San Diego, CA
San Diego Padres Rookie Passes Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer on Historic List
![San Diego Padres Rookie Passes Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer on Historic List San Diego Padres Rookie Passes Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer on Historic List](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2817,h_1584,x_0,y_1002/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_mariners/01j51gqs1v4cv25kmmcz.jpg)
San Diego Padres’ rookie Jackson Merrill passed Seattle Mariners Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. in some elite baseball history on Saturday by hitting yet another clutch home run.
Per @StatsCentre on social media:
Most home runs in a season – Rookie centre fielder 21 or younger:
30- Mike Trout (2012)
28- Julio Rodriguez (2022)
20- Willie Mays (1951)
19- Michael Harris II (2022)
17- @Padres Jackson Merrill (2024 via 1 in today’s win vs MIA)
16- Ken Griffey Jr. (1989)
14- Rick Monday (1967)
Considering that Griffey Jr. is one of the best players in baseball history, that is something very impressive by the Padres rookie, who only converted to the outfield this season. He helped the team in a big way by moving to the outfield after the trades of Juan Soto and Trent Grisham this past offseason. The Padres are currently sitting in a playoff spot in the National League in part because of his stellar play.
As for Junior? He has one of the best resumes there is.
Griffey spent 22 years in the big leagues with the Mariners, Reds and White Sox. One of the most popular players to ever play the game, he hit 630 career home runs. He was a 13-time All-Star, a 10-time Gold Glover, a seven-time Silver Slugger and a former MVP.
He was a lifetime .284 hitter, who graced the covers of video games, magazines and starred in movies like “Little Big League.”
Though he never made the World Series, he was a dominant playoff performer, hitting .290 in 18 career games in October. He had six home runs in those games. The 1995 Mariners run to the American League Championship Series is largely credited with saving baseball in the city.
NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the series loss against the Detroit Tigers, Mitch Haniger’s final at-bat and the continued conversation about the future of Scott Servais. Patrick Dubuque, the leader of Baseball Prospectus, joins the show as well. CLICK HERE:
FORMER ALL-STAR SIGNS WITH CONTENDER: Jean Segura, who made an All-Star Game with the Mariners in 2018, has signed on with a World Series contender. CLICK HERE:
M’s SHUTOUT STREAK: The Mariners have shut out the Mets for two consecutive games. How rare is that? CLICK HERE:
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:
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San Diego, CA
San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill Crushes Another Clutch Home Run to Make MLB History
![San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill Crushes Another Clutch Home Run to Make MLB History San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill Crushes Another Clutch Home Run to Make MLB History](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_6585,h_3704,x_0,y_217/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/fastball/01j50ztrbzhmf78x6769.jpg)
For the second night in a row, and the fourth time in the last two weeks, Jackson Merrill rose to the occasion in a powerful way.
The San Diego Padres trailed the Miami Marlins 7-5 entering the eighth inning on Saturday. Merrill, who has been one of the most clutch players in baseball this summer, tied things up with a 400-foot, two-run home run.
Jackson Merrill does it again! pic.twitter.com/oeAMQ8vuM1
— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2024
That marked Merrill’s fourth game-tying home run in the eighth inning or later in the last 12 days. According to OptaSTATS, he is now the first player in big league history to hit four such home runs in a span of 50 days or less in the regular season.
The previous record was owned by Boog Powell, who did it over a 52-day span between July 6 and August 26 in 1966. Powell was in his sixth MLB season that year, while Merrill shattered his record as a 21-year-old rookie.
Before the last couple weeks, no player in MLB history had ever hit 4 game-tying HR in the 8th inning or later in a span of 50 days or less in the regular season.
The @Padres‘ Jackson Merrill did it in 12 days at age 21. pic.twitter.com/pU1lsWCoBe
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 11, 2024
Merrill’s incredible run began July 30 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it continued Aug. 7 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He added clutch bombs in each of the first two games against the Marlins this weekend, making history with each one.
Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Merrill’s five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later this season are now tied with Mel Ott for second-most by a player age 21 or younger since 1900. Only Frank Robinson in 1956 had more.
The historic bomb also helped San Diego force extra innings and eventually win 9-8.
Merrill is now batting .294 with 17 home runs, 64 RBI, 13 stolen bases, an .814 OPS and a 3.0 WAR on the season. He has played a major role in the Padres’ 16-2 stretch since July 20, batting .388 with an 1.192 OPS in that span.
The Padres are set to close out their series with the Marlins at 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Continue to follow our FanNation on SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.
You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.
