‘I’ll beat you tomorrow for $10k’: Inside the secret world of MLB pickleball

WHEN THE LOS ANGELES Dodgers arrived at spring training, the big-spending, star-studded defending champions were the talk of the sport. But while the rest of baseball was discussing L.A.'s chances of a repeat, there was a more pressing topic at Camelback Ranch: pickleball.

Spurred on by manager Dave Roberts for weeks, a fierce one-on-one battle between assistant general manager Jeff Kingston and Triple-A manager Scott Hennessey was finally scheduled.

"It's the most-hotly-talked-about topic in my seven years with the Dodgers," pitching coach Mark Prior said.

Though perhaps without as much hype as the Kingston-Hennessey showdown, pickleball games have become the norm throughout baseball. The fast-growing sport is replacing basketball and even golf as the preferred off-day activity among front office members, coaches, umpires -- and some players.

As pickleball has gained popularity in recent years, courts have sprung up throughout the country, giving those working in baseball convenient places to exercise and exert their competitive spirit no matter what city they are in. But some of the most heated matches take place before teams hit the road for the rigors of the regular season -- with some even building courts at their spring training facilities throughout Arizona and Florida.

The Kingston vs. Hennessey clash, however, attracted so much attention that it was held off-site to accommodate all the onlookers. A large group of Dodgers personnel made the four-mile trek from the team's spring training complex to Chicken N Pickle, a popular local eatery with courts. Some in attendance estimated 80 to 100 members of the organization were present that March day, including Roberts, Blake Snell, Mookie Betts, Miguel Rojas and other players.

"Hennessey is a self-proclaimed great pickleball player," Roberts told ESPN. "When somebody is a self-advocate of themselves, I like to see it play out in competition. Word on the street was Jeff Kingston was a great pickleball player also.

"We had odds and a betting line."

Some Dodgers players were looking for an edge as they walked into the event, asking: "Can we watch them warmup before we bet?"

Hennessey was so confident that he spotted Kingston five points. Matches are played up to 11, so the idea was to level the playing field for the Dodgers executive against the former minor league outfielder turned manager.

Roberts bought into Hennessey's bravado, putting his money down on the favored Triple-A manager while president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman took the other side, betting on his underdog assistant GM.

At ESPN today, the story behind these vids, featuring the intros and final point of a fierce pickleball match between Dodgers exec Jeff Kingston and Triple-A manager Scott Hennessey. Dave Roberts bows down to the winner! pic.twitter.com/x9YjiOvA1L

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) April 17, 2025

"Stone-cold s--- talker to the point where everyone assumed he was good if he's this confident," Kingston said of Hennessy in a phone interview. "He told Mookie to his face, 'I'll beat you tomorrow for $10K.'"

Then the unthinkable happened: Kingston won.

"The whole place is going crazy," Kingston recalled with a laugh. "Henny was speechless."

Roberts couldn't believe he lost after spending weeks hyping the match.

"He took a lot of crap," the Dodgers manager said. "Henny came in the next day and ate crow."

PICKLEBALL PROVIDED AN opportunity to break up the monotony of the spring for the Dodgers, but for the Texas Rangers it became an essential component of their 2023 march to the organization's first world championship.

The Rangers' support staff is obsessed with the sport, even playing outdoors in 40-degree temperatures in Chicago early this season. The group, led by team physical therapist Regan Wong, has been at it for several years.

"Day 1 or 2 of a series, we'll go find a court to play on," Wong said. "Either on our own or we'll mix with the locals. It's a great way to stay active. There's camaraderie. Teamwork. S--- talking. It gets our juices going."

Wong goes on apps to find courts in cities around the league, hoping they're not taken during the limited window they have before heading to the ballpark. But things got a bit more superstitious in 2023 as Texas was gearing up for a postseason run.

"When we were in a really bad funk, one of our starting pitchers asked us, 'Did you guys play today?'" Wong recalled. "And we actually didn't. He said he thought that when we played pickle on the road, our winning percentage was really good.

"So we quickly went to the calendar and looked at our road series and sure enough, it was like a 90 percent [series] win percentage."

