Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy revealed Friday he's been "randomly" drug-tested 12 times this season. That's one for each start he's made so far.
In revealing that information, Duffy also offered up a pretty funny quip to convey his confusion while also reiterating how seemingly nonsensical the process of who's being tested and when really is.
"that's 12 drug tests so far.. 12. Really keepin tabs. Im built like gumby guys i promise im not the one," Duffy tweeted.
"Duffy, 6-3, 205, is far from the prototype for a player you'd suspect might be cheating the system," wrote Mark Townsend of Big League Stew. "Of course, that doesn't mean it's not possible either. But if Duffy has passed tests 11 times in three months, there doesn't seem to be much point for a 12th test. That is unless somebody somewhere truly does suspect something.
"With that in mind, it's not as if Duffy's performance this season has significantly improved. In fact, his 3.51 ERA through 12 starts this season is identical to his 3.51 ERA in 26 starts and 16 relief appearances last season. His career ERA over seven seasons sits at 3.69, so while maybe not always consistent his numbers have at least been steady.
"If MLB's drug testing truly is random, then perhaps Duffy should consider playing the lottery."
A blowout
Elena Delle Donne is no stranger to the joys and pitfalls of social media.
The Washington Mystics star saw both sides of it Friday night. She was having a little fun watching Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball and his $495 pair of shoes when Los Angeles played its first summer league game.
She tweeted out: "How great would it be if (Lonzo Ball) blewout his shoe in his first summer league game? Should have gone with Nike."
Delle Donne, who has her own player exclusive shoe with Nike, had no idea what was coming over the next hour. Her tweet drew 2,000 likes and 800 retweets. It also had 459 comments, mostly negative.
"I was getting killed. Got to love it, though," she told The Associated Press on Saturday at the Mystics shootaround before their game against Connecticut. "It was a joke, I like to mess around, think of myself as a kind of funny person.
"All the hype around the BBBs. How many times have athletes blown out a shoe? A shoe? Not talking injury. People were taking it like I wanted him to get hurt. Are you kidding me? I want him to have a great future. It's so funny. One joke and it's like, phew. Guess he's got a lot of fans already."
No-rain delay
Thursday's Atlanta-Washington game featured a three hour and five minute rain delay. The problem? It almost never rained.
There was, eventually, about 15 minutes of rain, way after the game was supposed to start.
When the "rain" was over, the Nationals announced that fans could get a free soda, free bottles of water and free ice cream at the concession stands, which was nice for the few remaining fans who stuck around.
The game ended at 1:30 a.m. local time.
Sports quiz
What Kansas City Royals pitcher holds the team record for victories?
Sports answer
Paul Splittorff with 166.
Sports on 07/09/2017