So many have been spared over the years and over the many World Cups that it is reasonable to assume no more thoughts are left to be spared for South Africa. Still, from politeness, the request must be made: spare a thought for South Africa one more time.

Because this World Cup, this World Cup, has been a different kind of cruel. They were in a happy enough place to begin with, under the radar enough to not invoke the choking talk, but with a reasonable enough side, with enough bowling weapons especially, to think realistically about progressing beyond the group stages.

Since then nothing has gone right. Losing Dale Steyn for the entire tournament, then Lungi Ngidi for a few games, not only having their batting found out - which most people knew about - but more significantly having the whole AB de Villiers thing found out.

ALSO READ: 'We left everything out there, that's all I can ask' - du Plessis

The bald facts are that they have lost four of their six games and stand on the brink of elimination. They cannot really afford to lose on Sunday, even if Sri Lanka's surprise win over England has had everyone scrambling for their calculators.

"Look, I don't - we definitely never feel done and out," Aiden Markram said a day before the game against Pakistan. "We've sort of tried to put a lot of focus back completely on to us going forward. It's obviously really important that we win the remaining three of our games, and if there's outside chance of qualifying, that would be incredible.

"But the only way we're going to do that is by winning the next three games. A lot of focus is on us at the moment, us as a squad and trying to win the next three games and from there we'll take it as it comes."

"For us as a batting unit, we are pretty much doing the hard work up front. We are getting in and we are not kicking on. It does definitely set you back"

Even in the baldness of those facts, though, some get lost amid the others. It's not as if South Africa have been outplayed in all four defeats. A 104-run defeat to England doesn't look competitive and ultimately it wasn't, but until the moment Jofra Archer pinged Hashim Amla flush on his head, they were in the game.

They were never entirely in but never entirely out of the failed chase against Bangladesh. The West Indies washout looked ropey but ended so early it's impossible to know what would have happened. And then, most recently, against New Zealand, the margin of defeat was not just a Kane Williamson masterclass (and some Colin de Grandhomme heroics) but also a review never taken.

It's not right to say they have been unfortunate, but they have been on the wrong end of one or two of the kind of moments that end up becoming critical. One after the other, heap upon heap - it's not easy getting out of this.

"Naturally after the game, it was - it was quite a tough one to swallow because obviously it was quite an important game for us leading to it and it was really close," Markram said. "It obviously went down to the wire and Kane Williamson played incredible to get his team going, something we can learn from.

"Look, the mood, naturally it was a bit down, but I think we've done a bit of our sulking and moping around. The energy in the changing room since we've been here is really good, and I also think it helps the families arrived yesterday. So the guys are feeling slightly more refreshed and up for the next three games."

It hasn't been their only issue, but - as with their opponents on Sunday - their top order getting starts but not much more has hurt them. Quinton de Kock has two 68s and a 23; Amla's form hasn't been great but a 55 against New Zealand should have been more; Faf du Plessis has 63, 38 and a 23; Markram himself a 45 and 38.

Some dismissals have been to good bowling, some to ordinary batting when the thinking has been right, but the execution wanting. "I think it's sort of the modern game," Markram said. "It's really important to get yourself in, because we've seen the knocks and the magnitude of knocks that some of the top players in the world are doing at the World Cup. They are really scoring big hundreds.

"For us as a batting unit, we are pretty much doing the hard work up front. We are getting in and we are not kicking on. It does definitely set you back. Every time you lose the wicket, naturally the rate will drop and the new batter needs to get himself in and it takes a bit of time.

"We pride ourselves on getting big hundreds as individuals because that sets up the team and puts the team in a big position. The positive is that we have been getting in, so we are doing the tough part fairly well up front, and now it's about converting it into really big scores."

Baseballs are flying out of ballparks across the major leagues this season.

The one Nomar Mazara hit Friday night was the farthest yet.

The Texas Rangers outfielder clubbed a 505-foot bomb off Chicago White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, a two-run shot in the first inning that sailed high into the upper right-field deck at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

"I've hit some balls really hard. That one for some reason felt different,'' Mazara said.