While the Rangers were battling for the AL West crown, the team's support staff was making sure it played pickleball in every road city down the stretch.

"But in this one city we didn't," Wong said. "In Seattle, we tried to go, but the locals ran it over, so we didn't know how to get on the court."

Texas lost three of four games to the Mariners and subsequently lost the division, settling for a wild-card berth. After that, pickleball became a nonnegotiable part of the schedule in October.

"We fly 1,100 miles across to Tampa," Wong said. "Go to a workout. No plans to play because we're trying to get ready for the postseason. That same starting pitcher asks us, 'Did you play in L.A.?' Yes, we did. 'Did you play in Seattle?' We did not. 'Your fault. Where are you playing today?'"

"So we looked at each other and knew we had to play."

Texas swept Tampa Bay then flew to Baltimore, where Wong and the rest of the staff found a place. The Rangers won the series in a three-game sweep and headed to Houston for the American League Championship Series.

"I think it was the Bumpy Pickle in Houston," Wong said. "In fact, the orthopedic doctor of the Astros was on another court with his son."

After a seven-game series win, the Rangers were taking their pickleball superstition all the way to the World Series. Luckily, just outside their hotel rooms at Arizona's lavish Biltmore hotel there were pickleball courts awaiting them at the resort. Rumor has it that the noise from the balls being hit by other enthusiasts -- right outside his window -- even sent Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to the ballpark early one day.

"We had to check the box in each of the road cities," Wong said. "I'm not saying that was the reason we came out on top, but we were a little superstitious."

BECAUSE OF THE spirited nature of the sport, trash talk is a common theme among those who have adapted to pickleball culture. And in the hypercompetitive environment of professional sports, plenty of MLB teams have taken it to a new art.

There is perhaps no better example of that than the Milwaukee Brewers, who have built facilities, created an unofficial org chart title and even brought in outside help to up their games.

"We have two courts outside," general manager Matt Arnold said. "[Infield coach] Matt Erickson is our VP of pickleball operations. We even had a pickleball professional come to camp and give some lessons. We had a couple players interested."

The Brewers are one of several teams that keep regular power rankings to track their pickleball performances. Sources allowed ESPN to view Milwaukee's latest rankings, which list VP of pickleball operations Erickson at No. 1. Arnold is right behind him on the chart, which included a scouting report breaking down the 46-year-old GM's game: "High-level of paddle skill to both sides, savvy, psychological advantage over opponents, high motor, high intent, Larry Bird-type competitor."

The whole ranking might be a bit biased though -- Arnold is ahead of third-base coach Jason Layne, who sources familiar with their abilities claim is clearly better than his boss.

"It's a little like the stock ticker," Arnold said of his controversial place. "Up and down. I'm Bronny James. I'm really good in the G League but not so much in the show."

At least his ranking is higher than special assistant Matt Klentak's, whose scouting report simply says "tries hard" next to his name.

The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, prefer tournament-style pickleball competitions to power rankings during their road trips. When pitching coach Andrew Bailey is finished poring over hitting reports for an upcoming series, he pulls out his phone to find a pickleball court then opens his laptop to create March Madness-style tournaments.

"I made it all on my computer," he said. "The Baltimore City final. The Toronto World Cup. Day 2 of a series is a little more relaxed. Whoever won last is the No.1 seed for the next game."

Manager Alex Cora was an occasional participant in Boston's games before recently announcing his retirement from competition.

"I got hurt," he said. "I'm done."

The San Diego Padres take a combined approach to satisfy their pickleball needs, using power rankings and team tournaments to determine who is the best. The competition was heated between front office members and coaching staff vying to be crowned champion -- before they had to take a hiatus because it got a little too heated.

"A spirited final and well-attended," manager Mike Schildt said. "A fair amount of trash-talking. It's a bunch of alphas going after it.

"I'm not going to lie to you. It got so competitive, we had to take a break."

After being part of those battles during his time with the Padres, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty has brought that mentality to Chicago over the past two years.

"You have golf and all these other things, but pickleball on the road, an hour a day, it's intense," Flaherty said. "On the road we'll find a place. Sometimes we pay, sometimes they comp it."

