A-Rod, J-Lo recruit NFL stars for Mets bid

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have recruited three NFL figures as part of their ambitious bid for ownership of the New York Mets baseball franchise, ESPN reported on Monday.

ESPN says that Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, Super Bowl-winner Travis Kelce and former Dallas Cowboys ace DeMarco Murray have joined the Rodriguez-Lopez investor group.

"We couldn't be more excited to have such high-quality individuals as part of our group," ESPN quoted Lopez and Rodriguez as saying.

Former New York Yankees legend Rodriguez and pop star Lopez, who are engaged to be married, have submitted a $1.7 billion (1.5 billion euro) bid for the Mets, according to reports.

Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, who was close to taking over the team last year before a deal collapsed, has reportedly bid $2 billion for the club.

While Rodriguez and Lopez have reportedly pumped $300 million of their own fortune into the bid, it was not clear how much other investors had contributed.

"Being a former athlete and having a chance to be a part of a group trying to purchase a professional team, it's pretty cool," Urlacher told ESPN.

"It's especially cool to be involved with Alex. Alex is the man."

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Kelce described the proposed takeover deal as a "a crazy opportunity."

"I had a chance to meet Alex Rodriguez a couple years ago and just told him how much of a fan I was as a kid of him," Kelce said.

"I'm very thankful for the success that I've had in the NFL, to have an opportunity like this come across the table. I couldn't think of a more unique set of people to be in charge of this."

Agence France-Presse

MLB: A-Rod, J-Lo take second swing at buying Mets -- report

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez reportedly aren't giving up on their desire to purchase the New York Mets.

While the power couple's first attempt at acquiring the team recently fell apart, they are now working with JPMorgan Chase bankers to produce a second bid, the New York Post reported Friday night.

The newspaper cited anonymous sources saying that actress-singer Lopez and retired baseball star Rodriguez are willing to invest "hundreds of millions" out of their pockets to acquire the Mets.

Per the Post, the Wilpon family, who own the Mets, are growing more eager to unload the team as their finances take a hit due to baseball's shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The newspaper added that the Wilpons are now willing to package SNY, the Mets' cable network, for sale along with the club.

The Wilpons' previous unwillingness to include SNY in the deal helped sink the first bid from Rodriguez and Lopez, according to the Post.

The Wilpons initially were reported to be shopping the Mets in December, when billionaire hedge-fund founder Steve Cohen attempted to acquire 80 percent of the team. Cohen already was a minority owner of the team.

Cohen announced in February that his bid to gain controlling interest had failed, news that was followed shortly by reports of interest from Rodriguez and Lopez.

Last month, Forbes placed the Mets' value at $2.4 billion, a 4 percent rise from last year. 

The Mets' ranked sixth on Forbes list of values for Major League Baseball teams, trailing only the New York Yankees ($5 billion), Los Angeles Dodgers ($3.4 billion), Boston Red Sox ($3.3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($3.2 billion) and San Francisco Giants ($3.1 billion).

Rodriguez, 44, was a three-time Most Valuable Player and 14-time All-Star in a 22-year major league career that included stints with the Seattle Mariners (1994-2000), Texas Rangers (2001-03) and New York Yankees (2004-13). 

His career accomplishments were tarnished by his admitted use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Lopez, 50, has enjoyed success as both a movie star and a singer. Fox Business reported in February that her net worth is between $225 million and $400 million, with Rodriguez's net worth estimated at $300 million to $350 million.

-reuters-

MLB: A-Rod, J-Lo eye bid for share of Mets -- report

Alex Rodriguez and his fiancee, Jennifer Lopez, a world-renowned entertainer, are looking to raise capital in an attempt to make a bid to purchase a stake in the New York Mets, Variety reported Monday.

According to the report, Rodriguez and Lopez have retained JPMorgan Chase in their quest for partners.

Billionaire and minority owner Steve Cohen's attempt to buy an 80 percent stake of the Mets for $2.6 billion fell through in February after Mets owner Fred Wilpon reportedly changed the terms of the deal at the 11th hour. 

Under the construct of that deal, Cohen would have taken control of the club in five years. No such clause would be part of this deal, Variety reported.