"Where it ended up, that was pretty amazing,'' manager Chris Woodward said after the Rangers' 5-4 loss. "I'm glad I got to see it in person. It sounded all of 505 feet. It was pretty loud.''

The home run is tied for the longest in the Statcast era (the past five years). The Colorado Rockies' Trevor Story hit a 505-footer in September.

Lopez threw a 94.7 mph four-seam fastball to Mazara, whose exit velocity on the home run was 109.7 mph, according to Statcast. It gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead.

Lopez said he made a mistake on the pitch.

"It was supposed to be in, and the pitch was around right in the middle,'' Lopez said through an interpreter. "And it was a very long, long homer.''

Mazara now has 10 home runs on the season, including a 482-footer against the Chicago Cubs on March 28.

Entering Friday, there were three home runs of at least 480 feet in the majors this season. Two additional ones came Friday night -- Mazara's and a 481-foot blast by the New York Yankees' Gary Sanchez against the visiting Houston Astros.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

HALLE, Germany -- Roger Federer will play David Goffin in the final as he bids for a record-extending 10th Halle Open title on Sunday.

Federer defeated the 43rd-ranked Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 6-3, 6-3 and Goffin brought an end to Matteo Berrettini's eight-match winning streak with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win in the semifinals on Saturday.

Federer had one of his easier matches on his way to his 13th final in Halle, converting three of eight break opportunities without facing any himself.

Goffin had lost six consecutive tour-level semifinals before he saved all three break points he faced to beat Berrettini -- who won the Stuttgart Open last Sunday -- in 1 hour, 37 minutes. Berrettini had won 83 of his previous 84 service games before their semifinal.

Goffin has won only one of his eight previous meetings with Federer, who lost last year's final at the grass-court tournament to Borna Coric.

Federer already has the best grass-court record in the Open era with 18 titles, and the 37-year-old can set a personal record with his 10th at a single event in Halle.

UConn is expected to leave the American Athletic Conference and return to the Big East for basketball and other sports in 2020, sources told ESPN.

Nothing is official at this point, but an announcement could come as early as next week, sources said. The UConn board of trustees has not yet voted on the move, but approval is expected.

The biggest remaining question surrounds what happens with UConn's football team. The Big East does not have football, and it's unlikely UConn would remain in the American with just football, sources told ESPN. Sources said the football program is expected to play in the American in 2019 but could go independent after that or join another conference.

UConn was an original member of the Big East, beginning in 1979, but went to the American during realignment in 2013. The Big East retained original members Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's, as well as longtime member Villanova. DePaul and Marquette also remained in the Big East, and the league added Butler, Creighton and Xavier.

A possibility for the American in replacing UConn would be to add Army or Air Force as a football-only school, like it currently has with Navy, and then add a successful basketball program.

UConn became one of the best basketball programs in the country during its time in the Big East. The men's program has won four national championships since 1999, the last one coming in 2014 -- in its first season in the American.

UConn's pending move was first reported by the Digital Sports Desk.

TOKYO -- Japanese basketball officials, fans and media hailed the selection of Rui Hachimura in the 2019 NBA draft, saying the move will usher in a new era for the sport in Japan.

Hachimura became the first player from Japan to be chosen in the first round of the NBA draft, taken with the No. 9 overall pick by the rebuilding Washington Wizards on Thursday.

"The Birth of the NBA's Hachimura, a huge step for Japan," read the headline in the Nikkansports newspaper's online edition.

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward averaged a team-leading 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds last season as a junior at Gonzaga, where he was the West Coast Conference player of the year.

The only other Japanese player drafted in NBA history was Yasutaka Okayama, who went 171st overall in 1981. He never appeared in a regular-season game, something just two players from the country have done: Yuta Tabuse for the Phoenix Suns in 2004-05, and Yuta Watanabe for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018-19.

"The fact that Hachimura, a product of the Japanese basketball system, has been selected in the NBA draft makes us very proud," the Japan Basketball Federation's Yuko Mitsuya said.

