Sports, in general, always has some change but it seems that this summer, there’s  seems to be   TITANIC SHIFTS in sports trends across the board. But, this year, there are some Take a look 😉

…the MLB Always has turnover…but 2025 looks like a TITANIC SHIFT in the MLB approach! This season, maybe not at this exact moment, there has been (as of June 2) 121 Rookies reach the MLB. WOW! All of Last year (2024) there were 166 rookies that reached the MLB. Remember, in September, the teams who are out of contention, generally bring up several of their best prospects. Get them acclimated to the “Big Time” style, pace, expectations, etc.

… There were only 32 rookies during the entire 2023 season! You better get ready for a TITANIC SHIFT with your favorite team. Now…not all these rookies “made it” to becoming a “regular”. Some (probably many) experienced what will become  a very, very short MLB career with those Sept games. Nonetheless, there has been 283 rookies in the last 3 seasons. Remember, there are only 26 roster members on each MLB team. Keeping in mind that there are 780 MLB players @ one time, a heavy dose of those rosters were rookies. I know…some were brought up just for the September Showcase for the organization. I don’ know what % of these players will last long enough to qualify for a pension.

…on the other end of their career, Fewer than 10% of MLB players reach the 10-year service time threshold required for the MAXIMUM payout from the MLB Pension Plan. To qualify for ANY MLB pension benefit, an MLB player needs just 43 days of service time. For every 43 days of service, a player earns 2.5% more of the maximum payout, which can reach a maximum of $275,000 annually if & when they reach 10 years of service. That seems a bit strange to me. The players who had the longest, most successful careers, who were often the highest paid players in the MLB , then receive the highest pension money? Yes…they have played the longest, but with today’s high salaries for multi-year players, do these veteran players STILL need the best pension? I mean if a player earns over $50m or even $15m in his career, does he still require a pension?  Come on!!!  Seems like it needs A TITANIC SHIFT is required in the pension approach.

…the StL Cardinals are providing us with some TITANIC SHIFTS in 2025. They are a much better club than the past 2 seasons. The 2023 record of 71 wins for the season was the fewest wins for a Cardinal team since 1995 when they won 62 games. Some personnel moves have looked good thus far. Matthew Liberatore’s move to the Starting Rotation from the Bullpen has proven to be beneficial thus far in ’25. SS Masyn Winn has stepped right in as the every-day SS. Ivan Herrera’s bat has dictated that the Cards find a place for him in the lineup. Herrera leads the club in SLUG% w/.578 mark. If he can’t throw out runner as a catcher, either DH him or play him once/twice a week @ 1b.

… Miles Mikolas continues his up/down performance on the mound. Mikolas has started 11 games in 2025 for the Cards. He’s gone as far as 6.0 innings on 3 occasions. His ERA is 3.90 (modest) and he’s only given up 3 home runs all year. His outings are generally about the same—5/6 innings; 861 pitches in his 11 starts – 78 pitches/game. That usually leads the Cardinals into a 3 or 4 bullpen night. He’s actually not had a TITANTIC SHIFT….this is what we’ve come to expect.

…There has been some TITANIC SHIFTS at the plate for the Cardinals. However, the Cards TITANIC SHIFT leader is Brendan Donovan. He leads the team in HITS, TOTAL BASES, and he ison  the  #1 spot on the team in WAR (WINS ABOVE AVERAGE) with a 2.1 mark.  Lars Nootbaar has become the “slugger” of the team in 2025 with 8 home runs.

…the TITANIC SHIFT of college athletics is still evolving. Currently, Athletes get paid NIL money, which is explained in this way. The NCAA’s new NIL rules allow student-athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness. Those endorsements, sponsorships, and other business ventures that leverage their personal brand won’t appear if the player  are set forth by the donors. Meanwhile, giving these NIL players 1^st (and probably the only) shot usually at playing on the field. Either as a “regular” or if all else fails…as a special teamer. … Apparently, from what I read, the NIL booster EXPECT to players to play…period. “Play the kid that I paid for or…forget about my money in the future” would seem to be a likely feeling. It’s a TITANIC SHIFT that is modifying attitudes & expectations about “on-the-field” exposure that is phasing out “walk on” players. A special “spirit de corp” would be lost if the “walk ons’ disappear from the NCAA scene.

… I still have the question if a player is getting paid to play college sports by anyone where his Name, Image, Likeness is used by the school, how is he  still an amateur? Don’t expect the NCAA schools Athletic directors to look “too hard” for that answer 😊

…This so-called TITANIC SHIFT brought home another predictable outcome—i.e. he with the most money will win!  Just in the beginning stages of NIL, it’s already had an impact. In 2024 (last year) , Ohio State had the most NIL money allocated to its student-athletes, with an estimated $20 million from NIL collectives and brand affiliates. The school’s athletic director, Ross Bjork, indicated that this amount was dedicated to the football team. Several other schools, including Purdue, UConn, and Illinois, also had significant NIL spending but did not dedicate it all to footbAll, according to reports. Oh…BTW… which team won the national championship—yep, the #1 team in NIL money—Ohio State. Is that a surprise?

…the Blues tremendous finish to the season and the heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, should provide  some motivation to continue the TITANIC SHIFT for 25-26 season.  Clearly 2 of our defensemen are reaching the ‘careful age” time of their career.  GM Doug Armstrong realizes the importance of having  more experienced defenders around the two 23 year olds–Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. Sooo..anticipate the start of a TITANIC SHIFT in the D-corp of the Blues this summer. Maybe the acquisition of 25 year old K’Andre Miller-NYR (he’s due for a new contract) could really give the BLUES a “TITANIC SHIFT” on the defensive corp.

..Another TITANIC SHIFT took place in Kansas City last MLB season.  According to many MLB observers, the most surprising team in the MLB in 2024 was the Kansas City Royals. Just a year before in 2023, KC posted the 2^nd worst record in MLB. The TITANIC SHIFT for the  Royals saw them win 86 games and make the playoffs in the 2024 season. How did they do it? First of all, they’ve got good, maybe even GREAT, seasons from their “stars”.  Bobby Witt Jr (SS) and Cole Ragans They were very active in the off-season and added veteran talent like Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha & Will Smith to help the young corp on the team mature. That gives our StL fans some hope for the “turnaround” of the Cards.

…Who are these stars? Probably, only close MLB fans recognize them.  SS Bobby Witt Jr., and pitcher, Cole Ragans have been pushing the Royals to play at a high level on a regular basis. As the KC pitching rotation was ready for a TITANIC SHIFT, Ragans became the ACE of the staff. He held an 11-9 record with a sharp WHIP (walks, hits per inning pitched) of 1.14 & and ERA of 3.14. As a pitching staff, KC is 4^th in the MLB with a shining 3.13 ERA!  Witt is the STAR of this KC club and brings a TITANIC SHIFT to the lineup.  Now in his 4^th season, Witt led the Royals in many batting categories in 2024. He is their ‘STAR’ of their NEW LOOK future. He led the Major League (not just KC) with 211 hits; led MLB in batting average-.332; was 6^th in MLB in RBI’s with 109; he played in 161 games (missing only 1 game all season). They are tied for 2^nd in the MLB in pitching shutouts.  KC has 7 shutouts already in 2025. Further, as all good teams, they have a reliable bullpen. Their Bull Pen is tied of 3^rd in MLB in saves!

…Well…the TITANIC SHIFTS have ceased for the moment 😊 Thanks for taking your time to read the Buzz! Any of YOUR thoughts (agree/disagree) are always invited. You can put them right on my Facebook page if you wish. This will be the only Buzz this week. Back with you next week.  Bob