Cohen, 63, paid $40 million for an 8 percent stake of the Mets in 2012.

The Mets are utilizing Allen & Co.'s Steve Greenberg to manage the any potential sale.

The combined net worth of Rodriguez and Lopez is around $700 million, per Variety.

Forbes currently lists the Mets' value at $2.4 billion, which ranks sixth among Major League Baseball teams, trailing only the New York Yankees ($5 billion), Los Angeles Dodgers ($3.4 billion), the Boston Red Sox ($3.3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($3.2 billion) and the San Francisco Giants ($3.1 billion).

Field Level Media/Reuters

Baseball: Phillies' Harper, Mets' Matz donate to virus relief efforts

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper and New York Mets left-hander Steven Matz have stepped to the plate by making donations to coronavirus relief efforts.

Harper and his wife, Kayla, are donating $500,000 to Direct Relief and Three Square in his hometown of Las Vegas and Philabundance in Philadelphia.

Direct Relief in Las Vegas is a nonprofit humanitarian aid organization that assists people affected by poverty or emergencies. Three Square and Philabundance are both food banks.

"Now is the time to come together and adhere to the guidelines of medical professionals! We are wishing the best to all with our prayers during this time," the Harpers said in a statement Thursday.

Matz, who wears jersey No. 32, is donating $32,000 through TRU32 charity to New York City first responders and hospitals.

"Thanks to those who support & contribute to the program all year. Partially because of your generosity, we're able to pitch in now," Matz wrote Friday on Twitter. "The first of three donations just went out to one of the hardest hit hospitals in NYC, Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, so close to our Mets Citi Field."

--Field Level Media

Mets invite Tebow to spring training

The New York Mets invited minor league outfielder Tim Tebow to spring training on Thursday.

Tebow, a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who played three seasons in the NFL, was one of 13 Mets farmhands who received invitations to attend next month's workouts in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Tebow, 31, is hoping for better results this time around after going 1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts in seven games during spring training last year.

Tebow spent the 2018 season at Double-A Binghamton, batting .273 with six home runs and 36 RBIs in 84 games. He made the Eastern League All-Star team, but his season ended in July with a broken bone in his right hand.

Last month, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Tebow would start the 2019 season with Triple-A Syracuse.

--Field Level Media

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Japan's Darvish sizzles in Dodgers debut

NEW YORK -- Japanese ace Yu Darvish dazzled in his Los Angeles Dodgers debut, throwing seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in a 6-0 victory Friday over the New York Mets.

The 30-year-old righthander from Osaka picked up his seventh win of the year and first since being acquired Monday from the Texas Rangers on Major League Baseball's trading deadline.

"He did everything we hoped he would do," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

The Dodgers, who improved to 77-32 on the season, gave up three prospects to get Darvish, who allowed just three hits and one walk.

It marked the first win for Darvish since June 12. He was 0-5 with a 5.81 earned-run average in his final eight starts for the Rangers.

Darvish became the first Dodger with 10 strikeouts in his debut since Japanese compatriot Kaz Ishii in 2002.


"It is not just about being a Dodger in my first outing," Darvish said. "I gave up 10 runs in my last outing. I was a little concerned about that. I didn't want to pitch bad in my first outing."

Darvish received the only support he would need when Chris Taylor homered leading off the first against Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom at Citi Field. Yasiel Puig homered in the second and Justin Turner drove in a run in the fifth.

The scorching Dodgers won for the 42nd time in their last 49 games dating to June 7. The Mets lost for the fifth time in six games.

DeGrom allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight over five innings. He also singled and stole a base in the third. It was the first stolen base by a Mets pitcher since Oliver Perez swiped second in May 2008.

Chase Utley blasted a two-run home run for the Dodgers. Utley was booed loudly before every at-bat by fans who remember from his years with the Philadelphia Phillies, when he broke the leg of shortstop Ruben Tejada with a hard slide into second base during the 2015 National League playoffs.

