Sports
Consistent contact propels unheralded Michael Stefanic to the cusp of Angels roster
A bonus child, Michael Stefanic isn’t. When the previous Westmont Faculty infielder signed with the Angels as a nondrafted free agent in July 2018, he didn’t obtain one penny. All he obtained was a bus ticket to Phoenix and the promise of some rookie-league at-bats within the Arizona Summer time League.
“I used to be simply so grateful for the chance, I didn’t care,” Stefanic stated after a exercise at minor league camp this week. “I used to be a kind of guys who stated, ‘Shoot, I’ll play free of charge.’ So after I obtained my first $250 examine after the primary two weeks, I wasn’t upset. I used to be like, ‘I’ll get some meal cash out of this.’ ”
The paychecks are nonetheless mild, however Stefanic’s circumstances have modified dramatically since that no-budget signing, three seasons of feasting on opposing pitching and a variety to the triple-A all-star recreation final summer season shifting him to the cusp of the large leagues.
Stefanic, 26, shot by the Angels’ farm system like a line drive to the hole, leaping from rookie ball in 2018 to Class-A in 2019 and, after the coronavirus worn out the 2020 minor league season, to double-A and triple-A in 2021.
He raked at each cease, constructing a resume that features a .314 common and .824 on-base-plus-slugging proportion in 241 minor league video games with simply 129 strikeouts in 1,019 plate appearances.
He added 20 kilos of muscle throughout the 2020 shutdown, infusing his offense with much-need energy, and his house run totals jumped from three in 2019 to 17 in 2021. He hit .334 with a .913 OPS, 16 homers and 54 RBIs in 104 video games for triple-A Salt Lake final season.
A second baseman with restricted vary, quickness and arm energy, Stefanic spent the final 5 months in Arizona shoring up his weaknesses and increasing his defensive versatility to arrange for a utility position. He’s not anticipated to make the large league membership when the lockout ends, however he’s on the depth chart.
“It’s a testomony to his character and perseverance as a participant, for positive,” stated Robert Ruiz, Stefanic’s coach at Westmont, an NAIA faculty in Santa Barbara. “He was relentless in his pursuit of discovering a chance to play on the subsequent degree. And he didn’t take the primary 5 no’s as his last reply.”
Stefanic, who grew up in Boise, Idaho, has at all times been ignored, and never simply due to his smallish 5-foot-10, 180-pound body. He didn’t obtain any main school gives out of highschool and wound up at Westmont after catching the attention of Ruiz at a summer season camp at Stanford.
“When he obtained right here, you form of query a few of his instruments, attempt to determine the place he’s going to slot in,” Ruiz stated. “He’s scrappy, perhaps a task participant, and also you assume by his junior 12 months, perhaps he’ll have an opportunity that can assist you out. He had an unreal fall as a freshman, discovered his approach into the beginning lineup and by no means got here out.”
A four-time All-Golden State Athletic Convention choice from 2015-2018, Stefanic hit .363 with a .901 OPS, 275 hits, eight homers, 50 doubles and 124 RBIs in 198 school video games, however much more spectacular, he struck out solely 33 instances in 853 plate appearances.
“Yeah, unreal,” Ruiz stated. “It was a great method, elite-level pitch recognition, realizing the strike zone. He’s that man, if the umpire calls strike three and he takes the pitch, you form of really feel just like the umpire was in all probability fallacious.”
“Any individual went down within the AZL they usually wanted a physique. I assume I used to be that physique.”
Angels prospect Michael Stefanic
Skilled scouts, nevertheless, noticed deficiencies in Stefanic: An absence of pace, arm energy, energy and defensive versatility. Forty rounds of the 2018 draft handed, and Stefanic was not among the many 1,214 gamers chosen.
“It was devastating, form of soul-crushing, actually,” Stefanic stated. “I used to be in a nasty place mentally as a result of I had such a great school profession and was so assured that I may carry out on the professional degree.”
His then-girlfriend had an uncle within the San Diego Padres entrance workplace who steered Stefanic put collectively a resume and spotlight video and ship it to all 30 golf equipment. Stefanic e-mailed it to 150-200 executives, most of whom didn’t reply.
“It was form of a shot at the hours of darkness,” Stefanic stated, “hoping somebody would take an opportunity on me.”
A month later, Stefanic returned house from an interview for a authorized assistant job with a regulation agency in Santa Barbara when he obtained a name from then-Angels participant growth coordinator Chris Mosch.
“Any individual went down within the AZL they usually wanted a physique,” Stefanic stated. “I assume I used to be that physique.”
Stefanic entered his first recreation as a pinch-runner, singled in his first at-bat, “and after that, it was like, ‘Recreation on, let’s do it, I can deal with this,’ ” Stefanic stated. “And that’s how I continued to method issues.
“I don’t care who’s on the mound, or what they’re throwing, they should throw the ball over the plate, I’ve to place the bat on the ball, and let’s see who wins.”
