Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are the subjects of MLB gambling investigations.
Cleveland without the top pitchers indefinitely, but they may have played last games.
Cleveland is fading in the AL wild-card standings in August.

Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the teams who will play in the 2026 Field of Dreams Game.

PHOENIX — They no longer have lockers in the Cleveland Guardians clubhouse.

There are no jerseys or equipment to be found.

There’s no sign they even played for the Guardians.

Their names are spoken only when brought up by outsiders, and then, only in a whisper.

It’s as if Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and starter Luis Ortiz never existed, vanishing into the night.

“This definitely is a huge loss to the team,’ Cleveland’s new closer Cade Smith tells USA TODAY Sports. “They’re gone. We don’t know if they’re coming back. But we have no choice but to forget about it and move on.

“We’ve got no choice.’

MLB’s investigation has been underway since July into suspicious betting activity on games that Clase and Ortiz appeared. They are on paid administrative leave until Aug. 31. Yet, considering the evidence, MLB and the players union are expected to extend their leave through the end of the regular season and into the winter.

The painstakingly slow process is necessary considering livelihoods are at stake.

If Clase and Ortiz are guilty of betting on baseball, or if they intentionally influenced prop bets, they are done for life.

Oh, sure, they could pitch in Mexico. Maybe Japan or Korea, too. But they would never, ever be able to put on another MLB uniform.

What a waste, particularly for Clase, if found guilty, throwing away a star-studded career where he was on an early Hall of Fame trajectory, leading the American League in saves each of the past three seasons.

“I’ve talked to them a little bit,’ Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana says. “I don’t really know what to say. I hope they’ll be OK. But I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. None of us do.’

It was Ortiz who first went on disciplinary leave July 3 while MLB opened a gambling investigation, and three weeks later, Clase’s name surfaced, too.

Just like that, they were gone, never having a chance to say good-bye, and not knowing if they’ll ever see their former teammates again.

Their absence is what made the Guardians’ torrid performance, an American League-best 23-9 from July 7 to Aug. 14, to climb right back into the AL Central race so stunning. Instead of wilting, they were thriving, pulling within 5 ½ games of the first-place Detroit Tigers and just one game out of the wild-card race.

Now, all of a sudden, it is over.

They are 12 ½ games behind the Tigers and 4 ½ games back in the wild-card race.

Technically, the Guardians are still alive, but when you lose seven of eight games after already enduring a 10-game losing streak, and your new closer blows back-to-back games, there’s precious time remaining to recover.

The Guardians, to their credit, refuse to feel sorry for themselves. They’re not blaming the gambling investigation for their downturn spiral. They try to pretend that it’s no different than losing a player to injury.

“Honestly, we’ve lost lots of guys to injuries or guys who have been optioned or whatever,’ Guardians veteran catcher Austin Hedges says. “In baseball, it’s not a 26-man roster. It’s more like a 40-, 50-, 60-man roster. Our group is so resilient, whatever 26 we’re going to throw out there, we’re going to believe in them.’

The Guardians won’t come out and say it publicly, knowing that Clase and Ortiz are innocent until proven guilty, but considering that MLB’s investigation into Shohei Ohtani’s potential ties with an illegal bookie was cleared in a matter of days, it’s rather worrisome that this investigation is still ongoing with no immediate resolution.

The Guardians have no choice but to play the waiting game, but they also don’t expect either one to walk through the clubhouse door again this season, wondering if it’s the last time they’ll even see them.

“That day really sucked, I mean, it’s definitely a blow when you lose two great players like that,’ Guardians All Star outfielder Steven Kwan says. “I think we gave ourselves one day to mourn and get over it, but then you got to jump back into it.

“We’d love to see them back, but we also have to be prepared if they’re not.’

Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana says he still keeps in touch with Clase and Ortiz, but like everyone else, has no idea about the findings of the investigation, wondering what will happen to their future.

“I keep in touch, I talk to them, make sure they’re OK,’ Santana says. “Hopefully, everything will be fine. No matter what, we’ll be friends.’

The Guardians are cautious speaking about Ortiz and Clase with the ongoing investigations, but they refuse to let their absence torpedo their chances for the postseason.

Besides, even if Clase wasn’t under investigation, he might have been dealt at the trade deadline. Clase, who has averaged 44 saves a year the past three seasons, was under team control for 3 ½ more years. The Guardians would have raked in a haul of prospects considering the robust relief market.

“Our message to the guys was that we don’t know what we don’t know,’ says Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. “All we can control is us working hard every day. I mean, our guys are resilient. These guys have handled things over the last year and a half, so they’re built for it.’’

While the Guardians were able to survive their absence for several weeks, reality is starting to hit now. You don’t lose perhaps the best closer in baseball and a healthy starter who made 16 starts and pitched 88 ⅔ innings, and shrug it off.

The Guardians are paying the price with their skid. Their last four losses have all been by one run, with Smith blowing saves in their last two games.

“It’s a sticky situation losing those guys,’ injured Guardians pitcher Ben Lively says. “You just hope for the best case possible. But we’ll be fine. We got Clark Kent over there [in Smith].’

The Guardians believe that Smith is ready for the closer’s role, and while there certainly will be growing pains, are prepared to ride it out while he makes the adjustment to being in the pressure cooker of the ninth inning.

“It’s different pitching the ninth,’ says Smith, who has been successful in four of seven save opportunities with a 3.55 ERA since replacing Clase. “There’s more on the line. It’s the last inning of a game. Fans get into it. Everyone’s aware of the situation. If you fail, it feels like you let everybody down.

“But it doesn’t mean that my job changes. My job is to still go out and put up a zero and compete and leave everything I have on the field. I’m going to make sure that trust is not misplaced with the way that I work, the way I carry myself, and how I bounce back.’’

Really, it’s no different for the entire Guardians’ team. Everyone counted them out when they lost 10 games in a row. Everyone counted them out when Ortiz and Clase were placed on administrative leave. And everyone is counting them out now that they’ve fallen four games back in the wild card race after a series of gut-wrenching losses.

“We’ve been through a lot as a team,’’ Vogt says. “These guys have been punched in the gut over and over. But they’ve handled it like pros.’’

Fair or not, they’ve got no choice.

MLB expansion, realignment news

The firestorm reaction to commissioner Rob Manfred’s comments that MLB will have wholesale realignment when baseball expands is comical considering this has been the plan all along, dating back to at least the past decade.

Expansion still is scheduled to take place in 2031 or 2032, Manfred tells owners, with Salt Lake City and Nashville as the two heavy favorites.

