Boston, MA
MLB notes: Scott Yelle completes emotional ballpark tour in late son’s honor
Before he was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident in April 2023, Jackson Yelle and his father Scott aspired to watch a game together at all 30 MLB ballparks. They made it to 12 at the time of his passing, and this year Scott resolved to finish what they started.
Eighteen parks and less than three months later, that dream has officially come true.
Last Sunday, Scott Yelle completed his whirlwind ballpark tour in Jackson’s honor, catching the Detroit Tigers’ 10-2 home win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park. The last stop came after he’d also seen games in St. Louis and Kansas City the days prior, and in Detroit he was joined by his wife, daughter and several others for the final game.
“It was pretty special,” Yelle said by phone earlier this week. “It was a beautiful day, good to have family and friends around, and the Tigers, as everyone has, continued to make us feel like royalty and treated us really special.”
MLB notes: Cape Cod father determined to finish ballpark journey he and late son started together
A North Eastham resident and a graduate of Nauset Regional High School, Jackson Yelle was a talented and well-regarded ballplayer who went on to play for the club team at Elon University. A 21-year-old junior, Jackson was with his team in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the time of his accident, and in the weeks that followed his family, friends and college teammates raised money to start what eventually became the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation, a charitable organization they hoped could help support meaningful causes in his memory.
Besides establishing memorial scholarships and supporting Jackson’s former baseball programs, the Yelle family also decided to support MLB’s Nike RBI Program, which aims to provide baseball opportunities to kids in inner city communities. At every stop along the tour Yelle donated $1,000 to that club’s local program, presenting the team with a big check prior to the game.
It wasn’t long before word started getting out.
Shortly after his tour began Yelle’s story started getting picked up by local and national outlets. He became a frequent guest on MLB Network and after a while fans began recognizing him at the ballpark, often thanks to his Elon baseball hat he wore to every game.
“They’ll say, ‘Hey are you that guy?’ and start a conversation and you get to share the story and they typically want to learn more and offer their condolences and support and inspiration,” Yelle said. “It’s honestly pretty cool. Part of the sheer benefit and joy of the trip is meeting all these new people and it’s part of the therapy for sure.”
Along the way Yelle got to meet numerous baseball legends, including Mike Trout in Anaheim, Freddie Freeman in Los Angeles and Ichiro Suzuki in Seattle.
“There’s definitely some great memories from the trip that I’ll cherish for a long time,” he said.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
The Tigers welcomed Scott Yelle and his family to ballpark No. 30, finishing off the #HonoringJackson Tour.
The Jackson Yelle Family Foundation presented a $1k check for the Detroit Tigers Foundation #NIKERBI athletes‼️ 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9PT26aunV1
— MLBRBI (@MLBRBI) June 9, 2024
Beyond making it to all 18 ballparks left on his list, Yelle also hoped to raise money to support the foundation’s efforts. As of this writing the family has raised approximately $28,000, exceeding their initial goal of $25,000, and if they can top $30,000 they hope to make 12 additional $1,000 donations to the Nike RBI Programs affiliated with the MLB clubs Jackson got to visit prior to his accident.
Yelle has also been invited to attend the Nike RBI World Series in Vero Beach, Fla., in August, and once the dust settles he and the family hope to finalize a number of other initiatives in Jackson’s honor.
In the meantime, Yelle is looking forward to what he expects will be a bittersweet but meaningful Father’s Day. The pain of losing Jackson will never fully heal, but this year there will also be a sense of pride that they were able to see his journey through to the end.
“It’s a bit surreal. It’s finally starting to sink in that we accomplished it,” Yelle said. “It’s crazy. Nine months ago it was just an idea, it wasn’t even really formulated, so to be completed, it’s obviously great. I think Jackson would be proud and thrilled at our accomplishment and getting the job done.”
Anyone interested in supporting the Jackson Yelle Family Foundation can do so by donating at https://jacksonyelle.com/.
Special Father’s Day
This season hasn’t gone the way Garrett Whitlock hoped. The right-hander got off to an outstanding start before missing several weeks due to an oblique injury, and now he’ll sit the rest of the season after undergoing elbow surgery following what was meant to be his last rehab start.
That’s not ideal, but with his first child due to arrive in about a month, Whitlock still has something to look forward to.