The blast was his 39th regular-season homer against the Mets, most of any active player.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tebow gets cheered despite rough start in Mets debut

Tim Tebow had a rough start in his first game with the Major League Baseball's New York Mets on Wednesday as the former NFL quarterback struck out twice and was hit by a pitch in a Spring Training exhibition game.

Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner as the top college football player while at the University of Florida, struck out in his first at-bat against reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello.

When Tebow, 29, returned to the plate in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and none out he grounded into a double play yet received an unexpected standing ovation and high-fives from his teammates since a runner scored on the play.

The run tied the game against the Boston Red Sox at 4-4 and New York went on to win 8-7 in their home park in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where Tebow still has a loyal following.

The lefty-swinging Tebow was hit on his right shoulder by a pitch from lefthander Brian Johnson in the sixth and was doubled off first base on a line drive. He struck out looking in his last at-bat.

"I think I learned a lot of things," Tebow, considered a massive long-shot to make a major league roster, told reporters. "Just getting in there and seeing pitches for the first time, competing.

"It was the first day for me, getting a chance to compete, and I'll learn a lot from it."

Tebow, who batted eighth in the order and wore No. 97, is in minor league camp, but the Mets borrowed him Wednesday for their split-squad game against Boston.

They plan to do the same on Friday against the Houston Astros, with Tebow likely to make his debut in the outfield.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tebow begins Mets career wearing No. 15 jersey

In a blue New York Mets' batting practice jersey stitched with a No. 15 on the back, Tim Tebow began his bid to make it in professional baseball on Monday at Tradition Field at Port St. Lucie, Fla.

"It was a lot of fun, it was great to be a on a team, go through a warm-up, take batting practice, try to remember as many names as possible," Tebow said. "It was just fun."

Tebow drew a crowd, as expected. The Mets have added "Tebow - Instructional League" to the media credential dropdown menu just below the "Mets Division Series" selection option.

More than 67 media outlets were credentialed for the start of workouts. The instructional league spans three weeks.

Media throngs well known to Tebow are not common in fall instructional league. Tebow said he will just focus on the workout between the lines.

"One thing I've learned is, 'Let it go in one ear and out the other'," Tebow said. "I didn't pay attention. Thankful to be a Met."

Tebow, 29, signed a $100,000 minor-league contract with the Mets on Sept. 8.

Tebow held a workout in Los Angeles on Aug. 30 and 46 scouts attended. He last played organized baseball as a junior in high school - an 11-year absence from the game - when he batted nearly .500 for Nease High near Jacksonville, Fla.

"The goal would be to have a career in the big leagues," Tebow said at his workout last month. "I just want to be someone to pursue what I believe in, what I'm passionate about. A lot of people will say, 'But what if you fail? What if you don't make it?' Guess what? I don't have to live with regret."

Tebow, hoping to make it as a professional outfielder, will be part of daily workouts through Thursday, but he will be excused Friday and Saturday for his college football analyst duties. The instructional league has a day off on Sunday.

During Monday's early throwing sessions, with Tebow paired up with another player for a simple warmup toss, Tebow sailed one throw over his catch partner and over the outfield fence.

The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback was asked if he had heard from the New England Patriots about a possible tryout. The Patriots are without starting quarterback Tom Brady and backup Jimmy Garoppolo is sidelined by a shoulder injury.

"I'm a Met," Tebow said.

The Mets apparently agree.

Though he is not part of the players union and typically sales of players not on the 40-man roster are prohibited, the Mets are selling Tebow jerseys in the team store and elsewhere, including outside the workout facility on Monday morning.

Tebow signed a direct marketing deal with Majestic sports apparel to permission the company and Mets to market the jersey.

Plenty of fans made it to the Mets' Florida facility on Monday, and clearly Tebow was the focus among the team's 58-man fall roster. (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Royals beat Mets, take first title in 30 years

NEW YORK -- Sparked by the most amazing rally yet in a comeback-filled playoff run, the Kansas City Royals captured their first World Series title in 30 years Sunday by defeating the New York Mets 7-2 in 12 innings.

The Royals took Major League Baseball's best-of-seven championship final four games to one after scoring twice in the ninth inning to equalize and breaking open the contest with five runs in the final inning.