This will be the first expansion since Arizona and Tampa Bay in 1998, and apparently in the last quarter-century, it has been forgotten that baseball planned to expand again once the stadium issues in Oakland and Tampa were resolved.

While the projected expansion cities have changed over the years, the original plan MLB floated was revealed back in 2017 by BBWAA Hall of Fame writer Tracy Ringolsby in a column published by Baseball America.

The concept, which had Montreal and Portland as the original sites, was to have four eight-team divisions, not eight four-team divisions:

East: Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Washington.
North: Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, *Montreal, New York Yankees, New York Mets and Toronto.
Midwest: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Colorado, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas.
West: Arizona, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Oakland, *Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

That schedule would have teams playing 12 games against each divisional opponent, and three games against each of the teams in the three other divisions.

The realignment would reduce travel, with only the Rockies, Twins and now perhaps Salt Lake City playing divisional games outside their own time zone.

It will still be at least another six years before expansion and realignment actually takes place, but in the meantime, well, it generated plenty of conversation in the dog days of summer, even though it’s old news.

Around the basepaths

– The 2026 MLB schedule will be released Tuesday and is set to feature a return to the Field of Dreams venue in Iowa featuring the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins.

The season will start Thursday, March 26, and will also include a return to Mexico City where the Arizona Diamondbacks will play the San Diego Padres.

– The Baseball Writers’ Association of America, for the first time, will have a Relief Pitcher of the Year award for both leagues in 2026. It’ll be the first addition to one of BBWAA’s prestigious awards since 1983 when it included the AL and NL Manager of the Year.

The award was the brainchild of Hall of Fame writer Jayson Stark, reminding writers that Mariano Rivera, considered the greatest reliever of all time, never once won a single award by the BBWAA, while no reliever has won the Cy Young since Eric Gagne in 2003.

– It should be quite the emotional game Sunday for Los Angeles Angels veteran starter Kyle Hendricks, who will face the Chicago Cubs, his former team of 11 years, for the first time in his career.

It also may be be the last time.

Hendricks, 35, could retire after the season.

– Brutal news for Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, and a huge blow to the Phillies’ World Series hopes. Wheeler is out for the season and likely will miss the start of next season. Wheeler, who had a blood clot removed, has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and will undergo surgery that will sideline him for six to eight months.

The Phillies certainly have plenty of pitching depth, but Wheeler is one of the true aces of the game and will be sorely missed in October.

Mathew Bowyer, who ran an illegal gambling operation that accepted in excess of $300 million worth of bets from Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, will be sentenced on Aug. 29 at the Santa Ana, Calif., federal court.

Mizuhara is currently serving a 57-month sentence.

– If the Yankees still don’t have enough scars from that 2004 ALCS when they blew a 3-0 lead to the Boston Red Sox, they now have lost eight consecutive games to the Red Sox for the first time since 2009.

– There will be no bigger position player on the trade block this winter than Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. Rutschman became expendable once the Orioles signed 21-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo to a team-friendly eight-year, $67 million contract that won’t pay him more than $1 million annually until 2029. Basallo, their prized prospect who made his MLB debut just five days before agreeing to the contract, is the first player to receive a contract extension since GM Mike Elias joined the Orioles in 2018.

Basallo becomes the everyday catcher as Rutschman hits the injured list, priming him for a potential move to first and part-time catcher.

Look for him to be wearing another uniform come spring training.

– While there already is rumblings of a potential work stoppage threatening the 2027 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field, the Cubs have been guaranteed that they would host the 2029 game as a contingency plan.

– Hey, whatever happened to all of the drama we were promised with the expanded playoffs?

Here we are, a week before the calendar turns September, and outside of playoff seeding, the field is virtually set.

The only real drama in the American League is whether the Kansas City Royals can squeeze past the Yankees or runner-up in the AL West for the final wild-card berth. And in the National League, the only team that has a chance to crash the wild-card dance is the Cincinnati Reds.

Little wonder why MLB will again push for the postseason field to be expanded to 14 teams in the next labor agreement.

– The Toronto Blue Jays, who made the gutsiest move at the trade deadline to acquire Shane Bieber, who has not pitched a big league game since April 2, 2024, marveled watching him dominate the Miami Marlins in his first start in 502 days. He struck out nine and gave up just two hits and one run in six innings.

Yep, just like ol’ times.

“It felt very familiar,’ Bieber told reporters after the game.

Bieber’s return makes the Blue Jays awfully scary in October.

– Kudos to Chicago Cubs All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker for continuing to post while he played with a hairline fracture in his ring finger suffered June 1. He refused to make excuses for his struggles. Tucker had his best offensive month in June after the injury, hitting .311 with a .982 OPS, including five homers, nine doubles only for his numbers to crater the next six weeks. He hit .218 with a .675 OPS in July with one homer and three doubles, and just .138 without an extra-base hit until homering Friday night.

Tucker could have easily used his injury as an alibi with his numbers eroding his free agent value, but not once did he even mention his finger being broken until Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy spilled the beans.

_Brutal news for Orioles closer Felix Bautista, who was the 2023 Mariano Rivera award winner as the American League’s finest reliever with his 1.48 ERA and 46.4% strikeout rate, who needs shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum that will sideline him once again for an entire season. It’s his second major surgery in the last two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2024.

While it leaves the Orioles badly needing a closer, the free-agent market should be plentiful with Robert Suarez, Edwin Diaz, Aroldis Chapman, Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

– The Houston Astros, fearing that All-Star closer Josh Hader is done for the season, decided to sign Craig Kimbrel instead of bringing back former Astros closer Ryan Pressly. Kimbrel has pitched only one major league inning this season after being released by Atlanta.

– Maybe the Pirates should have traded starter Mitch Keller at the deadline, after all.

Keller has been shelled this month, yielding a 8.64 ERA in his last five starts while yielding at least seven hits and five runs in three of his last four starts.

– Former GM Doug Melvin, Walt Jocketty’s closest friend in baseball, reminded everyone at Jocketty’s memorial service in Minneapolis last week of their special bond as fellow GMs who even vacationed together with their families each winter:

“Walt and I had this buddy agreement that if our teams were on losing streaks or not performing well, we would call each other to give each a boost,’ Melvin said, “because when you win everyone knows you and when you lose nobody calls you.

“So, in 1988, I was with the Baltimore Orioles as an assistant GM and farm director and we lost our first six games. So, Walt calls and says, ‘Remember our agreement, hang in there don’t get down.’

“So, Walt calls the next five days in a row because we were now 0-11, ‘Hang in there and don’t get down.’

“So, every day I get a call from Walt and how many times can you say, ‘Hang in there and don’t get down.’

“It was 10 more days as we started the season 0-21.

