[Posted Sunday p.m., prior to late sports action.]
Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
Baseball Quiz: In honor of the streaking Nick Kurtz, name the only four players, post-1950, to have 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs in a season. Answer below.
MLB
—It’s all about one player today…the A’s Nick Kurtz, the 2024 No. 4 overall draft pick out of Wake Forest.
Kurtz made history Friday night in the A’s 15-3 win at Houston, becoming the first rookie to hit four home runs in a single game.
Three of the lefty slugger’s homers were to the opposite field…one off a position player, outfielder Cooper Hummel, which doesn’t diminish his accomplishment in the least.
It marks just the 20th time overall a player has hit four home runs in a single game. The Diamondbacks’ Eugenio Suarez was the last to accomplish the feat, hitting four against the Braves this past April.
Kurtz is the youngest player to ever hit four homers in a game…by nearly 3 years! Pat Seerey was 25 when he hit four homers for the White Sox during a game against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1948.
But Kurtz also doubled and singled…6-for-6, with six runs scored, tying Shawn Green’s modern record (since 1900) for most total bases in a game with 19. And he had just the ninth six-run game since 1900. Oh, and 8 RBIs.
Kurtz told reporters his performance was the kind of “Stuff that you don’t even dream about, because it doesn’t really happen. So it’s pretty remarkable. I’m kind of speechless. Don’t really know what to say.”
But we’re just getting started. Kurtz had his parents and godparents in attendance, but in the ninth with a chance to make history, he was thinking he didn’t want to embarrass himself against the position player.
Kurtz’s double in the fourth inning hit just below the yellow line over the visitor’s bullpen, narrowly missing what would have been a fifth homer.
The thing is I was going to lead with Nick Kurtz after Thursday night, because he had piled up an 11-game hitting streak in which he had 15 extra-base hits…9 doubles, a triple, 5 homers.
Make that 20 XBH in 12 games! I have down below just what that means.
But Kurtz, through Friday, had piled up one of the greatest single months in baseball history…albeit with a few games left.
As in 31-for-73, .425 batting average, 13 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs, 27 RBIs, 22 runs and a 1.576 OPS!
Want more?
Through his first 66 games, Friday, Kurtz’ 43 extra-base hits on the year were second most by any player through their first 66 career games over at least the last 125 seasons.
Joe DiMaggio, 48
Kurtz, 43
Ted Williams, 42
So Saturday, in a 5-1 A’s win over the Astros, Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a walk, now batting .549 over his 13-game hitting streak, OPS for July at 1.552.
He was then given Sunday off, as the A’s completed a 4-game sweep of Houston, 7-1. Quite an accomplishment.
Lastly, needless to say Kurtz is becoming a beloved player in the A’s dugout…given the name “The Big Amish,” for his upbringing in Lancaster, PA, Amish country. His signature move after a home run is to churn butter. You gotta love it. A simple kid, in a complicated time. Just what the sporting world needs.
And he’s ours…Wake Forest fans!!!
Here’s the thing. For decades, Wake Forest sports was known largely for two athletes…Arnold Palmer and Brian Piccolo, the latter in a kind of morbid way, when talking of how their college success translated to the professional level.
We had some very good golfers, Curtis Strange and Lanny Wadkins, that we could be proud of, a few others such as Scott Hoch and Jay Haas, and then Bill Haas, who won some tournaments, but, sadly, we know what Hoch is best known for.
The last few years we thought we had a new star in Will Zalatoris, but he’s now had two back surgeries, and it looked like Cameron Young could be the next great Wake golfer, but he still hasn’t broken through on the PGA Tour.
But our claim to fame after Arnie didn’t really come along until Tim Duncan. And in the Wake Forest pantheon it’s Palmer and Duncan…full stop.
Chris Paul? No way.
In the NFL we’ve had some good players, but no big-time stars.
But now, Nick Kurtz, over the next 10+ years, could put himself up there with Arnie and Timmy D. That’s what excites me.
And he gave Wake three seasons, which in college baseball is the max these days for a potential MLB star.
Cincinnati Reds phenom Chase Burns, who has a chance to be a stud, played his last college season at Wake…and we’ll certainly adopt him for this purpose, but it’s not the same.
–Moving along…going back to Tuesday, while the Mets beat the Angels 3-2 at Citi Field, Francisco Lindor’s slump continued and he was now 0-for-30 (longest of his career), while Pete Alonso was in a deep 2-for-33 slump. Not conducive to winning ballgames, especially since Juan Soto also started slumping.
But Wednesday, Lindor had two RBI singles and Alonso had two hits, including a 439-foot, 3-run bomb, Mets completing a sweep of Los Angeles 6-3, as they headed out to San Francisco.
Whereupon Friday night, the Metsies won their fifth straight, 8-1, Lindor with three more hits, a double and homer, and starter Clay Holmes (9-5, 3.40) and the bullpen got the job done.
Prior to Friday’s game, the Mets, addressing their bullpen needs, traded for veteran lefty reliever Gregory Soto of the Orioles, sending Baltimore two pitching prospects. Good move.
Saturday, the Mets made is six straight, 2-1. David Peterson (7-4, 2.83) went six innings, one run, constantly getting in and out of trouble; slumping Mark Vientos had a big two-run double in the sixth; and Pete Alonso saved Edwin Diaz in the bottom of the ninth with a leaping grab of a liner by Patrick Bailey that was destined to tie the game. Instead, game over.
Tonight, the Mets and Giants are the Sunday night game on ESPN.
–The Yankees feel as if they addressed their third baseman needs in acquiring Colorado’s Ryan McMahon in exchange for two prospects.
But McMahon, a solid fielder, has hit only .217 this season, with a .717 OPS, though he has 16 home runs. For his career, he’s a .240 hitter.
And he’s played his nine seasons at Coors Field…McMahon is .263 BA, .818 OPS at home; .216, .664 on the road.
He’s making $12 million this season and has two years and $32 million remaining on his contract.
But we’ll see. I imagine he gets off to a good start and then fizzles out.
Hopefully for Yankees fans, his fielding is as advertised, because, boy, do they need help.
The Yankees lost another sloppy game Friday night, 12-5 to the Phillies, two more errors (after a boatload earlier this week, though this game it was the dreadful bullpen that was the culprit), as Kyle Schwarber hit home runs No. 35 and 36, four RBIs, for Philadelphia.
The Yanks then announced Saturday morning that Aaron Judge had had an MRI on his right elbow. He first experienced pain making a throw from the outfield Tuesday, but stayed in through Friday night. It was Friday, though, he said he couldn’t throw it in from right field.
Ugh. This would be awful for the sport…so not just Yankees fans, but the baseball world in general awaited the results…
Saturday afternoon, the Yanks learned Judge is headed to the injured list, but New York avoided the worst. It’s a flexor strain in the right arm, but the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow is completely intact, manager Aaron Boone said.
The Yankees expect Judge to be out 10 days, then he’ll DH for about 10 days before hopefully heading back to the outfield.
Yes, it seems they dodged a bullet…big time.
But the Yanks lost again to the Phils, yesterday, 9-4, making another error, their 10th in 5 games.
New York then made another trade for an infielder after the game, acquiring the versatile Ahmed Rosario from the Nationals for two prospects. Excellent move. Always liked the guy, a .273 career hitter with a little pop, and a solid fielder.
Today, the Yanks finally did the Mets a solid, beating Zack Wheeler (9-4, 2.56) 4-3, Ryan McMahon with a huge 2-run double (3-for-6 first two games.)
—In a matchup of division leaders, the Blue Jays beat the Tigers in Detroit, Friday, 6-2, the Tigers rather shockingly on a 1-11 streak.
Saturday, Toronto beat Detroit again, 6-1, the Tigers now having lost 12 of 13, despite the fact Tarik Skubal threw six innings of shutout ball.
But Detroit (60-46), still has a 7-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
Toronto (63-42) has opened up a 6 ½ game lead over the Yankees.
But now it’s 5 ½, after the Blue Jays lost today to the Tigers 10-4 (and the Yanks won), despite Bo Bichette’s 5-for-5 for Toronto.
–In Boston, intriguing series between the Dodgers and the Red Sox, L.A. taking Friday night’s game, 5-2.
Saturday, Boston (56-50) defeated the Dodgers (61-44) 4-2, despite Shohei Ohtani’s 38th home run.
Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 3.62) gave up the four runs in 4 2/3, while Boston’s Garrett Crochet threw six innings of two-run ball, 10 strikeouts, to improve his Cy Young chances, now 12-4, 2.23.
Today, Boston won it 4-3.
—Paul Skenes (6-8, 1.83) threw six shutout innings today as the Pirates (44-62) beat the Diamondbacks (51-55) 6-0. Yes, Skenes can easily win the Cy Young with a losing record…and deserve it.