While it has grown in popularity with the introduction of a pro league in 2005, basketball still lags far behind baseball and soccer in Japan.

Hachimura's NBA career is sure to help the sport grow in leaps and bounds.

The son of a Japanese mother and father from the Republic of Benin, Hachimura is the latest Japanese pro of mixed race to make a splash in the sporting world, following the likes of Naomi Osaka and Yu Darvish.

"This is a huge step forward for Japan," said Keisuke Tsutsumi, an office worker who follows the NBA. "It will take the sport to a new level here."

Hachimura's junior high school coach, Joji Sakamoto, welcomed the news of his draft selection.

Sakamoto coached Hachimura in his native Toyama Prefecture and said he saw potential in his student from a young age.

"I told him to visualize his dream, and now it will be a reality," the 59-year-old Sakamoto said.

Japan's education minister, Masahiko Shibayama, said Hachimura had given hope to a generation of young players in his home country.

"It's really wonderful," Shibayama said. "By taking a prominent role in a league that is difficult for Japanese players to enter, he will give hope to many Japanese people."

Hachimura's rise couldn't come at a better time, with Tokyo building to host the 2020 Olympics. Japan's national men's team has qualified as host country, and Hachimura could play a leading role at both the Olympics and the World Cup in China later this year.

Wizards interim general manager Tommy Sheppard mentioned the 21-year-old's play for Japan's national team.

"For Japan to qualify for the world championships, he's the focal point. And when the [Tokyo] Olympics come in 2020, he's going to be the focal point of that country on that basketball team," Sheppard said. "To be able to shoulder that load at his age -- the maturity he has -- I think that's going to bode well for him in the NBA."

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

The entire New York Yankees infield could start the All-Star Game, and the entire Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros outfields.

The first phase of voting for the All-Star Game is complete, and the finalists were announced Friday night. The second phase of the voting begins Wednesday at noon ET. Voters will choose among the finalists to determine the starters for the game in Cleveland on July 9. Winners will be announced Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Yankees' Luke Voit joins the Twins' C.J. Cron and the Indians' Carlos Santana as American League finalists at first base. The Yankees' DJ LeMahieu is a finalist at second, as well as the Angels' Tommy La Stella and the Astros' Jose Altuve. Gleyber Torres is a finalist at shortstop, as well as the Astros' Carlos Correa and the Twins' Jorge Polanco. At third, it's Gio Urshela, as well as the Astros' Alex Bregman and the Royals' Hunter Dozier.

In the National League, the Cubs' Albert Almora Jr., Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber are among nine finalists in the outfield, just as Houston's Michael Brantley, Josh Reddick and George Springer are in the AL.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger was the top vote-getter in the major leagues with over 3.69 million, while Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout led the AL with 3.37 million.

Texas' Joey Gallo beat out Minnesota's Max Kepler as the last AL outfield finalist by just 138 votes -- after both received over 900,000 votes.

All of the eligible Atlanta Braves players made the finalists' lists except for Ender Inciarte, who finished 12th in the voting, while second baseman Daniel Descalso was the only Cub omitted after he finished fifth.

The finalists:

CATCHER
AL: Robinson Chirinos (Astros), James McCann (White Sox), Gary Sanchez (Yankees)
NL: Willson Contreras (Cubs), Yasmani Grandal (Brewers), Brian McCann (Braves)

FIRST BASE
AL: C.J. Cron (Twins), Carlos Santana (Indians), Luke Voit (Yankees)
NL: Josh Bell (Pirates), Freddie Freeman (Braves), Anthony Rizzo (Cubs)

SECOND BASE
AL: Tommy La Stella (Angels), Jose Altuve (Astros), DJ LeMahieu (Yankees)
NL: Ozzie Albies (Braves), Mike Moustakas (Brewers), Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks)

SHORTSTOP
AL: Carlos Correa (Astros), Jorge Polanco (Twins), Gleyber Torres (Yankees)
NL: Javier Baez (Cubs), Dansby Swanson (Braves), Trevor Story (Rockies)

