NEW YORK (AP) — Cole Ragans started his AL Division Series with a walk in the park.
On Sunday, the Royals left-hander took a 11-minute stroll from the team's hotel in midtown Manhattan and played catch in Central Park on the Heckscher Ballfields, just as so many amateur baseball and softball players do each day.
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Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
On Monday, he was an 8-mile drive away on the mound at Yankee Stadium and allowed one run over four innings in Kansas City's 4-2 win over the New York Yankees that evened their AL Division Series at one game apiece.
“Just found a little grass patch there in the middle of Central Park, and me and Sam Long played a little catch there for a little bit,” Ragans said of his teammate. “It was pretty cool.”
Like so many Heckscher hurlers, Ragans had command problems. He needed 87 pitches to get 12 outs against the Yankees, walking three of four leadoff hitters and going to full counts on five of his first 10. He fanned Aaron Judge on a fastball with two on in the first and fellow slugger Juan Soto with a runner on in the third.
“Control was a little erratic,” Ragans said. “Felt like I made pitches when I had to make a pitch.”
The run he gave up came on Giancarlo Stanton's third-inning RBI single that deflected off the glove of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and into left field. Ragans struck out five and walked four — among 13 free passes Royals pitchers have issued in two playoff games against the Yankees. He threw 24 pitches in both the first and second inning.
Mostly a reliever with Texas last year, Ragans was traded to Kansas City in late June as part of a deal for Aroldis Chapman. The Royals immediately converted him back to a starter, and he went 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 12 outings for them.
“We didn’t know how good Cole was going to be when we acquired him, but it was apparent the end of September he was going to be in our rotation,” general manager J.J. Picollo said.
A 26-year-old first-time All-Star, Ragans went 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 32 starts this season, striking out 223 in 186 1/3 innings. Then he pitched six innings of four-hit ball to beat Baltimore 1-0 in last week's Wild Card Series opener before leaving with leg cramps.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was pleased with Ragans’ warmup session in the 843-acre urban oasis designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
“We encouraged it,” Quatraro said at Yankee Stadium. “We said if we’re not coming in here to work out, if anybody needs to work out, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Ragans got to Central Park about 11 a.m. He threw from 75 feet for around 5-10 minutes.
“Nobody recognized us,” he said. “We just got our stuff done and went back to the hotel.”
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Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Attallah Tarazi recently received Christmas presents that included socks and a scarf to shield him against the Gaza winter, and he joined some fellow Palestinian Christians in a round of hymns.
“Christ is born,” the group sang in Arabic. “Hallelujah.”
The presents and hymns offered the 76-year-old a taste of the holiday in a devastated Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire has provided some relief, but the losses of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing struggles of displaced people are dampening many traditional festivities.
Tarazi and much of the rest of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community are trying to capture some of the season’s spirit despite the destruction and uncertainty that surround them. He clings to hope and the faith that he said has seen him through the war.
“I feel like our joy over Christ's birth must surpass all the bitterness that we’ve been through," he said. He's been sheltering for more than two years at the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza, where a church group including choir members toured among displaced people this Christmas season, he said.
“In such a glorious moment, it’s our right to forget all that’s war, all that’s danger, all that's bombardment."
But for some, the toll is inescapable.
This will be the first Christmas for Shadi Abo Dowd since the death of his mother, who was among those killed in July when an Israeli attack hit the same Catholic church compound where Tarazi lives and which has been housing displaced people. Israel issued statements of regret and said it was an accident.
Abo Dowd said his son was wounded in the assault that also hurt the parish priest.
Ahead of Christmas, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, paid a visit to the Holy Family Parish. A patriarchate statement said the visit marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations in "a community that has lived and continues to live through dark and challenging times.”
Abo Dowd, an Orthodox Christian who observes Christmas on Jan. 7, said he does not plan to celebrate beyond religious rituals and prayers. “There’s no feast,” he said.
“Things are difficult. The wound is still there," he said. “The suffering and pain are still there.”
He added: "We’re still living in a state of no peace and no war."
Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October, but deadly attackshave not entirely ended. Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of breaking the truce and the more challenging second phase has yet to be implemented.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has also caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of the territory’s some 2 million residents. Highlighting some of the many struggles and needs of the enclave and its people was torrential rain that recently flooded displacement camps and collapsed already badly damaged buildings.
“I always tell my children, ‘God only gives the toughest battles to his strongest soldiers,’" Abo Dowd said. “We’re holding onto our Christian faith and onto our country, and we love our country."
He and others know of many Christians among those who fled Gaza during the war and more who hope to leave if given the opportunity. He worries about the effect on the Christian presence and on Gaza’s social fabric. “It's a tragedy,” he said.
His children would like to study abroad. “They're young. What will they stay to do? There's no future."
The departure of many relatives and friends means Christmas doesn’t feel the same for 23-year-old Wafa Emad ElSayegh.
He and family members gathered with others at Gaza’s Greek Orthodox church compound to put up decorations. But the absence of friends who escaped Gaza fueled his nostalgia.
“We used to be together in everything,” said ElSayegh, who’s now staying with his family at the home of an aunt who left Gaza during the war.
His favorite part of Christmas was the togetherness — the family gatherings, the celebratory events that he said drew Christians and some Muslims, and the excitement of children receiving gifts.
“There would be celebrations, songs and an indescribable joy that we, unfortunately, haven’t felt in a long time,” he said. And with many relatives away, he said the usual Christmas atmosphere cannot be recreated.
Elynour Amash, 35, is trying to bring some of that cheer to her children “through decorating and lighting the tree so they can feel that joy is possible despite all pain."
“My children feel a little bit of joy, like breathing after a long period of suffocation,” she said in written responses to The Associated Press. “They’re happy they’re celebrating without fear of a nearby explosion and because some chocolates and sweets have returned to their lives, in addition to foods that they had long been deprived of.”
She's thankful her home is still standing, but the scenes of displaced people in tents that cannot shield them from the cold and rain often drive her to tears.
“The sounds of explosions and gunfire can still be heard, and the fear hasn’t left the hearts. There’s continuous worry that the ceasefire won't last.” She sees the toll in her youngest, who trembles when he hears loud noises.
“It’s as if the war lives inside of him," she said. "As a mother, that pain is indescribable."
She also worries that someday Christians could disappear from Gaza. But, for now, “our presence, no matter how small, is a testimony of love, steadfastness and faith in this land,” she said.
Tarazi is determined to stay.
Early in the war, he lost a sister, who was among those killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the Orthodox church compound housing displaced people. The Israeli military said it had targeted a nearby Hamas command center. Tarazi said a brother also died after he could not get needed medical care due to the war.
He prays for peace and freedom for the Palestinian people. “Our faith and our joy over Christ's birth are stronger than all circumstances,” he said.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, second left, leads a mass ahead og Christmass celebrations at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians parishioners attend a mass led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Children and nuns gather outside the Holy Family Catholic Church before attending a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, poses for the photos with Palestinian parishioners after leading a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
