Sports
Dodgers bat boy on saving Shohei Ohtani from line drive: 'Just doing my job'
Javier Herrera set the snooze alarm on his 15 minutes of fame, the Dodgers bat boy soaking up the spotlight for one more day in the wake of his Shohei Ohtani-saving catch of a blistering line drive off the bat of Kiké Hernández during Wednesday night’s 4-0 win over the White Sox in Chicago.
About two dozen reporters from Japanese and Southern California-based news outlets surrounded Herrera, 38, as he conducted an interview with SportsNet LA in the tunnel below the team’s Oracle Park dugout before Friday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants.
How did it feel to shield the Dodgers’ $700-million man, a two-time American League most valuable player and one of baseball’s best all-around players, from potential harm when he made a bare-handed catch of a drive that appeared headed for Ohtani’s head?
“I don’t know,” a reluctant Herrera said. “I was just doing my job.”
Asked about his quick reaction time, Herrera, who is in his 18th year with the club, said, “I saw the pitch all the way through. It hit the bat, and the ball pretty much found me. I was able to grab it.”
Did it hurt?
“Not at all,” Herrera said.
Does Herrera have the softest hands of any clubhouse attendant in the league?
“We use a lot of lotion,” he said.
What did Ohtani, who was walking behind Herrera toward the bat rack and did not even see the ball coming toward the dugout, say to him?
“He said, ‘Thank you,’ ” Herrera said, “and I said, ‘I told you, I have your back.’ ”
And what about the rumors that Ohtani, who famously gifted reliever Joe Kelly’s wife a Porsche for relinquishing No. 17 to the two-way star, was going to buy Herrera a Porsche?
“Nope,” Herrera said. “These are all just rumors.”
Dodgers bat boy Javier Herrera, left, is interviewed before Friday’s game between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
(Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times)
Herrera said he did not realize the clip of his catch had gone viral until later Wednesday night, when a friend sent him the video.
“I saw it 100 times,” Herrera said. “It was pretty impressive. I was impressed. But in the moment, it was just like, ‘OK, let’s keep playing.’ ”
Ohtani posted a video clip of Herrera’s interview Friday to his Instagram account and wrote, “My hero!!”
Herrera also earned praise from manager Dave Roberts.
“Yeah, he needs a contract extension, a raise,” Roberts said. “I was obviously right next to him, but I didn’t appreciate how close it was, you know, going towards Shohei. And what a great play it was. So, very quick reaction from Javy, and very grateful.”
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge crushed home run No. 31 on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays as the team secured an 8-1 victory.
Judge has been on a torrid home run pace this season and appeared to be on a similar path as 2022, when he broke the American League home run record with 62 home runs.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hits a two-run homer against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 30, 2024, in Toronto, Canada. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
He has 31 home runs in 83 games this season for New York. In 2022, Judge had 30 home runs in 83 games. He hit 32 home runs the rest of the way that season and ended up with 62, hitting the historic mark in the final game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers.
Judge won the American League MVP award in 2022 – the first of his career.
Sunday’s two-run dinger came off Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman in the first inning. The ball traveled 423 feet.
SHOHEI OHTANI CALLS BATBOY WHO SAVED HIM FROM HARD FOUL BALL IN DUGOUT HIS ‘HERO’
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees celebrates his home run with Alex Verdugo in the first inning of the Blue Jays game on June 30, 2024, in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees celebrates in the dugout at Rogers Centre on June 30, 2024, in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
Gausman ended up allowing seven runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Judge was 2-for-4 on the day and also struck out twice.
Yankees starter Gerrit Cole pitched five innings and struck out six. He allowed an RBI single to Justin Turner in the bottom of the third inning.
New York moved to 54-32 on the year with the win.
Toronto fell to 38-45.
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All-Star forward Paul George has informed the Clippers that he is opting out of his contract for $48.7 million and will become an unrestricted free agent, people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Times on Saturday afternoon.
George is expected to meet with teams that have salary-cap space, perhaps as early as Sunday when NBA free agency opens at 3 p.m. PDT.