THIRD BASE
AL: Alex Bregman (Astros), Hunter Dozier (Royals), Gio Urshela (Yankees)
NL: Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Kris Bryant (Cubs), Josh Donaldson (Braves)

OUTFIELD
AL: Mookie Betts (Red Sox), Michael Brantley (Astros), Joey Gallo (Rangers), Aaron Judge (Yankees), Austin Meadows (Rays), Josh Reddick (Astros), Eddie Rosario (Twins), George Springer (Astros), Mike Trout (Angels)
NL: Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves), Albert Almora Jr. (Cubs), Cody Bellinger (Dodgers), Charlie Blackmon (Rockies), Jason Heyward (Cubs), Nick Markakis (Braves), Joc Pederson (Dodgers), Kyle Schwarber (Cubs), Christian Yelich (Brewers)

DESIGNATED HITTER
AL: Nelson Cruz (Twins), J.D. Martinez (Red Sox), Hunter Pence (Rangers)

WASHINGTON -- Dallas Keuchel enjoyed being back on the mound after a longer-than-expected wait between major league starts. He would have been happier if a three-run lead hadn't slipped away.

Keuchel labored through five innings in his Atlanta debut, coughing up that 3-0 lead as the Braves lost 4-3 to the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The Braves scored two in the second and another in the third against Washington starter Stephen Strasburg, but the Nationals rallied against Keuchel.

"It was really nice to get back at it," Keuchel said. "The most frustrating part is getting three runs early off Strasburg. ... Being granted three runs early off a really, really good pitcher is something I've got to take advantage of, and I usually do."

Keuchel, who couldn't find a deal he wanted during a tough offseason for veteran free agents, signed a one-year, $13 million contract on July 7 with the National League East-leading Braves, who hope he can help lead them to the postseason. The left-hander then made two minor league starts before he was recalled Friday from Double-A Mississippi.

It was the first major league appearance for Keuchel since he started Game 3 of last year's American League Championship Series for the Houston Astros.

Keuchel (0-1) never retired Washington in order and gave up four runs, three earned, on eight hits. He also hit two batters, but Atlanta manager Brian Snitker was pleased with his new starter's outing.

"He threw the ball extremely well," Snitker said. "He kept them off balance tonight. He had a good feel for what he was doing."

The Braves had won 11 of 13 entering the game to build a cushion atop the division. The third-place Nationals have won five straight and nine of 12 to move within a game of .500 for the first time since April 24.

Atlanta led 3-0 in the fourth thanks to a two-run homer by Austin Riley and an RBI double by Freddie Freeman, who has now driven in a run in nine consecutive games, matching an Atlanta record.

In the bottom half, Victor Robles lined an RBI triple and scored on Michael Taylor's squeeze bunt. Yan Gomes homered to tie it at 3-3.

Washington pushed ahead in the fifth, when Juan Soto led off with a triple and Anthony Rendon singled him home.

Strasburg (8-4) allowed three runs in six innings. With closer Sean Doolittle having worked two consecutive nights, Wander Suero allowed the first two runners to reach in the ninth before retiring the side for his first career save. Robles made a sliding catch in right field for the final out.

"It was little -- I wouldn't say hesitation -- but there was a little doubt in my mind as I was coming to make the play," Robles said through an interpreter. "I made the play and I was able to make the catch and win the game for the team."

Washington's much-maligned bullpen got three scoreless innings from four pitchers.

"We had a couple of guys in the bullpen who are down," manager Dave Martinez said. "The rest of the guys stepped up. We need them all and they proved it tonight."

SUSPENSION DROPPED

Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson saw his one-game suspension rescinded by Major League Baseball. He had appealed the penalty after a dust-up with Pittsburgh pitcher Joe Musgrove earlier this month. Donaldson was still fined for the incident.

Donaldson doubled and singled Friday night.

