Donald Trump at the Stadium for Orioles-Yankees

• Above Donald Trump and Bill O'Reilly at Yankee Stadium for Orioles-Yankees, 7/30/12, reuters

• Above Donald Trump and Bill O'Reilly at the Stadium for Orioles-Yankees, 7/30/12, getty

• Above, Donald Trump with Bill O'Reilly at Yankee Stadium for Twins-Yankee game, 5/15/09. photo by Reuters, Stubblebine, US Sports Baseball Entertainment.

Per the AP: "Donald Trump and Bill O’Reilly sat in first-row seats in a $1,250 area just to the outfield side of the Yankees dugout." 'Yankees Rally past Twins at Home,' by Ronald Blum

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Ichiro gets first John Sterling home run call, and more, updated May 10, 2013

 5/10/13, Ichiro hit a 2 run home run v the Royals in the second inning as described by John Sterling:

"Ichiro! Drills one! Into the right field seats, a 2 run home run. The Yankees' Rising Son says Sayonara in the right field seats, and the Yankees take a 2 nothing lead."

-----------------------------------

Updated, Sat., Oct 13, 2012, ALCS game 1 v Tigers, Ichiro hit a 2 run home run, bottom of the 9th, making the score 4-2. John used the basic tag,

"The Yankees Rising Sun [or Son] says Sayonara in the right field seats."

--------------------------------

Updated, Thursday, 9/20/12, Ichiro hit a solo home run in the third with Yankees trailing 2-0 to the Blue Jays. Sterling: "A line drive over the auxiliary scoreboard in right."...

• "The Yankees Rising Sun [or Son] says Sayonara in the right center field seats!"

Update, Sunday night, 8/19/12, Ichiro hits 2 Yankee home runs v Red Sox, one in bottom 4th and one in bottom 6th. John Sterling kept the same tag he used for the first home run.

• Sterling in the 4th: "The Yankees' Rising Sun [or Son] says Sayonara in the second deck in right"
• Sterling in the 6th: "There it goes again!..."The Yankees' Rising Sun [or Son] says Sayonara in the right field seats"

Added of interest: In Suzyn Waldman's post game report she said this is only the second time Ichiro has experienced being on a national ESPN game, incredible considering how long he has played and how well. Ichiro appeared in post season one year, 2001.

• ---------------------------------------

Monday, July 30, 2012 at the Stadium v Orioles, 7th inning:

• Sterling: "The Yankees Rising Sun [or Son]...says Sayonara in the second deck in right."

Showalter made a pitching change after Ichiro's home run, which John and Suzyn noted was Ichiro's 100th career home run. After the commercial, John and Suzyn were chatting as the next pitcher was getting ready. John observed:

• "So Chavez and Ichiro went back to back, and belly to belly." (Eric Chavez had hit a home run right before Ichiro).

• Ichiro's 100th home run noted at the Stadium, 7/30/12, getty

• Jeter congratulates Ichiro for his home run in the 7th, 7/30/12, getty

• Ichiro approaches the dugout after his first Yankee home run, 7/30/12, reuters

• Ichiro is congratulated in the dugout after his home run, 7/30/12, getty

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London Olympics checking into why so many empty seats at sold out events

"In most venues, at least a fifth of the seats are reserved for “family” members and sponsors - while this can rise to almost half the tickets for highly prized sessions."...

• 7/30/12, "London 2012: Investigation launched into empty seats at sold out events," UK Telegraph, J. Magnay

"Rows of vacant spots were seen at swimming heats, volleyball, gymnastics and dressage events on the opening day of the Games - with “no shows” by Olympic officials, athletes and members of the media blamed.

The London 2012 organising committee (Locog) said most of the empty seats were not those sold to members of the public, but had been reserved for members of the “Olympic family.”

Sports fans complained in the wake of the great difficulty members of the public had in obtaining tickets for events after they originally went on sale. Many of the estimated one million-plus spectators lining the route of the men’s cycling road race yesterday said they had been unsuccessful in attempts to buy tickets for other events.

One, Alex Batchelor, wrote: “Can anyone explain why there are lots of empty seats? Tried repeatedly to get tickets without success.”

Organisers said last night that the public areas at the Aquatics Centre at the Olympic Park in Stratford, dressage in Greenwich Park, tennis at Wimbledon and volleyball at Earls Court and Horse Guards Parade were all full. '’The public areas at all of the venues are packed and rocking,’’ a Locog spokesman said.

