Jason Heyward bought his teammates PS4’s

By Bill BaerMar 14, 2014, 9:15 PM EDT
16 Comments

Jason Heyward has earned just over $5 million over his Major League career, and recently inked a two-year, $13.3 million contract extension with the Braves. The outfielder is spreading the wealth, as he bought each of his teammates a Playstation 4, a gift for winning the NL East title last season.

On the box is a card that reads:

Congratulations on winning the 2013 NL East title. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication.

[Braves NL East champions logo] Jason Heyward

Alex Wood and Chris Johnson both tweeted pictures:

Joey Terdoslavich is still going to be playing Call of Duty on his Xbox, though:

Report: Major League Baseball bans transactions with Mexican League teams

Getty Images
By Craig CalcaterraJun 22, 2018, 10:10 AM EDT
7 Comments

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.