MOVES

The Nationals recalled right-hander Joe Ross from Triple-A Fresno. Washington has yet to announce a starter for Sunday, and Ross could get the call if he's not needed in the bullpen Saturday. Washington optioned infielder Adrian Sanchez to Double-A Harrisburg.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman (plantar fasciitis in right foot) began his rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg. He played five innings and went 1-for-1 with a walk. He has missed 48 games with the injury, and Martinez said Zimmerman will work his way up to playing nine innings.

UP NEXT

Braves: Mike Foltynewicz (2-5, 5.53 ERA), who is 5-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 11 career starts against Washington, will start for Atlanta on Saturday.

Nationals: Anibal Sanchez (3-6, 3.84) is 3-0 in his past four starts.

NEW YORK -- Just when Cameron Maybin had been spared a roster spot amid the New York Yankees' latest roster crunch, the outfielder saw his playing time get snatched away anyway.

It wasn't Aaron Judge's return from the Yankees' injured list that did it, either. A victim of his own body, Maybin suffered a leg injury Friday night that manager Aaron Boone confirmed would land him on the IL, taking Judge's now former place.

"It'll be a while," Boone said of Maybin's potential return.

Boone had no idea exactly how the left calf strain occurred, but his guess was that it might have happened in the third inning of the Yankees' 4-1 win over the Houston Astros, as Maybin was scoring on catcher Gary Sanchez's two-run home run.

"I just know when he was running around third, he felt what he described as a pop or whatever," Boone said.

Maybin is the fifth Yankee to go on the IL this season with a calf strain. Sánchez, Troy Tulowitzki, Giancarlo Stanton and Kendrys Morales had similar injuries on the same leg. Only Sánchez and Stanton have returned from those injuries.

Cameras caught the 32-year-old Maybin clearly hobbled near home plate as Sanchez completed his 23rd home run trot of the season. While Sanchez moved in to celebrate the 481-foot blast, Maybin gave him a soft hug. It didn't have the same life and energy with which he normally bestows congratulatory hugs to his teammates.

As soon as the embrace ended, Maybin was visibly limping as he walked into the Yankees' dugout.

Maybin had an MRI. He had already left the ballpark once reporters were allowed into the clubhouse after the game, and so he was unable to address them.

Still, his teammates are pulling for the player many considered among the most key additions the team had during its recent stretch of poor injury luck. When Maybin was acquired from Cleveland's farm system in a late-April trade in which the Yankees reportedly swapped him for $25,000, they were without Judge and fellow outfielders Stanton and Clint Frazier.

"He's been huge for us," center fielder Aaron Hicks said. "He's a guy that's been getting clutch hits for us, and been playing good baseball. He's been playing great defense, and he's been really good for us."

In 42 games with the Yankees, Maybin is batting .314 with five home runs and 14 RBIs. He also has scored 27 runs.

Earlier this week, Maybin was at the heart of speculation about what the Yankees might do with their roster once Judge came off the IL from his left oblique strain. Because Maybin was largely viewed as a second outfielder on the three-man bench, there was a belief that he might be designated for assignment to make room for Judge.

The Yankees instead optioned reliever Nestor Cortes Jr. following Thursday's game, sparing Maybin's spot on the roster. It especially seemed like the right move considering Maybin had homered in four straight games at the start of this week.

How was he able to keep his focus amid the external chatter about his future in pinstripes?

"Like I've been saying, what can I do? Nothing I can do, nothing I can control but my preparation and my effort and how I play," Maybin said Thursday. "I really always focused on controlling what you can control, and that's my preparation, my effort, my energy, and everything else will happen how it should happen, and how it shakes out."

Hicks, who took Maybin's place in the lineup following the mid-game injury, expects to be back in the Yankees' batting order Saturday. Originally, Hicks was slated to be given the day off Friday as he nursed a sore shoulder that he said received a cortisone shot the day before.

According to Hicks and Boone, an MRI on the center fielder's right shoulder revealed simple inflammation.

