The Mavericks coach seemed eager to sow dissension in the Boston locker room on Saturday when he singled out Jaylen Brown as the Celtics’ best player — words transparently designed to irk Jayson Tatum, an actual NBA first-teamer who was sixth in the voting for the league’s MVP.
In his 15-year MLB career, Jayson Werth was an All-Star, 30-home run hitter and World Series champion. But the former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder is going to have to make some room on his mantle after becoming a Belmont Stakes champion on Saturday.
That’s right, Werth, now 45, is the co-owner of the horse, Dornoch, that pulled off an upset win, entering the race at 17-1 odds to finish first.
“I would put it right up there with winning on the biggest stage,” Werth said on the broadcast following Dornoch’s victory in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.. “Horse racing is the most underrated sport in the world, bar none. It’s the biggest game, you get the (Kentucky) Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont…
“This is as good as it gets in horse racing. This is as good as it gets in sports.”
Werth made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays in 2002 and played in 41 games with the team over two seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 for Jason Frasor.
The six-foot-five outfielder’s career really took off once he got the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007. He spent four seasons in Philadelphia, helping the club knock off the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series, leading the team with a 1.361 OPS in the five-game series.
He went on to spend the final seven years of his career with the Washington Nationals, appearing in the post-season four more times.
Ahead of the Kentucky Derby, Werth told The Associated Press, “It’s surreal: We kind of got into this as a hobby, and it’s turned into a passion.”
“I’ve got a passion for the sport like I would’ve never thought, and I want to share it with the world,” he added.
His passion has already turned to success, with jockey Luis Saez and Dornoch passing Preakness winner Seize the Grey down the stretch to claim the first-ever running of the Belmont at Saratoga.
Werth owns similar percentages of other horses
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