Big news out of #WPBL postgame tonight: Queens manager Eric Young Jr. told me his starting pitcher Friday night will be Ayami Sato. So the matchup between Sato and the firepower of Kelsie Whitmore's San Francisco Firebells is almost here.

If you’re watching the WPBL and wondering more about LA Queens player Brittany Apgar and the prosthetic she wears to bat, @jenramose.online profiled her before the season:

Brittany Apgar's vlog journey brings support for accessibility | The IX Sports

Brittany Apgar's quest to find protective gear for her arm nub brought a lot of support and help ahead of the WPBL's opening day.

theixsports.com

I'm very excited to be concocting way-too-early and very incomplete advanced metrics for the WPBL! I'm sure they'll update the league their website with more stats the moment I finish this code, but it's a fun exercise anyway.

final call for Q's

jen ramos-eisen@jenramose.online · 3d ago

alright trying something new here: I'm gonna do a mailbag for leftonbase.beehiiv.com got any questions about labor negotiations that you've always wondered about but didn't know who to ask? I'll try my best to answer. DMs open, signal is jenramose.23, email is jramoseisen@gmail.com. or just reply!

sometimes I get PR emails in my inbox that cause me to wonder why we haven't more broadly discussed how post-9/11 nationalism is a part of why we're in a fascist state right now

it looks like the Arkansas Travelers (Double-A Mariners) will be staying in North Little Rock — the city and DBH agreed on a 20 year lease www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/au...

North Little Rock, Diamond Baseball Holdings reach 20-year lease agreement for Travelers | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

A new lease agreement between the city of North Little Rock and Diamond Baseball Holdings would keep the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park through 2046.

arkansasonline.com

every time I look up J.D. Drew, it throws me off his name is "David Jonathan"

opened up this app and saw the Discourse happening around the Skubal trade and I will throw out: send me all your dumb ideas about this trade, too, and I'll explain the labor side of it because holy god y'all

jen ramos-eisen@jenramose.online · 3d ago

alright trying something new here: I'm gonna do a mailbag for leftonbase.beehiiv.com got any questions about labor negotiations that you've always wondered about but didn't know who to ask? I'll try my best to answer. DMs open, signal is jenramose.23, email is jramoseisen@gmail.com. or just reply!

people would rather deploy large unreadable signs rather than reading and learning

fabianardaya.bsky.social@fabianardaya.bsky.social · yesterday

A sign is flying overhead at Wrigley Field. Looks like it’s supposed to say: “The Dodgers ruined baseball.”

aight. I think I got an update to this story. Coming to [eyeblack] soon www.nytimes.com/athletic/741...

The letter went out to Senate staff a bit earlier and is addressed to John Thune + Chuck Schumer. There's a very tight window to schedule a vote on the Protect College Sports Act this week. For a handful of reasons, most people I've talked to aren't confident that will happen.

Jesse Dougherty@jessedougherty.bsky.social · yesterday

NEW: A group of labor + advocacy groups, including prominent college athlete labor orgs, sent a letter today urging Senate leadership to delay a vote on the PCSA "until the legislation more adequately addresses the needs and concerns" of athletes. See all the groups below.

The Women's Pro Baseball League will eventually need to escape the past: defector.com/the-womens-p...

The Women's Pro Baseball League Will Eventually Need To Escape The Past | Defector

You may think you’ve experienced joy before, but you had previously never seen a mascot version of a 99-year-old woman with a cane dancing and cartwheeling around a baseball field in Springfield,…

defector.com

Fun Cal League matchup this morning at 11:05 a.m. PT. In Lake Elsinore, Tyler Glasnow will make a rehab appearance for Ontario, while Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta are scheduled to pitch for the Storm.

sandwiches

Elizabeth Picciuto@epicciuto.bsky.social · 2d ago

What is your favorite example of when the cheap version of a product is legit better than the expensive one?

public libraries ftw

BREAKING: I have looked into Outside Lands tickets

For my Athletics prospect people: - Breyson Guedez is moving up to High-A - Drew Burress and Roman Martin are on their way to Stockton (along with Alex Sosa and Alex Hernandez)

Tarik Skubal was traded on Saturday

Aubrey@aubreypiano.bsky.social · 2d ago

in their defense I will say today is the biggest trade deadline day and there is no WPBL game

me, a very normal reporter: ah yes Daulton Varsho I remember watching him as a catcher w High-A Visalia

y'know at some point there really is a discussion to be had about the WPBL starting its inaugural season the same weekend as the MLB trade deadline

I rarely use LinkedIn but it keeps sending me emails about job listings for CBS News and lemme just say: lol. lmao even.

lord I love trade deadline day

y'know what sure

The Athletic@theathletic.com · 2d ago

Former NHLer Sean Avery's post-playing career has been defined by an unlikely passion: acting. Now 46, he has appeared in 11 feature-length movies, including the three most recent from Christopher Nolan, one of the most decorated, highest-grossing directors ever. nyti.ms/3TzH1kr

sources: I'm making a second coffee

ESPN also holds blame here for not only writing the Cunningham profile but also for the way they framed her hateful comments. I wrote about that here:

MAGA Barbie is at it again & more women's teams are partnering with AI

plus: what can the sports world learn from the BDSM community?

thefrankiedlc.news

This is the WNBA & Indiana Fever’s fault. This is from XX XY Athletics’ IG account—that’s Sophie Cunningham with Riley Gaines & Jennifer Sey. The worst transphobes. I haven’t written about it bc it’s gutting how unprepared the league was for this & now we have explicit hate visible at games.

My WPBL coverage from the weekend: - Mo'ne Davis: www.latimes.com/sports/story... - Ashton Lansdell: www.latimes.com/sports/story... - Queens win: www.latimes.com/sports/story... - SF/Bos players to watch: www.theixsports.com/features/and... - LA/NY players: www.theixsports.com/features/mag...

Ex-Little League star Mo'ne Davis joins women's pro baseball league with focus on fun

Mo'ne Davis rocketed to fame after a historic run in the Little League World Series. She's making history again with the Women's Professional Baseball League.

latimes.com

If you live in Philadelphia, I'm teaching a free class (with free stickers!!) on how to score a baseball game at Val's Lesbian bar next tuesday! Please come!

some of y'all don't understand jokes

Diggitydek@diggitydek.bsky.social · 3d ago

If it means taking on more salary, then yes, because they are so far beyond what the salary cap would likely be that they couldn’t take on any more money.

would a salary cap prevent the Dodgers from trading for Ben Rortvedt