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Good morning! Watch out for the kid today.
OMG, AAV: Can Juan Soto pull an Aaron Judge?
For better or worse, the New York Yankees know this dance. A roster superstar is entering a contract year with no extension in sight. He is motivated and betting on himself in a showcase season that will deserve as much attention as the team’s performance on the field.
Two years ago, Aaron Judge produced one of the best seasons ever under those circumstances. Juan Soto could have millions, if not hundreds of millions, more at stake than Judge.
Brittany Ghiroli wrote a wonderful story about Soto today. He was candid in the interview about his last two seasons and what he hopes to achieve next winter (💰💰💰💰). Even with Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million offseason behind us, Soto might be the most intriguing free agent in recent memory:
- We kind of forget how young Soto is. He’s already enjoyed a magical rise, a World Series ring, a batting title and two blockbuster trades. He is only 25 years old. Baseball doesn’t often see 25-year-old superstar free agents, let alone ones whose Baseball Reference Page lists Frank Robinson and Ken Griffey Jr. as peers.
- There is complexity in Soto. In Brittany’s story, he still seems genuinely upset about the end of his tenure in Washington, when the franchise he formed a deep bond with dumped him in San Diego after Soto turned down a $440 million extension. dollars. Soto never took root in San Diego over the last 1.5 seasons because he simply knew the big-spending front office wouldn’t have any money to give him. It’s hard to blame him.
- So Soto is in New York, back on the East Coast where he’s comfortable, bombarding opposing pitchers so far this season. He hit .417 with a 1.100 OPS in six games for the 5-1 Yankees. Phew. Imagine if a fraction of that pace continued throughout the year.
So what is it worth? Brittany reports that Soto has been “totally borasized” by his agent, Scott Boras, which basically means the contract will be huge no matter how long the negotiations last. Also in the story: a source saying Soto wants to match Ohtani’s average annual value of $46 million, excluding carryovers.
Will the Yankees give him that? We still have plenty of time to find out. But Soto finally seems free – during the most pressure-filled season of his career. Read the story for his full comments.
News to know
KC rejects stadium tax
Last night, Kansas City voters overwhelmingly rejected a sales tax that would have kept the Chiefs and Royals in the metro area for the next 25 years. The tax would have provided about $2 billion to help renovate Arrowhead Stadium and build a new stadium for the Royals. The owners of the Chiefs and Royals don’t seem to have a plan B at the moment. Nate Taylor broke down the brewing mess here.
Harper socks three
Bryce Harper entered last night’s game 0-for-11 on the season, which naturally caused some concern. It looks very good from here after do three circuits in the Phillies’ 9-4 victory over the visiting Reds, becoming just the fifth player in franchise history to hit a three-run hit in a game this century. Matt Gelb has more on a memorable night in Philadelphia.
Cardinals to pay millions to former employees
The Arizona Cardinals will pay former executive Terry McDonough $3 million for “false and defamatory” media comments that stemmed from a bizarre story involving a suspended general manager and cell phones. This hasn’t been a good year for the Cardinals, perception-wise.
No more news
Eyebrows: The numbers almost don’t seem real
Over the past two years, women’s college basketball viewing figures have hit us over the head again and again. This sport is really very popular. Bonk. Here is a new record. Bonk. Here’s another one. Bonk. Again and again.
The latest bonk came yesterday, when ESPN audience announced for Iowa Memorable Elite Eight win over LSUa rematch of last year’s title match: 12.3 million average viewers, with a peak of 16 million. BONK. To compare, it is:
- Higher than any other women’s college basketball game ever. The previous record: 9.9 million viewers on average, reached… last year for LSU’s national title victory against Iowa.
- More than every NBA game last season outside of Game 5 of the Finals, every MLB game last season and all but five college football games. (Source.)
- Caitlin Clark from Iowa is clearly the big draw, But as we wrote yesterday, it’s not just Clark fueling the popularity surge. UConn’s big win over USC in the next game averaged 6.7 million viewers, still more than the audience for every women’s college basketball title game since 1996, at with the exception of last year’s match.
Naturally, there are questions about resistance, which we’ll delve into later this week with our experts. Expect more huge numbers produced by this weekend’s Final Four, though. Bonk.
Things you need to see: Bratwurst is coming
When playing Milwaukee this happens:
Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins was almost knocked out by a bratwurst during a sausage race 😅
🎥@Cut4pic.twitter.com/Cax1MZoiZa
– The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 3, 2024
It was Twins star Byron Buxton who was nearly run over by a giant bratwurst mascot racing other sausage enemies between innings. We are very happy that Buxton escaped a possible kid injury.
Watch this match
NBA: Thunder among the Celtics (get tickets)
7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Boston has already clinched the East, but watch that for the Thunder, who trail the West’s No. 1 Nuggets by a half-game after last night’s loss to the Sixers. Oklahoma City, Denver and Minnesota are within a game of each other, and all three are playing well. In the stacked Western Conference, ranking matters a lot.
MLB: Giants vs. Dodgers (get tickets)
10:10 p.m. ET on Local TV Network/MLB
These two are a.) heated rivals and b.) probably the two best teams in the NL West, with minor apologies to last year’s World Series representative Arizona.
Pulse selection
Widespread gambling made life miserable for college basketball bench warmers. I urge you to read this story today.
Austin Mock and Nick Baumgardner updated consensus NFL Draft Big Board, with a new name at No. 1 and some big increases there. The draft is so close.
Sean McIndoe has an insightful column on why Connor McDavid chase for 100 assists It’s a bigger deal than you think.
There has never been a voice like Paul Heyman. His undeniable gift for gab has influenced wrestling for over 40 years – and it sends him to the WWE Hall of Fame This weekend. Jason Jones has a superb interview with the legend.
Most read in yesterday’s newsletter: This was our report on Vontæ Davis the death. The tragedy left former Colts coaches and teammates stunned.
Most read on the site yesterday: Ari Wasserman explained how Deion Sanders does not maximize its recruiting potential has Colorado. Interesting angle.
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(Photo: New York Yankees/Getty Images)