The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported the news, quotes a Dykstra biographer as saying he is “surprised” that the ballplayer was released so soon, since he had “blatantly disobeyed the court.”

Dykstra was sentenced to three years in prison in March 2012 for three counts of grand theft auto and one count of filing a false financial report. Dykstra had pleaded no contest to the charges and attended a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

Dykstra was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the 1981 MLB Draft. He had a successful stint in the minor leagues before moving up to the Mets roster in 1985 to replace the team’s injured center fielder. He won the World Series with the team in 1986.

In 1989 Dykstra was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He led the team to a National League pennant win in 1993.

After retiring in 1996, Dykstra turned to business, running car wash companies, serving as president of other private companies, and managing a stock portfolio. His business ventures began failing in the mid 2000s, and he suctioned off his 1986 World Series ring in 2009.

Dykstra’s legal troubles began in 2011, when he was convicted of bankruptcy fraud and sentenced to house arrest. The MLB star had hidden or destroyed hundred of thousands of dollars worth of assets to be used in his 2009 bankruptcy filing.

(via the Philadelphia Inquirer)

(Image courtesy BaseballBacks under Creative Commons license)

Mussina graduated from Montoursville Area High School in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1987. He played both basketball and baseball during his time at the school, scoring an impressive 1,382 points during his time on the basketball team.

Mussina was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles immediately after high school, but elected instead to go to college. He attended Stanford University, where he graduated with a degree in economics and spent three years as one of the Standford baseball team’s top pitchers. He was drafted by the Orioles a second time after college in 1990. After only two years in the minors he made his debut with the Orioles in 1992. He played in Baltimore until 2001, when he went to the New York Yankees. He played seven seasons with the Yankees before retiring in 2008.

During his time in the majors he was a five-time All Star and a seven-time Gold Glove winner. He also made two appearances in the World Series, in 2001 and 2003 with the New York Yankees.

The Montoursville Warriors have had a rough few seasons. According to the Williamsport Sun Gazette, they went 5-17 last season and have not made the playoffs since 2008. Mussina will be the team’s third coach in five years.

Mussina, who has coached youth baseball and basketball since retiring from the Yankees, will earn a stipend of $4,170 for coaching the Montoursville this season.

Olbermann began his broadcasting career as a sports broadcaster, reporting for radio stations before joining CNN in 1981. In 1992 he joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor. While never truly giving up sports broadcasting, in 2003 Olbermann became the host of MSNBC primetime show Countdown with Keith Olbermann, where he gained fame for his outspoken criticism of George W. Bush’s presidency.

Olbermann has celebrated his return to Turner Broadcasting (CNN is part of the Turner Broadcasting System) by changing his Twitter picture to an old photo of himself reporting for CNN. He also thanked his fans with a self-pic in front of the TimeWarner building:

Follow @KeithOlbermann

Keith Olbermann
@KeithOlbermann

Thanks to all who have sent good wishes on my new gig on MLB on TBS. In reply here is the obligatory silly selfie http://t.co/pSguit3wsH

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“The Angels family and Major League Baseball have lost one of baseball’s finest gentlemen and truly outstanding professionals with the passing of Dr. Lewis Yocum earlier this weekend,” said the Angels in a statement. “His talents extended the careers of countless professional athletes and provided extended quality of life for so many others he advised, treated and operated on during his distinguished career.”

Yocum was well-known throughout Major League Baseball (MLB) for his skill at Tommy John surgery, which replaces an elbow tendon with another tendon from elsewhere in the body. The surgery is used to extend the usable life of the elbow, and is particularly common for aging pitchers.

Yocum worked as an orthopedist for the Angels for 36 seasons, some of it under the tutelage of Dr. Frank Jobe. In addition to providing Angels players with medical care, Yocum also worked at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles and consulted with MLB players throughout North America.

MLB commissioner Bud Selig stated that Yocum was a “giant in the field of sports medicine” and an “invaluable resource” for MLB players.

(Image courtesy the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)

Midwest City, Oklahoma native Matt Kemp is certainly no exception. The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder pledged via Twitter on Monday, the day of the tornados, that he would donate $1,000 for every home run he hit until the All Star Break (in mid-July) to relief efforts.