Considered one of baseball’s oldest adages is that in the event you can hit, they’ll discover a spot for you. The Angels did final season for Jose Rojas, who, very similar to Stefanic, was a lowly regarded prospect from an NAIA faculty (Vanguard College) who put up nice minor league numbers earlier than reaching the large leagues final season.
“He’s been an enormous inspiration to me,” Stefanic stated of Rojas, a university opponent for 2 seasons. “He confirmed that it’s attainable, and I hope to be the subsequent one.”
If Stefanic is, it is going to be due to a pure really feel to hit with a swing that hasn’t modified since he was 12 years previous and an old-school two-strike method that can heat the hearts of purists who lengthy for a recreation with fewer whiffs.
“I heard this the opposite day, and I actually favored it: The primary two strikes of the at-bat are yours, and once you get to 2 strikes, the at-bat is for the workforce,” Stefanic stated. “So after I get to 2 strikes, I’m actually simply seeking to hit a low line drive and put the ball in play, irrespective of the place it’s.
“Placing stress on the protection is nice, in my view. Which may be counterintuitive to the way in which the sport is performed now, however I’m by no means gonna be a 50-homer man. That’s simply not who I’m. However you recognize who’s? Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. I simply should get on base for these guys, they usually can hit me in.”
Ten years and one month after Buzunesh Deba finished as the rightful winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, she was finally given the prize money she never received — but it didn’t come from the Boston Athletic Association.
Rather, it came from a stranger.
When Deba crossed the finish line on Boylston Street in 2014, she didn’t receive international praise, the ceremonial gold wreath or the purse of $100,000 ($75,000 for winning plus $25,000 for breaking the course record). Rather, those honors and winnings went to Rita Jeptoo, who crossed the finish line first that year, but whose victory was stripped by the BAA in 2016 after a failed drug test.
Deba finished just over one minute behind Jeptoo for second place that day, but her time of 2:19:59 still shattered the previous course record set by Margaret Okayo in 2002.
But while Deba’s name replaced Jeptoo’s in the history books after the failed test, the money never appeared in Deba’s bank account.
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Despite Jeptoo’s record being scrubbed and her name being tarnished, her winnings have never been reclaimed. Similar cases have unfolded with the Chicago Marathon, where Liliya Shobukhova won the race three times for a total of $265,000 before she was caught doping. Like with Jeptoo, no money has ever been recovered from Shobukhova.
That is until Doug Guyer gave her the money out of his own pocket. Guyer, a businessman from Philadelphia, personally paid Deba her $75,000 after reading an article in The Wall Street Journal in April about her never receiving her winnings.
“We cried. I called my mother to tell her and she was so happy,” Deba told The Athletic in an email.
Deba, who has competed internationally for Ethiopia, is based in the Bronx, N.Y., with her husband and two children.
She found success at the 2014 New York City Marathon, where she finished ninth, and returned to Boston in 2015, where she finished third.
But for Deba, that 2014 win remains the pinnacle of her career. And for her family, those winnings were sorely needed.
“It means so much. It allows me to train again. We don’t have a sponsor. We have to pay for everything,” she said. “And I have two children. The money will go to my training and my family. We are so grateful. We have waited so long for this and almost gave up. God bless Mr. Doug.”
Guyer, who played football at Boston College and was beaten out for the starting quarterback spot by Doug Flutie in 1981, told the Boston Globe, “It was just about righting a wrong that’s been wrong for 10 years.”
Guyer said he’ll consider sending the $25,000 course record bonus if the BAA doesn’t.
The BAA said in a statement it is in “pursuit of reclaiming prize money awards from Rita Jeptoo” and plans to pay Deba her winnings when the association receives them. The organization said it is backed by policies held by World Athletics and supported by World Marathon Majors.
“The BAA is still pursuing Ms. Jeptoo to recover the prize money for Ms. Deba, which the BAA believes would be a just and fair result for her and all runners who follow the rules,” a BAA spokesperson said.
Deba said she was skeptical of Jeptoo’s performance from the day of the 2014 race, saying she wondered why Jeptoo wasn’t tired when she crossed the finish line.
Deba looks over her shoulder on the home stretch of Boylston Street during the 2014 Boston Marathon. (Photo: Dina Rudick / Getty Images)
But when Deba was told in 2016 that she was the winner, she couldn’t believe it.
“I was in my apartment and I jumped up and down. It was my biggest win,” she said. “Not only was I the champion but I was also the course record holder.”
Despite her decade of waiting for her proper winnings, Deba said she’s never held bitterness against the BAA. Instead, she considers the organization “like family.”
While she took her story public in April, in the weeks before the 10-year anniversary of her win, she held back from sharing it so for many years because she trusted the BAA would do right by her. She also feared that if she said something she would not be invited back to the prestigious race.
“This started when my friend came to my apartment and looked at my second-place trophy and asked, ‘What’s this? Where’s your real trophy?’ I told her that they never sent one to me,” Deba said. “She was so upset for me. We wrote to them and I eventually got my medals. Then they asked me to come to a celebration for the 10 year winners. She told me that I should see what they planned to do about the money.”