'’It is accredited areas for sponsors, media, international federations and even the support staff for those that are competing that are looking a bit sparse.’’

During morning swimming heats at the Aquatic Centre there were an estimated 500 seats in one “block” alone, while there were thought to be more than 1,000 seats vacant at the gymnastics, despite would-buyers being told sessions were sold out.

Lord Coe, the chairman of Locog, had pledged to address the issue, which had plagued the Beijing Olympics, by having “flexible” accredited seating zones.

This was meant to allow for smaller accredited areas for heats, taking place in the morning, which would then be expanded for evening sessions when the demand for finals tickets was highest.

However, organisers appear to have abandoned that plan, citing the logistical and security problems involved repeatedly changing the formation of venues..

'’We have reduced the size of the accredited areas compared to previous Games but it is too difficult to make the size of that area flexible,’’ a spokesperson said.

Organisers also believed that some officials and sponsors slept in late yesterday to recover from Friday night’s opening ceremony, which finished well after midnight.

They are investigating which bodies did not use the seats and issuing warnings that tickets would be redistributed if the problem persists.

'’We believe the empty seats are in accredited seating areas, and we are in the process of finding out who should have been in the seats and why they weren’t there,’’ the spokesperson said....

One fan, Diana Hill, contacted the BBC, the Olympic broadcaster in the UK, to complain. She said: “To sit down and watch the first day and see the dressage event half full, huge chunks of seating empty in men’s gymnastics and badminton (and I’m sure many more events), is incredibly frustrating.

“Where are all these apparently 'sold out’ tickets going to? Sponsors? It’s a sad joke.”

There were thousands of empty seats at football matches - but organisers were expecting this because large venues failed to sell out.

Originally, some 6.6million of the total 8.8 million tickets were made available to members of the public. But many of those who applied failed to get tickets for any events at all - while others were only successful with a fraction of their total orders.

The balloting system ended with some of the most expensive tickets still available and around 500,000 football tickets removed from sale.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that a certain number of seats must be reserved for members of the “Olympic family” - whose numbers include athletes, team officials, members of federations and others.

In most venues, at least a fifth of the seats are reserved for “family” members and sponsors - while this can rise to almost half the tickets for highly prized sessions such as prestige athletics finals and the opening ceremony.

Officials have discussed operating a “recycling” scheme, similar to a policy used at Wimbledon for the tennis championships, which would see unused tickets resold, at a much cheaper price, to spectators who were already at the Olympic Park. They have also said they will make it very clear to sponsors that they must only take tickets they are certain will be used.

However, last night, it was unclear whether such a scheme would be brought in.

Most venues last night reported a vibrant atmosphere as fans turned out in hundreds of thousands for the opening day of the Games." via Free Republic

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Ichiro climbs wall in right field, everyone tries to catch home run ball

• "Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki climbs the wall chasing a three-run homerun hit by Boston Red Sox Adrian Gonzalez during the fifth inning," 7/28/12, final 8-6 Red Sox, reuters

Red Sox manager and players meet on the mound prior to Ichiro's 5th inning at bat, 7/28/12, reuters

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John Sterling home run tag for Jayson Nix. UPDATED with 2013 call

8/20/13, In the second Blue Jays-Yankees game of the day, Jayson Nix hit solo home run in bottom of 6th v Toronto Blue Jays to tie the game, John Sterling tag:

"Hasten Jayson!" 

=====================
Jayson Nix hit a 2 run home run in the top of the second in Detroit, 4/7/13. Here is John Sterling's call:

"That ball is high, it is far, it is gone! Jayson Nix has hit a 2 run home run in the left field seats, and the Yankees take a 3 nothing lead. Hasten Jayson! Round the bases with a 2 run dinger and the Yankees give CC a 3 nothing lead."

==========================

7/28/12, Jayson Nix hits a 2 run home run in the 5th v Red Sox, which Sterling calls

• "a Nix knocks. Nix knocks."

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Rain delay in the Bronx v Red Sox, Yankee umbrella seen

Above rain delay in the Bronx v Red Sox, Sat. 7/28/12, reuters Above Yankee umbrella carried by someone wearing Ortiz shirt during rain delay in the Bronx v Red Sox, 7/28/12, reuters

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Fans cheer Ichiro's first at bat in Yankee Stadium

Fans cheer Ichiro as he steps to the plate at the Stadium, 7/27/12, final score 10-3, Yankees over Red Sox. Ichiro acknowledges fans who greet him in left field in the first inning of his first game at Yankee Stadium as a Yankee, 7/27/12, final score 10-3, Yankees over Red Sox, getty.