Aaron Judge is off the injured list and back in the Yankees' lineup. Along with the return of Giancarlo Stanton this week and the recent trade for Edwin Encarnacion, the team's regular lineup should look something like this:

3B DJ LeMahieu

RF Judge

1B Luke Voit

C Gary Sanchez

LF Stanton

DH Encarnacion

SS Didi Gregorius

2B Gleyber Torres

CF Aaron Hicks

Yes, that's an imposing nine. The Yankees are already averaging 5.52 runs per game, fourth in the majors, but that's with Judge, Stanton, Encarnacion and Gregorius playing just a combined 43 games so far. It's not unreasonable to believe this team could score six runs a game the rest of the season.

The last team to do that over a full season was the 2000 White Sox, which I never would have guessed. I would have thrown out the 2009 Yankees or some other Yankees or Red Sox team from the 2000s, or maybe the late '90s Indians or Mariners. The 2000 White Sox? They only had two regulars -- Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez -- who slugged .500. They were fifth in the American League in home runs with 216 and third with a .286 average. They hit .300 with RISP, however, and .301 with men on, so they were pretty clutch. Still, not a team remembered as an offensive powerhouse.

Anyway, what makes this Yankees lineup so scary is that all nine regulars are potentially league average hitters or better. Here is each player's OPS+ over the 2018-2019 seasons:

LeMahieu: 97

Judge: 148

Voit: 154

Sanchez: 111

Stanton: 128

Encarnacion: 123

Gregorius: 121

Torres: 123

Hicks: 117

LeMahieu is the only guy below average, but he's been well above average so far in 2019 with a 117 mark thanks to .314/.360/.466 numbers. Hicks is the one guy struggling in 2019, hitting .194 after beginning the season on the IL.

I don't know if this will be the greatest lineup ever -- let's see how things play out before we get into that -- but it could certainly be the deepest. I checked Baseball-Reference.com to see if any team has ever had all nine (or eight) regulars with an OPS+ of 100 or higher before. Using a cutoff of 400 plate appearances and considering teams in the live ball era (since 1920), we get a few teams that fit the criteria ... including one team with 10 players above average.

2009 Angels: 10

All nine regulars -- Mike Napoli, Kendrys Morales, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Chone Figgins, Juan Rivera, Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Vladimir Guerrero -- were above average, as was utility guy Maicer Izturis. Nobody had a huge season -- Morales was the team's best hitter with a .306/.355/.569 line and 139 OPS+ -- and the Angels finished second to the Yankees in runs scored (5.45 per game). They won 97 games and lost to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

2018 Dodgers: 9

So this just happened! The only hitch is the Dodgers didn't really have a regular second baseman. Logan Forsythe is listed as the regular on Baseball-Reference, but he had just 211 plate appearances with a 53 OPS+. They also moved guys all over the field, so defining their regulars isn't easy. They also added Manny Machado, who didn't meet the 400 plate appearances requirement, but had a 121 OPS+, so he gave them a 10th above-average regular. The Dodgers led the National League with 804 runs (4.93 per game).

2016 Cardinals: 8

This one's a little tricky as well, as the Cardinals had Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko playing multiple positions. But you could fill out this lineup:

C Yadier Molina: 111

1B Brandon Moss: 106

2B Gyorko: 111

SS Aledmys Diaz: 134

3B Carpenter: 136

LF Matt Holliday: 107

CF Randal Grichuk: 102

RF Stephen Piscotty: 113

The Cardinals did lead the NL in home runs, but were just third in runs (4.81 per game).

1979 Reds: 8

The last remnants of the Big Machine featured a fading Johnny Bench (123 OPS+) and Joe Morgan (107) and slugger George Foster (155). Cesar Geronimo had the most games in center field and had just a 78 OPS+, but fourth outfielder Dave Collins had 429 PAs and a 109 OPS+. They won the NL West, but weren't really a great offense, scoring just 731 runs (third in the league).