–Going back to Wednesday, Shohei Ohtani tied a Dodgers franchise record in homering a fifth consecutive game. The streak ended Friday in L.A.’s win over Boston.
–Also last Wednesday, San Francisco’s Justin Verlander, future Hall of Famer, got his first win in 17 starts in a 9-3 victory against the Braves. It ended the longest streak of starts without a win in Giants history and the longest skid of Verlander’s 20-year MLB career.
Verlander is 1-8, 4.70.
–With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Diamondbacks sent slugger Josh Naylor to the Mariners in exchange for pitchers Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi.
Naylor, who had 31 homers and 108 RBIs with Cleveland last year, has 11 and 59 thus far in 2025, though a solid .292 BA and .803 OPS.
–I have to go back to last Tuesday after I posted my Add-on…Milwaukee failed to win its 12th consecutive game, falling 1-0 to Seattle on a Cal Raleigh homer. Brewers fans thus couldn’t cash in the George Webb restaurant chain’s offer of free burgers should the team win 12 straight in any year. They’ve paid out twice…1987 and 2018.
In 1987, George Webb (a 31-store chain of lunch counter style restaurants) handed out 168,194 free hamburgers, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
–Finally, I don’t always watch the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, but I had to today because it was an outstanding class…Billy Wagner, Dave Parker, Dick Allen, CC Sabathia, and Ichiro…all totally deserving.
The speeches were outstanding in their own way and Ichiro, the final speaker, was phenomenal, starting off with that he did it totally in English. That’s called respect.
But at some point, I’ll get the transcript and note in a future column his comments on “Dreams” vs. “Goals.” They are all-timers for everyone in life.
NFL
–I couldn’t care less about NFL training camp, but for all fans it’s just about avoiding injury and Jets fans got quite a scare Thursday morning, when word broke early in the morning that new quarterback Justin Fields had been carted off the field with seemingly an ankle/leg injury. We all thought the worst…like a torn Achilles, which has been the bane of so many sports stars in just the last two years.
But by the afternoon, we first heard it was a toe injury, and then that Fields had a dislocated toe on his right foot after a teammate stepped on it. But on Friday, he was back on the field jogging, though not participating in drills. He’s day-to-day, which could mean 1-2 weeks until he’s doing drills again.
He’ll be ready for the season opener, but as he’s the new starting QB, this is a crucial period for him.
–The Giants named Russell Wilson as the starter; as in coach Brian Daboll made it clear that there won’t be a quarterback competition.
So Tommy DeVito, Jameis Winston and 2025 first-round pick Jaxson Dart are competing for the remaining slots on the depth chart…Dart already tabbed as the future of the franchise, perhaps by mid-season should Wilson and the team get off to a sloppy start.
–Big happenings in Vegas as the Raiders, who had made defensive tackle Christian Wilkins one of the highest-paid defenders in the league 12 months ago, released him on Thursday, one year into the five-year, $110 million deal.
Wilkins suffered a Jones fracture in his foot in Week 5 against the Broncos last season and missed the rest of the year. He had surgery to repair the fracture and was placed on the reserve/PUP list on July 18.
Less than a week later, he was released.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Wilkins and the Raiders disagreed on another surgery to repair his foot. Las Vegas reportedly wanted him to have that done while Wilkins declined.
“We have decided that it is in the best interests of the organization to move on from Christian Wilkins and he has been informed of his release from the team,” the Raiders said in a statement.
–Meanwhile, Dallas owner/GM Jerry Jones continues to jerk around pass rusher Micah Parsons, who arrived in camp but has been seeking a lucrative extension that would make him the highest-paid edge rusher in football.
Jones is exaggerating Parsons’ injury history, even as the guy has 52.5 sacks in 63 games. Parsons’ rookie contract runs out after this season.
Golf Balls
—Just two tournaments left for players to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, Top 70, or secure their Tour card for 2026, Top 100, and at this week’s 3M Open, at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, we had some interesting story lines heading into Sunday’s final round.
After three, it was….
Akshay Bhatia -18
Thorbjorn Olesen -18
Four at -17
Chris Gotterup -16
Olesen entered the week at No. 129 on the points list. But if he wins it, he moves to No. 56.
So today, I watched little of this, to be honest, because I watched the entire Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony…but I was following the scoreboard and very early, Bhatia and Olesen fell off the radar, especially damaging for Olesen.