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D'backs seek to get landlord to sell stadium to city of Phoenix-Field of Schemes

"So what's driving the D-Backs to cut payroll? Nothing."...

• 7/24/12, "D-Backs want county to sell stadium to city so they can get lease breaks," Field of Schemes, Neil deMause

Just when I thought there was nothing new under the sun in the stadium game, there comes this: The Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to boost their profits by getting their landlord, Maricopa County, to sell their stadium to the city of Phoenix.

How would that help the D-Backs' bottom line? Well, the team would no longer have to pay $4 million a year in rent and maintenance expenses to the county; instead, they would "pay Phoenix rent, the amount of which has not been determined," in the words of the Arizona Republic. But the team owners also want more control over how to spend a capital improvement fund currently controlled by the county, and more control over non-baseball events at Chase Field — plus, possibly, to reduce seating in order to create more seat scarcity at the 48,000-seat stadiumand allow the team to charge higher ticket prices, something that's drawn the ire of former Phoenix mayor Skip Rimsza, who charges that this would violate promises that the D-Backs would keep some seats inexpensive when they got $238 million in tax money to help pay for construction.

The Republic also chimed in with its own thoughts on the seat-scarcity issue:

The Diamondbacks have boasted about keeping tickets affordable. The team's $15.74 average ticket price this season ranked second-lowest among major-league teams...

But those low ticket prices also hinder the team's ability to spend money on players. The Diamondbacks have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball....

First off, let's dispense with the notion that sports teams operate by throwing all the money they make into a huge bucket, and then spending it all until it's gone. Most team owners are fabulously wealthy, and have the cash reserves to spend an extra $10 million on an outfielder if they think it'll help the team — and more important, help sell tickets.

And that's the key point: When behaving economically rationally (the usual caveats about rational sports owners apply, obviously), owners will spend money on players when they think it'll help produce enough in profits to pay for the added cost. And while more expensive tickets certainly help (it's tough to pay for a big free-agent signing one $5 ticket at a time), fewer seats hurt, because it's tougher to recapture your investment by selling tons of tickets once you've built a pennant-winner. (You can raise prices even more once the team is good, obviously, but you can do that whether your stadium holds 40,000 or 48,000.)

So what's driving the D-Backs to cut payroll? Nothing — in fact, the team added nearly $20 million in payroll over the last winter. They're certainly not spending like the Yankees and Red Sox, but they're not going to unless they can convince Maricopa County to sell their stadium to the city of New York, not Phoenix.

In any event, this looks like the very early stages of negotiations — in fact, if I'm reading between the lines correctly, it was Rimsza who broke the news after learning of the talks. Why the Diamondbacks would need to orchestrate a transfer of ownership just to get some lease concessions — or, for that matter, why the city would be more willing to give up some rent payments and control over the stadium than the county would — isn't exactly clear at the moment. But if nothing else, this is probably the first sign that with a now 14-year-old stadium, the D-Backs are preparing to get back on line for more public aid, now that the initial excitement of getting the last round has worn out."

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Ichiro's first batting practice at the Stadium

Ichiro takes first bp at the Stadium, 7/27/12, reuters

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Credit to Red Sox tv voices Orsillo and Remy for allowing viewers to experience Youkilis welcome back as it happened rather than talking over it

"A lot of credit should go to Red Sox TV voices Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy."

• 7/18/12, "Quiet at the right time," The Broadcast Booth, Dave Kohl

"One of the interesting baseball stories of the past few days was the return of Kevin Youkilis to Fenway Park to face the Red Sox shortly after having been traded away to the Chicago White Sox. Youkilis was one of the most popular players among Red Sox fans over the past few seasons. His return was a hot topic among fans, at least from what I heard, on WEEI Sports Radio during the day leading in to the game. A lot of credit should go to Red Sox TV voices Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy for their handling of the first at-bat by Youkilis on the NESN telecast. As a good broadcaster should (although not all do), Orsillo and Remy did not say a single word after the first out of the inning was completed and Youkilis was about to be introduced. NESN aired the public address announcement and then showed the fans giving him a standing ovation, focusing in on several fan made signs to welcome him back. Orsillo waited until after the first pitch was completed before saying anything. He and Remy knew to keep quiet and let the visuals tell the story, which they did. Great job!"