Lorenzo Cain scored the Royals' first run in the crucial ninth inning and smacked a three-run double in the 12th that sealed New York's fate, ending the Mets' dream of their first World Series title since 1986.



 Instead, the Royals captured their first crown since 1985 with their record eighth come-from-behind playoff victory, including all four of their World Series triumphs. Seven of them were multi-run rallies to win.

Inspired by a seven-game loss to San Francisco in last year's World Series, the Royals became the first team since the 1989 Oakland A's to win the World Series a year after losing it. They are the first team since the 1961 Yankees to lose in a seventh game and win the title the next year.

Deadlocked 2-2 after nine innings, the game went into the 12th with the title poised on a knife's edge.

Kansas City's Salvador Perez singled down the right-field line off Mets reliever Addison Reed to open the 12th. Pinch-runner Jerrod Dyson replaced Perez and promptly stole second base, taking third when Eric Gordon grounded out to first.

Pinch-hitter Christian Colon then smacked a single to left field to score Dyson and give Kansas City their first lead at 3-2.

Brazilian Paulo Orlando then reached on a fielder's choice that advanced Colon on an error by Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy.

Alcides Escobar then stretched his playoff hit streak to 15 games with a run-scoring double to left and Ben Zobrist was intentionally walked to load the bases, setting the stage for Cain's double to left center field to clear the bases and produce the final margin.

New York's Curtis Granderson hit a leadoff home run in the first inning and scored again after walking in the fourth to give the Mets a 2-0 advantage.

Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey, a 26-year-old right-hander, baffled the Royals for eight shutout innings, striking out nine while scattering four hits and two walks as only one runner got past first base.

- Comeback kings -

But in the ninth inning, the Royals added to their legend as comeback kings as Cain opened the ninth with a walk and stole second base, allowing him to race home on Eric Hosmer's double to left field and cut the Mets' lead to 2-1.

That prompted Mets manager Terry Collins to remove Harvey in favor of Dominican closing relief ace Jeurys Familia, who promptly surrendered a ground out to first by Mike Moustakas that advanced Hosmer to third base.

Perez then grounded out but Hosmer raced home and scored the tying run as an errant desperation throw home by Lucas Duda was way off target.

Kansas City right-handed pitcher Edinson Volquez, making his first appearance since attending his father Daniel's funeral in their native Dominican Republic, threw well over six innings.

Volquez, who drew his father's initials in the dirt on the back of the pitcher's mound, allowed two runs on two hits and walked five while striking out five.

Volquez was not told of his father's death Tuesday until after he threw six innings in Kansas City's 5-4 victory in the series opener. He was told after he left the game and flew the next day to his homeland, rejoining the team Saturday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kansas City Royals one win away from World Series title

The Kansas City Royals are now one win away from becoming World Series champions after a come-from-behind Game 4 victory over the New York Mets.

Royals closer Juris Familia batted a groundball to second base, which slipped past Mets baseman Daniel Murphy and led to a tie game.


Two more hits gave the Royals a two-run lead before Wade Davis came on to lock down the victory.

The 5-3 win moves the Royals closer to their first MLB title since 1985. -- Mornings @ ANC, November 2, 2015.

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Royals rally past Mets to brink of Series crown

NEW YORK -- Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas singled in the go-ahead runs Saturday during an eighth-inning comeback and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 5-3 to reach the brink of their first World Series title in 30 years.

The Royals seized a 3-1 lead in Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final and could win their first crown since 1985 with another road victory in game five Sunday.

Kansas City, which lost last year's World Series in seven games to San Francisco, also came from behind to win the first two games of this year's World Series and in all have fought back after trailing in seven of 10 playoff triumphs this year.

The Mets were leading 3-2 in the eighth inning when relief pitcher Tyler Clippard walked Ben Zobrist and Lorenzo Cain, prompting New York manager Terry Collins to insert closing 26-year-old Dominican right-handed relief ace Jeurys Familia.

But Kansas City's Eric Hosmer chopped an infield ground ball that went under the glove of Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy for an error that scored Zobrist to level the score.

Moustakas followed with a single just past a diving Murphy into right field that plated Cain and gave the Royals their first lead of the game at 4-3.

