The Upper Deck
Welcome to The Upper Deck, Baseball America’s daily look at the biggest stories around the game and some lighter fare. If you have videos, GIFs, photos or stories you want us to know about and feature in this space, hit me up on Twitter at @vincelara or email me here.
WHAT A SAVE
Don’t boo HP umpire John Tumpane @Pirates game tonight. He helped save a woman’s life today. @PittsburghPG https://t.co/4q3rd2TW3t pic.twitter.com/nxBVNAECrI
— Matt Freed (@mattfreedpghpg) June 29, 2017
Umpires don’t get credited with saves, but John Tumpane got a big one Wednesday. The 34-year-old umpire, in Pittsburgh to officiate a game between the Pirates and Rays, said he stopped a woman from jumping off the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
Tumpane told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he was having lunch before the game when he saw a woman climb over a railing on the bridge, which connects downtown Pittsburgh to PNC Park.
“Obviously, that grabbed my attention,” Tumpane told the newspaper. “I asked a couple in front of me, ‘What’s this lady trying to do?’ and they said, ‘I don’t know.'”
Tumpane then made conversation with the woman, who was not identified, and then hooked his arm around hers. He alerted someone to call 911 and then two other men nearby helped keep the woman from attempting to jump.
The woman was taken to a hospital.
“It’s a sad day, but it ended on a positive note,” Tumpane said.
WELCOME BACK
What a way to come home. Thanks #GatorNation for the warm welcome. pic.twitter.com/jsuDq0cQPK
— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 29, 2017
The College World Series champion Gators, fresh off the first title in the program’s history, returned to a hero’s welcome in Gainesville.
KNACK FOR THE MOMENT
Tim Tebow HOMER in St Lucie. @Mets @stluciemets @FCN2go pic.twitter.com/2ihgybHxGg
— Alyssa Lang (@AlyssaLang) June 28, 2017
You might believe that Tim Tebow’s low Class A performance didn’t warrant a promotion. But you cannot discount his penchant for delivering against all odds. To that end, Tebow homered in his first at-bat in the Florida State League. The former quarterback also singled and went 2-for-3 in St. Lucie’s 5-3 loss to Palm Beach (Cardinals).
NO FLIPPING
Here is the Korean call of Jae-Gyun Hwang’s 1st MLB home run (MBC Sports+). What a moment! #MLB #Giants pic.twitter.com/huUXpjNGIB
— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) June 28, 2017
Jae-Gyun Hwang was a fan favorite in Korea as much for his penchant for hitting home runs as for his bat-flipping. Called up Wednesday by the Giants, who feared they’d lose him to his July 1 contract opt-out clause, Hwang homered in his first big league game but eschewed the flip.
Said manager Bruce Bochy to the San Jose Mercury News: “I think he started to (flip it) and he thought, `Ah, I’d better not.’ But you know what? I want these guys to be who they are.”
PAT ON THE BACK
July 2 is Sunday, and also Ben Badler’s holiday. Badler posted his forecasts of what the AL East and AL Central teams are expected to do during the international signing period. In the aftermath of the College World Series, Mike Lananna wrote the postmortem for LSU. Also Wednesday came rosters for the Eastern League all-star game
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