Sports
Andy Pages is used to beating the odds, and he's doing it again with the Dodgers
ST. LOUIS — Growing up on the western tip of Cuba, Andy Pages excelled at every sport he played.
He was good at soccer and volleyball, arguably better at basketball. But he loved baseball for reasons that weren’t necessarily limited to the game.
Pages’ father, Liban, a carpenter who had a job repairing wooden boats, helped make his son’s first bats by hand, using leftover lumber given to him by friends. Soon baseball became the boy’s favorite pastime.
“When I was starting to play baseball in Cuba, when things were really bad, there were no bats. There weren’t things like that,” Pages said in Spanish. “So he always tried to make me a bat so I could play.
“I became more motivated, and from that point on, we’ve been playing baseball.”
The sport eventually proved to be a way off the island for Pages, who has emerged as one of the Dodgers’ brightest stars in just his second season with the team.
He entered the start of a three-game series Monday in San Diego hitting .288 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs, trailing only Shohei Ohtani in homers and matching Ohtani for third on the team in RBIs. He’s also tied for second in stolen bases with six and has yet to be thrown out.
If he can stay consistent, he has a chance to become the first Dodger center fielder to hit better than .250 with 23 homers since Matt Kemp in 2012.
Although Pages never played in Cuba’s elite Serie Nacional, the proving ground for stars such as Yuli Gurriel, Yunel Escobar and Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, he became one of the country’s top prospects after hitting .364/.484/.581 in a under-15 league.
Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages rifles the ball to second base to prevent Arizona’s Ketel Marte from advancing on a single at Dodger Stadium on May 20.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
That convinced Pages (pronounced PAH-hays) he had a chance to be a big leaguer some day. So at 16, the Athletic reported, he arranged to be spirited off the island alongside Jairo Pomares, another young Cuban star, traveling through Guyana, Curacao and Haiti before crossing in the Dominican Republic. He then waited eight months before the Dodgers signed him as an international free agent in March 2018, giving him a $300,000 bonus, more than 1,500 times the average annual wage in Cuba, according to CiberCuba.
Pomares signed with the San Francisco Giants at about the same time, but while he remains in the minors, Pages’ climb to the majors was steady. He reached triple A by the start the 2024 season. He didn’t stay at Oklahoma City long, however, hitting .371/.452/.694 with 15 RBIs in 15 games to earn a call-up to the Dodgers.
Before his rookie season was over, Pages was a World Series champion. He paid a heavy price for that though, going seven years without seeing his family in person.
“It was emotional since I hadn’t seen them for a long time,” said Pages, 24, who returned to Cuba for the first time the winter before his big-league debut.
His sister, Elaine, a child when he left “was already a full-grown woman.”
“So those memories came back to me, and they were quite — how should I say it? — quite strong for me,” said Pages, who brought his father a few of the machine-made bats he used in the minor leagues.
But if his father provided the spark that made his son a baseball player, teammate Teoscar Hernández provided the help, guidance and mentoring that made Pages an everyday major leaguer.
“He’s played in the major leagues for a long time now,” Pages said of Hernández, a 10-year veteran who signed with the Dodgers months before Pages made his big-league debut. “He’s been through a lot of bad times. I went through that at the beginning of the season, for example, and last year too. And he’s given me advice that’s helped me a lot to get through that time.”
With Pages’ family still in Cuba, Hernández has become a big brother as well as a teammate, taking him out for dinner on off days or just getting together to play video games.
Andy Pages runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Athletics at Dodger Stadium on May 14.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“Getting through bad times is sometimes a little difficult when you’re alone, when you don’t have anyone to help you, to give you good advice, and to make you understand that sometimes things don’t happen when you want them to,” Pages said.
And that’s worked out well for Pages. Three games after Hernández returned from a rehab assignment last month, Pages started a streak in which he hit in 13 of his next 14 starts, including 11 in a row, raising his average 24 points to .293. He’s batting .379 with a team-high 11 hits in seven games this month.