“After our first win, I heard from a lot of people but not from Walt. Finally, I called him and said, ‘I did not hear from you to say congratulations on the first win. He said, ‘I did not need to call because you are on a hot streak now.’

“I did not think 1-21 was a hot streak.’

– Brian Sabean, the brilliant architect of the San Francisco Giants during their World Series run, was heartbroken this week to learn that he lost another one of his trusted advisers with the passing of Lee Elder. Elder, and the late Pat Dobson, Ted Uhlaender and Dick Tidrow who were all invaluable to Sabean and instrumental to the Giants’ success.

Also, Roy Clark, the brilliant scout for Atlanta who later went to the Washington Nationals and Kansas City Royals, passed away Friday.

– So much for all of the consternation where the Rays would play their home games in the playoffs.

Turns out they’ll be sitting home as they sit six games below .500 for the first time since 2018.

– The Robert Clemente documentary will premier in theaters on Sept. 12, three days before Roberto Clemente Day. Clemente’s three sons, Luis, Roberto Jr. and Roberto Enrique, produced the film along with the likes of NBA legend LeBron James and business partner Maverick Carter.

– Do you realize that Brewers outfielder Isaac Collins, 28, could become the oldest player to win Rookie of the Year outside the five previous players 28 or older who played in the Negro Leagues or in Japan?

– Is there a manager more entertaining than Brewers skipper Pat Murphy, who might have set an all-time record of having six kids accommodate him to the podium after their victory Friday night?

He not only broke the news that Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker was playing hurt, but provided his own scouting report on Cubs rookie Owen Caissie:

“Big-time prospect,’’ Murphy says. “He’s 6-foot-12 and he’s a redhead. There’s not too many redheads in the big leagues that can’t hit. Check it out. They don’t bring redheads up here if they can’t hit.’’

– Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star right fielder Corbin Carroll is on pace to hit 35 homers, 20 triples and steal 20 bases this season.

The only player in baseball history to accomplish the feat?

Willie Mays in 1957.

Mays, Jim Bottomly (1928) and Jimmy Rollins (2007) are the only players to even hit 30 homers and 20 triples in a season.

“There’s a lot of jet fuel in that,’ D-backs manager Torey Lovullo says of Carroll’s speed. “He’s coming. I’ve never seen anybody faster. I played the game, I’ve been a coach a long time. I go back to Deion Sanders and the type of speed I remember.’’

– Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich believes the Brewers still don’t get the respect they deserve with MLB’s best record, but he’s perfectly fine with it.

“Just tell us you don’t think we’re good,” Yelich told reporters. “That’s kind of how we take it. Everyone just thinks we stink still, but we don’t care. It just kind of feeds a little bit into what we’re all about. Just count us out. People don’t believe we can win.’’

– The Athletics are well on pace to break the club’s single-season record of allowing 220 homers, set back in 1964 when they played in Kansas City at Municipal Stadium.

– While the Marlins appeared to fleece the Orioles at last year’s trade deadline by acquiring outfielder Kyle Stowers, who turned into an All Star, it turns out that starter Trevor Rogers has turned out just fine with Baltimore.

He set a franchise record with a 1.41 ERA in his first 12 starts this season, the best in franchise history, and matched only by 24 starters since 1920.

– Prayers to former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell, who announced that he has been diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer.

– Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw quietly hit all of his incentives that maxed out with Thursday’s start, paying him a total of $16 million this season: $8.5 million in bonuses atop his $7.5 million base salary.

He got paid $1 million apiece for his last four starts, along with $4.5 million for being on the active roster at least 90 days.

Considering the way he has pitched this season, 8-2 with a 3.13 ERA, he has been as invaluable as ever to the Dodgers.

– The Seattle Mariners are going to have to play a man short when rosters expand by two players on Sept. 1 with outfielder Victor Robles receiving a 10-game suspension that he’s appealing after throwing his bat towards opposing pitcher Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators.

– Has there been a more remarkable turnaround than Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris’s resurgence since the All-Star break? He went from having the worst OPS (.551) among all major league qualifiers before the All-Star break to now having the third-highest (1.080) since the All-Star break. He hit .210 before the break and now is hitting .370 the second half.

“Better late than never,” he says.

– The Colorado Rockies probably won’t break the White Sox’s record for futility this year, but they can set another dubious record.

Their starting rotation is yielding a 6.59 ERA, currently eclipsing the franchise record of 6.19 ERA, set in 1999 before they brought the humidor to Coors Field.

– Cool moment seeing Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros homering against his dad’s former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Eric Karros in attendance.

– Rafael Devers is striking out at an alarming pace since being traded to the Giants from the Boston Red Sox, with his 31% strikeout rate the third-highest in the NL.

– The free-falling Texas Rangers have scored three or fewer runs in 65 games this season, and on pace to score three or fewer in a whopping 83 games.

– Max Scherzer is dominating like he’s in his 30s again, yielding just five earned runs in 25 innings while the opposition is hitting just .215.

– The best trade of the year was the Brewers acquiring starter Quinn Priester (11-2) from the Boston Red Sox on April 7, and have now won 15 consecutive games in which Priester has pitched.

– The Dodgers no longer can count on rookie Roki Sasaki helping them down the stretch. His velocity is nowhere near the 102 mph he threw in Japan. He has thrown 59 fastballs through his two rehab starts, and has generated only one swing-and-miss.

– The Dodgers are toying with the idea of using Shohei Ohtani in relief during the postseason, but if they do, he would vacate his spot in the lineup when his turn came up to hit. If he’s a starter, he’s permitted to stay in the game as a DH after he’s done pitching.

– The Athletics have already won 33 road games, their most in four years. Unfortunately, they can’t win at home, going 26-37 at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, third-worst in MLB.

– You think the folks in San Diego love their Padres?

They are projected to set the franchise attendance record for the third consecutive year at nearly 3.4 million. Their average attendance of 42,521 ranks second in the major leagues behind only the Dodgers. The Padres project they will draw more than 300,000 fans for their seven-game homestand that concludes Sunday, setting another franchise record.

– Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the Cardinals are averaging 28,828 fans a game, the lowest for a full season since 1984.

– The Padres are trying to buck history. They have hit only 110 home runs this year, the second-fewest in baseball. No team has won a World Series after ranking in the bottom five in home runs since the 2012 Giants, who finished last. None of the past five World Series winners ranked lower than fourth in home runs.

– The Seattle Mariners’ brutal 2-7 road trip exemplified their mysterious struggles on the road this season by their vaunted starting rotation. They yielded a 6.49 ERA, lasting fewer than four innings a start on the trip. They have baseball’s fifth-worst road ERA (4.93) and second worst opponents’ batting average (.281) and slugging percentage (.472) on the road. Yet, once they’re home, they have the third-best ERA (3.22), second-best opponents’ average (.206) and third-best opponents’ slugging percentage (.348).

