The Rafters triumphed in the AFL!

Team news

[Michael’s Substack] Kristian Robinson makes case for 40-man roster spot in Arizona Fall League – “I think I’ve done what I can control. Obviously I can handle what else happens. I think I’ve made my case, the turnaround on the season, all the progress that’s been made. I hope that’s been noticed and it’s been acknowledged. I’m content with what I’ve done this previous year.” In the fall league, Robinson put up solid numbers, batting .319 with a home run, nine steals, and a .854 OPS in 19 games. His strikeout rate, which was at 35.7% in the regular season, dropped to 27.8% in Arizona. “I think I learned a lot,” said Robinson. “Definitely enjoyed it, enjoyed being around the different group of guys and hearing different points of view from the coaching staff.”

[Arizona Sports] D-backs sign C Aramis Garcia, INF Connor Kaiser to minor league deals with spring training invite – Garcia spent most of his 2024 season with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, slashing .159/.216/.279 with eight home runs and 25 RBIs in 76 games. The 31-year-old was called up on Sept. 7 by the Phillies where he appeared in three games before being designated for assignment. Kaiser was a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018. Since being drafted, the 27-year-old has spent most of his time in the Pirates, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies minor league systems. He appeared in three games with the Rockies in 2023 before being optioned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Kaiser played in 90 games with the Isotopes in 2024, slashing .221/.343/.339 with six home runs and 21 RBIs.

[Cronkite News] Strength coach for the mind: Diamondbacks’ mental performance guru brings ‘whole person’ into baseball – “On a personal level, I’ve always really appreciated the mental side of performance, and I’ve always been a proponent of what I would categorize as the whole person being brought into sport,” Brandon said. In Brandon’s job, every day looks different. His work with individual players varies from person to person, but he views his role as a strength coach for the mind. “Much like our players would go work with a strength coach to get bigger, faster, stronger, more explosive, et cetera, they’re going to work with a mental performance coach to improve their confidence, to become more disciplined, to hopefully strengthen their resilience, to become more composed under pressure, or handle stress better,” Brandon said.

And, elsewhere…

[MLB] Rafters surprise Saguaros for first Arizona Fall League crown since 2019 – As the Salt River Rafters posed with their Arizona Fall League champions banner, they held their pinky fingers and thumbs pointed out in the form of “the shaka” or hang-ten as they cheered. “Kala’i Rosario is from Hawaii, he’s been one of our team leaders here,” Rafters manager Tyler Smarslok said. “It’s his second time in the AFL, so we put up the shaka for our guy.” The Twins’ No. 19 prospect drove in the go-ahead run as Salt River edged Surprise, 3-2, in the AFL Championship Game on Saturday at Salt River Fields, securing the title for D-backs, Nationals, Rockies and Yankees prospects as well.

[Newsday] Hank Aaron postcard sells for nearly $200,000 at auction. Ted Williams’ ‘46 AL MVP gets $528,750 – The Aaron postcard from the scrapbook of scout Ed Scott, who discovered Aaron, went for $199,750 following a bidding war that soared past the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000, Hunt Auctions said. The auction included 280 items from Williams’ personal collection that had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died last year. Among the other items were a silver bat awarded for his 1958 batting title, which sold for more than $270,000, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him by fellow naval aviator George H.W. Bush, which went for $141,000.

[Reddit] Most Strikeouts by a Left Handed Pitcher For Each Franchise in the Wild Card Era (since 1995)

For the record, Randy Johnson in Arizona would also be #2, #3 and #4 on the list, with his 1999 (364), 2000 (347) and 2002 (334) campaigns.

The Killer’s Game (2024)

Rating: B-

Dir: J.J. Perry
Star: Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Ben Kingsley, Scott Adkins

This tanked, and tanked hard in cinemas: having now seen it, I’m mostly surprised it got a release there to begin with. Just about everything here screams “straight to video” – though I actually mean that as a compliment. This doesn’t demand a theatrical level of attention. It’s the kind of film best enjoyed while sprawled on the sofa, consuming junk food and occasionally surfing on your phone to check who that is you just spotted [to save you the bother there: Alex Kingston, a.k.a. River Song, and Dylan Moran, a.k.a. David from Shaun of the Dead]. In such an environment, I’m here to tell you it’s perfectly fine, empty entertainment. Things go boom and cheesy one-liners.

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