When the A's moved from Oakland to Sacramento this season, their to-do list was packed with things to get ready for temporary life in a new city. One unexpected item: finding a local pickleball court. General manager David Forst is still scouting for new places to play to keep his weekly game going, even though the GM knows he is at a disadvantage lining up against two former major leaguers when they do take the court.

"[Assistant GM] Dan Feinstein and I have gotten into a game with [first-base coach] Bobby Crosby and [manager] Mark Kotsay," Forst said. "They have 25 years of major league service on their side of the nets. And we have nothing."

The norm across the sport is competition between members of the same organization, but some of MLB's top front office decision-makers do play against each other and couldn't wait to get their (mostly) playful shots in at fellow pickleball playing execs from other clubs. When asked who was the better player between Friedman or Arnold, White Sox general manager Chris Getz quipped, "I'm going with Friedman because he's just a little closer to the ground."

Even though Friedman is currently on the pickleball injured list, he chimed in with his own bold proclamation that he could still beat Arnold, his former Tampa Bay Rays colleague, while recovering from a torn meniscus.

"It takes four to five days to put Humpty Dumpty back together again," Friedman said. "I can still take Arnold, though."

JUST MOMENTS AFTER the New York Mets were eliminated from the postseason in October, designated hitter J.D. Martinez was asked what his immediate plans were.

"Pickleball," he said.

Martinez hasn't stopped playing, signing up with equipment company JOOLA as he potentially transitions to a life of pickleball instead of baseball.

"I see pickleball as a sport I'll be involved in for the long run," he said as part of a statement when he joined the company.

But as the sport has taken front offices and coaching staffs by storm, most players have been a little slower to get on board the pickleball train. Martinez and the Dodgers' Betts are two players who pick up a paddle on a regular basis. Or at least Betts used to.

"I'm done," he told ESPN. "I don't play anymore. I got hooked on golf again. ... I'm playing shortstop now. I don't have time to be doing all that running and stuff."

In fact, a few discussions with his boss might have convinced him to switch hobbies.

"We had many a conversation about it last spring," Friedman said. "I don't think it's a great thing for the Dodgers' ultimate success for a lot of guys to be playing pickleball."

The injury factor is a concern for some players during the season as sprains and strains -- along with the occasional fracture -- are commonplace. Still, some teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cubs, have put up nets at spring training to let their players have fun while using the movements to improve baseball skills. Philadelphia broke out a modified version to help the team's defensive performance during the spring of 2024, and Nick Castellanos was among those who became a fan of pickleball in the process.

The reaction among players who have tried it is pretty mixed.

"It's one of the more fun sports to play," Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene said. "Tork [Spencer Torkelson] and I have played. Tork is pretty good. I bet someone like Bobby Witt would be great."

A quick survey inside the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse resulted in varying degrees of interest.

"It's an older crowd, so not much risk of getting hurt," reliever Scott Barlow said. "I like it. It's only growing."

Another reliever, Brent Suter, added: "Maybe after my career. I bet Elly [De La Cruz] would be good."

Infielder Jeimer Candelario was asked if he's picked up a pickleball paddle.

"What's pickleball?" he responded.

So while you might not see your favorite MLB player taking the courts at a local park during their team's next road trip, you could see the men calling balls and strikes -- if you know where to look. Umpires have also embraced pickleball while on the road as much as anyone in the sport.

"Getting on a treadmill every day sucks," umpire Vic Carapazza said. "Playing pickle for two hours feels like 30 minutes. And you're having fun. Yeah, I've been to Central Park. I don't announce I'm an umpire, of course."

Carapazza sometimes plays with fellow umpire Chad Fairbanks, who loves it even more now that he got his son into it.

"At first he's like, 'Dad, I'm not playing pickleball, this is dumb,'" Fairbanks said. "He sees a bunch of middle-aged people playing.

"Now he's addicted."

Fairbanks' assessment of his son's interest sums up much of the feeling throughout MLB. Not everyone plays pickleball -- but those who do are obsessed with it.

"We'll play anytime in any city," Wong said. "It's so much fun."