{"id":18156,"date":"2026-03-06T13:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=18156"},"modified":"2026-03-06T13:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:04:13","slug":"mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico Notes: Pride, Identity, Unfinished Business in 2026 World Baseball Classic Opener vs Great Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexico Pre\u2011Game Notes vs Great Britain<\/h2>\n

HOUSTON \u2014 Team Mexico<\/a>\u2019s pre\u2011game press conference with pitcher Taijuan Walker<\/a><\/strong>, infielder Rowdy Tellez<\/a><\/strong>, and manager Benji Gil<\/a><\/strong> carried the unmistakable energy of a team that believes its story didn\u2019t end in the 2023 World Baseball Classic<\/a> \u2014 it simply paused. Three years after their semifinal run, they spoke with clarity, conviction, and a sense of continuity. It made the morning feel less like a new beginning and more like the next chapter of something already in motion.<\/p>\n

Mexico: A Hungry Team Out to Finish the Job, Starting with Great Britain<\/h3>\n

Mexico\u2019s players didn\u2019t shy away from the emotional residue of 2023. Rowdy Tellez said what many still feel: \u201cWe were 30 outs short of winning the championship.\u201d Manager Benji Gil echoed that sentiment, describing the 2023 group as a bond that never really dissolved. \u201cHonestly, I wish it would never have stopped. The team three years ago was really special. They bonded incredibly. We picked up right where we left off.\u201d This team isn\u2019t chasing nostalgia but continuing a mission.<\/p>\n

The Core Returns with Stability, Experience, and Belief<\/h3>\n

Mexico\u2019s roster features a significant returning core from the 2023 semifinal run. That continuity matters, and the players know it. Taijuan Walker, who will pitch later in pool play, said the team\u2019s familiarity is a competitive advantage. He said, \u201cThis is our Olympics. We don\u2019t get to play the Olympics.\u201d The returning group carries both the memory of how close they came and the confidence of knowing they\u2019ve already proven they can compete with anyone in the world.<\/p>\n

Mexico Manager Benji Gil\u2019s Long Journey Continues with Purpose<\/h3>\n

Gil\u2019s connection to this team is emotional, cultural, and deeply personal. He spoke at length about the growth of the WBC and Mexico\u2019s place in it, tracing the sport\u2019s global expansion and the pride that comes with representing a country with such a rich baseball heritage. He also addressed the bicultural nature of the roster. Some players were born in the United States and some in Mexico, in addition to other places. Gil does not view this as a challenge, but as a defining strength. \u201cWhether you say \u2018championship\u2019 or \u2018campeonato,\u2019 everyone understands. We love Mexico and we love being Mexican.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Unified Clubhouse with a Clear, Shared Purpose<\/h3>\n

Mexico\u2019s roster blends players from different backgrounds, leagues, and hometowns, but the unity is unmistakable. Gil emphasized that the team\u2019s identity is rooted in shared pride, not geography. Players joked across languages. They spoke about representing not only themselves but their families and communities. The emotional throughline: this team knows exactly who it is.<\/p>\n

Mexico vs Great Britain: Opening Against a Hungry Opponent with Confidence<\/h3>\n

Mexico opens the Classic against a Great Britain team that has grown rapidly since 2023. Gil and his players expressed respect for GB\u2019s rise \u2014 but also confidence in their own identity and preparation.<\/p>\n

Tellez put it simply, saying, \u201cEvery game is important. One loss can define everything.\u201d Gil added that Mexico\u2019s mentality is to attack \u2014 at the plate, on the bases, and on the mound. The opener is not only a game but a tone\u2011setter.<\/p>\n

