Outside The Confines: Six more weeks?

It’s Friday! We have made it through another week and even though the groundhogs of North America seem to have decided that we will see six more weeks of winter (except for Quebec’s Fred La Marmotte, who tragically died right before his titular day) we have warmer days to look forward to.

And while a polar vortex makes it easy to believe winter will stretch on, prospect rankings and glimpses of the future keep us feeling warm and cozy inside.

No major breaking news so not a lot of preamble today, but let’s dive into today’s links.

• Derek Jeter is getting his own cover of MLB The Show.

• Some home runs are literal game-changers, but Jake Mintz wanted to know: who hit the most irrelevant home run of 2022?
• Jay Jaffe takes a look at Sal Bando, who passed away in January, as yet another third baseman overlooked by the Hall of Fame.
• Could the way we buy baseball tickets be changing? Evan Drellich looks at what the future of ticket-buying might look like. (The Athletic subscription required)
• Ronnie Gajownik is making a speedy rise through the Diamondbacks minor league managerial ranks, and that’s a great thing for women’s expanding roles in major league baseball. Story by Tom Verducci.
• Do you agree that these are the best players at each position?

• Cameron Maybin and Todd Jones will be joining the Tigers’ broadcast booth this coming season. Story by Jason Beck.
• A former partner of Mets’ outfielder Khalil Lee has brought forward accusations of assault and abuse. Story by Will Sammon. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Esteban Rivera thinks the only thing standing in the way of a long and fruitful career for Giancarlo Stanton is his health.
• Things are looking interesting for MLB’s antitrust exemption. (AP)
• The MLB dot com staff pick the best prospect from each team that didn’t make the top 100.
• Kyle Kishimoto looks at the incredibly odd deal Chad Green struck with the Blue Jays.
• Anthony Castrovince looks at historical American baseball figures who were among the first to play in Japan.
• ESPN makes some bold prospect predictions.
• If I could make the entire post just this image, I would.

• Manny Randhawa has the full story about Snowhei.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.