los Angeles.Ohtani then hit a tying solo homer off Seranthony Domínguez with one out in the seventh. It was his sixth homer in the Dodgers’ last four games, and he tied Corey Seager’s eight homers in 2020 for the most by a Dodgers player in a single postseason.After becoming the first player in MLB history with three multihomer games in one postseason, Ohtani is two shy of Randy Arozarena’s record for homers in a postseason.Only one other player in baseball history got four extra-base hits in a World Series game: Frank Isbell had four doubles for the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 in 1906 against the Chicago Cubs.Ohtani also became the first hitter to have multiple games with at least 12 total bases in a single postseason. The only other player to have two such postseason games in his career was Babe Ruth.The Blue Jays had seen enough of Ohtani by the ninth: Manager John Schneider intentionally walked him with the bases empty and then did the same in the 11th, and the gambit worked both times.Ohtani quickly attempted to steal second after being walked in the ninth, but he was tagged out when he popped up and came off the base for an instant.Ohtani advanced to second on Mookie Betts’ two-out single in the 11th, although he pulled up gingerly at the bag due to cramping. He stayed in the game, however, and Freddie Freeman flied out to end the inning.Once again, Ohtani put on a spectacular show for the Los Angeles fans who definitely “need” him, posting his first four-hit game of the postseason in his first game back at Dodger Stadium since he hit three homers and struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers in his sensational two-way effort during a clinching victory in the National League Championship Series 10 days ago.Ohtani has six hits and five RBIs in the first three games of the World Series against Toronto, the city where fans chanted “We don’t need you!” at Ohtani while the Blue Jays won Game 1. Ohtani also homered late in that blowout loss.Ohtani will make his first World Series start on the mound when he pitches for the Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday night.Ohtani hit two homers in the Dodgers’ first game of the postseason against Cincinnati, but he hadn’t homered again until his historic performance in the NLCS. All three of those homers were solo shots, and he hit a pair of solo homers in Game 3.He first connected for a 389-foot drive inside the right-field pole in the third inning.After struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed the Blue Jays to go back ahead 5-4 in the seventh, Ohtani tied it with a 401-foot homer to left-center.Ohtani now trails only Arozarena, who set the major league record with 10 postseason homers in 2020 before Tampa Bay lost the World Series to Seager and the Dodgers.Ohtani doubled on Scherzer’s second pitch of Game 3, although his teammates couldn’t bring him home.Ohtani keyed a tying rally when he doubled to left-center in the fifth, muscling an inside sweeper from Fluharty into the gap for his first opposite-field hit since Sept. 20, a span of 77 at-bats.Following that double, Ohtani scored the tying run on Freddie Freeman’s single.The Blue Jays pulled Scherzer right before Ohtani came up and replaced the veteran right-hander with Fluharty, who memorably struck out Ohtani with the bases loaded while escaping a big jam to secure a 5-4 win for Toronto at Dodger Stadium in August.

    LOS ANGELES —

    Shohei Ohtani homered twice and tied a 119-year-old major league record with four extra-base hits in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night, putting on yet another historic postseason show at Dodger Stadium.

    Ohtani led off the bottom of the first inning with a ground-rule double to right field. He followed with a solo homer to right in the third inning off Toronto starter Max Scherzer and added an RBI double in the fifth off reliever Mason Fluharty during a tying rally for Los Angeles.

    Ohtani then hit a tying solo homer off Seranthony Domínguez with one out in the seventh. It was his sixth homer in the Dodgers’ last four games, and he tied Corey Seager’s eight homers in 2020 for the most by a Dodgers player in a single postseason.

    After becoming the first player in MLB history with three multihomer games in one postseason, Ohtani is two shy of Randy Arozarena’s record for homers in a postseason.

    Only one other player in baseball history got four extra-base hits in a World Series game: Frank Isbell had four doubles for the Chicago White Sox in Game 5 in 1906 against the Chicago Cubs.

    Brynn Anderson

    Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the dugout after scoring against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fifth inning in Game 3 of baseball’s World Series, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles.

    Ohtani also became the first hitter to have multiple games with at least 12 total bases in a single postseason. The only other player to have two such postseason games in his career was Babe Ruth.

    The Blue Jays had seen enough of Ohtani by the ninth: Manager John Schneider intentionally walked him with the bases empty and then did the same in the 11th, and the gambit worked both times.

    Ohtani quickly attempted to steal second after being walked in the ninth, but he was tagged out when he popped up and came off the base for an instant.

    Ohtani advanced to second on Mookie Betts’ two-out single in the 11th, although he pulled up gingerly at the bag due to cramping. He stayed in the game, however, and Freddie Freeman flied out to end the inning.

    Once again, Ohtani put on a spectacular show for the Los Angeles fans who definitely “need” him, posting his first four-hit game of the postseason in his first game back at Dodger Stadium since he hit three homers and struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers in his sensational two-way effort during a clinching victory in the National League Championship Series 10 days ago.

    Ohtani has six hits and five RBIs in the first three games of the World Series against Toronto, the city where fans chanted “We don’t need you!” at Ohtani while the Blue Jays won Game 1. Ohtani also homered late in that blowout loss.

    Ohtani will make his first World Series start on the mound when he pitches for the Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

    Ohtani hit two homers in the Dodgers’ first game of the postseason against Cincinnati, but he hadn’t homered again until his historic performance in the NLCS. All three of those homers were solo shots, and he hit a pair of solo homers in Game 3.

    He first connected for a 389-foot drive inside the right-field pole in the third inning.

    After struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed the Blue Jays to go back ahead 5-4 in the seventh, Ohtani tied it with a 401-foot homer to left-center.

    Ohtani now trails only Arozarena, who set the major league record with 10 postseason homers in 2020 before Tampa Bay lost the World Series to Seager and the Dodgers.

    Ohtani doubled on Scherzer’s second pitch of Game 3, although his teammates couldn’t bring him home.

    Ohtani keyed a tying rally when he doubled to left-center in the fifth, muscling an inside sweeper from Fluharty into the gap for his first opposite-field hit since Sept. 20, a span of 77 at-bats.

    Following that double, Ohtani scored the tying run on Freddie Freeman’s single.

    The Blue Jays pulled Scherzer right before Ohtani came up and replaced the veteran right-hander with Fluharty, who memorably struck out Ohtani with the bases loaded while escaping a big jam to secure a 5-4 win for Toronto at Dodger Stadium in August.

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  • The Simpson’s clever newspaper headlines you may have missed (25 Photos)

    The Simpson’s clever newspaper headlines you may have missed (25 Photos)

    Springfield Shopper is the local paper that The Simpson family subscribes to. Writers of the show have had a field day coming up with clever headlines and visual gags.

    With the show entering its thirty-sixth season this year, we weren’t able to get all of the headline gags in one post. If we missed your favourite one, be sure to share it in the comments below. CLICK HERE for part one.

    Jon

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  • The 10 Worst Simpsons Episodes, Ever

    The 10 Worst Simpsons Episodes, Ever

    Screenshot: Fox

    Since airing, this episode has developed a reputation online as the moment the show officially began its downward slide. This is in large part thanks to the third-act twist, which reveals that horse-riding jockeys are actually brain-eating elves. That sounds dumb, but it’s actually worse in the episode.

    This half-hour of The Simpsons also includes a lot of weird, out-of-place meta jokes commenting on how “Saddlesore Galactica” is repeating old storylines and jokes, which isn’t very funny and also just highlights how bad the episode actually is. While I think the show has had great episodes and even seasons after this point—even if many people online think otherwise—I can’t deny that “Saddlesore Galactica” is likely the end of the show’s golden era.

    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Adidas Is Turning Homer’s ‘Walking Into The Bushes’ Meme Into A Sneaker

    Adidas Is Turning Homer’s ‘Walking Into The Bushes’ Meme Into A Sneaker

    Image for article titled Adidas Is Turning Homer's 'Walking Into The Bushes' Meme Into A Sneaker

    It hasn’t been a great month for Adidas, but if the German sportswear giant can be counted on one thing these days (or over the last 20 years), it’s finding ways to squeeze some cash out of licensed sneaker deals. Next up: The Simpsons.

    Earlier this month we got our first look at a Simpsons x Superstar collab, which sees nearly the entire surface of the shoe coated in blue fuzz to approximate Marge’s hair. It looks exactly like a pair of old Cookie Monster sneakers I once bought for my (then) two-year-old:

    Image for article titled Adidas Is Turning Homer's 'Walking Into The Bushes' Meme Into A Sneaker

    Image: Adidas

    Another shoe in the lineup, one leaked earlier today and this time a Stan Smith, features Homer instead. While initially seeming a lot less involved than the Marge shoe—maybe there’s a balding joke here, I don’t know—flipping the shoe around reveals this one has some fuzz too, but only on the heel:

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    Like the meme itself, this is something you can chuckle at when you see it on the internet, but spending money to wear it on your feet? Hrmmmmmm.

    Not that Adidas will care. While the company’s Yeezy collaboration has turned to ash, and had been worth big money at its peak, Adidas’ bread and butter in the sneaker business (like Nike’s), isn’t in high profile, limited releases but in two other places: for the most part, it’s the everyday roster of venerable classics (the Superstar, the Stan Smith, slides, etc) and to a lesser extent it’s tie-ins like this.

    We’ve seen this a lot over the last few years, as the company has released sneakers based on everything from Game of Thrones to Pokémon to South Park to a previous Simpsons release, and while many of these come have come across looking a bit naff, some (Pokémon especially) have been great!

    There’s no word on a release date or price for either of these.

    Luke Plunkett

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