“It’s the silver lining for sure knowing I’m going to be there for his birth and I’m going to be around every day, I’m not going to miss any of those moments, that’s huge,” Whitlock said this week. “It’s something I’m really looking forward to in that aspect, obviously it’s not a best case scenario but it’s pretty darn good all things considering.”
Whitlock and his wife Jordan are expecting a baby boy in early July, during a stretch when the Red Sox are scheduled to be in the midst of a week-long, two-city road trip. Many ballplayers who have children during the season face the stressful prospect of rushing home at a moment’s call from some far-flung location to make it back in time when the baby comes, so the fact that Whitlock can plan on avoiding that is a blessing he doesn’t take for granted.
Beyond that, Whitlock will also have more opportunities to spend time with his growing family once his son arrives. In between his daily rehab work and time spent amongst his teammates, one of his top priorities now will be preparing for the big day.
“Getting excited for sure,” Whitlock said. “Just looking forward to it and getting the home as ready as we can and looking forward to welcoming them in here and seeing what it’s going to be like.”
Whitlock and his family plan to spend the rest of the season in Boston while he rehabs, so Jordan and the baby will never be far away, but that isn’t a luxury all ballplayers get to enjoy. Life in the big leagues often requires significant personal sacrifice, but that also makes the time spent together even more special.
Whitlock got a close look at that side of fatherhood, plus a little preview of what he can expect, when he hosted Connor Wong’s family — including his one-year-old Chandler — for a week in Fort Myers during spring training.
“It was good to lean on him and watch how he did everything,” Whitlock said.
“It was great to see them, at that point (Chandler) was walking so he was walking around the spring training agility field,” Wong said. “It wasn’t anything crazy really, we’re thankful Garrett let us stay with him and let my family come into town.”
As far as his recovery from elbow surgery, Whitlock still has a long way to go but is making good progress. The next milestone will be getting out of his heavy brace, which has his right arm immobilized and should come off in about five weeks. After that, the hope is still that Whitlock will be able to return to the mound sometime early next season.
“So far so good,” Whitlock said.
Until then, Whitlock hopes to enjoy all the curveballs fatherhood throws his way.
Devers, Houck on All-Star track
Voting is underway for the MLB All-Star Game, and at this stage of the season the Red Sox have a handful of standouts who have emerged as strong contenders to make the American League roster.
Chief among them is Rafael Devers, who should go toe-to-toe with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez for the starting third base spot. As of this writing Devers leads all qualifying AL third basemen with a .937 OPS and 30 walks, and he also ranks near the top of the leaderboards with 13 home runs, 32 RBI, 13 doubles and even three triples.
Though fans won’t vote on the pitchers, Tanner Houck has clearly put himself in position to earn a spot on the staff, possibly even as the AL’s starter. Houck boasts an 2.08 ERA, ranks second in the AL with 91 innings pitched and has held batters to an exceptional 0.945 walks and hits per innings pitched.
While he probably won’t have a chance to start over Aaron Judge, Juan Soto or Kyle Tucker, Jarren Duran has still built a strong case for himself as a reserve outfielder. Duran has played in every game this season and ranks tied for third among AL outfielders behind Judge and Soto with 3.6 wins above replacement. He also leads the AL with 10 triples, has 15 stolen bases and 20 doubles, and according to Statcast, ranks as both the best baserunner in MLB and as an elite fielder.
Phase 1 of MLB’s All-Star fan vote will run through June 27, at which point the top two vote-getters at each position (top six for outfielders) will advance as finalists to Phase 2, which will run from June 30 to July 3 and determine the game’s starters. Fans can vote at https://www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot.
Keegan, Seymour soar
Two locals are making some noise with the Tampa Bay Rays’ Double-A affiliate.
Methuen’s Dom Keegan, a former Central Catholic star, came into Friday batting .285 with five home runs, 31 RBI and an .814 OPS for the Montgomery Biscuits. Meanwhile, Ian Seymour, a former Saint John’s (Shrewsbury) standout from Westborough, came into the weekend with a 5-2 record, a 2.16 ERA and 77 strikeouts over his first 66.2 innings.
Keegan and Seymour rank as the Rays’ No. 5 and 18 prospects, respectively, according to MLB Pipeline.
