I’m writing today to invite you to rejoin the National Cathedral Association (NCA) with your annual gift of $60 or more. Your past membership helped support everything you love about the Cathedral, and in these difficult times, membership matters more than ever.
Washington National Cathedral does not receive funding from the federal government or any national church body. Members of the NCA support the daily, ongoing mission-based work of the Cathedral and help to maintain this historic landmark. With your help, we can offer hope and a moral framework in a divided world.
When you rejoin, you’ll once again receive special benefits including complimentary admission to the Cathedral, personalized membership cards, a print subscription to our Cathedral Age magazine (filled with beautiful photos and engaging stories about the Cathedral’s history and ministry) and much more.
Thank you for considering this important invitation!
In Faith,
The Very Rev. Randy Hollerith Dean
P.S. It takes only a few minutes to renew your membership, but just a couple of clicks can make a huge difference for your Cathedral.MANAGE MY MEMBERSHIP
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You may have noticed the rookies made a whole lot of noise over Opening Weekend. (We see you, Chase DeLauter & Munetaka Murakami.) That’s because they were rewriting record books in the process.
It’s always intriguing when MLB stars wearing new uniforms face their former clubs for the first time, so we’ve compiled the juiciest reunions to look forward to this season.
Tatiana Tate’s first performance at Dodger Stadium was a secret, so much so that she could not tell her friends and family about the gig. She brought her dad the next night — and might be back for more.
NL East rivals battle in Philly as James Wood and the Nationals take on Bryce Harper and the Phillies — with Andrew Painter scheduled to make his MLB debut — at 6:30 p.m. ET. (Subject to local blackout.)
After years of relentless work, pressure, and persistence… we are starting to see real progress for animals.
The UK Government is now formally consulting on the future of hunting, with the promise of it being ended for good. We’ve been in the room with DEFRA and heard directly that the badger cull is coming to an end.
These are not small moments. They are the result of years of campaigning, public pressure, and people like you refusing to stay silent.
It’s easy to focus on what’s still wrong. There is still one badger cull licence in place. Illegal hunting continues. Animals are still suffering every day.
But it’s just as important to recognise this truth: we are making progress. We are being heard. And we are helping to change things.
In just the past few weeks alone, we’ve helped stop culls, seen bird netting removed, and saved animals who would otherwise have died. Often, the impact of our work is invisible. But it is real. Lives are being saved.
These emails are being sent out to almost 200,000 people. That’s roughly 1 in every 300 people in the UK. And when we ask for action, thousands of you respond within hours.
That is power. We are driving change. We are exposing cruelty to millions. We are turning public awareness into action.
And we’re only just getting started.
In the coming months, we will:
Launch a national campaign to end bird netting
Take on the pest control industry and expose the suffering it causes
Build a mass movement to challenge and ultimately bring down the bird shooting industry
All of this is possible because of you.
At the same time, we never lose sight of why this matters. The scale of suffering inflicted on animals is immense. It can feel overwhelming. There are moments where it would be easier not to care.
But caring is the point.
To care is to recognise what is happening around us, both the good and the bad, and to choose to act anyway. That is what makes change possible.
And right now, change is happening.
This is the first time in years where it truly feels like we are shifting things for animals. That we are not just fighting, but winning.
Thank you for being part of this incredible movement, stay with us because together we will continue to WIN.
Onwards and upwards 🙂
Rob
HELP US KEEP WINNING FOR WILDLIFE
This year is about building something durable and effective. About applying pressure that is relentless and impossible to ignore.
Our goal is simple. 10,000 monthly supporters. We’re currently sitting on just over 7,500.
Not for the sake of a number, but because it changes what is possible. It means year-round undercover investigations, more powerful media, and the capacity to focus on winning rather than just surviving.
This is not about big donations. If thousands of people give just £2 or £3 a month, it becomes real power.
If you already support Protect the Wild monthly, thank you. You are the reason this organisation exists. If you do not, this is your invitation to step in and be part of what comes next.
We are not here to soften language or play politics. We are here to call out cruelty wherever it hides and build the pressure needed to end it.
Play ball! The 2026 campaign got underway in style last week, and here’s a player to watch from each organization at the highest level of the Minors. You might not be able to see some of them for very long.
Twenty players in The Show. Twenty-nine more just a call away at Triple-A. Here’s where they and the other 51 denizens of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list will begin their 2026 campaigns.
