Things That Matter

This is Why Alex Torres Wears a Funny-Looking Cap

By May 14, 2015 at 1:14 pm
Mike Stobe / Getty

This is New York Mets pitcher Alex Torres.

Alex Torres
Photo Credit: Elsa / Getty

You’re probably asking yourself: “What’s the deal with his cap?”

Torres is the first — and only — MLB player to wear this huge padded cap.

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Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty

It’s designed to protect ballplayers from life-threatening head injuries. Torres, a left-handed relief pitcher, wears the MLB-approved cap to protect him from “comebackers.”

Torres has seen the damage a baseball can do.

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Cobb’s standard MLB cap did little to protect his head.

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Players from both teams watched Cobb in agony.

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As Cobb was taken off in a stretcher, guess who replaced him?

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When traded to the San Diego Padres, Torres began wearing this hat.

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Photo Credit: Kent Horner / Getty

Torres continued to be deeply affected by incident involving his former teammate, Alex Cobb.

And the Twitter jokes began:

But getting hit in the head with a baseball is no laughing matter.

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Chapman shared this post-surgery photo on Instagram.

Mi gente todo esta bien gracias a dios ya salimos de todo tipo de problema estoy aquí esperando q me den de alta

A photo posted by Aroldis Chapman (@_thecubanmissile54) on

Well, it happened again this year.

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So Torres continues to wear his funny-looking hat.

It’s a different version from last year’s. Although the hat does not protect Torres from facial injuries like the ones Chapman and Carrasco suffered, it is designed to protect players from potentially life-threatening injuries, like getting hit in the temple.

And, of course, the jokes continue.

Keep laughing, Alex Torres isn’t listening.

“I don’t care how I look, I care about the protection,” Torres told ESPN.

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Showtime’s ‘Bad Hombres’ Is A Documentary Highlighting The World’s Only Binational Baseball Team

Entertainment

Showtime’s ‘Bad Hombres’ Is A Documentary Highlighting The World’s Only Binational Baseball Team

By October 19, 2020 at 8:38 am
BY  | October 19, 2020 AT 8:38 am
tecolotes_2_laredos / Instagram

Sports have a way of bringing people together. The experience of rooting for your team is a unifying feeling that transcends borders and culture. Showtime is exploring the importance of sports through the lens of the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos.

“Bad Hombres” is a documentary highlighting immigration under President Trump through baseball.

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos are the only binational professional baseball team in the world. The team splits their home games between stadiums in Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Director Andrew Glazer wanted to highlight the immigration issue through a sports lens to offer a different layer to the narrative.

“Most of the people trying to come into the U.S. are families and children trying to escape horrible violence in Central America,” Glazer told CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “That story has been told, so what I wanted to do was show people in a way that I thought would be relatable to what life is like on the border. What life is like on those two sides and how interconnected they are. The thing that struck me to be honest is that initially in Laredo, Texas was how pervasive Spanish is spoken.”

The documentary shows the struggles of the baseball team trying to make sense of the volatile U.S.-Mexico border relations.

The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos split time playing their home games between two stadiums in the U.S. and Mexico. The Trump administration’s constant battle with Mexico and threats to close the border put the team’s season in jeopardy. A first look teaser shows team managers trying to coordinate the release of game tickets in time with the ever-changing immigration announcements from the Trump administration.

“Bad Hombres” speaks politics without directly addressing politics.

“Even though my film has an overarching political message, the players are not covertly or overtly political in any way,” Glazer told CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “They are baseball players and they are living their lives and a lot of them are trying to make it to the majors and some of them were in the majors and are now finishing their careers. There wasn’t a whole lot of political discussions.”

Glazer made sure to highlight the depths and complexities of the team members dealing with the political climate without politics.

“Inherently, what made the team fascinating is you had players from the U.S. who were Anglo-American players and Mexican American players who had a different perspective,” Glazer told DJ Sixsmith. “Then you had Mexican players and some Dominican players and Cuban and people from everywhere else. There were different languages and different perspectives. Seeing how that developed over time was pretty fascinating.”

“Bad Hombres” is streaming on Showtime.

READ: Veronica Alvarez Is The Coach For The Oakland A’s And Her Presence Is Giving Girls A Chance To Pursue Baseball

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Bad HombresNuevo LaredoLaredoMexicoSportsTexasBaseball

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez Suffering From Covid-Related Heart Inflammation

Entertainment

Boston Red Sox Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez Suffering From Covid-Related Heart Inflammation

By July 29, 2020 at 2:48 pm
BY  | July 29, 2020 AT 2:48 pm
Adam Glanzman / Getty Images

There is still a lot that we do not know about Covid-19 and the longterm effects of the virus. Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez is learning the hard way how the virus attacks the body after a patient is “cured.”

The baseball world was excited to welcome Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez back.

As the MLB keeps pushing to salvage their Covid-postponed season restart, the virus has shown itself in a different way. After half of the Miami Marlins team tested positive for the virus, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox is suffering from health issues because of Covid.

Rodriguez is suffering from myocarditis, a heart condition.

The baseball player is suffering from a heart condition that is directly tied to his Covid-19 illness. While Rodriguez survived Covid-19, the heart condition is proof that there is so much more to know about what this virus does. Despite overcoming Covid, Rodriguez is still suffering from the effects of this unknown virus.

The lingering health effect is a reminder of the importance of not contracting the virus.

“That’s the most important part of your body,” Rodriguez told WEEI. “The first time I hear, I was kind of scared a little. Now that I know what it is, I’m still scared, but now I know exactly what it is. I just talk to my mom, talk to my wife, let them know what I have, and now I’ve got to take the rest.”

There is more to Covid-19 than the immediate death and recovery rates.

Health experts and doctors have been warning people about the unknown effects of Covid-19. Rodriguez’s ongoing battle with Covid-19 is a hard reminder that not even the most in shape and athletic people are immune from the devastating effects of the virus. Be safe. Be careful.

READ: Miami Marlins Covid Outbreak Causes Chaos Of MLB Season After One Weekend

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