Baseball Page 1130 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Have You Ever Wanted To Hear Walter Johnson's Voice?
If so, you're a special brand of baseball geek. (And that is a compliment.) You're also in luck....

Derek Jeter Announces Retirement After 2014 Season
Get the farewell tour ready. Present Derek Jeter with only the rarest and most expensive presents. You will be judged by your gifts, and if found wanting you will be shunned by the baseball community....


Dude Purposely Ruins Mock Baseball Drafts For Our Delight
Last August, we had a laugh when a guy named Stefan picked NFL players like placekicker Aaron Pettrey first overall in mock football drafts, pissing off people who found it inconvenient to exit and join a new mock draft in five minutes. Stefan is back ruining mocks, but this time, he invaded fantasy...


The Beautiful Infographics Of Ted Williams's <em>The Science Of Hitting</em>
In 1971, Ted Williams and John Underwood released The Science of Hitting, the definitive treatment of the subject. Few great athletes have ever been so articulate about the mechanics of their greatness, which is one reason the book holds up even today, well into the analytics era. (A decade ago, Sci...


The Kansas City Royals' New Billboard Is Pretty Clever
The Kansas City Royals are decent at this advertising thing. Last season, they put up James Shields pitching to Salvador Perez over two billboards, with the ball seemingly ripping the background. This year, outfielder Alex Gordon's sliding across the billboard, collecting everything in his path. If ...

"Stone Cold" Matt Stairs Chugs Beers At Wing Bowl
Were you wondering what former MLB player/Phillies folk hero Matt Stairs was up to these days? He's living the dream, dammit....

The Ravenously Shameless Pastel Brutality Of The Miami Marlins
The following was originally published in the 2014 edition of Baseball Prospectus. In a departure from established practice, this year's edition features contributions from a wide array of outside writers, who came through with a series of essays that shows off the full stylistic diversity of contem...

A Complete Roundup Of Fans' Idiotic David Price Trade Proposals
Originally published in Baseball Prospectus. The 2014 edition of Baseball Prospectus is on sale now....

Chipper Jones Rescued Freddie Freeman In The Snowstorm
A state of emergency has been declared in Georgia, as a rare snowstorm has dumped up to four inches across the state. Babies born on the interstate, hundreds of schoolkids unable to get home, and for Atlanta residents, it's a travel nightmare unseen in years. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was...

MLB Approves Protective Caps For Pitchers
If there hasn't actually been an increase in the number of pitchers struck by line drives, there's at least been more awareness of player safety. To that end, MLB has officially approved the on-field use of a padded cap for pitchers. But will any actually wear it?...


Maps: Which Of Our Readers Were The Biggest Homers In The HOF Vote?
Thanks to your input, the Deadspin HOF vote—revealed earlier this month—was generally agreed to be pretty decent. That might be letting some of you off the hook a little easy, though. We've given MVP voters plenty of crap for their homer votes; who, among our readership, turned out to be the biggest...

Yankees Win The Masahiro Tanaka Sweepstakes
Prized Japanese starter Masahiro Tanaka will sign with the New York Yankees for seven years and $155 million, reports Ken Rosenthal. The deal has an opt-out clause after four seasons....

Report: Players Will Make A-Rod's Life Miserable If He Comes Back
Baseball players are the world's biggest meatheads. A player admires his home run? Throw a ball at his face. An athlete in a totally different sport talks trash? Throw a ball at his face. A fellow union member files a lawsuit in a last-ditch effort to salvage $25 million? THROW A BALL AT HIS FACE. R...

<em>Jeopardy!</em> Hall Of Fame Answer Goes Horribly Wrong
354 wins did not overcome the controversy as this ex-Red Sox pitcher didn't make the Hall of Fame cut in 2013. Who is Mark McGwire? (Trebek snorts mockingly.)...

A-Rod's "Bribe" Of Tony Bosch Doesn't Look Much Like A Bribe
Among the many claims made against Alex Rodriguez in a one-sided 60 Minutes segment was that Rodriguez had attempted to pay off Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch when Bosch decided to cooperate with MLB's investigation. The CBS broadcast presented it as fact, and MLB COO Rob Manfred outright called it a...

MLB Is Adding Manager Challenges To Its Replay System
Major League Baseball has announced that the players' and umpires' unions have approved a substantial expansion of the league's current replay system. In short, baseball is getting an NFL-style challenge system, because it's deeply important to always get the call right unless the manager has alread...