The best and the worst in baseball

Major League Baseball

As of May 29, 2025, the best team in baseball is the Detroit Tigers, with a 37-20 record, and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. The New York Yankees are close at 35-20 and own a five-game winning streak, along with an impressive 9-1 record in their last ten games.

On the other end of the spectrum, it's the lowly Colorado Rockies (their spacious stadium pictured above), who are 9-47 and are 1-9 in their last ten tries.

Closer to home, the Arizona Diamondbacks are still struggling at 27-29 and are 3-7 in their last ten, including dropping 2 of 3 to the Pirates at Chase Field. The Washington Nationals (26-30) are in town this weekend.

Diamondbacks rolling in the wrong direction; swept by St. Louis, fall under .500

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks were just swept in St. Louis (30-23) by the Cardinals, losing 4-3 on Friday, 6-5 on Saturday and 4-3 today. Three one-run losses as they fall to 26-27 on the season.

The only good news is Justin Martinez is back, but the Diamondbacks' injury list is still staggering.

As for the NL West leader, the LA Dodgers, they rule the roost at 32-20 with a date later today (Sunday afternoon) with the New York Mets (31-21).

The Dodgers are no longer the best team in the land. The Philadelphia Phillies are 34-19, a .642 won-loss percentage, while the surprising Detriot Tigers own the best record in the American League at 34-20, a .630 percentage.

Update: Mets edge Dodgers 3-1 tonight, despite Ohtani's 18th homer, and fall to 32-21, while the Mets improve to 32-21.

Arizona edges TCU 2-1 to capture Big12 Tournament title in Arlington

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

from the desk of Wildcats fan -- Dan Price

A real nailbiter for the Wildcats as they edged TCU 2-1 to capture the Big-12 Conference Tournament today in Arlington, Texas. Nothing came easy the entire game for Arizona (39-18) as starter Smith Bailey pitched brilliantly into the sixth, and Tony Pluta shut down the Horned Frogs in the ninth and 10th innings.

The Arizona bats went silent for eight innings as the TCU pitching staff fanned 12 Wildcats and held a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning.

Andrew Cain then ripped his sixth home run of the season to right field to finally tie the game at 1-1. Pluta came on in the bottom of the inning and kept the Horned Frogs from scoring, and the winner would have to be decided in extra innings.

In the top of the 10th inning, with one out, Mason White stepped into the batter's box and was hit by the first pitch from the Horned Frogs lefty Braeden Sloan. Adoyns Guzman then singled to put runners at the corners. Maddox Mihalakis followed with an RBI single to score White, and for the first time in the game, Arizona had taken the lead at 2-1.

Pluta returned to the mound in the bottom of the 10th and finished the job.

ARIZONA WINS!

Arizona rolls into Championship game at Big 12 Tourney in Arlington

Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Arizona (38-18) sprayed hits all over the spacious confines of Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas, en route to a 12-1 win over West Virginia (41-14) today to advance into the Big 12 championship game at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Mason White hit two home runs today to lead the Wildcats. It was White's 15th and 16th of the year and third homer this week in Arlington. Arizona had 17 hits in the win, just one day after disposing of BYU, 4-1, in the Wildcats' opening game on Thursday.

White went 4 for 4 on the day and tied a career-high with six RBI.

Raul Garayzar (2-0) started for the Wildcats and pitched six shutout innings for the win. Garayzar matched teammate Owen Kramkowski, who had pitched six innings on Thursday for the win while striking out a career-high eight batters.

Note: The Arizona Wildcats will face the winner of tonight's nightcap between Kansas and TCU.

Photo: courtesy of roving reporter Stephen Leak.

Arizona captures Houston series; Gains bye for Big-12 Tourney

 Arizona Wildcats Baseball

Arizona rebounded from an opening series loss to win 14-6 on Friday and 8-1 today in Houston to capture two of the three games over the Cougars and grab that all-important top-4 finish in the regular season to earn a first-round bye for next week's Big 12 Conference Tournament in Arlington, Texas.

Arizona takes a 36-16 overall record into postseason play while finishing 18-12 in the conference.

Today, Arizona ripped four doubles and belted two home runs to beat the Cougars as Smith Bailey (2-3) earned the win on the mound with six strong innings of work. Mason White hit his 13th homer of the season, and Andrew Cain had three hits on the day, including his fifth homerun this season.

And now the Wildcats head for Arlington and enjoy a few days off before their play on Thursday. The time and opponent have yet to be determined.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Arizona baseball: The Diamondbacks, the Arizona Wildcats...and the Tucson Old Timers

 Strictly Arizona Baseball

My goodness, it's the middle of May. It's time for some Arizona baseball.

The Diamondbacks

Well, nothing much has changed. Make no mistake, the Arizona Diamondbacks are a pretty good baseball team, but just not in the NL West. The LA Dodgers, the San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants continue to rule, so to speak, while the Diamondbacks continue in their slot, which is just above the lowly Colorado Rockies.

The good news is that the Rockies are in town, at Chase Field, this weekend for a three-game series.