1976 Reds: 8

This team had one of the most balanced offenses of all time, leading the NL in basically every category: runs, home runs, average, OBP, slugging, stolen bases, walks, doubles, triples and fewest strikeouts. The starting eight:

C Johnny Bench: 109

1B Tony Perez: 118

2B Joe Morgan: 186

SS Dave Concepcion: 107

3B Pete Rose: 141

LF George Foster: 141

CF Cesar Geronimo: 125

RF Ken Griffey Sr.: 140

What a lineup. Geronimo had his best season, hitting .307. Bench and Perez had better seasons than this one, but were still above average. Morgan was a beast, the MVP for the second year in a row. They scored 857 runs and averaged 5.29 runs per game in a year in which the league average was just 3.98 per game. By comparison, the AL average in 2019 is 4.79 per game.

1950 Red Sox: 8

This team hit .302 and scored 1,027 runs (6.67 per game!). And that's with Ted Williams playing just 89 games (he had a 168 OPS+ and drove in 97 runs). Vern Stephens and Walt Dropo each drove in 144 runs and Johnny Pesky, Al Zarilla and Dom DiMaggio each had .400-plus OBPs. The only catch: They didn't have a regular catcher with 400 PAs, although Birdie Tebbetts got the most PAs there and did have a 101 OPS+. They won 94 games, but finished third.

1931 Yankees: 8

Runs were easy to come by in 1931, as the AL averaged 5.14 per game. The Yankees led the way with 1,067 -- 6.88 per game, more than a run more than the No. 2 team. The eight regulars all met our criteria: Bill Dickey (119), Lou Gehrig (194), Tony Lazzeri (107), Lyn Lary (113), Joe Sewell (109), Babe Ruth (218), Earle Combs (125) and Ben Chapman (135). With Gehrig (.341/.446/.662, 46 HR, 185 RBI) and Ruth (.373/.495/.700, 46 HR, 162 RBI) leading the way, they're definitely in the discussion as greatest offense of all time. They finished in second place, however, behind the Philadelphia A's.

Back to the 2019 Yankees. The impressive thing about this finally healthy lineup is that it isn't just full of good hitters who barely cross the 100 adjusted OPS mark. You have power throughout, with eight of the nine regulars capable of 25-plus home runs during a full season. Two of the guys have hit 50 in recent seasons. Encarnacion and Sanchez are tied for the AL lead with 23.

In some regards, it reminds of the 2009 Yankees. Eight of the nine regulars posted an OPS+ of 118 or higher. That team hit 244 home runs and scored 915 runs (5.65 per game). Only Melky Cabrera and his 93 OPS+ prevented them from making this list.

Of course, that team is famous for something besides scoring a lot of runs: It's the last Yankees team to win the World Series.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games venue will host the athletics plus the opening and closing ceremonies

Plans detailing the design for the redevelopment of Alexander Stadium ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games have been published.

The release of the plans comes as a public consultation into the revamp begins.

The Perry Barr venue, which is the home of UK Athletics, will host the athletics plus the opening and closing ceremonies at the Games, set to take place from July 27 to August 7, 2022.

New artist impressions of the stadium have been released “revealing Birmingham City Council’s intentions to create a legacy asset the city and its residents can be truly proud of”.

The changes to the 40-year-old stadium, which currently hosts the British Championships and Diamond League events annually, will include an increase in permanent seating capacity from 12,700 to 18,000, allowing up to 40,000 during the Games through additional temporary seating.

The competition track will be re-laid and a six lane, 400m warm-up track will be built. A new western stand will replace the Main, Knowles and Nelson stands, while there will be new tiered seating to the north and south.

Other key features include the installation of new stadium lighting and a practice throwing field, improved public realm and parking provision and a new access road from the A453 Aldridge Road for event and maintenance use.

Cllr Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We’re now in an exciting phase of the design process where we would like to share our plans for the future with the community and hear their thoughts.

“The team has designed a redeveloped stadium which will meet the needs and aspirations of the community for generations to come. This is about creating a destination venue, shaping a legacy beyond the Commonwealth Games.

“We are making lots of information and detail available, so I encourage as many people as possible to come along, have a look at the designs and provide their feedback.”

All consultation material is now live on the council’s Be Heard consultation website at www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/place/alexander-stadium

The deadline for providing feedback is 5pm on Friday July 12, 2019.