Font ResizeTop prospect ditches Cuba
A top Cuban pitching prospect with a 100 mph fastball has defected from the national team while playing in a tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
ESPN The Magazine reports that several unidentified sources confirmed that Aroldis Chapman walked out of his hotel room and did not return.
Champman's defection was first reported on the Spanish-language Web site cubaencuentro.com. He told the site that he was in Europe, but refused to reveal his location.
A source told ESPN that Chapman was scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday.
The 21-year-old Chapman is considered by many scouts to be the No. 1 left-handed prospect in the world. He would be the most prominent Cuban baseball defector since Jose Contreras left during a tournament in Mexico in 2002.
Leyritz is arrested
Former major leaguer Jim Leyritz was arrested Thursday in South Florida on charges of domestic battery against his ex-wife, just two months before his trial on a DUI manslaughter charge was set to begin.
Leyritz, 45, was arrested at his home in Davie, a Fort Lauderdale suburb, a police report said. Leyritz had been free on bail on the manslaughter charge but a judge ruled this arrest violated the conditions of his release and ordered him to remain jailed.
Aikman lobs first pitch
Twenty-five years after drawing interest from the
This time it's as a part owner of the San Diego Padres.
Wearing a Padres jersey with his familiar No. 8, the former Dallas Cowboys star threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Thursday's game against the Houston Astros. He bounced it in the dirt just in front of right-hander Chris Young , a Dallas native.
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