Outside The Confines: Striking gold in Japan

I haven’t paid a ton of attention to the just-completed Olympics—some, but not anywhere near as much as I normally would. But I have to admit that I just couldn’t pass up a chance to watch the gold medal baseball match between Japan and the United States. That meant staying up pretty much all night on Friday night/Saturday morning and sleeping all morning. It wasn’t as good a game as the previous one between the US and Japan (which I did not stay up and watch), but a 2-0 Japanese victory did mean that there was some good pitching and good defense on both sides. My one real complaint (other than the US losing) was that there were no fans. I understand and agree with the decision not to have fans, but that place would have been absolutely nuts with fans in the stands. It was the one gold medal that Japan wanted to win more than any other and they got it. The US team, made up of prospects, retired major leaguers and guys playing in NPB, did well. They just couldn’t keep up with NPB’s best.

• As you might have guessed, our top story for the day is Japan’s 2-0 victory over the United States to win the Olympic gold medal in baseball, the first in that nation’s history. South Korea won gold the last time baseball was played at the Olympics in 2008. The US won gold in 2000 and Cuba won gold the other three times the sport was played as an official sport at the Olympics.
• Hannah Keyser writes about why Japan won and how much the medal meant to the home team and home country.
• With the silver medal, Marlins infielder Eddy Alvarez became just the third American and the sixth overall to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Alvarez won a silver medal in short track speed skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Alvarez talked about the experience afterwards. Also, when Alvarez was called up to the majors last August, he became only the second MLB player to win an Olympic medal in a sport other than baseball. The first was the great Jim Thorpe.
• Moving back to the States, Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for nandrolone, a banned steroid. Laureano says he did not knowingly take anything and says that something he did take must have been contaminated.
• The “Field of Dreams” game will be played this Thursday, and Scott Dochterman explains how the game came about and how MLB got the site ready for major league baseball. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• MLB revealed the uniforms that will be worn by the White Sox and Yankees at the “Field of Dreams” game.
• Tommy Birch explains how the two teams will get to Dyersville, Iowa and how long they’ll stay (not long, barring a rainout).
• Athletics broadcaster Ray Fosse is stepping away from the booth after revealing that he’s been battling cancer for the past 16 years. We’re praying for you and your family, Ray.
• Former player Omar Vizquel is being sued for sexual harassment by a former bat boy for the Birmingham Barons, Vizquel was the manager for the Barons in 2019.
• Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. has been the biggest sensation in baseball this year—when he’s been on the field. He’s missed time with an injury to his shoulder twice this year and the Padres are seriously considering moving the shortstop to the outfield in an attempt to keep him healthy.
• Shaun O’Neil examines who could be the new Padres shortstop if Tatis moves to the outfield.
• Matt Snyder looks at the candidates for the National League MVP Award if Tatis misses too much time to be a serious candidate. Rafael Ortega never gets any love. Except from me.
• Bob Nightengale writes that Max Scherzer is the newest star in Los Angeles after his impressive first start for the Dodgers.
• It may be a short stay as R.J. Anderson explains why the Dodgers are unlikely to sign Scherzer to a contract extension.
• The Phillies retired the number of the late Hall-of-Fame pitcher Roy Halladay.
• Chet Gutwein says it’s not just your imagination: Teams are blowing more late-inning leads in recently.
• Mets infielder Javier Báez injured himself on a swing on Sunday and had to leave the game. The Mets say El Mago has right hip tightness and is day-to-day.
• Matt Kelly writes that the Braves may have gotten the biggest steal of the trade deadline with outfielder Jorge Soler.
• Jayson Stark has a roundup of all the weird trivia from the wildest trade deadline ever. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Owen McGrattan explains how Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt has turned himself into a great pitcher and how he still has room to improve.
• Jesse Dougherty talks to all the Nationals minor league coaches who got called up to the majors to fill in for a coaching staff that was sidelined by COVID.
• Rangers third baseman Brock Holt got called upon to pitch and threw a 31.1 mile per hour strike—the slowest pitch ever recorded for a strike.
• Ben Lindberg tries to solve a riddle: Are pitchers worse hitters or are hitters worse as pitchers?
• And finally, Doug Glanville has a personal story about the trade deadline and the emotions of the people involved. Glanville explains how he came to accept his 2003 trade deadline move to the Cubs. It was a deal that he wasn’t happy about when it happened.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.