What does Don Mattingly have against bears, anyway? - MLB

Nothing, as long as they are wearing a Dodgers’ hat. Confused? Hang with me for a second.

You see, Don Mattingly and his son, Preston, were invited to participate in a “trick shot” video with some other local sports stars from Evansville, Indiana. The group calls themselves “Trickwinkle.”

Among the various trick shots, Preston makes one from the top of a fire department ladder truck. Some organizations might not be too thrilled about one of their farmhands taking part in a potentially dangerous stunt, but keep in mind that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has a habit of rappelling down buildings.

According to the website of the local NBC affiliate, Trickwinkle raised $1,000 for the Evansville’ Boys and Girls Club through sponsorships and t-shirt sales, so mission accomplished, I guess.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pitcher Max Fried lost to the Atlanta Braves in salary arbitration and will make $13.5 million in the upcoming season instead of his $15 million request.

Mark Burstein, Fredric Horowitz and Jeanne Vonhof issued their decision a day after hearing arguments.

Fried won a $6.85 million salary last year in arbitration instead of the team’s $6.6 million proposal.

He followed former Atlanta teammate Dansby Swanson in going to a hearing in consecutive years. Swanson, a shortstop, lost in 2021 and won last year, then signed a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.

The last player to win hearings in consecutive years was pitcher Trevor Bauer against Cleveland in 2018 and 2019.

Fried, a 29-year-old left-hander, went 14-7 for the second straight season and lowered his ERA to 2.48 from 3.04 in 2021. Fried was a first-time All-Star last season, was second to Miami’s Sandy Alcantara in Cy Young Award voting and was third in the National League in ERA behind Alcantara and Julio Urias with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2021, Fried pitched six shutout innings in World Series Game 6 as the Braves won their first title since 1995.