Baseball Page 1161 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

While In The Batter's Box, Alex Gordon Was Attacked By A Giant Moth
Bottom of the ninth, two outs, runners on second and third. The Royals were down by a run. There was a one-ball count to Alex Gordon, when—WAIT!...

Stealing Signs In Baseball: A Hall Of Famer's Guide
There are many fair ways to steal the signs of the enemy, so many that the smart ball-player is always kept on the alert by them. Baseball geniuses, some almost magicians, are constantly looking for new schemes to find out what the catcher is telling the pitcher, what the batter is tipping the base...

Fare Thee Well, Carlos Marmol And Your Extreme Aversion To Contact
Every baseball team has its pitcher—generally a reliever—who could really be something if he someday put it all together. He invariably has a big fastball, and a secondary pitch that toggles between "unhittable" and "so hittable it might as well have been tossed underhand by Coach Fred at little-lea...

What Are These Symbols On The Mound At Busch Stadium?
The (St. Louis) Riverfront Times writes today about a pair of symbols scrawled into the mound at Busch Stadium, with a handful of pictures taken of a TV serving as evidence. We investigated, and, sure enough, they have definitely been there for at least a month. But what are they? (Hint: It's obviou...

Yasiel Puig Is Now Catching Baseballs Hit Toward His Teammates
For a week or so, it seemed like we couldn't go more than a day or two without mentioning Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig. He makes great throws! He hits home runs! He even takes fastballs off his face! But then Puig seemed to go quiet, even though he's still batting .425/.462/.712 and has mana...


Do Sleepy Hitters Really Lose Plate Discipline During The MLB Season?
Originally published in Baseball Prospectus....

Tony Sanchez Is Really, Really Excited To Be A Pittsburgh Pirate
Pirates catcher Tony Sanchez, the fourth overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, made his big-league debut yesterday as a DH against the Angels. His first plate appearance came with two outs in the second inning, and it was especially memorable. Neil Walker was on first and Joe Blanton was pitching. San...

Angels Fans Are Not Paying Attention
OK, what the hell has gotten into baseball fans this year? Nationals fans are treating their stadium like a public library, Phillies fans are going to games with an entire arsenal of Apple products, and now we've got a handful of Angels fans doing what they can to distract themselves from the action...

Wil Myers's First MLB Home Run Was A Grand Slam
Potential Tampa Bay rookie sensation Wil Myers smacked his first career homer against the Yankees today with the bases loaded. Brett Gardner may have unintentionally helped it over the wall, but it was still nice....

Marlins Player Eats At Least Three Cheeseburgers Before Game, Doesn't Shit Himself
Marcell Ozuna of the Miami Marlins doesn't look that fat. He definitely eats like a fat guy, though....

The Sky Above Wrigley Field Today Was Spectacularly Haunting
This afternoon's Astros-Cubs game finally got started a little while ago after a rain delay that lasted for 3 hours, 18 minutes. This photo might have been doctored a bit by MLB's Instagram or HDR filter, but still: Who knew those eerie, dark clouds that always seem to hover above Wrigley Field coul...



Why Baseball Needs Troy Tulowitzki
On Monday night, the Colorado Rockies lost to the Blue Jays. Despite getting a strong effort from starter Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies just couldn't muster any offense—they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position—and eventually fell 2-0. Tuesday, they scored three runs and lost. Wednesday, tw...

Matt Holliday Homered With His Fly Wide Open
Check the Cardinals' reactions when Holliday gets back to the dugout. Lot of downward glances, sly smiles. They know. And not one took the opportunity to mutter "XYZ." Some teammates....

Your Nats-Fan-Reading-At-The-Game Update
Here we have an un-sideburned Nats fan dutifully continuing the Nats-fans-reading-stuff-at-a-baseball-game trend for which they have become world famous. ...

Twins Ballboy Makes Nifty Leaping Catch
As the announcers watched the replay of this, one of them said, "You've got to have some skills to be a ballboy." So what skills are required of the ballboys (or ballgirls!) who work along the foul lines? Let's list 'em:...

Joe Torre's Daughter Catches Baby Boy Who Fell From Fire Escape
A one-year-old baby boy in Brooklyn was saved from serious injury (or worse) after falling off a second-floor fire escape because he landed in the arms of Joe Torre's daughter. Cue the jokes from insufferable Yankees fans wondering if she can play first base....