Mack’s Apples – Griffin Conine, Marcos Molina, Best Baseball Apps, Mickey Mantle, Topps

Good morning.

Players To Watch in  College Baseball   -

        

   OF Griffin Conine, Duke  - The son of retired major leaguer Jeff Conine was his team's MVP in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game last summer after leading the Blue Devils in every major offensive category last season. His 13 home runs were the most by a Duke player since 2010, and his 56 RBIs were the most since 2009.

John Sickels on –

         

  8) Marcos Molina, RHP, Grade B-/C+: Age 22, signed out of Dominican Republic in 2011; missed all of 2016 with Tommy John, came back to post 3.21 ERA in 107 innings in High-A and Double-A with 86/26 K/BB; numbers were pretty solid actually, particularly his control, but scouting reports were oddly muted; hit 97 MPH before injury but was more in the low-90s last year; mixes in slider and change-up; reports indicate that these pitches weren’t as good as they were pre-injury, but again, he held his own in Double-A even if the stuff was down a bit; ETA: 2019; QUESTION MARK: disconnect between surface numbers and scouting reports. - minor league ball

The 9 best apps for baseball fans –

      

     MiLB First Pitch - If you are a fan of minor league baseball, then you can listen to games for free with the MiLB First Pitch app, but not all minor league teams stream all of their games. In addition to live radio streams, you can also follow the news, scores and standings of your favorite minor league team (or the minor league affiliates of your favorite Major League team)

Mint Mickey Mantle   Baseball Card Poised To Break $3.12 Million Honus Wagner Record –         

  “It falls into the category of collectibles with broad appeal to all types of collectors and investors,” Chris Ivy, the head of Heritage’s sports division told me. “This card is Americana, and the appeal of it and desire to own one of the few top examples is limitless. You don’t have to be an art collector to want to own a Warhol ‘Marilyn,’ You don’t have to be a comic collector to want an Action Comics ‘Superman’ #1, and you don’t have be a baseball card collector to want to own a 1952 Topps Mantle “Rookie” Card.”

Topps baseball card company may be broken up, sold –

      

     Madison Dearborn Partners and Tornante Co., the private investment firm of former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner, are speaking with bankers about strategic options for the company, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The most likely option to be pursued is splitting the company’s card and candy businesses, with the latter, which contributes most of its $40 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, being sold first, the people said. The total value of the company is about $400 million, the people said. A final decision hasn’t been made and the groups could elect to keep the business.