Perez then smacked a single to right, his third hit of the game, to score Hosmer from third to stretch the Kansas City edge.

Royals closer Wade Davis shut down the Mets in the eighth but allowed Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes singles in the ninth as the tension built.

But New York's Lucas Duda flew out to third baseman Moustakas, who quickly flipped the ball to first base to pick off Cespedes and complete a game-ending double play.

A crowd of 44,815 comprised mostly of Mets supporters was stunned by a Halloween nightmare for their team which had been only five outs from pulling level in the World Series.

New York's Michael Conforto, a 22-year-old US leftfielder batting only 2-for-22 in the playoffs, blasted leadoff homers in the third and fifth innings to power the Mets to their 3-2 lead. Hitting only 1-for-7 over the first three games, he became the first rookie since Atlanta's Andruw Jones in 1996 with a multi-homer World Series contest.

The Mets, who have not won the World Series since 1986, also scored in the third when Wilmer Flores singled, took second on a wild pitch from Royals starter Chris Young and scored on sacrifice fly outs by pitcher Steven Matz and Curtis Granderson, the latter withstanding a video replay challenge that Flores left the bag before the catch -- a reversal would have erased the run and ended the inning.

In the fifth, Perez doubled as onrushing Mets outfielder Cespedes accidentally kicked the ball away and allowed Perez to gain an extra base. Alex Gordon followed with a single to the rightfield wall that plated Perez and pulled the Royals within 2-1.

Pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales singled to advance Gordon but Alcides Escobar flew out to end the inning. Escobar had stretched his one-season playoff hit streak to a record-tying 14 games with a game-opening single.

Conforto blasted his second homer to begin the fifth inning off reliever Danny Duffy for a 3-1 Mets lead. But again the Royals responded.

Zobrist matched a major league playoff record with his eighth playoff double to start the sixth inning and Cain scored him with a single to pull Kansas City within 3-2.

Potential tying run Cain stole second base and reached third on a throwing error by 42-year-old Dominican reliever Bartolo Colon, who redeemed himself by striking out Perez to end the inning.

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Royals rip Mets to stretch World Series edge

KANSAS CITY -- Kansas City pitcher Johnny Cueto allowed only one run on two hits over nine innings and the Royals routed the New York Mets 7-1 Wednesday to seize command of the World Series.

The 29-year-old dreadlocked Dominican held a New York lineup that had belted at least one home run in 10 consecutive playoff games to the fewest hits in a playoff game in Mets history.

Royals batters hammered New York starter Jacob deGrom for four runs on five hits in the fifth inning for all the support Cueto needed in a complete game victory.

Kansas City grabbed a 2-0 lead in Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final, which shifts to New York for games three and four on Friday and Saturday.

The Royals won their only World Series title 30 years ago while the Mets last captured the crown in 1986. Teams falling behind 0-2 in the World Series lose 79 percent of the time and have been beaten in 15 of the past 16 such situations.

The Mets had not managed fewer than three hits in any prior playoff game, a record low last reached earlier this month in game four of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cueto and long-haired Mets right-hander deGrom dominated early but the Mets jumped ahead in the fourth inning.

Daniel Murphy walked and Yeonis Cespedes advanced him on a fielder's choice. Umpire Mike Winters ruled Kansas City first baseman Eric Hosmer was pulled off the bag catching the throw from third base, and Royals manager Ned Yost declined to make a video replay challenge.

New York's Lucas Duda followed with a single that scored Murphy to put the Mets ahead 1-0. It was the last hit Cueto would allow.

- Four-run fifth -

Kansas City responded by breaking open the game in the fifth as deGrom became the first Mets starter since September 22 to surrender more than three runs. He was only tagged for four or more runs six times in 30 regular-season starts.

Alex Gordon walked, took second base on an Alex Rios single and scored on Alcides Escobar's single to pull Kansas City level.

After Ben Zobrist advanced the runners on a ground out to first, Hosmer smacked a single up the middle to score them both and put the Royals ahead to stay. Hosmer took third when Kendrys Morales singled and scored on a Mike Moustakas single for a 4-1 Kansas City edge.