Certainly, with these drastic home-road splits, they understand the importance of winning the AL West instead of taking their chances of a three-game wild card series with potentially every game on the road.

– Just how bad was the Nolan Arenado trade four years ago by the Colorado Rockies with the St. Louis Cardinals?

Well, after the Rockies just released starter Austin Gomber (0-7, 7.49 ERA), they now have exactly no one left from the trade. The Rockies received five players in the deal: infielders Mateo Gil and Elehuris Montero along with pitchers Tony Locey and Jake Sommers. None remain in the Rockies’ organization.

– So just why did the Diamondbacks strip Shaun Larkin from their third-base coaching duties with just 35 games remaining in the season?

If they didn’t, they might have had a mutiny on their hands with their players growing exasperated after a series of wrong decisions.

“I saw the reactions of certain guys,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I’m not an idiot; I pay attention. … That was a little bit of my calculus, for sure.”

Larkin was replaced by Tim Bogar, who was last a big-league third-base coach in 2011.

– There’s no one quite like Detroit Tigers veteran starter Charlie Morton, who is enjoying a renaissance since being traded to the Tigers, but is still brokenhearted by his struggles with Baltimore.

‘If it didn’t affect me, I wouldn’t be playing,’ Morton told reporters. “Part of what drives me back to the game is the failure. It’s not the incessant failure. But for me, earlier in the year with the Orioles, that was difficult. That was really, really difficult. I’m failing on the field with a group of guys who don’t really know me, a new organization, high expectations.

‘Here I am with the limited time I have left on this earth and I’m spending it failing at baseball while I’m not present at home with my wife and kids. That was really tough.’’

– There’s no one the Dodgers hate facing more than Padres starter Yu Darvish these days. In Darvish’s 19 starts against the Dodgers since joining the Padres in 2021, he has a 2.63 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, including a 2.89 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in three postseason starts. He has given up no more than one run in eight of those starts.

Not bad for a guy who became the Padres’ first starter 39 years or older to win a game since Hall of Famer Greg Maddux in 2008.

– What a beautiful evening in Atlanta where they celebrated the 30-year anniversary of their 1995 World Series championship Friday highlighted by Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox making a rare appearance. Cox, surrounded by family members, stood up from his wheelchair in a suite and received a thunderous ovation. It was only Cox’s third visit to the stadium since suffering a severe stroke at the beginning of the 2019 season that left his right side paralyzed with difficulty speaking.

“He’s the toughest son of a gun I’ve ever seen,’’ Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz said. “The fact he is here just blows my mind.’’

Follow Nightengale on X:@Bnightengale

LOS ANGELES – The son of UFC fighter Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson allegedly attacked a man during a wrestling show that was live streamed in Los Angeles Saturday, Aug. 23., hospitalizing him.

Raja Jackson interrupted a match during the ‘Knox Experience’ show put on by the WWE ID affiliated KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy, picking up and slamming Stuart Smith, who wrestles under the name Syko Stu, and repeatedly punching him. The incident was livestreamed on Jackson’s Kick account.

Wrestling journalist Sean Ross Sapp posted on X following the incident that Smith was ‘rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.’

‘What was supposed to be a planned and agreed upon wrestling spot, turned into a selfish, irresponsible act of violence against Mr. Smith,’ KnokX Pro Wrestling wrote in a statement on Facebook posted Sunday, Aug. 24. ‘This egregious act is reprehensible and never should have occurred.’

Douglas Malo, a wrestler who was involved in the ensuing mele to stop Jackson’s alleged attack, told USA TODAY in an interview that Smith was awake and talking on Aug. 24 but had broken bones in his face and lost ‘a lot of teeth.’ Malo added that Smith could be released from the hospital on Aug. 24.

‘He was choking on his own blood and teeth,’ Malo said. ‘Somebody reminded me there’s kids there and then I was like ‘oh my God.”

USA TODAY reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department for comment on if an investigation into the incident has been opened and did not receive an immediate response.

What happened during the incident?

The live stream shows that Jackson had been milling about the backstage area for the event prior to the show.

Smith approaches Jackson and start to address him, while in character, and strike him with a beer can. It is unclear if the can had been ‘gimmicked’ or modified to be safely used as a weapon.

Smith is then informed that Jackson is ‘not a worker’ – meaning that he is not a wrestler – and the two are separated following a stare down, as seen on the live stream. Smith attempts to apologize after KnokX trainer Reno Anoa’i says ‘he always think that we’re working over here, like it’s a part of the (expletive) storyline.’

The apology is eventually accepted after it is agreed that Jackson will be a part of the match. The two shake hands multiple times on the live stream. ‘We’ll make something out of it,’ Anoa’i says.

As he is taken from the backstage area into the crowd, Jackson is told by a wrestler, identified by Malo as Andre Joel Hudson, to ‘give him his receipt. ‘ A receipt is a wrestling term for an equal response to a previous transgression.

‘As long as I get my lick back, I’m straight,’ Jackson says on the live stream.

Malo described Hudson as a friend of Jackson’s and a ‘hot head.’

‘You’re gassing this volatile person that you know has angers issues up … Then you basically convince him to go out there and ruin his life and another man’s life all so you can feel like you’re some big somebody,’ Malo said.

USA TODAY reached out to Hudson through social media and did not receive an immediate response.

Jackson proceeds to watch the show from the front row while reading comments from the Kick live stream and appears to become increasingly agitated.

‘I’m not playing no games,’ Jackson says to the camera.

Jackson spoke to the live stream during the multi-team tag match that involved Smith saying, ‘I’m not picking up the dude.’ The match began over an hour after the backstage confrontation. ‘They told me to hit him and just leave, someone will pull me off of him and we’ll leave. I’m telling you I’m gonna hit him as many times as I can, watch,’ he added.

Jackson then is seen entering the ring after Smith hits a spear on his opponent and has his back turned to where Jackson was sitting. Malo said that the spear was the cue for Jackson to enter.

He proceeds to pick up and slam Smith to the mat, mount him and land at least 20 punches, the live stream shows. Smith appears unconscious following either the slam or the first punch.

A wrestler involved in the match attempts to pull Jackson off of Smith before Malo does so successfully. Multiple wrestlers are required to keep Jackson in a corner of a ring while Smith lies bloodied.

Jackson is then escorted out of the venue by security and multiple wrestlers, followed by an expletive laden rant captured on the live stream.

