Update 12-12-2024
In case you missed it...
Did you hear that Juan Soto is getting a raise?
You may not know that the Mets’ new employee may have a little-known expense as part of his move.
The collective bargaining agreement has a strange, but not surprising clause (nothing is surprising). When a new player wears a number previously worn by a player on his new team, the new player will be required to buy the existing inventory of replica jerseys with the previous player’s name on the back. This is true, by the way! I could not make that up.
Unless that expense is picked up by a “friend” of Sotos, imagine the shock when he gets that bill. My sources tell me there may be dozens of Brett Baty #22 jerseys out there. This could conceivably cost the new Met hundreds of dollars! Could it be a deal breaker? Maybe folks in Queens can round up their coffee at Starbucks to help him with moving expenses like Brett Baty jerseys.
By the way, my story this month in Only in Arkansas features Wally Moon. What do Wally Moon and Brett Baty have in common? If you know without Googling, you can post your reply below.
If you missed this week’s Backroads and Ballplayers Weekly:
I was part of a halftime documentary about Hugo Bezdek during the Arkansas High School Football Championships. Yep, really!
You also missed the story of Coal Hill’s state semi-pro title and a classic old newsreel about the 1949 World Series.
Here is your second chance - Backroads and Ballplayers Weekly #83