Rustin Dodd, The Athletic HQ

Rustin Dodd

The Athletic HQ

Kansas, United States

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • The Athletic HQ
  • The Kansas City Star
  • The Wichita Eagle
  • The Modesto Bee
  • The Sacramento Bee
  • Bradenton Herald
  • The Miami Herald
  • Idaho Statesman

Past articles by Rustin:

Padres shut out Mets to advance to NLDS behind Musgrove’s strong start

NEW YORK — The Mets’ season on the brink, starting pitcher Chris Bassitt sat at a microphone Saturday afternoon and fielded a question about possibly facing the San Diego Padres and manager Bob Melvin in a decisive Game 3. Bassitt played for Melvin in Oakland for seven seasons, which explained... → Read More

Ping-Pong, rollerblades and trick passes: The essence of Patrick Mahomes in 15 stories

For Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, there is a pure joy in doing something that has never been done. → Read More

The randomness of Klay Thompson: 'It’s impossible to know him and not love him'

A dozen of those who know the All-Star best share their favorite stories about him. → Read More

'Free Charles Oakley!' The New York Knicks, a messy arrest and a feud that hasn't ended

Revisiting the night one of the most beloved figures in Knicks history got tossed out of Madison Square Garden. → Read More

‘The goofy kid who diesels baseball’: Stories of how Pete Alonso became Pete Alonso – The Athletic

His rookie season with the Mets has been prodigious and unprecedented. Yet his persona can still be summed up in two words: That’s Pete. → Read More

‘It tends to give you the ass’: Will Salvador Pérez’s ‘Fun Police’ routine spark the Royals? – The Athletic

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There is a phrase for what happened on Saturday night at Kauffman... → Read More

How the Royals are using sports science to gain an advantage

In an effort to optimize training and increase productivity, the Royals pushed the start of workouts back an hour, from 10 to 11 a.m. They are hopeful the change will allow their players to sleep later and more comfortably. They are just the latest club to bet on the power of sleep and the science that suggests its import. → Read More

Former Royal Luke Hochevar still wants to pitch again, agent says

Former Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar has not pitched in a major-league game since July 21, 2016. He missed all of last season after undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. But he’s not retiring. → Read More

Eric Hosmer is introduced as with San Diego Padres

As Eric Hosmer sought to explain his decision to leave Kansas City and sign an eight-year, $144 million contract with the Padres, he made reference to his past. With the KC Royals, he was part of a wave of talent that crested at once, turning a lost franchise into a champion. In the Padres, he saw a similar image, an opportunity to be the leader of a similar awakening. → Read More

Reliever Peter Moylan close to signing with Braves

Reliever Peter Moylan is close to signing a contract with the Atlanta Braves, the club that gave him his major-league start. Moylan, 39, spent the last two seasons with the Royals, becoming a dependable right-handed specialist in the bullpen and well-liked personality among fans. → Read More

How will KC Royals replace Eric Hosmer, pursue Moustakas

As first baseman Eric Hosmer prepares for his first season in San Diego, the Royals are unlikely to search for his replacement on the free-agent market or seek a reunion with third baseman Mike Moustakas, general manager Dayton Moore said on Sunday. → Read More

Ned Yost on picking Moustakas over Hosmer for 2015 final ASG vote

Royals manager Ned Yost sunk into a chair in his office here on Sunday morning and reflected on seven seasons spent with Eric Hosmer, who is signing with the San Diego Padres. Yost offered one of his favorite stories of Hosmer. → Read More

Why SD Padres offer for Eric Hosmer beat KC Royals

At first glance, the San Diego Padres’ contract offer to free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer appears roughly similar to the overall dollar number dangled by the Kansas City Royals. But the Padres front-loaded their deal, guaranteeing Hosmer $105 million in the first five years, while the Royals likely included smaller yearly salaries in 2018 and 2019 to Hosmer before a new local television… → Read More

Eric Hosmer agrees to 8-year $144M deal with Padres, reports

The San Diego Union Tribune reported late Saturday that the Padres reached an agreement with former Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer. He reportedly agreed to an eight-year deal with an opt-out after five years. → Read More

KC Royals' Nathan Karns healthy after season-ending surgery

Nate Karns, 30, is hopeful that his arm problems and injury issues are behind him after missing most of last season due to thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition in which a nerve becomes compressed and causes pain and numbness in the arm. In his second season with the KC Royals, he is seeking to solidify a spot in the starting rotation. → Read More

Is spring training too long? Some Royals think so

The romantic ideal of spring training, of crusty ballplayers using the time to work off a beer gut, is gone now, and it’s led to a yearly question inside clubhouses, including that of the KC Royals: Is spring training too long? You don’t have to go far to find a yes. → Read More

Michael Gordon, father of KC Royals Alex Gordon, dies at 63

Michael Gordon, the father of Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, died on Wednesday, according to an obituary in the Lincoln Journal-Star. He was 63. A celebration of life is scheduled for Sunday in Lincoln. A Royals official offered thoughts and prayers to the Gordon family and said the club expected Alex Gordon to arrive at spring training after attending to all family arrangements. → Read More

KC Royals Danny Duffy criticizes potential MLB pace-of-play rules

On Thursday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league would institute new pace-of-play rules this season, whether the players association signed off on the changes or not. The same morning, Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy derided the idea, calling it “nonsensical” and “reckless.” → Read More

KC Royals defeat Brandon Maurer in arbitration case

In the KC Royals’ first arbitration hearing with a player since general manager Dayton Moore took over in 2006, the club defeated reliever Brandon Maurer on Friday morning. Maurer will be paid $2.95 million in 2018 instead of $3.5 million. → Read More

KC Royals spring training position battles, Ned Yost comments

Royals manager Ned Yost declared five positions — and maybe more — as open as the club continued workouts Thursday in preparation for its first full-squad session on Monday. The team will hold camp battles for starting jobs at first base, third base, center field, right field and designated hitter in the coming weeks. → Read More