After being driven to a separate parking lot during the live stream, Jackson receives a call from a person, apparently Hudson, who tells him Smith is ‘flatline’ in the ring. ‘My bad,’ Jackson said in response.

Wrestling journalist calls incident ‘worst thing I’ve ever seen’

Veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer said the incident ‘may be the worst thing I’ve ever seen in a ring’ in a post on X following the incident.

‘I don’t condone my son’s actions AT ALL!,’ Quinton Jackson said in a post on X the night of Aug. 23. He also claimed that his son had suffered a concussion from sparring ‘days ago.’

‘It was bad judgement, and a work that went wrong,’ Quinton Jackson wrote. ‘Raja is a MMA fighter not a pro wrestler and had no business involved in an event like this.’

USA TODAY reached out to Raja Jackson through social media and did not receive an immediate response.

Malo told USA TODAY that a child he invited to the show was traumatized by the incident.

‘That kid’s sitting there like, ‘Are you okay? Was that real? What’s happening? Why didn’t anybody help him?” Malo said. ‘You could see the fear on his face.’

Malo called for Jackson and Hudson to be prosecuted for the incident. ‘This is just absurd on its face,’ he said.

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Every Monday, we will recap the weekend with columns from Matt Hayes, Blake Toppmeyer and Paul Myerberg that help you digest all the happenings from the biggest games. Every Friday, we will look ahead to the upcoming schedule with previews, predictions and features that get you ready for all the major matchups.

In addition to our national coverage, we will have content from across our USA TODAY network that includes beat writers at some of the biggest schools, like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and more.

We look forward to being your go-to source on all things college football as we experience all the emotions from the race for the national title and all the rivalries that make the sport great.

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No. 20 Kansas State football fell to No. 21 Iowa State on Saturday in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin at Aviva Stadium to open up the college football season.

Following the game, Wildcats’ quarterback Avery Johnson’s dad, Mark Johnson, and brother, Anthony Johnson, were caught on camera being involved in a fight with each other in the streets of Dublin. The incident has since gone viral on social media.

The two issued a joint apology statement to On3’s Pete Nakos on Sunday, Aug. 24, in which they mentioned ‘senseless bickering escalated into an unnecessary fight.’

‘We sincerely apologize for our actions following yesterday’s football game in Ireland. Senseless bickering escalated into an unnecessary fight. We have resolved our differences and take full responsibility for our actions. We have apologized to our immediate and extended family, and now extend our apologies to Kansas State University, its alumni, and fans,’ Mark and Anthony Johnson said in the statement.

‘We regret this incident, have learned from it, and are committed to ensuring it doesn’t happen again. Please accept our deepest apologies.’

Click here to view the video of the incident between Mark and Anthony Johnson following Saturday’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic, where you can see the two wrestling against each other in the street with other spectators trying to break them up. Warning: There is physical action and behavior involved.

The involvement of Mark and Anthony Johnson was first confirmed by 247Sports.

Avery Johnson finished 21-of-30 passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ loss. The Kansas STate quarterback also scored a rushing touchdown vs. the Cyclones’ defense, a 10-yard touchdown on third-and-six to open up the second quarter.

Kansas State returns home in Week 1 to face North Dakota on Saturday, Aug. 30 for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff.

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In a social media post, Donald Trump called for pitcher Roger Clemens to be added the Baseball Hall of Fame, a day after Trump said he played golf with Clemens and his son Kacy.

Clemens is regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history but was named in the 2007 Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball. Clemens has always denied allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs, but the links tainted the seven-time Cy Young winner (and home run king Barry Bonds) in the eyes of Hall of Fame voters.

Earlier in the year, Trump claimed credit for getting Pete Rose reinstated by Major League Baseball. Rose, who died in 2024, was banned by MLB in 1989 for gambling on baseball, but was removed from the permanently ineligible list in May by commissioner Rob Manfred. That opened the door for Rose to potentially appear on a Hall of Fame ballot.

Trump’s post on Sunday, Aug. 24, said that the Clemens is case is ‘going to be like Pete Rose where … they wouldn’t put him in the Hall of Fame until I spoke to the Commissioner, and he promised to do so, but it was essentially a promise not kept because he only ‘opened it up’ when Pete died and, even then, he said that Pete Rose only got into the mix because of DEATH. We are not going to let that happen in the case of Roger Clemens.’

Sunday’s statement – like previous Trump remarks on the topic – includes a fundamental misunderstanding of the Baseball Hall of Fame process. While the president demanded that MLB ‘put (Clemens) in NOW,’ the Hall of Fame conducts voting with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and the league or commissioner have no authority to unilaterally add players.

And unlike Rose – who never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot – Clemens had his chance to be voted in, making 10 appearances on the BBWAA ballot from 2013-2022 after retiring but never reached the 75% threshold for induction.

Bonds – also tied to PEDs – appeared alongside Clemens every year, but baseball’s all-time home run leader also failed to get the required votes. Both players then appeared on a veterans committee ballot in 2022, coming up short again.

Clemens and Bonds could both appear on another veterans committee ballot in December, with contemporary era players considered by a 16-person panel for induction in 2026. But procedural changes instituted by the Hall of Fame earlier in 2025 could bar Clemens and Bonds from appearing on future ballots if they fail to receive at least five votes again this time around.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Star hold-ins like Micah Parsons … are still awaiting their just rewards.
One of the Giants’ first-round picks might be August’s MVP – if there was such a thing.
The returns for rookie quarterbacks were generally quite solid, though Cleveland’s Shedeur Sanders (and his brother) ended on low notes.

And that’s a wrap.

The rehearsals are over, the exhibitions are done, and the figurative football bullets are set to fly after the NFL’s 2025 preseason officially reached its conclusion Saturday night.

There’s only so much to glean from pro football in August. The game plans are typically diluted, the stars are typically in sweats, and even legions of fans are typically home and maybe not even paying attention. Still, some key positional battles and compelling performances have been on display over the past month. How much of it translates into regular-season relevance? Stay tuned.

But, for now, here are your winners and losers from the freshly completed preseason:

WINNERS

Jaxson Dart

Yep, the Force is strong in this one. Dart, the Giants’ Round 1 rookie quarterback and an avid “Star Wars” fan, would probably be the prohibitive preseason MVP if such an award existed. He passed for 372 yards, three TDs and crafted a 113.1 QB rating while rushing for another 52 yards and a score. He even fed teammate Jameis Winston a “W” during Thursday night’s walkover of the New England Patriots. (Priceless content, Padawan.)