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Matt Kemp
@TheRealMattKemp

I’m giving $1000 for tonight’s HR and every HR until the All-Star break for the victims of my hometown in OKC. #PrayforOklahoma

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1 day ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

While the gesture is undeniably generous, there were many who felt that it wasn’t enough. After all, critics argued, Kemp will make $20 million this year. Surely he could afford a little more than the few thousand dollars his initial grand-per-home run pledge would amount to? Well, Kemp apparently took those criticisms to heart. He announced today via the Chris Singleton Foundation that he would also donate $250,000 to relief efforts immediately, while continuing to honor his earlier $1,000 per home run pledge. Check out the announcement below:

Dear Families of OKC,
On Monday, out of concern and emotion I committed $1,000.00 for every home run I hit until the All-Star Break. It was a quick and small gesture in advance of what I knew would be my greater contribution through your rebuilding process. I am keeping my pledge and in addition, donating $250,000.00. May God bless you through this and the many generous donations coming to your aid.” -Matt Kemp #PrayforOklahoma

Kemp has spent his entire career with the Dodgers, who drafted him in 2003. He rose to the majors in 2006 and has remained. In his seven years with the team he has hit 156 home runs. Only two of those home runs have come in the 2013 season.

According to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution report on the arrest, Nixon told police that the crack cocaine found in his truck did not belong to him, and that the pipe belonged to his son. Another crack pipe was found following a search of the truck.

Nixon was reportedly transporting a female passenger at the time of the arrest. Police subjected Nixon to field sobriety tests, and noted that the former MLB player did not appear to be high or drunk. According to the Journal-Constitution report, Nixon has now been charged with cocaine and paraphernalia possession.

Nixon had a 16-year career in the Major Leagues. He first appeared with the Yankees in 1983, but played for many teams during his career, including the Cleveland Indians, the Montreal Expos, the Boston Red Sox, the Texas Rangers, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Minnesota Twins. He ended his career in 1999 with the Atlanta Braves, where he had also played from 1991 to 1993.

Nixon has had a history of drug abuse. He was arrested on drug charges in 1987 and sent to rehab. In 1991, Nixon missed the World Series due to failing a drug test for cocaine.

The 61-year-old Porras suffered a heart attack at Turner Field in Atlanta on Wednesday while setting up his equipment. Nationals Head Trainer Lee Kuntz and Nationals Assistant Coach John Hsu were reportedly able to revive the cameraman in the off-field media room where the incident occurred. They performed CPR and used an automated defibrillator until medical personnel arrived.

According to a Comcast Sportsnet report on the event, Kuntz was informed later that Porras had died at an Atlanta hospital. Kuntz stated that this was the first time he had to use CPR during his job, though the entire Nationals staff receives CPR training each year.

Today, MLB Advance Media announced that they’re expanding the licensed content offerings on the channel. You can expect more highlight clips from every MLB game – available two days after the games are completed. There is also thousands of hours of new archive content available, including videos from MLB.com’s Baseball’s Best Moments library.

The channel will also livestream two games a day – but only if you live outside of the MLB’s core distribution areas. That means to YouTube streaming for baseball fans in North America, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. But the MLB says that this move will help expand the game in new corners of the globe.

“Expanding our partnership with YouTube provides another platform for extending the reach of the thousands of hours of archived baseball content in our library and for delivering live baseball games via the Internet to fans in new markets around the world,” said Kenny Gersh, Senior Vice President, Business Development, MLBAM.

You can catch the new content today on the MLB’s official YouTube channel.

Hatton made his major league debut for the Cincinnati Reds in 1946. He went on to play third and second base for a variety of teams during his 14-year career, including the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. Hatton ended his playing career in 1960, with a .245 batting average. He also hit 91 home runs during his major league career.

Hatton became the manager of the Houston Astros in 1966. He coached the team to a 164-221 record during his two and a half years as manager, and was replaced mid-season in 1968. After stepping down he became a scout for the Astros and later scouted for other MLB teams.

The Detroit News is reporting that Trucks was admitted to a hospital near his home in Calera, Alabama on March 21 for pneumonia. He died on March 23.

Trucks was born in Alabama and began playing in the minor leagues in 1938. By 1941 he made his debut for the Detroit Tigers, the team with which he would play most of his career. He made the Major League Baseball all-star team twice and during his 1952 season threw two no-hitters. Trucks played for a variety of other teams, including the St. Louis Browns, the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees, the team with which he ended his pitching career in 1958.

After his pitching career in the MLB, Trucks went on to coach baseball. He was part of the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Atlanta Braves, and the Tigers before his retirement in 1974.

The Tigers honored Trucks this week and the organization posted a picture to its twitter account depicting Trucks in his prime:

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Detroit Tigers
@tigers

Today the #Tigers remember 1945 World Series Champion, Virgil Trucks. http://t.co/WpBiihzUkL

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