It was a reunion four decades in the making at Triple-A Worcester as seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens threw out the first pitch to old batterymate Rich Gedman, who backstopped the Red Sox ace’s 20-K game in 1986.
Minor League teams across the continent are celebrating girls’ and women’s involvement in every aspect of the sports industry — and beyond. Here’s a look at seven standouts coming in 2026.
The Show Before the Show digs into the start of the season at the Minors’ highest level, discusses Top 100 opening assignments and talks with Blake Mitchell (Royals) and Caleb Lomavita (Nationals).
150 F1® Mystery Boxes are available, and one holds something far beyond the rest. Inside a single box is an Official F1® Motion Simulator, an experience designed to bring you closer to the track with a level of immersion reserved for the most dedicated fans. Every box still delivers a minimum of £2500 worth of authentic Formula 1® memorabilia, including race-used bodywork, signed team kit, and rare collector pieces, giving you the chance to secure something exceptional with the added possibility of uncovering the ultimate prize.SHOP NOWVIEW SIMULATORS
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Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today’s edition is brought to you by David Adler.
There’s nothing like a Two-Way Shohei Day. Literally. So get ready for the first one of the year.
Shohei Ohtani makes his 2026 pitching debutfor the Dodgers tonight against the Guardians (10:10 p.m. ET/7:10 p.m. PT), which means we get to see baseball’s one and only two-way superstar pitch and hit in the same game for the first time this season. And with Ohtani, that’s when the real magic happens.
But let’s focus on the pitcher half of Ohtani for today.
Ohtani was electric at Spring Training, with an 11-strikeout performance in his final tuneupbefore the regular season. Will he be just as nasty tonight? And what new wrinkles will the always-evolving Ohtani have in store for 2026?
Here are three things to watch for when Ohtani takes the mound:
1) Will we see the unhittable Ohtani splitter?
Shohei’s splitter used to be his signature pitch. It was maybe the most unhittable pitch in the big leagues when he first arrived in 2018. But his command of it wavered over the years, and by last season, he had all but stopped throwing it. Until the playoffs, that is, when Ohtani brought back his splitter out of nowhere and used it to dominate both the Phillies and the Brewers. He was throwing it pretty regularly this Spring Training (about 15% of the time). If Ohtani can throw the splitter where he wants it during the season, on top of all the other ridiculously nasty pitches he throws, good luck hitting him.
2) Are we going to get more sinkers this season?
Ohtani has toyed with a sinker before, and it’s looked ridiculous at times, reaching upwards of 100 mph and moving up to 20 inches horizontally. But he’s never really leaned into it, usually letting his normal four-seam fastball do most of the work. There’s room for Ohtani to throw the sinker more — especially as a weapon to attack right-handed hitters inside. And he was finally throwing those sinkers regularly this spring (16% usage), which might be a sign he’s ready to let them rip.
3) How will Shohei deploy his breaking balls?
Ohtani’s sweeper has been his Old Reliable for the last several years. It’s been his No. 1 out pitch by far since the 2022 season, which is when he started to cut down on splitters. But last season, Ohtani introduced a traditional slider alongside his sweeper, and that new slider was one of his best pitches all year. And then on top of all that, as the season went on, he brought his curveball back into the mix — and that curveball, which Ohtani was throwing harder and with sharper movement than before, quickly became a key weapon against left-handed hitters. So if you’re counting, that’s now three breaking balls in Ohtani’s arsenal. It will be very interesting to watch how he uses all three together in 2026.
OKAMOTO CAN SLUG WITH THE BIG BOYS
Speaking of Japanese stars … Kazuma Okamoto’s transition to MLB is going just fine. More than fine, really.
The longtime leader of the Yomiuri Giants — they’re the Yankees of Japan — has now homered in back-to-back games for the Blue Jays as he starts his Major League career. And those home runs have been pretty darn impressive.
On Sunday, Okamoto crushed a 110.4 mph, 420-foot homer to the opposite field for his first MLB homer. His swing speed reached 78.4 mph — Statcast’s threshold for a “fast swing” is a bat speed of 75-plus mph.
And yesterday, he sent a 107.7 mph moonshot 399 feet to left-center off a 99.2 mph fastball from the Rockies’ Chase Dollander. Okamoto had a 78.2 mph bat speed to turn around that high-velocity heater.
The Blue Jays have hit 15 home runs off 99-plus mph fastballs in the Statcast era, which goes back to 2015. Okamoto’s 107.7 mph blast is the second-hardest-hit of those homers, behind only a 110.6 mph home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off Seranthony Domínguez on Sept. 21, 2022.
Those bat speeds and all-fields power from Okamoto will absolutely play in the Major Leagues.
The 22-year-old righty will face the Nationalstonight at 6:40 p.m. ET (MLB Network, subject to local blackout).
When Painter takes the mound for his debut, look for a fastball in the upper 90s — but the real stars of the show are his secondary pitches, namely a slider, sweeper and changeup that all generate big-time swing-and-miss and strikeout rates.
Painter is the Phillies’ most highly touted pitching prospect since Cole Hamels. But it’s been a long road to the Majors. If you want to learn more about it, Todd Zolecki has a really nice feature on Painter’s journey to the big leagues.
DON’T WORRY, DEGROM IS READY TO GO
Jacob deGrom was scratched from his first start of the season on Saturday because of neck stiffness. But have no fear, deGrom is here. It just took a few extra days.
The 37-year-old is coming off a vintage deGrom season in 2025. deGrom went 12-8 with a 2.97 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings, making his fifth All-Star team and finishing eighth in AL Cy Young voting.
IT’S EXTENSION SEASON … FOR PROSPECTS?
There’s this relatively new phenomenon in baseball of teams locking up their top prospects with long-term contracts even before they’ve made their MLB debuts.
It still doesn’t happen all that often … but now it’s happened twice in the last two days.
First news broke yesterday that the Brewers — who had already done the same thing with Jackson Chourio — were on the cusp of an eight-year deal with 21-year-old shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt. Pratt had never even played above Double-A until the start of this season, but Milwaukee is banking on the potential of MLB Pipeline’s No. 62 overall prospect.
Then today came an even bigger one. Actually, it’s the biggest one. The Mariners and their top prospect, 20-year-old shortstop Colt Emerson (MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 overall), are reportedly in agreement on an eight-year, $95 million deal. That contract would be the largest ever for a player who has yet to make his Major League debut, ahead of Chourio’s $82 million deal in 2023. Emerson is one of the best pure hitters in the Minor Leagues today and has started the 2026 season at Triple-A.
Curious about what other prospects have gotten similar deals? Read more about the earliest long-term contract extensions in MLB history right here.
CORBIN CARROLL TRIPLES ARE BACK
They say the triple is the most exciting play in baseball. And Corbin Carroll is the most exciting tripler in baseball.
The D-backs All-Star has led the league in triples three years in a row. His 41 triples over the past three seasons are 12 more than the next-closest player, Boston’s Jarren Duran. And Carroll just got his first three-bagger of 2026yesterday.
Carroll also teed off on Justin Verlander for a three-run homer in the same game — but let’s face it, there’s nothing better than watching Carroll fly around the bases.
On his triple (which was also off Verlander), Carroll went home to third in just 11.12 seconds and reached a sprint speed of 30 feet per second — anything 30 ft/sec or faster is elite MLB speed.
His home-to-third time was the speediest of the 2026 season so far. And the only player last season to have any triples that fast — besides Carroll himself, of course — was Bobby Witt Jr. Witt had two of those triples in 11.12 seconds or less. Carroll had nine.
SOROKA, IMMACULATE
Everyone wants to make a strong first impression at their new job, even veteran big leaguers. With that in mind, Michael Soroka’s first start with the D-backs in their home opener on Monday couldn’t have gone much better.
You could even say it was immaculate.
Soroka, who broke into the big leagues in 2018 and was an All-Star as a rookie a year later, had 10 strikeouts over five scoreless innings in a 9-6 win against the Tigers, and he went out in style. The 28-year-old right-hander fanned the final three batters he faced on nine straight strikes to notch the first immaculate inning of his career and just the fourth in franchise history, joining Wade Miley (2012), Byung-Hyun Kim (2002) and Randy Johnson (2001).
Here’s every pitch of that immaculate inning, which is the first in the big leagues in 2026:
Soroka’s 10 strikeouts were also the most by any pitcher in his D-backs debut, surpassing the Big Unit’s nine vs. the Dodgers on April 5, 1999.
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From the precise laws that govern the stars to the intricate patterns found in every living cell, the film traces evidence of intentional design throughout nature. Whether examining distant star-forming clouds or the spiral structure of DNA, we discover a consistent signature woven into the fabric of existence.
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