Miguel Cabrera hits 250th career homer before 28th birthday

By Aaron GleemanApr 7, 2011, 10:47 AM EDT
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Last night Miguel Cabrera smacked his 250th career homer, which is remarkable considering he won’t be 28 years old for another two weeks.

Cabrera’s birthday is April 18, which means this is officially his “age-28 season.” Here are the all-time leaders in homers through age 28:

Alex Rodriguez 381
Ken Griffey Jr. 350
Jimmie Foxx. 343
Eddie Mathews 338
Mickey Mantle 320
Albert Pujols 319
Mel Ott 306
Andruw Jones 301
Juan Gonzalez 301
Hank Aaron 298

Cabrera doesn’t crack the top 10, but he is tied for 17th with Willie Mays and still has another 157 games to add to his through-age-28 total. He’s averaged 36 homers per season since joining the Tigers, so assuming he ends up with a total of 36 this year Cabrera will finish his age-28 season with 288, which would rank 12th all time sandwiched between Frank Robinson (291) and Adam Dunn (278).

Report: Major League Baseball bans transactions with Mexican League teams

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By Craig CalcaterraJun 22, 2018, 10:10 AM EDT
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Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that Major League Baseball has banned all transactions with Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB), popularly known as the Mexican League. As of now, all 30 teams are prohibited from signing players under contract with LMB teams. The ban was issued due to Major League Baseball’s contention that “corruption” and “fraud” run rampant in the player acquisition process.

Passan describes the issues in detail, and they sound pretty compelling. The upshot: LMB clubs — which have full control over their players — are taking advantage of them, taking most if not all of the signing bonuses MLB teams give them after negotiating for their rights. Mexican teams often sign players when they’re 15 years-old so that, once they are old enough for American teams to approach them, they’re in the position to take a usurious cut.

Passan says Major League Baseball is demanding greater transparency from LMB before it’s willing to lift the ban. He also says that the MLBPA is in “lockstep” with Major League Baseball on the matter, which makes sense given that, if MLB’s claims are accurate, players are being exploited here. He also says that if LMB does not change its ways, there is a “Plan B,” though it’s not clear what that is.

There aren’t a ton of Mexican players signed by MLB teams each year, but there are enough to make this a significant issue that is worth watching.