Perhaps most important, his swag has sent an infusion of optimism through the Giants’ fan base. Dart may not be a Jedi master just yet or even an NFL QB1. But don’t be surprised if his powers prove too strong for incumbent starter Russell Wilson before long. “I feel like whenever my number is called that I’m going to go out there, and I’m going to play my game, and I’m going to ball,” Dart said Thursday.

Rookie quarterbacks

It wasn’t just Dart, one of two QBs taken in the first round of this year’s draft. No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans appeared comfortable and steady as he heads into his rookie season, even if his numbers don’t necessarily bear that out. Tyler Shough, a second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, also has a shot to be a Week 1 QB1. The Seattle Seahawks’ Jalen Milroe and Philadelphia Eagles’ Kyle McCord had their moments, too. And, of course, so did highly scrutinized Cleveland Browns rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, who will both apparently make their team’s 53-man roster (despite Sanders’ rough showing Saturday afternoon).

New York Giants

The buzz Dart alone generated was a welcome spark for a franchise badly in need of one. But the G-Men looked resurgent in many other aspects while winning all three of their games in dominant fashion − by a collective score of 107-47. There’s a nice collection of young talent on this team, Dart joined by the likes of fellow rookie LB Abdul Carter, second-year WR Malik Nabers and others. Given how difficult their schedule projects, the Giants may not improve much record-wise from last season’s 3-14 finish, but they could also be positioned to take off in 2026. It’s worth wondering if coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen have already sown enough hope to save their jobs beyond this year.

Joe Flacco

Naturally, the 40-year-old is the only Browns quarterback who didn’t get hurt this summer, allowing Flacco to fairly easily beat out Kenny Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders for Cleveland’s starting gig to begin the season. The Super Bowl 47 MVP is also quite simply one of the game’s good guys and an easy person to root for … if you don’t actually have a rooting interest. Flacco sliced up the Los Angeles Rams while playing into the second quarter Saturday, his only preseason action of the month.

Emeka Egbuka

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first-round pick not only made a strong impression in camp, he showed his wares on the field – his first professional TD catch a spectacular one. With fellow WRs Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan expected to be weeks away from playing, Egbuka should be starting early … and could be a quasi-sneaky find for your fantasy roster.

Cam Little

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ second-year kicker drilled a 70-yard field goal − eclipsing the regular-season record by 4 yards − in his first game this month and hit a 59-yarder Saturday. Of Little’s seven August field goals, four were from 50+ yards.

Tyler Loop

The Baltimore Ravens’ rookie kicker appears comfortably installed as the replacement for disgraced and departed Justin Tucker. Loop hit all eight of his extra-point tries in preseason and was 9-for-11 on field goals, including five from at least 50 yards. His misses were from 46 and 50. Don’t be surprised if Loop winds up as the league’s leading scorer given the numerous opportunities he’s likely to get this season.

Buffalo Bills

They added RB James Cook to a long list of players who landed extensions this year – preventing his negotiations from spilling over into the regular season. They haven’t embarrassed themselves on “Hard Knocks” – yet – and seem generally ready to make another strong run at their first Lombardi Trophy.

NFL RECORD PROJECTIONS: How many games will Buffalo win in 2025?

Kansas City Chiefs

As head coach Andy Reid has been historically inclined to do, he played his starters extensively this month. And they generally looked pretty good, the first teamers shining Friday night against the Bears while scoring 17 points on their first three possessions. “This is a little step but it’s a step in the right direction,” said QB Parick Mahomes, who was not sacked in August behind his reconfigured offensive line.

Cincinnati Bengals offense

In a bid to get off to a better start – coach Zac Taylor is 1-11 in his career during Weeks 1 and 2 – they played starters like QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase this month, and their high-scoring chemistry seems to be carrying over from 2024. We’ll see what that means in September.

Dak Prescott

He’s healthy on the heels of a season cut in half by a serious hamstring injury and was encased in bubble wrap throughout the preseason ahead of the Dallas Cowboys’ opener Sept. 4 in Philadelphia, when they and the Eagles kick off the 2025 regular season. Not only that, with so much attention on teammate Micah Parsons’ contract impasse, there’s been relatively little heat on Prescott and his high-profile team heading into what could be the 30th consecutive season in which “America’s Team” fails to make the Super Bowl.

Trey Lance

The No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 draft was the Los Angeles Chargers’ leading passer and second-leading rusher this preseason. After making a strong case to be Justin Herbert’s backup, Lance might finally be in the right situation with coach Jim Harbaugh to get his long-stagnant career finally on track.

Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin

All All-Pro-caliber players. All hold-ins. All still, maybe not so patiently, awaiting much-deserved contract extensions. But, hey, at least all of them got to more or less coast through training camp and preseason while their mostly younger, mostly less accomplished teammates had to grind through the heat. The entire trio should be fresh for Week 1 … assuming they’re actually in uniform by then.

LOSERS

Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin

All All-Pro-caliber players. All hold-ins. All still, maybe not so patiently, awaiting much-deserved contract extensions. Assuming those deals eventually come, all three players must then try to vigilantly avoid the soft tissue injuries that so often plague players forced to deal with business instead of football at this time of year. Yet maybe it shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion all will find a middle ground. Parsons and Hendrickson, in particular, have been at loggerheads for months and more – both have even expressed a desire to be traded – in their bids to extract raises and security from owners, Dallas’ Jerry Jones and Cincinnati’s Mike Brown, respectively, very much set in their ways … for better or worse. Kinda hard to fathom why three teams with playoff aspirations have chosen to play with fire this long over stars who are arguably their most important players, quarterbacks notwithstanding.

Anthony Richardson

Lance can relate to Richardson’s seemingly premature demise. The No. 4 overall pick of the 2023 draft for the Indianapolis Colts, he now finds himself backing up Giants washout Daniel Jones going into Week 1. Maybe Richardson, a raw but sublimely talented dual threat passer who’s 8-7 as an NFL starter, can work his way back into the lineup and flourish. But it currently feels like he might need a change of scenery in order to fulfill his estimable potential.

Joe Milton III

The second-year man with the howitzer attached to his right shoulder was acquired by the Cowboys via an offseason trade with the Patriots to be Prescott’s backup. Milton played much better Friday, albeit mostly against Atlanta Falcons backups, but generally left much to be desired in his other appearances – and for a team that had to rely so heavily in recent years on QB2 Cooper Rush, now Baltimore’s backup. And, at some point, Prescott has to shed that aforementioned bubble wrap …

Cincinnati Bengals offense

In a bid to get off to a better start – coach Zac Taylor is 1-11 in his career during Weeks 1 and 2 – they played starters this month … and they continued their 2024 pattern of getting scorched, whether by front-line opponents or backups. Might help having Hendrickson out there, fellas. We’ll see what that means in September.

Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams and the offense looked fantastic in a Week 2 whitewash of the Bills, who, notably, didn’t play their starters at Soldier Field. Yet the Bears’ first team looked just as bad in Friday’s loss at Kansas City, Williams seemingly reverting to some of the indecision and bad habits that plagued him as a rookie. “It was not the start we wanted from our (starters), really on offense, defense or special teams” said Chicago rookie head coach Ben Johnson. “Offensively, the first two possessions were really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far and unfortunately that is what we got here tonight.”

The Bears should be better in 2025, but it might take a minute for that improvement to show up in the win column.

Derrick Harmon

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round defensive lineman could miss up to a month of his rookie season after suffering a sprained MCL on Thursday. Total bummer.

Matthew Stafford

He’s finally back on the practice field after missing most of training camp with a disc issue in his back. Stafford seems on track to play in Week 1 … but is a 37-year-old with a bad back going to last until Week 18 and hopefully beyond for a team with serious Super Bowl aspirations?

Brian Robinson

After getting traded from the Washington Commanders to the San Francisco 49ers, he’s been relegated from starting in D.C. to backup running back duties behind Christian McCaffrey heading into his walk year.

Kirk Cousins

After not getting traded by the Falcons – yet – he’s still a backup quarterback in search of something more.

Christian Wilkins

J.J. McCarthy

Heading into his second NFL season – after missing all of his rookie campaign with a knee injury – he’s got all of two career preseason appearances (one of them this year) under his belt as he prepares to take over for Sam Darnold as the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback. What could go wrong in September given McCarthy’s scant professional experience?

Aaron Rodgers

Pittsburgh opted not to play him at all in preseason even though he’s new to the roster and OC Arthur Smith’s playbook. Maybe it’s no biggie given Rodgers got some live work against the Bucs in a joint practice and knows a thing or two about thriving in a league he’s been MVP of four times … even if the Steelers open against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, where Rodgers infamously blew out his Achilles in Week 1 two years ago.

“I’m never a fan when guys don’t play in the preseason, especially at the quarterback position,” said NFL Network analyst and former two-time league MVP Kurt Warner. “Last year wasn’t (Rodgers’) best year … would’ve loved to see him get out there and just play a little bit – with a new system, with the new guys, get that feel back.”

Deion Sanders’ weekend

He watched one son, Shedeur, play like a rookie who deserved to be a fifth-rounder on Saturday afternoon. In the evening, he saw another son, Shilo, an undrafted free agent trying to stick with Tampa Bay, ejected for throwing a punch against Buffalo. Shilo Sanders was waived Sunday. As Coach Prime has been known to say, “Oh Lawd.”

Continuing his involvement in golf, President Donald Trump will attend the 2025 Ryder Cup on Sept. 26.
Trump also appeared to endorse Keegan Bradley, who is already the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, to also play on the team.

No stranger to a high-stakes international events, President Donald Trump will be in attendance next month when the United States and Europe face off at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park in New York.

Trump announced on his social media site that ‘at the invite of the PGA Tour,’ he will be there on Friday, Sept. 26 for Day 2 of the biennial golf competition at Bethpage Black. The European squad won the Cup in 2023, defeating Team USA 16½-11½ at Marco Simone Country Club in Italy.

Nassau County (Long Island) executive Bruce Bakeman confirmed Trump’s planned appearance at the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup.

Trump also appeared to weigh in on the burning question of who should fill out the U.S. squad.

‘Keegan Bradley should DEFINITELY be on the American Ryder Cup Team — As Captain!!! He is an AMAZING guy,’ Trump wrote.

Bradley, of course, is already on the squad as U.S. captain, having been named to the post in July 2024. However, there is building momentum for Bradley to name himself as one of his six discretionary picks for the 12-member team.

Bradley entered the final round of the season-ending Tour Championship in fourth place, three shots behind co-leaders Patrick Cantlay of the U.S. and Tommy Fleetwood of England.

The last time any U.S. Ryder Cup captain also played on the team was when Arnold Palmer did it in 1963.

During his first term as president, Trump attended the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National in New Jersey. Earlier this week, Trump’s Doral Resort Blue Monster course was named the venue of a new signature event on the 2026 PGA Tour schedule, the Miami Championship.

So much is on the line for the 30 golfers competing in the 2025 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club outside Atlanta. Whoever prevails in the third and final playoff tournament will be crowned the FedEx Cup champion for the PGA Tour season.

Scottie Scheffler is in the hunt to defend his title, but it will take another final-round comeback as Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley shared the 54-hole lead entering Sunday’s final round, two shots ahead of the field and four in front of Scheffler.

Along with the presitious trophy, the winner gets a five-year PGA Tour exemption and the largest first-place check on tour: $10 million.

Tour Championship prize money, payouts

Total purse: $40 million

$10 million
$5 million
$3.705 million
$3.2 million
$2.75 million
$1.9 million
$1.4 million
$1.065 million
$900,000
$735,000
$695,000
$660,000
$625,000
$590,000
$560,000
$505,000
$490,000
$475,000
$460,000
$445,000
$430,000
$415,000
$400,000
$390,000
$380,000
$375,000
$370,000
$365,000
$360,000
$335,000

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA — Chinese Taipei manager Lai Min-Nan has been planning for this moment.

Yes, he’s playing for a Little League World Series championship, but he has also managed to save his ace in the hole to throw it.

Lin Chin-Tse has overpowered opposing hitters all tournament, striking out 16 in six innings and dotting the strike zone with a fastball that has reached 82 mph.

Thanks to the efficient work of Liu Wei-Heng, a lefty who pitched a near-complete game to set down Aruba 1-0 in the international title game, Lin will start against (Las Vegas) Nevada in the Aug. 24 LLWS championship game.

It’s a strategy, and a sigh of relief, for which youth baseball coaches across the globe can relate.

“It’s not necessary to have him pitch but it’s nice to have a strong pitcher to stand by,” the manager said of Lin this week through a translator.

According to ESPN, Lin’s fastball seen from 46 feet away is the equivalent of a Little Leaguer facing 107 mph.

But how safe is it for a 12-year-old to throw that hard?

“Just throwing a baseball in general, when you really look at the velocity of the shoulder joint, it’s the most kind of violent action of a joint in any sport,” says John Kunkel, an orthopedic surgeon and the medical director for the Little League World Series. “And just inherently throwing a baseball for a shoulder just puts a lot of stress on it.

“That’s why the period before the season, getting your body ready to throw is really important. And then building up, warming, all that kind of stuff. Your body really does adapt.”