In response to The Wall Street Journal story, fans from around the world came to Deba’s defense, with many even willing to crowdfund her winnings.
“I am so grateful to know that so many people are behind me,” Deba said. “It is important that people know how hard I worked to win. This is my job. I was not begging for something that wasn’t mine. A lot went into winning and I am glad to see that the community agrees with me.”
It wasn’t until after the April article was published that the BAA responded about trying to move her case forward, Deba said.
And yet, that doesn’t diminish her adoration for the race or even deter her from wanting to return to the world’s most famous marathon.
“It is still my dream to come back and not only run but win Boston,” she said.
Required reading
(Photo: John Blanding / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler received a ton of support at Valhalla Golf Course on Friday when he returned from jail to shoot a 66 in the second round of the PGA Championship.
At home and on social media, Scheffler received even more support. Golf influencer Grace Charis was among those who showed their love for Scheffler. She posted a photo of herself in a crop top shirt with Scheffler’s mugshot across her chest.
Golf influencer Grace Charis poses for picture on the tenth hole during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Network)
“#FREESCOTTIE,” her shirt read.
Charis has 3 million followers on Instagram, 2.9 million on TikTok and another 880,000 on X.
Scheffler was in the mix for the lead after the second round, finishing only three shots off the leader. Xander Schauffele went into the clubhouse 12-under par.
Golfer and social media influencer Grace Charis looks on during the first round of the Masters Tournament. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
“As far as best rounds of my career, I would say it was pretty good,” Scheffler said after the round. “I definitely never imagined ever going to jail, and I definitely never imagined going to jail the morning before one of my tee times.”
Scheffler faces second-degree assault of a police officer (a felony), criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic charges stemming from the early Friday morning incident.
Scottie Scheffler watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Friday, May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
He chalked it up to a “big misunderstanding.”
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City Section
BASEBALL
Friday’s Results
Open Division
Quarterfinals
Granada Hills 3, El Camino Real 2
Bell 3, Sylmar 0
Carson 4, Cleveland 3
Birmingham 8, San Pedro 0
Saturday’s Schedule
(All games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
Division I
No. 8 North Hollywood at No. 1 Garfield
Roosevelt at No. 4 Chatsworth
No. 14 L.A. Marshall at No. 11 South East
No. 7 Wilmington Banning at No. 2 Verdugo Hills
Division II
No. 16 Van Nuys at No. 8 Monroe
No. 13 Fremont at No. 5 Harbor Teacher
No. 11 King/Drew at No. 3 Eagle Rock
No. 7 Port of L.A. at No. 2 Sotomayor
Division III
No. 9 Middle College/No. 8 Lakeview Charter vs. No. 1 L.A. University at Dorsey High
No. 12 Valor Academy at No. 4 East Valley
No. 11 Diego Rivera at No. 3 Jefferson
No. 7 Fulton vs. No. 2 Lincoln at Torres High
Tuesday’s Schedule
At Pepperdine
Open Division
Semifinals
No. 3 Carson vs. No. 2 Birmingham, 11:30 a.m.
No. 4 Bell vs. No. 1 Granada Hills, 2:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Saturday’s Schedule
At Long Beach State
Finals
Open Division
No. 3 Carson vs. No. 1 Granada Hills, 7 p.m.
Division I
No. 3 Granada Hills Kennedy vs. No. 1 Garfield, 4 p.m.
Division II
No. 2 Marquez vs. No. 1 Chatsworth, 1 p.m.
Thursday’s Schedule
At Venice
Division IV
Finals
No. 10 LACES at No. 5 University
Southern Section
BASEBALL
Friday’s Results
Finals
At Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore
Division 7
Oxford Academy 5, South El Monte 4
Division 6
Colony 8, Village Christian 3
Division 5
Chino Hills 4, Santa Monica 1
Division 2
Hart 7, Moorpark 6
Saturday’s Schedule
Finals
At Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore
Division 8
Orange County Pacifica Christian (22-6) vs. Azusa (17-5), 10 a.m.
Division 4
Camarillo (23-5) vs. St. Francis (19-13), 1 p.m.
Division 3
St. John Bosco (20-10) vs. Beckman (24-6-1), 4 p.m.
Division 1
Corona (29-3) vs. Harvard-Westlake (27-4-1), 7:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Friday’s Results
Finals
At Barber Park in Irvine
Division 8
Hesperia Christian 8, Jurupa Valley 7
Division 6
Ganesha 21, Viewpoint 1
Division 4
Paraclete 8, JW North 0
Division 1
Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Orange Lutheran 0
Saturday’s Schedule
Finals
At Barber Park in Irvine
Division 7
Oxford Academy (25-5) vs. Eastside (22-10), 10 a.m.
Division 5
Liberty (22-6) vs. Cerritos Valley Christian (17-6), 1 p.m.
Division 3
Etiwanda (27-5) vs. King (19-9), 4 p.m.
Division 2
California (28-3) vs. Gahr (18-10), 7 p.m.
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