Morning Mound Visit: Bruce Maxwell turned down opportunity to re-join Oakland

Howard Bryant | ESPN: In 2017, Bruce Maxwell became the first—and only—baseball player to kneel during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. There was no solidarity from other players because MLB has done all it can to silence Black players. Players have long feared that if they speak up, they’ll be ostracized just like Maxwell.

Ethan Moore | Prospects 365: The Times Through the Order penalty dictates that pitchers will get worse results the more times they face a batter in a game. The cause of this is generally thought to be a mixture of pitcher fatigue and batter familiarity, but according to research by Ethan Moore, pitch quality actually increases as the game goes on.

Jen Mac Ramos | Baseball Prospectus $: In the years since his retirement, Aubrey Huff has revealed himself to be one of the more contemptible figures in baseball. Huff was disinvited from the Giants’ 2010 championship reunion which was supposed to take place this year, but Huff’s behavior must have been known to the team before then. Teams often sweep bad behavior under the rug if that player can help the team win. Only when it turns into bad publicity will teams attempt to correct it.