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4 Yankee batters hit in 2 days, Jayson Nix hero off the bench on way out of Seattle

Jeter and Cano look for Mark Teixeira to score on a three-run double from Jayson Nix, v Mariners in the 8th, 7/25/12, final 5-2 Yankees, reuters Jayson Nix hits 3 run double in the 8th v Mariners, 7/25/12, final 5-2 Yankees, getty

• Seattle hit 4 Yankee batters in 2 days, 3 on 7/24 by Hernandez, 1 on 7/25 by Kinney.

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'Sayonara Suzuki' fan sign in Seattle as Ichiro plays first game as a Yankee

• Above, 'Sayonara Suzuki,' "Paul Rothrock, 13, holds a sign saying goodbye to former Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki after he was traded to the New York Yankees," 7/23/12, final 4-1 Yankees, reuters

• "Ichiro Suzuki #31 of the the New York Yankees bows to the crowd in his first at-bat against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field," having been traded to the Yankees earlier in the day, 7/23/12, final 4-1 Yankees, getty

Ichiro is cheered by Yankee fans in Seattle as he heads to the dugout in the 9th, 7/23/12, getty

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Ichiro and Girardi at press conference in Seattle

"Ichiro Suzuki (R) of the New York Yankees talks to the media along with manager Joe Girardi after being traded from the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field," 7/23/12, getty

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Soccer fans at Yankee Stadium for match between Chelsea and Paris St. Germain

• Above,"Chelsea's Sam Hutchinson (R) and Paris St Germain's Sylvain Armand battle for a ball in the first half of their team's friendly soccer match at Yankee Stadium," Sun. 7/22/12

• "Supporters of Paris St Germain cheer before their team's friendly match against Chelsea at Yankee Stadium," Sun., 7/22/12, both photos above reuters

"Chelsea plays Paris St Germain's during their team's friendly soccer match at Yankee Stadium," 7/22/12, reuters

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'No Mo?' Mariano Rivera, NY Daily News cover, Sun., July 22, 2012

NY Daily News, Sunday, July 22, 2012. This appears to be the front cover. The back cover is typically sports related but it appears not to be up yet (4:47AM, Sun. 7/22). 7/22/12, "Mariano Rivera now having second thoughts about returning to Yankees after tearing up right knee," NY Daily News, Stefan Bondy

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Mariano Rivera greets soccer players on day before their game at Yankee Stadium

• Update, 8/8/12, Rivera greets soccer players from AC Milan and Real Madrid at the Stadium

"Mariano Rivera, left, greets Chelsea FC's Petr Cech (1) and David Luiz, right, after their soccer training session in East Rutherford, N.J. , Saturday, July. 21, 2012. Chelsea will face Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly soccer game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday," 7/22/12, ap

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Yankees in Oakland observe moment of silence for victims of mass murder in Aurora, Colorado

Yankees and crowd in Oakland observe a moment of silence for the victims of mass murder at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, 7/20/12, ap

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ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for 'incorrect' report that Colorado movie killer was connected to Tea Party

"ABC News is the only network or cable news channel to suggest a possible Tea Party connection."

• 7/20/12, "ABC News apologizes for 'incorrect' Tea party report," Politico, Dylan Byers

"ABC News and Brian Ross are apologizing for an "incorrect" report that James Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting, may have had connections to the Tea Party.

"An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect," ABC News said in a statement. "ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted."

In a similar statement released minutes earlier, ABC News said the report was "incorrect" but, rather than apologize, wrote: "Several other local residents with similar names were also contacted via social media by members of the public who mistook them for the suspect." The statement appeared at first to be an attempt by the network to abdicate responsibility for the report.

ABC's apology comes after Ross reported this morning that there is "a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado Tea party site... talking about him joining the Tea Party last year."

"Now, we don't know if this is the same Jim Holmes," Ross cautioned "but it's Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado."

ABC News is the only network or cable news channel to suggest a possible Tea Party connection, which Ross based off a single Tea Party Patriots webpage that has the name "Jim Holmes."" via Free Republic

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One-time aspiring baseball player wrongly imprisoned for 27 years is granted wish to sing National Anthem at Tampa Bay Rays game

Dillon was a one-time aspiring baseball player himself.