“We try to go out to my house. We go out to a restaurant with my wife, his wife. Just so we can get together, have time to enjoy and not think about baseball,” Hernández said.
Pages isn’t the first player to benefit from Hernández’s mentorship. During his six seasons in Toronto, Hernández took another talented rookie, fellow Dominican Vladimir Guerrero Jr., under his wing. Guerrero is now a four-time All-Star.
Hernández is still so respected in Toronto when the Dodgers played there last season, some Blue Jays players wore his old uniform number during batting practice. Earlier this year Guerrero offered to buy him a $300,000 Richard Mille watch; Hernández joked he’d rather have money instead.
As the quiet Pages has grown more confident and comfortable with the Dodgers, his play has improved. A speedy outfielder with a plus arm, he also can play all three positions.
And while he left Cuba, he never fully left it behind, having expressed interest in representing the country in next year’s World Baseball Classic. The decision to go to the Dominican Republic as a teenager, after all, was a business one, not a personal one.
Pages would also like to bring his family to U.S. some day, though that dream was dealt a setback last week when President Trump signed an executive order restricting access to Cubans hoping to come to the U.S.
“Hope is always there,” said Pages, who has beaten impossibly long odds once. “But you have to follow the rules, get the papers, do whatever it takes to make sure everything’s OK. And then get here and stay here.
“I’m just trying, trying until they can leave.”
Trump arrives at 2025 Army-Navy game
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others arrive at the Army-Navy game just outside of Washington, D.C., and salute during the national anthem.
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President Donald Trump said Saturday that he plans to sign an executive order protecting the broadcast slot for the Army-Navy football game.
Trump’s announcement on Truth Social comes amid a push to expand the NCAA College Football Playoff, which could potentially affect the Army-Navy game’s traditional time slot.
“The Army-Navy Game is one of our Greatest American Traditions — Unmatched Patriotism, Courage, and Honor!” Trump wrote. “This incredible Tradition is now at risk of being pushed aside by more College Playoff Games, and Big TV Money. NOT ANYMORE!”
PROTESTS ERUPT OUTSIDE ARMY-NAVY GAME AMID TRUMP’S ATTENDANCE
President Donald Trump walks onto the field with Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland, Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, left, and Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte, Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, right, unseen, before the start of the 126th Army-Navy NCAA college football game on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Baltimore. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
The president said his executive order will secure an exclusive four-hour broadcast window in December for the event that cannot be challenged by another postseason football game.
“Under my Administration, the second Saturday in December belongs to Army-Navy, and ONLY Army-Navy!” Trump said. “I will soon sign a Historic Executive Order securing an EXCLUSIVE 4 hour Broadcast window, so this National Event stands above Commercial Postseason Games. No other Game or Team can violate this Time Slot!!!”
President Donald Trump (C) greets players after the coin toss and before the start of the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 13, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Trump praised the rivalry, adding that “on the battlefield they are America’s unstoppable Patriots, defending our Country with tremendous Strength and Heart.”
“We must protect the Tradition, and the Players, who protect us,” he added. “Please let this serve as Notice to ALL Television Networks, Stations, and Outlets.”
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President Donald Trump walks onto the field for the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen on Dec. 13, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Trump attended the 126th installment of the rivalry game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Dec. 13, his seventh appearance at the game. The Navy Midshipmen captured the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy with a 17-16 victory over Army.
The president said he will also attend the College Football Playoff championship Monday in Miami, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Before the Lakers took the court Saturday night, they added two more starters and a key reserve to the injured list. But the Lakers still had LeBron James and they hoped he could carry them past Portland.
Starters Luka Doncic (left groin soreness) and Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness) did not play. In the fourth quarter, Marcus Smart went down amid a pile of players in the lane and eventually limped to the locker room never to return.