Some other notable local performers: Rowley’s Thomas White, a former Phillips Andover great now in the Miami Marlins system, was recently promoted to High-A. In his first two starts with the Beloit Sky Carp he’s struck out 14 batters over 8.1 innings while posting a 2.16 ERA. … Former Northeastern University aces Cam Schlittler and Sebastian Keane are both off to strong starts with the Yankees’ High-A affiliate. Schlittler, a former Walpole star, has a 2.15 ERA through his first 10 starts, and Keane, of North Andover, has a 4.85 ERA through his first 11 starts.
Boston, MA
Between Providence And Boston Is A Vibrant Massachusetts Town Bursting With Diverse Entertainment – Islands
For some, New England might conjure images of skating rinks, Colonial architecture, and quaint villages. Others might picture waterfront cities like Boston or Providence, rich in history and — in the case of Boston, especially — towering skyscrapers. As you drive between these two capitals along Interstate 95 — a trip that should take about an hour — you’ll pass by towns like Foxborough. For the last few decades, this little community has developed a reputation as a hub of diverse entertainment, making it a worthwhile pit-stop as you journey along the East Coast.
If you’ve ever watched the Patriots kick off from Gillette Stadium on TV, then you’re already familiar with this Massachusetts town. The stadium, considered one of the 10 best in the U.S. for fun activities and events, was completed in 2002, but Foxborough itself has served as the home base for the Patriots since the 1970s. In the decades since, the team has attracted millions of visitors.
Foxborough — also spelled “Foxboro” — is normally home to about 6,500 year-rounders, but it floods with thousands more people on game or concert days. In total, the stadium can accommodate over 65,000 fans. When you’re not at Gillette Stadium, which is less than 4 miles from the heart of downtown, you’ll find plenty of other things to do. There’s live theater, outdoor recreational opportunities, and an eclectic mix of dining options, each deserving some exploration.
NFL games and Cranberry Bogs in Foxborough
Foxborough is located roughly 30 miles from Boston and just over 20 miles from Providence. In the area, you’ll find plenty of suburbs with historic downtowns and lush trails, like Hopedale, but Foxborough, nicknamed the “Gem of Norfolk County,” has one of the most diverse mixes of entertainment options. Marilyn Rodman Performing Arts Center, for instance, housed in a 1920s-era silent movie theater, offers a busy calendar of comedy and musical performances year-round.
Football fans will also enjoy visiting the Patriots Hall in Patriot Place Mall, which is open daily for $10 per standard ticket. Here, you’ll be able to watch interviews with former players and stroll through a range of exhibits. “I liked all the different memorabilia from all different players all labeled with who and what milestone they came from,” reads one review on Tripadvisor. Afterward, check out the dozens of shopping and dining options in the surrounding mall, which also has its own commuter rail station and connected hotels. Gillette Stadium is next door; along with the Patriots, the venue has hosted performers like Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and The Rolling Stones.
The Ocean Spray Cranberry Bogs and surrounding nature trails are also part of Patriot Place. Planted back in the 1920s, these bogs continue to thrive. They’re typically harvested in October, when visitors can attend the annual Harvest Festival. At this fun and family-friendly local event, you’ll be able to enjoy an inflatable corn maze, a beer garden, live music, and more.
Where to eat and sleep in Foxborough
As you explore Foxborough, you’ll find a range of dining options, from classic breakfast plates at The Commons, to artisanal burgers at Union Straw. As one reviewer writes about the latter on Google, “[This is a] Gorgeous venue, one of our favorite daytime lunch or date places. All food options are 10/10, truffle burger, gnocchi bolognese, and the flatbread pizzas are delicious and the fries are perfect.”
If you’re planning to spend the night rather than hit the road after a burger at Union Straw or a long football game, you’ll have a range of vacation rentals, local inns, and chain hotels to choose from. The Rally Point Inn & Pub, for instance, is within walking distance of local restaurants and shops. It also has its own sport-themed bar, weekly trivia nights, and karaoke. Just make sure to book your stay well in advance, as places tend to fill up before popular events.
The nearest airport is also in Providence, but you’ll find more flight options at Boston Logan International. Travelers can also opt for the “Event Train,” which runs between Patriot Place and Boston’s South Station on game days, providing a convenient way to avoid the notorious traffic. Besides the I-95 drive from Providence to Boston, there are plenty of other New England road trip tours you can take through gorgeous small towns. That being said, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a destination that attracts as many annual visitors as Foxborough.
SALT LAKE CITY — Up until the past month or so, Clayton Young wasn’t sure if he’d make it to the starting line of the 130th Boston Marathon.