• 7/19/12, "Wrongly convicted man, William Dillon, imprisoned for 27 years sings National Anthem at Rays game," ABC News, K. Roberts

"A man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit belted out the national anthem to celebrate his freedom at the Rays game Wednesday night.

William Dillon, 52, was convicted in 1981 for the murder of James Bvorak in Brevard County when he was just 21-years-old....

But Dillon maintained that he was innocent, and after an organization called the Innocence Project took on his case, a DNA test conducted in 2008 cleared him of the murder.

Dillon was an aspiring baseball player himself who caught the attention of Detroit Tigers and he was also sung in the high school choir before being sentenced to prison, according to a Huffington Post report (http://huff.to/NIrF48).

Governor Rick Scott personally apologized to Dillon and announced a $1.35 million compensation package for him.

Despite losing nearly three decades of his life, he wanted to celebrate his freedom, his love for his country and inspire others by opening the Rays game with the national anthem.

He got his wish. Wearing a shirt that read, "Not Guilty", he walked onto Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg Wednesday night, and combined his love of baseball and song with a passionate rendition of the National Anthem.

Dillon now lives in North Carolina with his girlfriend."...via Free Republic

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Yankee Stadium converted to soccer field for Sunday 7/22 match

Update, 8/6/12, Yankee Stadium prepares for soccer match between AC Milan and Real Madrid "Grounds crew converts the baseball diamond to a soccer field at Yankee Stadium in New York, Thursday, July 19, 2012. In the very first soccer match played at the new stadium, Chelsea FC plays Paris-Saint Germain on Sunday, July 22." photo provided by Yankees to ap

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Nick Swisher greets Wounded Warriors at Yankee Stadium

• Above Nick Swisher "greets a group of soldiers participating in the "Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride" on the field" prior to the Blue Jays-Yankee game at the Stadium, 7/18/12. "The event hopes to help injured soldiers restore their physical and emotional well-being." reuters

• Above teammates help Brett Lawrie after he fell in a photo well trying to catch a foul ball hit by Teixeira in the third, 7/18/12, final in 7 due to rain, 6-0 Yankees, reuters

• Above umbrellas in the 7th v Blue Jays, 7/18/12, final 6-0 Yankees in 7 innings via rain, getty

Above rain gear in the 7th v Blue Jays, 7/18/12, final 6-0 Yankees, rain shortened to 7 innings, reuters

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No device found after bomb threat at Detroit Tigers game Tuesday night v Angels

"Neither spectators nor sportswriters were informed of Tuesday's threat at Comerica Park."

• 7/18/12, "Games goes on despite Detroit bomb threat," USA Today, Detroit Free Press, Bill Laitner

"While 33,950 spectators watched the Detroit Tigers lose Tuesday night to the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit police and the Tigers security personnel searched frantically through Comerica Park for a possible bomb, according to a police spokeswoman. "There was no device found and no evacuation was done," Sgt. Eren Stephens said, after the incident that began at 8 p.m. with an anonymous threat phoned in with a 911 call.

That threat follows two other recent bomb threats made to major Detroit landmarks — on Thursday for the Detroit-Windsor tunnel and on Monday for the Ambassador Bridge.

Neither spectators nor sportswriters were informed of Tuesday's threat at Comerica Park, said Free Press sports columnist Drew Sharp.

"You can't blame the Tigers. There was nothing explosive about their offense," quipped Sharp, following the team's 13-0 shellacking.

Monday's threat shut the Ambassador Bridge for hours, creating massive traffic jams.

A similar shutdown days earlier at the tunnel also caused massive backups. In both incidents, security agents combed the structures with bomb-sniffing dogs and security devices.

Both previous threats were deemed to be hoaxes, Detroit police said.

Tuesday's incident at Comerica Park is still under investigation, police said."

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Mariano Rivera rings opening bell at NY Stock Exchange Wed., July 18

7/18/12, "Rivera is opener, instead of closer, at NYSE," MLB.com, E. Asofsky

• -------------------------------------------

7/18/12, "Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees Closer and MLB All-Time Saves Leader, Rings The Opening Bell^SM at the New York Stock Exchange," NYSE Euronext

• "On Wednesday, July 18, Mariano Rivera, lauded closer for The New York Yankees, will ring The Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The 12-time All-Star, 5-time World Series champion and MLB all-time leader in saves is currently in his 18th season wearing Yankees pinstripes....