From there, Cueto continued to baffle the Mets. He has allowed only two earned runs over his past 20 innings in home playoff games and would pitch a game six if needed in the Royals ballpark.

Kansas city added insurance runs off three Mets relievers in the eighth inning. Moustakas singled, took third on a Salvador Perez double and scored on a Gordon double.

Paulo Orlando, the first Brazilian in the World Series, scored Perez with a sacrifice fly and Escobar tripled to the centerfield wall to score Gordon with the final run.

Fans chanted Cueto's name as he retired the final Mets batters in the ninth to close out his impressive 122-pitch performance.

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Royals outlast Mets in World Series thriller

KANSAS CITY -- Unflinching despite on-field setbacks and off-field heartbreak, the Kansas City Royals outlasted the New York Mets, 5-4, in 14 innings Tuesday to win game one of the 111th World Series.

Eric Hosmer drove in Alcides Escobar with a sacrifice fly to give the Royals an emotional victory in a thriller that matched the longest game by innings in the history of Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final.

"To grind through that game and win it in the 14th inning was big," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Two things you don't want in game one of the World Series -- one is to go 14 innings and the other is to lose."

The intense match-up lasted five hours and nine minutes, the longest World Series opener by time or innings, and featured Escobar leading off with the first inside the park World Series home run in 86 years.


 But much of the joy was stolen from the achievement as players learned of the death of Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez's father just hours earlier -- the third Royals player parent to die in the past three months.

"I found out right before we won. In the locker room, during the celebration, we all talked about it," Royals slugger Alex Gordon said. "That's tough. But we're a family and we rallied around him and picked him up and hopefully everything is OK."

Volquez's 63-year-old father Daniel died of heart disease before the game in their native Dominican Republic. Volquez's wife asked that her husband not be told until he was out of the game, according to a Royals spokesman, and Volquez departed before the game ended.

The Royals lost pitcher Chris Young's father Charles to cancer last month and third baseman Mike Moustakas' mother Connie died of cancer in August.

Hosmer redeems error

Juan Lagares gave New York a 4-3 lead in the eighth, scoring from second base on a fielding error by first baseman Hosmer.

But the drama stretched to extra innings when Gordon blasted a one-out homer over the centerfield wall in the ninth inning, the latest tying homer in a Series game since 2001. It came off Mets closing relief ace Jeurys Familia, his first blown save opportunity since July 30.

"He doesn't give up home runs so we were all shocked by it. We liked where we were at," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We've got to put them away. We've got to do a better job. In the same situation, he'll be back out there."

Kansas City's Paulo Orlando, the first Brazilian player in World Series history, reached third with the bases loaded in the 12th but could not score and missed a chance to be the hero again in the 13th, grounding out to end the inning with a runner in scoring position.

The tension finally ended when Escobar reached first on a throwing error by Mets third baseman David Wright, took third on Ben Zobrist's single and scored the winning run on Hosmer's fly out to right field.

"Obviously I wanted to redeem myself for what happened earlier," Hosmer said. "I can't thank my teammates enough for picking me up and giving me another opportunity."

Young, the Royals' scheduled game four starter, hurled three shutout innings of relief but his status for Saturday is now uncertain.

Kansas City hosts game two Wednesday in the best-of-seven final before it shifts to New York. The Royals won their only World Series in 1985. The Mets last captured the crown in 1986.

Escobar's rare feat

The game matched the innings record set by legend Babe Ruth's complete-game victory for Boston over Brooklyn in game two of the 1916 World Series and matched in the Chicago White Sox's 7-5 triumph at Houston in game three in 2005.

Venezuela's Escobar smashed the first pitch by Mets starter Matt Harvey, a 95-mph fastball, for an inside the park home run, only the 12th in World Series history.

It was the first World Series inside the park homer since George "Mule" Haas hit one for the Philadelphia A's in game four of the 1929 World Series and the first inside the park leadoff homer since Boston's Patsy Dougherty in game two of the first World Series in 1903.

"Certainly to start the game like that on the first pitch was a little bit stunning," Collins said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com