As for the bad news, the Diamondbacks face San Francisco in a getaway game today at 12:45 pm in hopes of winning and leaving northern California with a series win and staying above the .500 mark. A win today would put them at 23-21. Of course, a loss would set them back to an even 22-22.

Corbin Carroll is batting .285 and leads the club in homers (14) and RBI with 31.

Update: 5/15/25 Arizona Diamondbacks won the getaway game 8-7 in San Francisco and indeed improved to 23-11. Marte hits his fifth homer, and Suarez his 13th!

The Arizona Wildcats

Some sad news, too. After winning just one of three against Utah last weekend at Hi Corbett Field, the Wildcats find themselves in fifth place in the Big 12 Conference with three dates at Houston remaining this weekend. Arizona is 34-17 overall, which is not bad, but just 16-11 in conference play.

The Wildcats need all three in Houston and are still looking for that elusive bye for the big tourney in Arlington. A top 4 finish for the regular season and a first-round bye is still possible.

Mason White leads the current batting statistics. White owns the best average (.325), the most hits (67), the most homers (12), the most RBI (56), and the most total bases (131). Aaron Walton has the most runs (62) and is second in batting average at .318, but let's not forget Brandon Summerhill, who is back on the field after his injuries (hand and groin) and is batting a cool .411 in just 30 games.

On the mound, Arizona's pitchers own a 4.90 ERA collectively, with reliever Tony Pluta leading the way at 1.71.

Come on, Wildcats! Tell Houston there's a problem on the way!

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) -- the 60-and-over club, the best baseball on the east side of Tucson at Udall Park.

The 'Boys of Summer' continue to plug along with a batch of 60-year-olds, some 70-plus players, and a few 80-year-olds.

A few birthdays coming up this month, Bob Daliege, the manager and player, turns 77 on May 25, and Ray Garcia turns 73 on May 28. See the photos below: Bob, top, and Ray, bottom.

Arizona finishes grueling road trip at 3-3

 Arizona Diamondbacks

From the desk of the baseball nut.

The Arizona Diamondbacks return home after a grueling six-game round trip, taking 2 of 3 from the NL East front runner, the New York Mets, while winning one of three in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

Tough trip!

To make matters worse, they are back at Chase Field, starting tonight with a three-game series with the Mets, followed by four games with the NL West leader, the LA Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks are behind the Dodgers, the Padres, and the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.

They have an ailing pitching staff (starter Corbin Burns and closer Justin Martinez are out) while holding on to an above .500 record at 18-16.

Arizona is 8-8 at home and 10-8 on the road.

Let's go, Diamondbacks!

Wildcats take 2 of 3 from TCU at Hi Corbett

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Arizona captured two of three games from TCU this past weekend at Hi Corbett Field. The Wildcats prevailed 6-3 in the opener on Thursday and 5-4 on Saturday before falling 13-6 this afternoon.

The Wildcats improved to 33-14 overall and 15-9 in the Big 12 Conference race and remain in the hunt for a first-round bye in the conference tournament, which is scheduled for May 21-24 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Arizona is currently tied for third place in the Big 12. The Wildcats will play a three-game series against the Utah Utes at Hi Corbett (May 9-11) and then visit Houston (May 15-17) for a final three-game series. The Wildcats must end the regular season with a top-4 finish in the conference to get an automatic bye.

West Virginia is in first place with an 18-4 record in the Big 12, Arizona State is second with a 16-8 slate, and Kansas, Arizona, and TCU are battling for the final spots, all at 15-9. 

Livingston "I presume" is the TOTS top hitter in April

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Randy Livingston led the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers in at-bats (44), runs scored (21), and hits (30)) while maintaining a .682 batting average in 13 games during the month of April.

Livingston, 67, had to take a back seat in runs-batted-in to Big John Mathews, who took that honor and made the most of his 10 games played with 20 RBI. He also went 22 for 30 at the plate and a hefty .733 batting average.

Of course, Jon Beady was among the hot hitters with another outstanding month, maintaining a .658 average with 25 hits in 38 official at-bats while leading the club in walks with six.

For the super seniors, the 75-and-over group, Mike Steele, again led the way with 10 hits in 35 trips to the plate, a .286 average, while 79-year-old Danny "Pigpen" Price went 7 for 30, a cool .233 average.

The TOTS have added their share of 'newcomers' this year, and all of them are getting their feet wet, so to speak. Some of the 'rookies' and their averages for the month include Angel Durazo (5 for 8 in 3 games, a .625 average); Che Guevara (1 for 7, a .143 average), Bob Lockwood (11 for 25, a .440 average); Dan Gruniesen (7 for 20, a .350 average), David Musavi (16 for 25, a .640 average); Mark Walton (2 for 16, a .125 average) and newcomer Moses Oropesa went 0 for 3 but knocked in a run.

Welcome aboard, you newcomers!

On the mound, it was Mike Dawson who filled up the stat sheet. Dawson, 70, went 4-0 and tied Reed Palmer for the most strikeouts with 14. 

The TOTS roster continues to expand, as forty-six players saw action in April.

Way to go, TOTS!