The Week That Was: January 13-19

Sasaki finds a home, and Hall of Fame announcements draw closer.

Happy Monday friends! We can officially now say it’s less than a month until spring training (at least until pitchers and catchers report), and things around baseball are getting exciting. Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki has picked his MLB team (and it won’t come as a surprise who he went with). The Hall of Fame induction announcements are coming tomorrow. And baseball big farewell to one of its greatest voices last week.

So let’s jump into all the news of the Week That Was.

Roki Sasaki

Well, it seems like it was a lot of speculation for nothing, as highly-sought Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki signed with… the Los Angeles Dodgers . Shocking, I know. The Dodgers seem to be stockpiling pitchers like they’re collecting Infinity Stones, and Sasaki is just the most recent feather in their cap.

As an amateur free agent he will be under the club’s control for six years, and he will get a nice little signing bonus of $6.5 million (according to The Athletic).

Someone really needs to sign with the Blue Jays to put them out of their misery on these high-stakes signings.

• Here’s a great spotlight on Sasaki that puts his past into really incredible perspective .
• Fangraphs goes over the Sasaki deal .
• A look at the deal from all angles .
• What gift did Magic Johnson give Sasaki when he joined the team?
• It’s not all sunshine as MLB is investigating whether or not the Dodgers came to an agreement with Sasaki before he was available to be signed.
• Reaction outside Los Angeles to the signing was, expectedly, a lot of groaning.

Hall of Fame Chatter

The Hall of Fame inductees will be announced tomorrow, so naturally, there is a frenzy of discussion surrounding who will make the cut this year. Ichiro is a shoo-in, but will he be unanimous? CC Sabathia is a certainty, but will long-waiting Billy Wagner finally get his plaque? We’ll know for sure Tuesday night.

• Everything you need to know about the Hall of Fame vote.
• Experts weigh in on whether Ichiro will be a unanimous inductee.
• Jay Jaffe makes a Hall of Fame case for Fernando Rodney .
• Mark Feinsand explains his Hall of Fame ballot .
• Will Billy Wagner be an 8th-ballot Hall of Famer? (spoiler: if the previewed ballots are a good indicator, he has a strong chance)

Bob Uecker

Few announcers reach the kind of storied reverence that Bob Uecker did during his tenure as the voice of the Brewers . Uecker, a former player turned play-by-play announcer delighted Brewers fans for five decades, but he was known beyond the baseball world for his self-effacing humor. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show (over 100 times!) and host of a variety of humor-centered sports TV programs, Uecker had a career that others could only dream of. He passed away last week at the age of 90, and will leave a hole in the hearts of Brewers fans this coming season.

• Bob Uecker’s best calls, remembered.
• Brewers’ announcer Brian Anderson paid tribute to his former colleague.
• Fans shared their favorite Uecker memories.

Quick Hits

• After Sammy Sosa issued an apology late last year, the Cubs are now honoring him.
• Roki Sasaki isn’t the only big pitcher the Dodgers added this week.
• Which closers are still available in free agency?
• The Dodgers are the first MLB team to sign a player from South Sudan .
• The story of Mike Donlin is a great history read to dive into on a Monday.
• No, no matter how annoyed the fans are, the Pirates aren’t going to be sold .

Social Media Highlights