CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Australian Football

Better Hate An Owner

Bowling

Chess

Climbing

Cricket

Curling

Cycling

Darts

Death To The NCAA

Disc Sports

Gaelic Football

Gambling

Golf

High School Sports

Horse Racing

Hurling

Infinite Replay

Jamboroo

Lacrosse

Olympics

Parasports

Pro Softball

Pro Wrestling

Racing

Rugby

Running

Skateboarding

Soccer

Sports Highlight Of The Day

Tennis

The Fights

The Great Outdoors

Volleyball

Why Your Team Sucks

Wings Week

Sports

Ray Ratto

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 30: The Opening Day stencil is seen behind home plate during a media availability at Fenway Park on March 30, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

This Opening Day, Embrace The Suffering

Samer Kalaf

This Is One Powerful Post From The Mariners’ Director Of Player Development

Barry Petchesky

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson pitches against the Florida Marlins during the second inning 23 April 2001 in Phoenix. AFP Photo/Mike FIALA (Photo by Mike FIALA / AFP) (Photo by MIKE FIALA/AFP via Getty Images)

Randy Johnson Killing That Bird Deserves An Asterisk

David Roth

Rockies shortstop Trevor Story discards his bat after striking out.

The Rockies Are The Old, Weird Kind Of Bad

Andrea is a journalist and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Baseballs-Leading-Lady-Manley-Leagues/dp/1250623723" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Baseballs-Leading-Lady-Manley-Leagues/dp/1250623723&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616169124789000&amp;usg=AFQjCNENNVrOlqBUsKJ9upT7e4F-Dj_Ycw">Baseball&#8217;s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues</a>.

Andrea Williams

Baseball’s Erasure Of Black Managers And Executives Shows Who MLB Believes Is Worthy To Lead

Tom Ley

Curt Schilling Is Leaving Massachusetts Because The People Aren’t Nice Enough

Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99

Diana Moskovitz

A close up of baseball player Yasiel Puig

The Battle For Yasiel Puig’s Narrative

Now Here Is Some Baseball-Ass Baseball

The Rangers Will Have A Full House Because No One Will Tell Them They Can’t

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

For One Season, Rheal Cormier Was Lights Out

Life's Rich Pageant

Feebly Mumbling “Blue Lives Matter” Did Not Get Johnny Damon Out Of His DUI Arrest

Paul Blest

The Rise And Fall Of Grand Slam USA

Amed Rosario of Cleveland can't get to a ground ball during a spring training game.

Cleveland Knew About Mickey Callaway, And What They Could Get Away With

You can kind of make out some mascots in this photo, by USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale

Here’s To Bob Nightengale, The Last Avant-Garde Baseball Photographer

Patrick Dubuque is a writer and editor at Baseball Prospectus.

Patrick Dubuque

Mariners outfield Tim Lopes can't catch a homer, just as Kevin Mather couldn't quite grasp how to shut up.

Kevin Mather Isn’t An Anomaly

Scott Kazmir seen here during his last big league season, which was 2016.

It’s Time For A Scott Kazmir Comeback

Former Mariners CEO Kevin Mather with owner John Stanton and Robinson Cano

Kevin Mather Had It Coming Long Before His Rotary Club Meltdown

Lauren Theisen

Mariners President Kevin Mather Shows Us What A Baseball Executive Really Thinks

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 02: Starting pitcher Trevor Bauer #47 of the Cleveland Indians watches from the dugout after leaving the game during the 7th inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 02, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Trevor Bauer, In More And Somehow Even Dumber Words: All Lives Matter

SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 14: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres reacts after taking a strike during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park on September 14, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

Fernando Tatis Jr. Makes It Obvious

Tim Tebow’s Baseball Career To Lie Down In Green Pastures

Kelsey McKinney

The Atlanta Braves Were So Close

<a href="https://twitter.com/ericnus">Eric Nusbaum</a> is a writer based in Tacoma, Washington. He is the author of the book <a href="https://bookshop.org/books/stealing-home-los-angeles-the-dodgers-and-the-lives-caught-in-between-9781541742222/9781541742215">Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between</a>. He is also a former editor at Vice.

Eric Nusbaum

Kids photograph a pitcher for the Pacific Coast League's Oakland Acorns in 1952.