• Rivera, who was signed by the Yankees in 1990, made his Major League debut in 1995 and has appeared in over 1,000 games - all with the Yankees.
• When/Where: Wednesday, July 18, 2012
• NYSE Security Checkpoint/Tent at corner of Exchange Place and Broad Street
• 8:45 a.m. Media escorted into the building
• 9:30 a.m. The Opening Bell rings/photo ops on the trading floor"

• Mariano Rivera at NYSE after ringing opening bell, July 18, 2012, ap

Mariano Rivera at NYSE banging gavel with son Mariano Rivera, Jr., 7/18/12, ap

• Photo top, Mariano Rivera at NYSE opening bell with son Mariano Rivera, Jr., and NYSE counsel John Halvey, July 18, 2012, ap

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Arod's mother and Torrie Wilson at the Stadium

Arod's mother with Torrie Wilson at the Stadium for Yankees v Blue Jays, 7/16/12, final 6-3 Yankees, reuters

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Teixeira bat goes flying, ends up being caught by Spike Lee

Above Spike Lee catches bat Teixeira lost in first inning v Angels, with son Jackson, 7/15/12, final 10-8 Angels, reuters Above Teixeira loses bat in first inning v Angels, 7/15/12, bat ends up being caught by Spike Lee, above, final 10-8 Angels, reuters Above Spike Lee catches bat lost by Teixeira in first inning v Angels, with son Jackson, 7/15/12, getty, final 10-8 Angels

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Painting the George Washington Bridge

• Above, "Keith Schmitt paints the top of the south cable on the George Washington Bridge. Fort Lee, NJ," 7/10/12, Munson, Star-Ledger

• Above, "Obed Gonzalez paints one of the large cables on the George Washington Bridge. Fort Lee, NJ," 7/10/12, Munson, Star-Ledger

"Painter Gregory Gasnick walks on the south cable of the George Washington Bridge to secure the platform his co-workers are using to paint below. Fort Lee, NJ", 7/10/12, Munson, Star-Ledger. 7/14/12, "High in the sky, 'adrenaline junkies' give George Washington Bridge a paint job," Star-Ledger

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Russell Martin prepares the throw to end the game

"Russell Martin prepares to throw out Howard Kendrick of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to end the game at Yankee Stadium," 7/13/12, final 6-5 Yankees, getty

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Bobby Valentine introduces film about Dominican players trying to get to MLB

"Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has complained to the Red Sox about concerns MLB has with the documentary."

• 7/12/12, "Bobby Valentine introduces controversial baseball film in Brookline," Boston.com, Steve Silva

"Bobby Valentine has been no stranger to controversy in his first season as Red Sox manager. And the trend continued during the All-Star break with the opening of Ballplayer: Pelotero, a controversial new documentary executive produced by the Red Sox skipper.

Valentine was at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline Wednesday night to introduce the film at an advance screening of the documentary that is focused on 16-year-old baseball players, or peloteros, in the Dominican Republic vying for a handful of professional baseball contracts.

"That little island, half that little island, come some of the most fabulous baseball players to ever walk the earth including some who are with us right here at Fenway Park," Valentine said on why he enjoys the film so much. "Probably the one you know the most is David Ortiz, the one you know the least is a young No. 77 [Pedro Ciriaco] ... who happens to be from San Pedro de Macoris, where you will see the streets that he rode his bicycle on, where you will see the parks that he learned to play baseball in, where you will see the academy where he ran around trying to get the opportunity to be at Fenway Park where he is right now, five years later." The film sheds light on some of the most pressing issues surrounding the export of Dominican baseball players to the US, including age and identity fraud and exploitation, and looks at instances of coercion and other improprieties in the process. As the Globe reported Tuesday, one scene depicts a Pittsburgh Pirates scout pressuring a 16-year-old and his family to sign immediately, under the threat of an investigation into his age.

At its core, however, Ballplayer: Pelotero is a story about two gifted prospects, shortstops Miguel Angel Sanó and Jean Carlos Batista, doing their best to navigate a flawed system with the hopes, fears, and burdens of their entire families riding on their success or failure.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has complained to the Red Sox about concerns MLB has with the documentary.

The league is displeased with the film’s allegations of corruption and coercion in the signing process for young prospects from the Dominican Republic. MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said in an e-mail to the Globe that the league “had a conversation with the Red Sox about the inaccuracies and misrepresentations that were in the documentary,” but did not elaborate on what they were.

