Domingo Germán getting a 2nd chance in the majors with the Pirates after flameout in New York

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Domingo Germán getting a 2nd chance in the majors with the Pirates after flameout in New York

2024-08-10 12:47 Last Updated At：12:50

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Domingo Germán is getting a second chance in the big leagues, a year after he flamed out with the New York Yankees because of behavioral issues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday selected the right-handed pitcher’s contract from Triple-A Indianapolis. Germán was 6-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 13 starts with the Indians this season.

Germán relieved starter Mitch Keller in the fifth inning against the Dodgers. He gave up two runs and one hit in four innings, struck out three and walked two.

Last June, Germán tossed the 24th perfect game in major league history. Two months later, he was put on MLB’s restricted list following an incident in the Yankees clubhouse that reportedly involved a confrontation with manager Aaron Boone.

It was another strike against the 32-year-old Dominican pitcher.

In 2019, Germán was suspended 81 games by MLB for violating the league’s domestic violence policy during an incident, while intoxicated, involving his then-girlfriend, whom he later married.

The Yankees cut ties with Germán, leaving his baseball future in doubt.

He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in March. Now, he'll be wearing number zero after joining the team in Los Angeles ahead of a three-game series with the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Germán will be counted on to bolster the Pirates' struggling bullpen.

He is 31-28 with a 4.41 ERA and 543 strikeouts in 112 appearances, including 89 starts, in his big-league career, all of which was spent with the Yankees, starting in 2017.

Pitcher Hunter Stratton was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Germán on the 26-man active roster. Pitcher Josh Walker was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

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Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Sue Bird highlight Basketball Hall of Fame class

2025-04-06 00:39 Last Updated At：00:41

Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, not once but twice. And LeBron James and Chris Paul are part of the group that’s headed to the Hall as well, even before their playing careers end.

Anthony and Howard were announced Saturday as members of the Class of 2025, as was the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team that they played on — dubbed the “Redeem Team,” the one that captured gold at the Beijing Games and started a still-going run of five consecutive Olympic titles and counting for USA Basketball’s men’s program.

Also selected for enshrinement: WNBA greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Bulls coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford.

“I made it to the real basketball heaven,” Howard said. “It's crazy.”

Enshrinement weekend is Sept. 5-6 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“When the call comes and in my case, I saw Springfield on the phone,” Anthony said on the televised announcement. “You know what time it is Springfield is on the phone. You know who it is. You get the phone call and you hear, ‘You’re in.’ And I think for me, it was a burden off of my shoulders.”

Donovan won back-to-back titles as a college coach with Florida. Arison oversaw Miami’s path to NBA titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013. Crawford worked NBA games for 32 seasons and was picked to work the NBA Finals in 23 of those years.

“For some, this is an individual honor,” Arison said. “But for me, this speaks to what our entire Heat family — players, coaches, staff and fans — have built together.”

The Redeem Team’s selection means that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant — already enshrined as Hall of Famers — essentially now go in for a second time. James and Paul, who are obviously both locks to get into the Hall after they retire, also played for that Olympic team, as did Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Tayshaun Prince.

The Redeem Team had that moniker because it was the team tasked with restoring USA Basketball’s place atop the world stage, after the 2004 Olympic team only managed a bronze medal at the Athens Games. The Redeem Team went 8-0 in Beijing, winning those games by an average of 27.9 points.

“USA Basketball is thrilled to see the 2008 U.S. Men’s Olympic Team elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. “The Redeem Team’s celebrated run in Beijing marks a pivotal moment in U.S. men’s Olympic basketball history and has propelled us to five straight gold medals.”

UConn’s women’s program already had coach Geno Auriemma, Swin Cash (enshrined as a player) and Rebecca Lobo (enshrined as a contributor) in the Hall of Fame, and Bird and Moore going in together will obviously add to what’s always a huge weekend in New England.

“They’re hall of famers for me, they’re hall of famers for their family, they’re hall of famers for everybody — they’re even hall of famers for UConn haters,” Auriemma said. “That’s one thing they can all agree on.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports