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Giants rookie Mason Black makes MLB debut in Philadelphia against childhood favorite Phillies

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Giants rookie Mason Black makes MLB debut in Philadelphia against childhood favorite Phillies
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Giants rookie Mason Black makes MLB debut in Philadelphia against childhood favorite Phillies

2024-05-07 07:17 Last Updated At:07:20

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mason Black and his younger brother woke up the morning of Oct. 7, 2011 and were surprised to find Phillies tickets for a playoff game that night resting on a dresser.

Their dad had said he wanted to take his sons — Mason Black was not only a die-hard Phillies fan, but his favorite pitcher, Roy Halladay, got the ball that night in Game 5 of the NL Division Series.

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San Francisco Giants pitcher Mason Black winds up during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Mason Black winds up during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“They found them and came running downstairs and were like, ‘What are these?'” the boys’ father, George Black, said.

“I said, 'We're going tonight!' They almost came out of their shoes.”

Thirteen years later, George Black and his sons were back at Citizens Bank Park and Mason was very much in his shoes — more like his cleats, as the right-handed starting pitcher made his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants against the Phillies.

“I tried not to look up too much,” Black said. “Just kind of keep the focus on the plate and where I was.”

The Giants rookie had parents George and Tara, younger brother Dixon, and more than five dozen other relatives and friends rooting him on Monday. The Blacks sat in section 126, pretty much right behind the plate — a few sections to the left of their seats seven rows off the field behind first base the night the Phillies lost 1-0 to the Cardinals in the playoffs.

Mason Black received a standing ovation from several sections of the ballpark after he was lifted with one out in the fifth and the Giants trailing 5-0. His line: eight hits, five runs, three walks and four strikeouts in a 6-1 loss to the Phillies.

“It means a lot, being close to home,” said Black, who talked to more a dozen media members outside the clubhouse. “I felt that. Being (a travel day), I wasn't able to see every single person out there. But it was incredible.”

Giants manager Bob Melvin said Black pitched well enough to earn another start.

Mason Black was raised in Archibald, Pennsylvania, and attended Valley View High School in the same town located about 20 miles northeast of Scranton and 140 miles from Citizens Bank Park. The 24-year-old Black — named the seventh-best prospect in baseball, per MLB.com — was the Giants' third-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Lehigh University.

Much like George Black surprised his sons with tickets in 2011, Mason had a surprise for his parents when he texted on the family chain Saturday he was getting called up from Triple-A Sacramento (where he went 2-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 29 strikeouts).

George is usually the first to respond to family texts but he let them go unread because he was driving. Mason decided to just call his dad — who also played college baseball at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Mason told his dad he was packing: “I'm going to Philly.”

“I'm like, what? Let me pull over,” George Black laughed from his seat in row 31.

Scores of fans cheered from section 126 all the way to the cheap seats in section 426 when Black took the ball in the first inning.

How's this for a debut? Black recorded a 1-2-3 first inning that included strikeouts of J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper, the latter caught looking at an 88 mph changeup.

“I know the high level of player Bryce Harper is, so to have that in your resume, regardless of what happens, it's a success,” George said.

Dad spoke, of course, before Harper launched a three-run homer off his kid in the fifth for a 4-0 Phillies lead.

The reality was, win or lose, nothing was going to spoil the day for the family.

“Success to me, yes, it's wins, losses, strikeouts, but success to me was the minute he stepped on that pitcher's mound,” the 61-year-old father said. “That was as successful as a moment I could ask for as a dad. It's a proud moment for my wife and I.”

Mason, called up when the Giants put Blake Snell on the 15-day injured list with a left adductor strain, grew up rooting for players like Halladay and Pat Burrell. Burrell is now the Giants' hitting coach.

Unlike his son, George Black was raised a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.

“Until my son got drafted, Roberto Clemente was my favorite player,” he said. “Now, my favorite player is Mason.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

San Francisco Giants pitcher Mason Black winds up during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants pitcher Mason Black winds up during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

San Francisco Giants' Mason Black pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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No decision yet from LA district attorney in Menendez brothers' resentencing case

2025-02-22 05:43 Last Updated At:05:51

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles district attorney said Friday he hasn't yet made a decision on whether Lyle and Erik Menendez should be resentenced in their 1996 conviction for the murder of their wealthy parents at their Beverly Hills home.

The proposed resentencing for the brothers will be taken up at a March hearing and would make them immediately eligible for parole. District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who took office in December, said at a news conference he'll share an update on his position in the coming weeks. His predecessor, George Gascón, recommended last year the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life. Gascón lost his bid for reelection in November to Hochman, who called the recommendation a “desperate political move.”

The brothers were found guilty in the 1989 murders of their entertainment executive father, Jose, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. They began their bid for freedom in recent years after new evidence of their father’s sexual abuse emerged in their case, and they have the support of most of their extended family.

During a lengthy news conference Friday, Hochman spoke about a habeas corpus petition the brothers' attorneys filed in 2023 asking for a reexamination of the case, arguing they had new evidence to present related to allegations that the brothers' father sexually abused Erik Menendez. Hochman said he was filing an informal response to the habeas petition urging the court to reject it. He cast doubt on evidence alleging that Erik Menendez had been sexually abused and said it was not pertinent to the case.

"Sexual abuse in this situation may have been a motivation for Erik and Lyle to do what they did, but it does not constitute self-defense,” Hochman said.

A resentencing hearing originally scheduled for early December was delayed to the end of January after Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said he needed time to review extensive evidence and give Hochman time to weigh in on the case. In January, Hochman pushed the hearing out another two months — to March 20 and 21 — because of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Hochman has met with the brothers’ relatives as he reviews their case, which includes thousands of pages of prison records to determine the “rehabilitation aspect” of their resentencing.

Lyle Menendez, who was then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they killed their parents with a shotgun, but they said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent disclosure of their father's long-term molestation of Erik.

Prosecutors said at the time there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in their story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the trial that led to their conviction in 1996. Prosecutors accused the brothers of killing their parents for money.

Roy Rossello, former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently came forward saying he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez when he was a teen in the 1980s. Menudo was signed under RCA Records, which Jose Menendez was the head of at the time.

The case has gained new traction after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. ”

FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)

FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)

FILE - Joan Andersen VanderMolen, center, speaks to the media surrounded by family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, and attorney Mark Geragos, far left, and attorney Bryan Freedman, far right, during a news conference after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - Joan Andersen VanderMolen, center, speaks to the media surrounded by family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, and attorney Mark Geragos, far left, and attorney Bryan Freedman, far right, during a news conference after a hearing in Los Angeles, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

FILE - Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

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