The Week That Was: March 10-16

Hat drama, stadium drama, and a pitcher out for the season.

Happy Monday, everyone! The start of the season stateside is only about two weeks away (gasp!), and there’s plenty for us to get into today. The big stories of the past week were some New Era hat drama; the Rays bowing out of their new stadium deal, and Gerrit Cole heading for Tommy John surgery, one of the first superstars to be benched for the 2025 season.

So let’s just jump right into the news that you might have missed the last week.

Hat Drama

If you’ve been around baseball for any length of time, the antics of sportswear brand New Era will be no mystery to you. They are seasonally releasing truly absurd new hat designs every year, and this year they brought out the big guns early with a logo-over-logo design that can’t possibly have been double-checked before it was approved.

The Texas logo, which you’ll see below, actually ended up being a potentially crude Spanish term and was pulled almost immediately.

• A quick little explainer as to why the Texas Rangers cap was quickly pulled from the shop.
• The hat is now selling for top dollar on eBay, because of course it is.

Rays Stadium Deal

After a lot of back-and-forth, plenty of drama, and many shifts in direction, the Rays’ stadium deal is officially dead in the water. The Rays, who are without a home for the 2025 season after Tropicana Field was badly damaged by a hurricane were hoping to be able to get things started on a new stadium, but it now appears they’ll need to look at options for renovation instead of new builds.

Of course, there are plenty of rumors afoot right now about how the team might be seeing interest from buyers, so there’s plenty to keep an eye on as this story unfolds.

• Stu Sterberg insists that the team is not for sale .
• Could the Rays theoretically move to Orlando?
• There are also whispers of a lease extension that could keep the Rays exactly where they are.
• A little more on the stadium deal falling through.

Quick Hits

• If you missed this, Javier Baez was part of one of the strangest double-plays I’ve ever seen.
• Move over Rally Goose, because Bullpen Raccoon is here.
• Gerrit Cole will miss the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery.
• Long after it could impact his career in any way, Mo Vaughn admits he used HGH.
• What will it take to sign Vlad Jr.? About $500 million.
• Is Pirates’ prospect Bubba Chandler coming for Paul Skenes? He admitted it himself.
• Fans were not at all shocked by Skenes being selected Opening Day starter.
• Does the Dodgers’ offseason spending signal a need for a salary cap?
• We need more of this kind of replay!
• The people who are unhappy about the Yankees lifting their beard ban? Players’ wives!
• Did Shohei Ohtani’s dog have something to do with Roki Sasaki joining the Dodgers?
• The return of an infamous score bug.
• Max Scherzer has some thoughts about how to save starting pitchers.
• We’ve heard of switch-hitters, but the Mariners have a switch-pitcher.
• Justin Turner spotted a young fan in Japan sporting his iconic beard and made a sweet gesture.
• Dave Roberts discusses is mammoth new contract.
• Shohei Ohtani talks about coming back to Japan for the Tokyo Series.
• Rafael Devers will no longer fight for third base, deciding to do what’s best for the team instead.
• Joey Gallo is evidently switching to pitching.
• The Orioles found a cute way to tell Zach Eflin he was starting Opening Day.
• Which player do other players think is the best in baseball?
• The historic path leading up to the Tokyo Opening Series.

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