As velocities are rising from youth sports to the majors, let’s consider how young pitchers can protect themselves.

Coach Steve: Why do kids play Little League? They live for the moment

Can throwing 82 mph hurt a kid? Monitor your max pitch count

Kunkel trained to be a sports medicine specialist with college and professional teams, including the Houston Astros and Texans.

Today, he sees athletes of all ages, including 45-50 year old men and women who are playing pickleball or pickup basketball. He has worked three Little League World Series.

“With different athletes, max effort is gonna produce different velocities,” he tells USA TODAY Sports. “And so that’s where you get some limitations of just your own biology, your own structure. Some people are born with the ability to be able to throw that hard, especially at a young age.

“There’s not necessarily inherently more risk for somebody like (Lin) who’s throwing 82. It’s more on what his max effort throws are over the course of a game, season, career.”

A trend across baseball is to throw as hard as you can in a game for as long as you can. The end result, says Nick Kenney, director of medical administration for the Kansas City Royals, is seen when those pitchers reach the major leagues.

Many of them, he says, are chasing velocity instead of trying to capture it.

Kenney points to a line from Vincent Key, the Royals’ team physician: You only have so much tread on your tires: if you’re gonna burn it off every time you come to a stop sign, and if you pop it, will you surprised?

Of the trend, Kenney says: “where the game is taking us, especially with the emphasis on extreme velo and extreme spin … it’s mind-boggling. It’s extremely frustrating, but we are trying to increase our ability to find risk factors.”

What’s an effective way for a 12-year-old to pitch?

Chinese Taipei has won 17 Little League World Series titles. Lai Min-Nan, its current manager, builds his winning strategy around his pitchers controlling their fastball.  Only when they demonstrate that ability will he add a slider or curve to their repertoire.

Liu Wei-Heng, his starter in the international championship, drew confidence and energy from throwing 70% strikes (50 out of 71 pitches) against Aruba.

During the 1-0 win, he and closer Chen Qi-Sheng combined for one walk over six innings. Liu pitched with runners on base in four, but calmly kept pounding strikes and trusting his fielders to make plays.

The two pitchers touched the low 70s with fastballs a few times when ESPN flashed their velocity but only dialed it up when they needed it for a punchout.

By limiting his max effort pitch count this way, Kunkel says, a pitcher is protecting himself.

“Especially as you get into the older levels with bullpen specialization and guys are coming in saying, ‘Hey, if I can just throw max effort for five innings, somebody else is going to come in and throw max effort for an inning,” Kunkel says. “’Somebody else is going to do the same thing after that.’

“Whereas 3-4 years ago, he might be thinking, ‘Hey, I’m going to throw 85% effort to see if I can complete the game. And so then your max effort pitches are actually less than maybe they are today.”

There are precautions young players can take before it gets to that point.

When should we start throwing a curveball?

Talk to your orthopedist about when might be the right time for a curve or slider. Kunkel says there’s mixed data on when is the right time, as the technique for those pitches can differ from pitcher to pitcher.

Biology also comes into play.

“Especially at this age group, the difference in growth between a 10 and a 12 year old and then different 10 and 12 year olds is vastly different,” he says. “So it’s tough to standardize those things for a league. The data really shows us it’s just those pitch counts, kind of max effort pitches, if we can manage those, that’s probably our best bet as an organization trying to standardize things to keep pitchers safe.”

Why are pitch counts so important?

Little League World Series pitchers are limited to 85 pitches per day and require calendar days of rest after numbers of pitches thrown: Four days for 66 or more pitches, three for 51-65, two for 36-50 and one for 21-35.

The LLWS went to pitch counts over inning restrictions in 2007. Before that, Mike Ludwikowski, the event’s head athletic trainer, said kids were lined up at their office at 8 a.m., getting treated for their shoulders and elbows.

The push for pitch counts has come from American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, led by orthopedist James Andrews. We can track them across Little League and travel ball, where sometimes there aren’t restrictions despite pitchers throwing a number of high-stress innings.

Our risk of an arm injury greatly increases with fatigue. For example, Kunkel says the main stabilizer to the elbow when we’re throwing is not the ligament, but the muscles around it call the flexor pronator mass.

As it gets tired over the course of a game, you start to rely more and more on your ulnar collateral ligament. We know today that a torn UCL leads to Tommy John surgery.

Kunkel doesn’t think a young pitcher should be throwing all his pitches max effort a game. Rest, both in between games and in the offseason, is crucial.

“Are we playing baseball all year round? Do we play other sports? Are we picking up a basketball in the winter? Are we playing something else also in the summer?” he says. “If you’re throwing from mound max effort all year round, that’s going to set you up for arm issues.”

What can young pitchers do to avoid an injury?

Over the past two weeks here, we’ve seen kids lay out out all over Lamade Stadium for grounders in the hole and fly balls in the gap. Nevada manager TJ Fechser says he expects it of his players.

When you’re 12, Kunkel says, you quickly bounce back from the nicks and bruises and your body adapts. You can overcome physical things faster than even major leaguers might.

But everyone needs to take a step back from competitive play at some point during the year.

“That’s not inherent just to baseball, but specialization in any sport,” Kunkel says. “We know that leads to more chronic injuries. You’re using one movement pattern, one group of muscles over time, and that’s just going to set you up for those chronic overuse injuries, whereas if you vary it and you’re playing different sports in different seasons, you’re working on different movement patterns, different muscles.

“Not only does that decrease your risk of chronic overuse injuries, but it makes you a better athlete, because you’re learning to use your body in different ways.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids take at least one day off a week and two months off from a sport per year. The later you can specialize, the better. You can put if off by playing one sport competitively, and others recreationally.

“Having some time throughout the year where you’re taking a break, playing different sports, those are different ways to kind of lower the volume of those max effort pitches over the course of a year and career,” Kunkel says.

If you have any pain while you’re playing, stop throwing and rest. And once you rest the amount of time a sports medicine physician recommends, understand it might take just as long to ramp yourself up to full speed.

Think about when big leaguers return from an injury, they go on rehabilitation assignments to the minor leagues, where they slowly increase their innings over a number of games.

“I always say that there’s really no way to prevent injury,” Kunkel says. “When you’re an athlete, you’re pushing your body to compete and win. And there’s no way to take the risk out of that. Athletes are always going to push their bodies and there’s going to be injury. So injury risk reduction is what we’re trying to do.

“And the best way to reduce risk is making sure that your body is ready to compete and then managing that overuse portion of it: not specializing, playing a variety of sports and then whether after injury or before the season, start slowly ramping up and making sure you’re ready to go.”

Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.