Javier Assad Sets the Tone for Mexico<\/h3>\n

Javier Assad<\/strong><\/a> will start against Great Britain. Walker praised his growth since the last Classic. \u201cHe was breaking out of his shell last Classic. Now he has three more years under his belt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assad\u2019s emergence as a reliable, poised starter gives Mexico a stabilizing presence at the top of the rotation \u2014 exactly what a contender needs in a short tournament.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/h4>\n
\"Team<\/a>
HOUSTON (Mar. 6) \u2014 Team Mexico manager Benji Gil (in red, back to camera) signs autographs for fans prior to his team’s opening game versus Great Britain in Pool B of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. (Photo by Evan Thompson\/Sport Relay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexico Pre\u2011Game Notes vs Great Britain HOUSTON \u2014 Team Mexico\u2019s pre\u2011game press conference with pitcher Taijuan Walker, infielder Rowdy Tellez, and manager Benji Gil carried the unmistakable energy of a team that believes its story didn\u2019t end in the 2023 World Baseball Classic \u2014 it simply paused. Three years after their semifinal run, they spoke […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2222],"tags":[2214,628,694,108,683,684],"class_list":["post-18156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-world-baseball-classic","tag-2026-world-baseball-classic","tag-benji-gil","tag-rowdy-tellez","tag-taijuan-walker","tag-team-great-britain","tag-team-mexico","pmpro-has-access","eq-blocks"],"yoast_head":"\nMexico Pre Game Notes vs Great Britain - Sport Relay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mexico pre\u2011game notes vs Great Britain: identity, unity, and unfinished business with a confident, veteran core.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mexico Pre Game Notes vs Great Britain - Sport Relay\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mexico pre\u2011game notes vs Great Britain: identity, unity, and unfinished business with a confident, veteran core.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Major League Baseball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100088190202878\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thompsontalks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-06T21:04:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-1024x771.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"771\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@evan_m_thompson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SportRelay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/176e41d7fa14354827c1f8f9b78d6057\"},\"headline\":\"Mexico Notes: Pride, Identity, Unfinished Business in 2026 World Baseball Classic Opener vs Great Britain\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-06T21:04:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\"},\"wordCount\":665,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2026 World Baseball Classic\",\"Benji Gil\",\"Rowdy Tellez\",\"Taijuan Walker\",\"Team Great Britain\",\"Team Mexico\"],\"articleSection\":[\"General Baseball\",\"World Baseball Classic\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\",\"name\":\"Mexico Pre Game Notes vs Great Britain - Sport Relay\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-06T21:04:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"Mexico pre\u2011game notes vs Great Britain: identity, unity, and unfinished business with a confident, veteran core.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1927,\"caption\":\"HOUSTON (Mar. 6) \u2014 Team Mexico manager Benji Gil (in red, back to camera) signs autographs for fans prior to his team's opening game versus Great Britain in Pool B of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. (Photo by Evan Thompson\/Sport Relay)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"MLB\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mexico Notes: Pride, Identity, Unfinished Business in 2026 World Baseball Classic Opener vs Great Britain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/\",\"name\":\"Major League Baseball - Sport Relay\",\"description\":\"Honest \u2022 Unbiased \u2022 Apolitical\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"SportRelay MLB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sport Relay - Your Connection to the Game!\",\"alternateName\":\"SportRelay.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/sr.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/sr.png\",\"width\":155,\"height\":155,\"caption\":\"Sport Relay - Your Connection to the Game!\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100088190202878\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SportRelay\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/sportrelay\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/176e41d7fa14354827c1f8f9b78d6057\",\"name\":\"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/cropped-Evan-on-field-120x120.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/cropped-Evan-on-field-120x120.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief\"},\"description\":\"Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. He covered the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2019 to 2023, the Colorado Rockies in 2024, and has covered the Athletics since Spring Training 2025. He also is our National Writer. His first and biggest love is baseball. Evan lives in Gilbert, Arizona and loves history, especially of sports. He is a member of the Hemond Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021. His second book, Volume II of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs (1977\u20131984) came out September 2024. Order Evan's books here. Follow Evan on Twitter: @evan_m_thompson Support Evan on Patreon: https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/user?u=81411994\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thompsontalks\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/evan_m_thompson\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@evanthompson8435\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/author\/evan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mexico Pre Game Notes vs Great Britain - Sport Relay","description":"Mexico pre\u2011game notes vs Great Britain: identity, unity, and unfinished business with a confident, veteran core.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mexico Pre Game Notes vs Great Britain - Sport Relay","og_description":"Mexico pre\u2011game notes vs Great Britain: identity, unity, and unfinished business with a confident, veteran core.","og_url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/","og_site_name":"Major League Baseball","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100088190202878","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thompsontalks\/","article_published_time":"2026-03-06T21:04:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":771,"url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-1024x771.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@evan_m_thompson","twitter_site":"@SportRelay","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/176e41d7fa14354827c1f8f9b78d6057"},"headline":"Mexico Notes: Pride, Identity, Unfinished Business in 2026 World Baseball Classic Opener vs Great Britain","datePublished":"2026-03-06T21:04:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/"},"wordCount":665,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg","keywords":["2026 World Baseball Classic","Benji Gil","Rowdy Tellez","Taijuan Walker","Team Great Britain","Team Mexico"],"articleSection":["General Baseball","World Baseball Classic"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/","name":"Mexico Pre Game Notes vs Great Britain - Sport Relay","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-06T21:04:13+00:00","description":"Mexico pre\u2011game notes vs Great Britain: identity, unity, and unfinished business with a confident, veteran core.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260306-Mexico-Pregame-vs-Great-Britain-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1927,"caption":"HOUSTON (Mar. 6) \u2014 Team Mexico manager Benji Gil (in red, back to camera) signs autographs for fans prior to his team's opening game versus Great Britain in Pool B of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. (Photo by Evan Thompson\/Sport Relay)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2026\/03\/06\/mexico-notes-vs-great-britain-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"MLB","item":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mexico Notes: Pride, Identity, Unfinished Business in 2026 World Baseball Classic Opener vs Great Britain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/","name":"Major League Baseball - Sport Relay","description":"Honest \u2022 Unbiased \u2022 Apolitical","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#organization"},"alternateName":"SportRelay MLB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#organization","name":"Sport Relay - Your Connection to the Game!","alternateName":"SportRelay.com","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/sr.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/sr.png","width":155,"height":155,"caption":"Sport Relay - Your Connection to the Game!"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100088190202878","https:\/\/x.com\/SportRelay","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/sportrelay"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/176e41d7fa14354827c1f8f9b78d6057","name":"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/cropped-Evan-on-field-120x120.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/cropped-Evan-on-field-120x120.jpg","caption":"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief"},"description":"Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. He covered the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2019 to 2023, the Colorado Rockies in 2024, and has covered the Athletics since Spring Training 2025. He also is our National Writer. His first and biggest love is baseball. Evan lives in Gilbert, Arizona and loves history, especially of sports. He is a member of the Hemond Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021. His second book, Volume II of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs (1977\u20131984) came out September 2024. Order Evan's books here. Follow Evan on Twitter: @evan_m_thompson Support Evan on Patreon: https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/user?u=81411994","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thompsontalks\/","https:\/\/x.com\/evan_m_thompson","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@evanthompson8435"],"url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/author\/evan\/"}]}},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18156"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18167,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18156\/revisions\/18167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}