And at the end, Kurt Kitayama, who entered the week No. 110 on the points list, was -6 on the round thru 17, and on the par-5 18th, needed just a par to secure the win that would move him all the way up to 53!
And he hit an exquisite bunker shot, got the par, career win No. 2…good for him!
I’ll have some stuff on the standings heading to the regular season finale at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro in my Add-on.
Stuff
—Oscar Piastri won his sixth F1 race of the year today at the Belgian Grand Prix, turning in a flawless performance in his McLaren, beating teammate Lando Norris by a comfortable 3.41 seconds.
Piastri’s eighth career win extended his title lead to 16 points as he denied Norris a third straight win.
Charles Leclerc gained the third podium position for Ferrari, ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen.
–In a big tune-up for the Travers Stakes on Aug. 23, Sovereignty, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, defeated Baeza (who was third in both) in a thrilling finish at the Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Saturday.
–We note the passing of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, who died suddenly Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest at his Florida home. He was 71. But as a wrestling journalist I saw noted, 71 is like mid-80s for a former pro wrestler.
I’ll admit up front, I did follow the World Wrestling Federation, now WWE, in the 1980s, but not so much since then, though just through normal television exposure you knew who the stars were and Hogan was the most famous wrestler ever, plying his trade from 1977-2012. He debuted as the “good guy,” won six heavyweight titles and was the face of the explosive growth of the WWF.
He also became a role model to many – the “Hulkamaniacs” – and was a massive figure in pop culture.
In 1994, Hogan moved to World Championship Wrestling and won six more heavyweight championships. After WWE purchased WCW, Hogan won his final heavyweight title in 2002.
Hogan, legally named Terry Bollea, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice. Among his most iconic moments – the 1987 bodyslam of Andre the Giant, the 1996 heel turn to win a 2002 match against The Rock among them – are some of the biggest moments in wrestling history. His legacy as a wrestler and entertainer is unmatched and undisputed.
There was an ugly side to Hogan’s life and legacy, and among them were his lies regarding performance-enhancing drugs, as well as his behind-the-scenes reputation.
But during the peak of “Hulkamania” in the 1980s, the 6-foot-7, 295-pound grappler was the face of Vince McMahon Jr.’s company. Hogan’s likeness touched every corner of pop culture, including movies, television, video games, merchandise and even a chain of pasta restaurants.
With his deeply tanned skin, thinning blond locks, Fu Manchu mustache and red bandana, Bollea flexed his “24-inch pythons” – the nickname he bestowed on his biceps – ripped off his shirt and preached words of entertainment to his hordes of fans: “Train, say your prayers, eat your vitamins, be true to yourself, true to your country. Be a real American!”
After portraying a larger-than-life wrestler called Thunderlips in the 1982 boxing film “Rocky III,” the Hulk Hogan character took off two years later when McMahon tapped him to beat the Iron Sheik (the supervillain stage name of Hossein Vaziri).
As Ben Sumner of the Washington Post wrote:
“Escaping the Iranian’s signature move, a back-bending chinlock known as the ‘camel clutch,’ Mr. Bollea bounced off the ropes and dropped his leg on the Sheik, pinning him at Madison Square Garden to win the heavyweight championship belt.
“Wrestlemania, wrestling’s version of the Super Bowl, then set pay-per-view records with Mr. Bollea’s matches as the featured act. ‘The slam heard ‘round the world’ came in 1987 at Wrestlemania III, in front of 93,173 fans at the Pontiac Superdome in Michigan.
“Entering the ring to his theme song, ‘Real American’ by Rick Derringer, the Hulkster body-slammed and ended the 14-year undefeated streak of Andre the Giant (Andre Roussimoff), who stood 7-foot-4 and at the time was nearly 700 pounds, according to Mr. Bollea.”
I’ll leave out all the bad stuff about Hogan. His lies were legendary, and the Gawker Media lawsuit is a very complicated matter involving a Silicon Valley giant and just not worth my while to get into. I’m sure you all know the details.
But Vince McMahon’s empire and the popularity of the sport of wrestling, especially in the 1980s and 90s, owes everything to Hulk Hogan.
–And we lost Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary Prince of Darkness, front man for Black Sabbath, and one of heavy metal’s most iconic stars. He was 76.
His family issued a statement to The Sun on Tuesday: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.”
Osbourne announced his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in January 2020.