''I expressed our concerns to Red Sox ownership and that was it. What they did from there is up to them,'' Selig said Tuesday. ''There were a lot of things that were inaccurate.''

MLB says many of the issues with the recruiting of Dominican amateur players have been rectified since 2009, the period covered by the film.

''It doesn't really reflect what's happened in recent years in the Dominican,'' said Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of economics and league affairs, in a statement.

''There are not a lot of headlines that are going to come out of this, but that somebody has a problem with something that Bobby Valentine did, probably a pretty big headline that would come out of it,'' players' union head Michael Weiner said. ''More seriously, I don't think it's Bobby's involvement. When you expose the kinds of practices ... it's not an easy thing for MLB to see, and I know that it's not a complimentary treatment of some of the facets of the way MLB has handled it down there.''

The film's co-directors, Jon Paley, Ross Finkel and Trevor Martin, issued a statement defending their work.

''It is frustrating to hear commissioner Selig state that our film is inaccurate,'' they said. ''We stand by what we documented in 'Ballplayer: Pelotero' and would welcome the opportunity to showcase the documentary to Mr. Selig so he can specifically address what he feels is inaccurate.''

Valentine was originally scheduled to take part in Q&A with the audience immediately following the screening, but that appearance was cancelled on Wednesday. The Sox manager introduced the film, but left before the Q&A session.

Before Valentine exited the stage at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, he did address Red Sox fans in the audience with the rally cry: "And let's go Sox, second half!""

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Kansas City fans long schooled in booing, blaming, and staging walkouts against the Yankees as it makes life easier for Bud Selig and David Glass

• 7/10/12, "Fans go too far with Cano reaction," FoxSports, Morosi

"1999: On April 30th during a game against the World Champion New York Yankees a group of frustrated Royals fans stage a protest over the economic state of baseball. The fans bring signs to the ballpark blaming the Yankees spending and the economic of baseball for ruining the Royals chances of competing. The fans also throw fake dollar bills on the field, and turn their backs away from the field when the Yankees take their turn at-bats. The group would make one more clear statement by staging a mass walkout after the fifth inning. However, it would have little effect on the season as the Royals suffered an awful 64-97 season, and the Yankees won another World Championship. One star Kansas City fans could enjoy was Carlos Beltran who won the Rookie of the Year with 22 homers and 108 RBI."

• Historical Moments, Kansas City Royals, Sports Encyclopedia.com

The Royals receive revenue sharing from teams like the Yankees. For example in 2006, they received $32 million.

• Joel Sherman finds the Commissioner's office to be the source of much anti Yankee negativity.

From page 311 of his 2006 book about the 1996 Yankees, "Birth of a Dynasty:"

• "Unfortunately for the legacy of this group, the success of these Yankees (1996 team) coincided with

a powerful push by central baseball to convince fans that the disparity between the financial "haves" and "have-nots" was destroying the competitive balance of the sport. The Yankees came to embody the big-market superpowers. They were demonized for buying championships.

• They were cast as villains by a Commissioner's Office that saw the advantages of portraying them as a prop in a strategy to win salary concessions from the players in collective bargaining,

• Thus the Yankees of this era do not receive near the amount of credit they deserve for what they accomplished."...

Page 311 from Joel Sherman in his 2006 book, "Birth of a Dynasty," about the 1996 Yankees.

• Bud Selig makes $22 million a year plus jet for running a legal monopoly but he prefers you focus on the Yankees.

1/11/2012, "Bud Selig: The $22 million commish," David Schoenfield, ESPN

• 5/7/07, "A Royal Mess," Forbes, Nathan Vardi, photo above, Royals owner David Glass from Forbes
• ------------------------------------

Ed. note: I was listening in 1999 when Royals fans staged their protest against what they had been taught was their enemy.

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Padilla seemed to hit fewer batters after he went to the National League where he had to step to the plate, media likes to play race card-commenters

Media "reminded (Teixeira) of the serious nature of the allegation..." The media asked Robinson Cano and Freddy Garcia if they thought Mark Teixeria was racist. Honest! It's right in this article.

