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Springboro grad A.J. Ewing gets first major league hit, RBI, with Mets

· Yahoo Sports

Former Springboro High School standout A.J. Ewing had an outstanding night in his Major League Baseball debut May 12.

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Ewing, a 2023 Springboro graduate, played for the New York Mets as they played the Detroit Tigers at home. He batted eighth in the order and played center field as the Mets won, 10-2.

He had one hit, two runs batted in, two runs scored, a stolen base and three walks.

Ewing walked in his first major league plate appearance in an at-bat that went eight pitches.

Springboro’s current team listened to a broadcast of his first at-bat on their home field right after they finished their home game against Troy with a walkoff win on senior night. The broadcast was put on a loudspeaker so everyone there could listen to it.

Springboro posted a video of this on its X account, showing the players cheering every time Ewing took a ball or fouled off a pitch. They let out a roar when one of the broadcasters mentioned their school. When Ewing drew ball four, they let out a big cheer.

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Things got even better for Ewing as the night went on.

Ewing flied out in his second at-bat. In his third, he walked again, stole second base for his first major league theft, and later scored his first MLB run.

In the seventh, he notched his first major league hit and run batted in on a triple to the wall in right field, then later scored another run. In the eighth, he drew his third walk of the night with the bases loaded for his second run batted in.

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He wore jersey No. 9 for the Mets, the same as he did in high school.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Ewing, a left-handed hitter, was a fourth-round pick by the Mets in 2023. Ewing, 21, is the club's No. 2 prospect, according to ESPN and entered the season as the No. 78 prospect in the major leagues.

Ewing had played only 12 games at Triple-A Syracuse this year, where he had an .827 OPS and .326 batting average in 51 plate appearances and five stolen bases. He started the season at Double-A Binghamton, playing 18 games and hitting .349 in 81 at-bats with two home runs. In 2025, he started in single-A St. Lucie and hit .315 I 485 at-bats with 70 stolen bases and 87 runs scored. He hit 10 home runs with 49 RBIs in 2024.

He had an outstanding career at Springboro, with 106 career hits and 86 RBIs with 11 homers. His senior year in 2023, he hit .464 with 34 runs scored, 37 RBIs, and 19 extra-base hits. As a junior, he hit .375 with 34 runs, 24 RBIs and 19 extra-base hits. As a sophomore, he batted .386 with 33 run, 25 RBIs, four homers and 10 doubles. Springboro was 59-28 in his three years.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A.J. Ewing makes major league debut with New York Mets

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In San Francisco, the Tents of Homeless People Are Disappearing

· NY Times

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Seattle Democrat rejects wealth 'exodus’ concerns as businesses flee for lower-tax states

· Fox News

The Seattle state lawmaker behind Washington’s newly minted "millionaire's tax" is dismissing concerns that a high-income tax hike will trigger an exodus of wealthy residents and businesses from the Pacific Northwest.  

"The reality is the millionaire tax is not likely to result in businesses leaving," State Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) told a local FOX affiliate following the bill’s signing.

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Pedersen, the Senate Majority Leader representing Washington's 43rd Legislative District, maintains there is no evidence that the tax—recently signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson—will drive the state's top earners to lower-tax jurisdictions like Florida or Texas.

"The drivers that we heard about from [businesses] are concerned about the sales tax on services [and] concern about the estate tax. Both of those things the legislature took action on in the last session," Pedersen said. "I do not have any indication that the millionaire's tax is going to cause some significant exodus."

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The legislation marks a seismic shift for a state that has historically prided itself on having no personal income tax. Pushed through by the Democratic majority during the 2026 session, the bill imposes a 9.9% tax on annual income exceeding $1 million for individuals or households.

While the tax was signed in March 2026, it is not scheduled to take effect until January 1, 2028, with the first payments due in 2029. The delay is intended to allow the state's Department of Revenue to build a collection infrastructure—and to allow time for the inevitable wave of constitutional challenges to clear the courts.

Despite Pedersen's optimism, the regional business landscape is already showing signs of strain. Coffee giant Starbucks recently announced it will shift 2,000 corporate jobs—primarily in IT and supply chain management—to a new regional headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. While Starbucks maintains it is not abandoning its Seattle roots, the move to a state with no personal income tax has amplified fears of "tax flight."

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Furthermore, multiple local business owners told FOX 13 Seattle they were forced to shutter operations due to the state's expanded retail sales tax on services. In response to this pressure, the legislature recently moved to scale back those expansions and is expected to roll back certain retail taxes within three years.

Central to the debate is a century-old legal precedent. Since the 1930s, the Washington State Supreme Court has classified income as "property," which, under the state constitution, must be taxed at a uniform rate (no more than 1%). To bypass this, Democrats have characterized the millionaire’s tax as an "excise tax"—the same legal maneuver used to uphold the state’s capital gains tax in 2023.

Pedersen has been vocal about his desire to overturn the old case law entirely. 

"I’d like to force the Washington State Supreme Court to reconsider its case law that considers income to be property. Do you have any other suggestions about how to bolster the argument that this would be an excise tax and not a property tax?" Pedersen reportedly wrote:  

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The tax debate comes as Seattle’s local leadership faces national scrutiny. Mayor Katie Wilson, a self-described socialist who took office following the 2025 election, has been criticized for her dismissive attitude toward taxpayer frustration.

The Washington Post editorial board recently joined the fray, lambasting Wilson for being "arrogant" and "dismissive" regarding the potential departure of high-net-worth residents. The board argued that Wilson’s rhetoric ignores the reality of a shrinking tax base and growing "taxpayer fatigue" over soaring local rates.

In 2025, the legislature also increased the state's estate tax to 35% for the wealthiest residents—the highest rate in the United States—though lawmakers were forced to slightly moderate those figures earlier this year following intense backlash from the business community.

Sen. Pedersen’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital's latest request for comment.

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