Born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England, on Dec. 3, 1948, he was first nicknamed “Ozzy” in primary school.
He had a challenging childhood, but music provided him with an outlet.
Learning was difficult for him due to dyslexia, and the future Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee claimed to have been sexually abused by bullies when he was 11. He also recalled attempting suicide as a teen.
Osbourne credited The Beatles and their 1964 “She Loves You” for inspiring him to pursue a music career.
When he as 15, Osbourne dropped out of school and worked several trade jobs.
Two years later, he spent six weeks in prison because he was unable to pay a fine after stealing from a clothing store.
Once released, Osbourne and his friend, Geezer Butler, formed their first band, Rare Breed, with Ozzy on vocals.
He became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1967. The band is highly regarded as a major influence in the development of heavy metal music, with hits like “Paranoid,” “War Pigs” and “Iron Man.”
The group, as well as Ozzy himself, would often be criticized by critics for their music’s dark and sometimes “satanic” themes.
“When we started gigging way back when, as soon as we started playing this song’s opening chords, young girls in the audience would f–king freak out,” Osbourne told NME in 2016. “They thought we were Satan’s f–king friends or something.”
“That’s when the whole ‘Prince of Darkness’ s–t started,” he explained about the origin of his nickname. “When people get excited about Halloween coming around each year, all I think is, ‘Well, we used to have Halloween every f–king night.”
Ozzy was fired from the band in 1979 for alcohol and drug abuse, which he later revealed felt hypocritical at the time.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel betrayed by what happened with Black Sabbath,” he wrote in his 2009 memoir “I am Ozzy.”
“We were four blokes who’d grown up together a few streets apart. We were like family, like brothers. And firing me for being f–ked up was hypocritical bulls–t. We were all f–ked up.”
“If you’re stoned, and I’m stoned, and you’re telling me that I’m fired because I’m stoned, how can that be? Because I’m slightly more stoned than you are?” he added.
Ozzy would make 12 solo albums with hits like “Crazy Train,” “Mam, I’m Coming Home” and “No More Tears.”
Osbourne sold over 100 million albums worldwide as a solo artist and a member of Black Sabbath.
Ozzy married Sharon, 72, in 1982. The couple had three kids: Aimee, 41, Kelly, 40, and Jack, 39. The family would go on to reach a new level of fame on a first-of-its-kind reality TV show.
“The Osbournes” was wildly successful. I can also say I never watched a single installment. In fact, I haven’t watched a reality show in my life, save for CBS’ “Big Brother” when it first came out in the 1990s.
The timing of Osbourne’s death was surprising, like Hulk Hogan’s, because just weeks earlier, Ozzy performed with Black Sabbath for the band’s final-ever concert in his hometown of Birmingham. The BBC had some great coverage of that finale.
RIP, Ozzy.
Top 3 songs for the week 7/25/70: #1 “(They Long To Be) Close To You” (Carpenters) #2 “Mama Told Me (Not To Come)” (Three Dog Night) #3 “Band Of Gold” (Freda Payne…great tune…)…and…#4 “The Love You Save” (The Jackson 5) #5 “Make It With You” (Bread) #6 “Ball Of Confusion” (The Temptations) #7 “Ride Captain Ride” (Blues Image) #8 “O-o-h Child” (The 5 Stairsteps…good one…) #9 “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” (Stevie Wonder…not his best…) #10 “Lay Down” (Melanie with The Edwin Hawkins Singers…B+ week…)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Only four with 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs (post-1950)….
Willie Mays, 1957, New York…26, 20, 35
George Brett, 1979, Kansas City…42, 20, 23
Curtis Granderson, 2007, Detroit…38, 23, 23
Jimmy Rollins, 2007, Philadelphia…38, 20, 30
Others post-1920…
Jim Bottomley, 1928, St. Louis…42, 20, 31
Jeff Heath, 1941, Cleveland…32, 20, 24
Heath had an interesting career. Look it up.
Paul Waner, 1927, and Chipper Jones, 2006, are the only two to have a streak of 14 consecutive games with one or more extra-base hits during each of those games.
Waner had 12 doubles, four triples, four homers.
Jones went 8, 1, 7.
So Waner had 20 extra-base hits in 14 games.
Nick Kurtz had 20 in 12 games, through Friday.
The record for extra-base hits in 12 games is held by Babe Ruth with 21, 1921, during his monster season when he set the record for XBH in a season…119…44 doubles, 16 triples, 59 homers.
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
