One of the reasons I love baseball is because it is the ultimate everyman sport. You can take as little care of yourself as David Wells, and still make millions of dollars a year as an “athlete” because all you have to do is hurl a ball 95 mph or hit it 410 feet. That’s why I absolutely adore 350-pound pitcher Jose “Jumbo” Diaz for stealing third base. Watch the big fella go, after the jump.

Today, we were forced to say goodbye to too-soon departed actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who died this afternoon at 54. The Chicago native was a physical marvel, standing at 6 feet 5 inches and 315 pounds, but because of his mother’s fear of her son sustaining injury, was not permitted to take such talents to the gridiron. So instead, he pursued acting, and I’d say his pursuits were quite successful. Still, he managed to leave an imprint on sport in a very peculiar way, and I’m not talking about his performance in the always under-appreciated Talladega Nights.

They don’t call Pablo Sandoval the Kung Fu Panda for nothing. They do it because he’s chubby, you know, like a panda. But about that kung fu part, well, you’ll just have to watch this video of him bending over backwards to save a foul pop and flipping it up to a diving Brandon Crawford in order to record the out.

For those of you who are into watching John Kruk eat baby back ribs on-air during the Home Run Derby — and less importantly, if you enjoy ESPN’s baseball programming — you are in luck. With their deal with MLB set to expire next year, ESPN signed an eight-year, $5.6 billion deal with the nation’s past-time, retaining MLB programming until 2021. Find out more about the megadeal after the jump.

Skip Bayless said just about the most ridiculous thing on First Take Wednesday morning. And that’s by Skip Bayless standards. Now, Skip wasn’t accusing (god forbid he was being accusatory), but merely insinuating that Derek Jeter (that Derek Jeter, the one you’re thinking of) is using performance-enhancing drugs. Because if Victor Conte says PED use is rampant, it must be true!

It was Athletics/Twins. 1-1, top of the 5th. The Twins were “having a great start” to the inning. With runners on first and second and no out, Trevor Plouffe was poised to take all those consonants in his last name and make something happen. And then something happened. Something amazing. Something so amazingly simple, you’ll have to watch it more than once: the A’s turned the rare 5-4-3 triple play.

Remember the days when $100 million bought baseball teams nothing but endless prosperity? You know, when those nine-figure contracts ensured a star player’s health and safety and basically put a World Series ring on everyone’s finger? Man, good times. If only they ever existed. Read about all the rich baseball players who have gotten injured, after the jump.

Rangers starting pitchers Derek Holland and Ryan Dempster, however, moonlight pretty well as SNL-cast-member wannabees. Here’s a Fan Cave exclusive of Holland and Dempster doing their best Will Ferrel Harry Caray — color commenting on themselves. Watch it after the jump.

Major League Baseball might be entering the 21st century. They’re testing two new instant replay systems, and it sounds promising. The details, and when we might se some actual change, after the jump.

The Yankees and Angels were all square at 2-2 in the bottom of the first inning when Mark Teixeira came to the plate. After swinging at the 1-1 pitch, his bat went flying dangerously into the stands. Hoards of people ducked and dove to get out of the way of the flying piece of wood, but one lucky fan emerged with a souvenir. Spike Lee. Video after the jump.