• 7/8/12, "Vicente Padilla: Mark Teixeira is racist toward Latinos; Tex: That's just comedy," Newsday, Greg Logan

Commenters to this article at Newsday (text posted below):

• grazlaw 5 hours ago

"When Padilla was released by Texas, it was reported that his Texas teammates were upset with him for his hitting batters. The news reports at that time suggested that the Texas players were getting hit in retaliation. When the Dodgers picked him up, there was a story that the Dodger manager, Joe Torre spoke to him about this problem. While with the Dodgers, the number of batters that he hit dwindled tremendously. Maybe it was because he was a starting pitcher at the time and had to bat or maybe his control improved."

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• Wizzy 6 hours ago

"The surname 'Teixeira' is Latin...thats pretty funny that Mark would hate his own heritage. Padilla is and always has been a sore loser, a hot-head, and a moron."

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• jc57 6 hours ago

"I'm not a Yankee or a Texiera fan, but.... The most annoying thing about this article is that the idiots in the media had to grill Teixiera about the accusation, and remind him of the "seriousness of the allegation". I'm sick of the race card being used when it's obvious that Texiera doesn't like him because he's an a h. He should pitch in the NL where he can bat, then we'll see how macho he really is."

• -----------------------------------

• denmac19 5 hours ago in reply to jc57

"Perfect. My thoughts exactly."

• -------------------------------------

7/8/12, Newsday, "The long-standing feud between Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira and Boston reliever Vicente Padilla boiled over Sunday when Padilla charged Teixeira with being racist toward Latinos when the two were teammates with Texas.

Padilla first made his comments to the Spanish-language version of NESN.com, the regional network that covers the Red Sox, and he repeated his charges to ESPN Desportes.

Padilla apparently was responding to critical comments Teixeira made about him after Friday night's game, in which Teixeira hit a go-ahead two-run triple off Padilla. Teixeira accused him of intentionally throwing at batters, which was a problem when they were Rangers teammates in 2006-07 because Teixeira often was the target of retaliation from opponents.

In his remarks to NESN.com, Padilla said Teixeira once threatened to hit him with a bat, a charge Teixeira flatly denied.

Padilla elaborated on those allegations Sunday, telling Marly Rivera of ESPN Desportes: "We used to be friends, but then there was this incident when I hit someone unintentionally and then he got hit. He said he would retaliate and hit me with a bat, and I guess it escalated from there."

Regarding his charge of racism, Padilla also told ESPN Desportes: "I believe he does have a bit of a problem with Hispanic players because it wasn't just against me when we were teammates."

Meeting with reporters before Sunday night's series finale at Fenway Park, Teixeira denied ever threatening Padilla with a bat and expressed amazement at the charge of racism. "That's just comedy," Teixeira said with a look of exasperation. "It's funny. I mean, it really is."

Reminded of the serious nature of the allegation, he said: "I ask you guys to interview every one of my Latin teammates in this clubhouse and ask them. That's why it's funny, because it's completely erroneous."

Teixeira said his differences with Padilla stemmed from the fact that he and former Rangers teammate Michael Young bore the brunt of retaliation because of Padilla's tactics. "I think the last straw in Texas was when Michael Young got hit and they showed [Padilla] laughing on the bench," Teixeira said. "[Padilla] got released that day. Michael Young is one of my best friends in baseball, so we obviously took exception every time that we get hit because of [Padilla's] actions. That's putting our season and our team in jeopardy."

Yankees teammates Robinson Cano and Freddy Garcia said they never have observed problems between Teixeira and his Latino teammates. "I judge guys by the way they are with me," said Cano, who greeted Teixeira with a playful chest bump on the way into the clubhouse. "I don't have any problem with him. He's one of the coolest guys on the team. Every day we're joking."

"Tex is a great guy," Garcia added. "Last year, I play with him and never had an issue. He's a really great guy, a good player, a family guy. I see he respects everybody."

Despite the two-run triple he allowed to Teixeira that erased a 7-6 Boston lead Friday night, Padilla told NESN.com and ESPN Desportes that he believes Teixeira is "scared to face me" because the reliever pitches inside. "

Told of that remark, Teixeira shrugged and said: "I guess women's boxing is pretty tough. I don't know if I could handle that."

As for whether the bad blood between the players might lead to a physical altercation, Teixeira vowed to avoid a brawl. "I'm not going to charge the mound because I don't want to get my teammates hurt," he said. "I've had too many teammates hurt in bench-clearing brawls. That would be selfish of me. So if [Padilla] wants to keep throwing at people, that's his prerogative.""

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