By Monday afternoon, he was walking away from the course with a stunning new personal best.
Young finished the 26.2-mile point-to-point course in a personal-record time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 41 seconds Monday, good for 11th place in an all-time year. Zouhair Talbi ran the fastest time ever by an American, finishing fifth overall in 2:03:45 and Jess McClain broken the American women’s record in 2:20:49.
In all, seven American men and 12 American women finished in the top 20 of the prestigious marathon — including Young, whose streak of six consecutive top-10 finishes dating back to 2023 (including the Paris Olympics) ended, albeit barely.
But donning the No. 24 bib and a brand-new kit for new sponsor Brooks, the former BYU national champion who prepped at American Fork High jumped into the lead pack from the start and never looked back as he broke his previous lifetime best set from the 2023 Chicago marathon and the Olympic trials nearly a year later by close to 3 seconds.
“With only nine weeks of training. … I was really happy to be a 2:05 guy,” Young told FloTrack after the race. “Obviously, falling outside the top 10 is a little disappointing, but I’m really happy with the time.”
The final finish was only the faintest disappointment in the incredibly fast field.
Young’s finish as the third fastest American on Monday marks the fifth-fastest time by an American man all-time in Boston. Charles Hicks finished 50 seconds behind Talbi in 2:04:35, with Young coming in just over a minute later to cheers of friends and family.
His former BYU teammate, Canadian international Rory Linkletter, finished 14th with a personal-best time of 2:06:04. Former BYU runner Michael Ottesen finished 52nd in 2:16:06, and Utah resident Todd Garner finished his 11th running of the Boston Marathon all-time in 3:14:35.
“I think we’re in an era in distance running, on the men and women’s sides, but especially the women’s side, where we’re all making each other so much better every time we line up with one another,” McClain told the Associated Press. “And I think it’s just going to get stronger and stronger.”
Former Utah Valley and BYU runner Kodi Kleven finished 14th in the women’s race with a personal-best time of 2:24:48. The three-time St. George marathon course record holder from Mount Pleasant led for large portions of the race en route to her qualifying time for the 2026 U.S. Olympic marathon trials.
Former BYU standout and Utah State coach Madey Dickson, who also runs trains locally with Run Elite Program, beat her previous personal record in 2:28:12 — good for 18th in the women’s race.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
For an industrial robot built for the rigors of factories and power plants, tidying up a living room may seem like a light day at the office for Spot. Yet, a recent video of the robot picking up shoes and soda cans in a residential home represents the promise of AI models in robotics. In this case, Google’s visual-language model (VLM) Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5 was empowering Spot with embodied reasoning.
This particular demo grew out of a 2025 hackathon at Boston Dynamics that built on prior projects using Large Language Models (LLMs) and Visual Foundation Models (VFMs) to enable Spot to contextualize its environment and engage in more complex autonomous actions than a typical Autowalk mission. Rather than write formal software logic or a “state machine” program that defines each step of a given task, we interacted with Gemini Robotics using conversational language. In turn, it communicated with Spot on our behalf.
A Robust SDK and Natural Language Prompts Save Time
Using Spot’s SDK, we developed a layer that facilitated interaction between Gemini Robotics and Spot’s application programming interface (API). The API normally gives developers access to the robot’s capabilities to create custom applications or behaviors. For example, researchers at Meta have used Spot to test how an AI system could locate and retrieve objects it had never seen before.
Our ability to engage Gemini Robotics using natural language prompts was a huge timesaver, compared to traditional programming. We told Gemini Robotics it had access to a mobile robot equipped with cameras and a robotic arm. It also had a finite set of tools it could use to control the robot. A tool is a lightweight script that performs some internal logic and translates inputs from Gemini Robotics to actual API calls. We limited the actions to navigating between locations, capturing images, identifying objects, grasping them, and placing them somewhere else.
The extent of our SDK means there are great examples one could leverage to add more access to the API with minimal development.
Giving Gemini Robotics a Baseline
To start we needed to explain to Gemini Robotics what we wanted it to do. We did experience a learning curve when writing these baseline prompts. Simple instructions like “put down an object” or “take a picture” weren’t detailed enough to produce expected behavior. We had to add context in our descriptions as we refined each tool.