Earlier Saturday, Russell Westbrook picked up his player option for $4 million and will return for the 2024-25 season, a person not authorized to speak on the matter confirmed.
George and the Philadelphia 76ers have been linked as potential partners, according to people not authorized to speak on the matter. The 76ers can offer George up to $212 million over four years, and the two sides are expected to meet soon to discuss a deal.
The Orlando Magic also have the same amount to spend as the 76ers, and they also are interested in George.
A person close to George, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said they “wouldn’t put anyone as the front-runner right now” because he wants to go through the process.
George, who is from Palmdale, was excited to come to Los Angeles in 2019 when the Clippers acquired him in a trade so his family could see him play.
“He’s going to look at everything, figure out what the best spot is for him,” the person said. “Look, he’s also got a lot of love for the Clippers. But he’s also got to look at everything. Everyone just thinks that, ‘Oh, he definitely would stay home.’ He has to look at what’s best for him, including the Clippers, and then figure things out.”
George was eligible to get a four-year, $221-million extension from the Clippers.
After Kawhi Leonard agreed during the season to a three-year extension for $152 million, the Clippers were willing to offer George the same contract but the two sides couldn’t agree on a deal.
The Clippers were prepared for George, 34, to make any decision.
“We hope Paul’s decision is to be here,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said Thursday night. “He’s been awesome. He’s been an All-Star three of the five years. He’s one of the best two-way players in the league. He’s a terrific person. He’s got a great family, so we hope he’s here. But also respect the fact that if he chooses to opt out, that’s his choice. He’s earned it and we’ll see how things play out.”
George, a nine-time All-Star, played in 74 games last season, the most he had played since joining the Clippers. He averaged 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting a career-high 41.3% from three-point range.
He averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the first-round series against Dallas.
George played a pivotal role in the Clippers reaching their first-ever Western Conference finals in 2021.
Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star, averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season. He shot 45.4% from the field, but just 27.3% from three-point range.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook averaged 11.1 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists last season when primarily coming off the bench.
(Nell Redmond / Associated Press)
But in a first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged just 6.3 points and shot 26% from the field, 23.5% from three-point range.
After the Clippers acquired James Harden in late October, Westbrook went to the bench and was productive in that role, which he did not oppose unlike when he played for the Lakers.
Forward P.J. Tucker opted into his player option for $11.5 million on Friday and will return to the Clippers.
Also, according to a person not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, the Clippers signed Trentyn Flowers to a two-way contract. Flowers, an athletic 6-7 wing player, played last season in Australia.
Aaron Rodgers made his first public appearance since the drama over his whereabouts while the New York Jets began mandatory minicamp earlier this month.
Rodgers was seen cageside at UFC 303 in Las Vegas on Saturday night. He was seen with his former Green Bay Packers teammate, tight end Marcedes Lewis. The veteran NFL player now plays for the Chicago Bears.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during UFC 303 at T-Mobile Arena on June 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Chicago Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis attend UFC 303 on June 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The star quarterback has been absent from minicamp. Jets head coach Robert Saleh described it as an “unexcused absence,” which sparked a whirlwind of controversy from sports pundits in the New York City area.
Saleh tried to put all the hoopla to rest.
“Aaron and I are on the exact same page,” Saleh said earlier this month, via the New York Post. “There’s no issue between Aaron (and me]) or his teammates, for that matter. We addressed it (Tuesday). It’s more of an issue for everyone outside the building than it is inside. That’s about it.”
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Buffalo Bills wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who also played with Rodgers in Green Bay, said on “The Herd” on Thursday that he had just worked out with the quarterback in Los Angeles.
“Me and Aaron have been great friends since I’ve been in Green Bay. I hit him up, told him I was coming out to L.A., and said, ‘Let’s run some routes,’” Valdes-Scantling said. “So, we got it in, went out to some high school, and ran some routes together. We’re good. It was good.”
Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets during OTA Offseason Workouts at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on June 4, 2024, in Florham Park, New Jersey. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Rodgers was at organized team activities earlier in the offseason.
Rodgers was the Jets’ biggest acquisition last year, but only played in four snaps before he tore his Achilles.
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