San Diego, CA
San Diego Police Investigate Fights, Theft and More at 2024 Comic-Con
![San Diego Police Investigate Fights, Theft and More at 2024 Comic-Con San Diego Police Investigate Fights, Theft and More at 2024 Comic-Con](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/50/16by9/2024/08/08/501630f1d65e4a87b903f39daebd689e_xl.jpg)
San Diego Comic-Con got pretty rowdy … ’cause TMZ obtained a record of police activity from around SD’s convention center last month — and it looks like officers have had their hands full.
According to the report … one person was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, 5 got citations, and 12 other incidents triggered ongoing criminal investigations … and we’re told all were related to activity in and around Comic-Con.
There’s a pretty wide variety of alleged violations, but here’s the gist … cops say some people were throwing punches, and stealing whatever they could get their hands on.
There were at least three cases of assault with a deadly weapon — including the one that led to an arrest — which indicates people probably got a little too into the whole superhero-vs-supervillain thing.
There were also several reports of theft and burglary … all of which a real-life Batman could’ve handled pretty easily, but the ones in costumes may not have been up to crimefighting.
Cops say some of the more minor villains in the rogues’ gallery drove across double lines, engaged in light vandalism, and drove without a license … so it looks like cops didn’t have to “Hulk Smash,” but they did need to tell people to “Halt, Stop.”
Only one mental health incident was reported … cops say one individual was put on a 5150 hold.
![san diego comic con and human trafficking task force](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/18/1by1/2024/07/31/184915640dfd42c9ba683fbd836a2f20_xxs.jpg)
Getty
Comic-Con Human Trafficking Sting Results in 14 Arrests, 10 Victims Recovered
It’s not the only law enforcement activity at the convention. As we reported, a statewide task force took down 14 people allegedly engaging in sex trafficking the same weekend.
In any event, it looks like law enforcement has things covered — and, they probably don’t want any amateur vigilante help from people who make their own costumes.
San Diego, CA
The Spreckels name is big in San Diego history. A new book looks at the man behind the money
![The Spreckels name is big in San Diego history. A new book looks at the man behind the money The Spreckels name is big in San Diego history. A new book looks at the man behind the money](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SUT-L-Sandee-Bonura-spreckels-ec-007.jpg?w=1024&h=659)
Longtime San Diegans likely have heard the name. It graces a historic theater downtown and is in the full title of the iconic Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.
The Spreckels surname has been a part of local lore since the late 1800s. The family once owned all of Coronado, including the Hotel del Coronado, Belmont Park in Mission Beach and every single downtown lot from the ferry landing to Horton Plaza. And the ferry. John D. Spreckels renamed D Street as Broadway and brought the first koalas — on his own steamships — to the then-new San Diego Zoo.
In her new book, “Sugar King of California: The Life of Claus Spreckels,” local author and historian Sandee Bonura explores the life of Spreckels’ father, the man behind the family wealth: patriarch Claus Spreckels. The man immigrated penniless to the U.S. from Germany in the mid-1800s, then made his fortune in the sugar trade in California and Hawaii.
Claus Spreckels at one point was the richest man in California and one of the richest in the country, Bonura said. When he died in 1908, he left a fortune worth more than $850 million in today’s dollars.
Bonura shared highlights of her newest book during a presentation Saturday at the Rancho Bernardo History Museum. The title comes about four years after she penned “Empire Builder: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego.”
The historian said John Spreckels spent much of his life emulating his father. “Most people do not realize this, but a lot of the things his dad did, he did,” Bonura told the crowd.
A few examples: The Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego’s Balboa Park is rather reminiscent of the Music Concourse (also known as the Spreckels Temple of Music) in Golden Gate Park, which Claus Spreckles donated to San Francisco. In 1880, the patriarch bought the newspaper that would become the Honolulu Advertiser. Ten years later, son John bought the San Diego Union, then picked up the Evening Tribune in 1901. (Before the end of the century, they would become The San Diego Union-Tribune.) He also built a railway, as his father had.
“The Sugar King of California” traces the older man’s rise to wealth and the later fracturing of his family. There are several interesting tales along the way, including a lucrative late-night deal with the king of Hawaii, which was still a sovereign nation.
Claus Spreckels grew sugar cane and sugar beets, and his name is legacy throughout California. At one point, the man owned all of Aptos (near Santa Cruz) and created five railroads, including one with denim legend Levi Strauss. He built and named a small town after himself in Hawaii. One in California, too.
At the end of her talk Saturday, Bonura got a bit of a surprise. One of the attendees had stuck around, a smiling North County resident waiting to introduce herself. She said the presentation taught her a thing or two.
Her name? Torry Brey, granddaughter of John D. Spreckels and great-granddaughter of Claus.
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