A good example is the detailed prompt for the “TakePicture” tool:
This command will cause the robot to take a picture with the specified camera. There is some nuance to choosing the correct camera. Once arriving at a location using GoTo, you should always start by taking a picture with the gripper camera, because it's the most informative.
If the robot has arrived at location and is already holding an object, you can do one of two things:
1. Immediately call PutDown
2. Search the area with either of the front cameras. The front cameras are low to the ground, so if you're trying to put things on an elevated surface, they won't give you useful information.In this example, we gave Gemini Robotics no detailed description of the robot’s chassis or arm. Instead, we simply explained that Spot’s front cameras would be too low to photograph objects on elevated surfaces. We were able to iterate rapidly, as small changes in wording produced noticeably better results. Once it had this set of basic tools through the API, Gemini Robotics could sequence Spot’s actions and follow the handwritten instructions on a whiteboard on the day of the demonstration.
How Gemini Robotics and Spot Collaborate
Until the robot powers on, Gemini Robotics has no context for what specific tasks we might ask it to perform in a given demo. We only provided simple written instructions, such as, “Make sure all of the shoes at the front door are on the shoe rack.” Gemini Robotics evaluated images from Spot’s cameras and identified objects in the scene that matched the instructions. These objects became the reference points for Spot’s navigational and manipulation systems.
In many respects, Gemini Robotics was identical to an operator manually driving Spot using its tablet controller. For example, to pick up an object with Spot, an operator positions the robot near the object and then uses a grasp wizard to identify the target object. The operator provides high-level direction and Spot figures out the exact details. In this demonstration, Gemini Robotics functioned as both the operator and the tablet sending commands to the robot. This freed us up to act more like a team lead, providing a high-level to-do list and trusting Spot and Gemini Robotics do the rest.
Call and Response
When Gemini Robotics engages a given tool, the tool responds with results and context, such as, “I picked up the object,” or “I can’t pick up something while my hand is full.” Gemini Robotics then makes adjustments on the fly based on this feedback from Spot. For example, to pick up shoes, Gemini Robotics requests an image, identifies the shoes in that image, and calls the “pickup” command. By creating fundamental tools that semantically flow in conversation, Gemini Robotics can manage the sequence of tasks required to clean up the room. Spot’s existing software stack manages the locomotion, navigation, and manipulation of the robot itself.
It’s important to note Gemini Robotics has strict boundaries in this scenario. It can’t invent new capabilities or control Spot beyond what is available through the API. This keeps Spot’s behavior predictable, while still allowing Gemini Robotics to adapt to different situations.
A Force Multiplier for Developers
For developers already working with Spot, this research has tremendous potential. Through Spot’s SDK, they have access to a robust toolkit of capabilities. Companies use these tools today to build applications for inspection, research, and industrial data analysis, among others.
An AI model like Gemini Robotics offers a way to expand those applications more rapidly. Rather than write extensive task logic on top of Spot’s APIs, developers can experiment with having AI systems interpret natural language instructions and dynamically choose to engage the robot. As a result, models like Gemini Robotics can act as force multipliers, amplifying the reliable toolkit and robust performance that is already delivering value for Boston Dynamics customers.
Our Next-Token Prediction for Spot and Gemini Robotics
Although this is still an experimental step and not a hardened application, it illustrates a compelling direction for robotics and physical AI. Robots like Spot are already extremely capable of navigating complex and changeable environments, collecting data and sensor readings, and manipulating objects. Rather than reinventing the wheel, AI foundation models offer a new way to expand these capabilities in new settings and to new applications.
Physical AI is a rapidly evolving field and our team is leading the way in the lab and in real applications of AI empowered robots. While we are early in our formal partnership with Google Deepmind, we’re excited for what the future holds with Atlas and we’ve already rolled out practical enhancements for Spot and Orbit, with AIVI-Learning powered by Google Gemini Robotics ER 1.6. This next evolution of our AI Visual Inspection tool unlocks a new level of visual intelligence, as users benefit from shared expertise bringing a deeper level of contextual intelligence to Spot and Orbit. Model improvements automatically happen behind the scenes, adding more capabilities to the same software and hardware.
Today, this demo points to a future where users can rely more on natural language to guide Spot’s actions, rather than complex code. The engineer’s role shifts toward setting goals and objectives. The multi-modal robot foundation model interprets the instructions to form complex and adaptive plans and Spot executes the action.
This article was contributed by Issac Ross and Nikhil Devraj, engineers on the Spot team.
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