As for James and the rest of the Lakers, all of the injuries were too much to overcome in a 132-116 loss to the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.
Smart had 25 points before he went to the locker room. James had 20 points but was just six for 16 from the field. He had nine rebounds and eight assists for a Lakers team that has lost five of its last six games.
Drew Timme was a positive for the Lakers, scoring a career-high 21 points. Rui Hachimura and Maxi Kleber each had 11 points.
“At the end of the day, nobody is feeling sorry for us, nor are we looking for it,” James said. “The guys that are available, we got to go out there and play our game, play the way we want to play offensively and defensively and just try to right the ship until we get whole.”
Shaedon Sharpe led Portland (21-22) with 25 points. Jerami Grant and Caleb Love each scored 22 points and Donovan Clingan finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Lakers guard Marcus Smart shoots over Portland center Donovan Clingan in the first half Saturday.
(Amanda Loman / Associated Press)
Doncic, who underwent an MRI and is listed as day-to-day, was dealing with the injury all of last week despite playing against the Kings, Hawks and Hornets.
“I think it was an accumulation of a longer week, more lingering, if anything,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game.
The Lakers (24-16) aren’t sure if Ayton will play against Toronto on Sunday. The center is day-to-day with left knee soreness.
“He took a hit in his knee and there was no swelling, just some soreness,” Redick said.
The Lakers were also without backup center Jaxson Hayes, who didn’t play against the Trail Blazers because of left hamstring tendinopathy. Redick said there’s a chance Hayes could play Sunday.
With so many starters out, Redick said he liked his team’s competitive “spirit” against the Trail Blazers.
Still, it’s been hard to win consistently with so many key players out.
“This has been our season,” Redick said. “You get one guy healthy, another guy gets injured. You get one guy back and another guy gets injured. Two guys go out tonight and you play without your two centers. So, it’s been our season.”
James missed his first five shots in the first quarter, finishing the frame going one for seven from the field for just two points.
The Lakers were called for 13 fouls in the first quarter alone, leading to 22 free-throw attempts for the Trail Blazers — a big reason why they opened a 40-27 lead after the first 12 minutes.
“I thought the whistle was very shot in the first quarter,” James said. “I think there were like maybe 17, 18, 20 free throws in the first quarter. It’s hard to set your defense with that type of situation. But we gave ourselves a chance a couple of times, but it was an uphill battle.”
Sports
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti shuts down NFL coaching speculation: ‘I’ve always been more of a college football guy’
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Nine NFL teams entered the offseason looking to fill their head coaching vacancies, and while some believe Indiana coach Curt Cignetti would be a strong fit for several of those openings, he sees it differently.
Speaking to the media on Saturday ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game in Miami, Cignetti shut down speculation of having any interest in making a leap to the NFL.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti speaks during media day ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game between the Miami Hurricanes and Indiana. The game will be played Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
“I made that decision a long time ago now,” Cignetti said, via CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello. “Chuck Amato, NC State, in 2000. I had a chance to go with the [Green Bay] Packers. Tommy Rossley, Mike Sherman, [Brett] Favre was in his heyday. I declined the opportunity. I almost took it. That’s when I made the final decision.”
“I’ve always been more of a college football guy.”
Cignetti has had several coaching stints in college football but has never crossed into the NFL. His most notable – prior to his success at Indiana – was during his five seasons at James Madison, where he led the Dukes to three conference titles and an FCS national championship appearance. He left for Indiana with a 52-9 record.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti walks on the field before the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Cignetti’s remarks come amid speculation that Las Vegas could be a potential fit, as Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza will likely be taken by the Raiders with the first overall pick in April’s draft.
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With those rumors settled, Cignetti’s and Mendoza’s focus can return to Monday’s title game against Miami.
The Hoosiers have gone 26-2 over the last two seasons under Cignetti and only Miami stands between them and the program’s first national championship.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws a pass as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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The CFP national championship game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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