Saturday, June 04, 2016

The Marlins scooped the world on Muhammad Ali's passing. How?

Posted by Doc Fantasy
Saturday, June 04, 2016 | 0 comments

Saturday's Say Hey Baseball is wondering how the Marlins were able to break the sad news before anybody else. Plus, Melvin Upton Jr. is a home plate thief.

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.

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On Friday night, the world suffered a monumental loss with the passing of boxing legend and overall amazing human being Muhammad Ali. There's not much more that can be said in this space about this great man than has been said anywhere else, but it's always nice to reiterate the fact that Ali was one of the greatest sportsmen who ever lived. Not only did he have a profound effect on the sport of boxing, but he also left a deep imprint on American culture as well, and managed to have a positive influence on many people's lives both in and out of the ring.

This effect ended up spreading itself out to the baseball diamond as well. Current players all over the league have lined up to pay their respects through various social media outlets, and teams are doing the same as well. However, one baseball team in particular ended up getting and sharing the unfortunate news about Muhammad Ali's passing before any other organization did, and in bizarre fashion, it was the Miami Marlins. Two hours before Ali's death was officially announced, the Marlins ran a tribute to the legend on their video board and also announced that he had passed away.

As much as we all wanted this to be another example of the wacky Marlins being the wacky Marlins, team president David Samson stood by the decision and, unfortunately, they turned out to be right. The stadium that Ali helped open up four years ago by participating in Opening Day pregame ceremonies ended up being the venue that let the world know that he had passed away. Is it still bizarre? Yes, but it's also another example of the transcendence that Muhammad Ali had not only on his own sport, but on other sports as well. The world lost a gem on Friday night, and hopefully he's resting in peace and in power.

Here's a gif of The Champ letting Derek Jeter know who was really the boss.
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