Baseball Page 1223 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

0% Of Cubs Fans Polled Expect Their Team To Make The Playoffs
Cubs fans are already despondent after yesterday's 2-1 loss to the Nationals. In other words, they're gotten an early jump on behaving like Cubs fans. Here's a poll from Chicago news station CLTV aired last evening, in which nary a single believer in a Cubs postseason could be found. Obviously, t...

Pirates Fan Sleeps His Way Through Opening Day
Yesterday was the start of a new season of baseball in Pittsburgh, and that means the promise of another 90-loss summer. The fan in the yellow hat just over the left shoulder of Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz just couldn't contain his excitement....

Jeffrey Loria Had A Marlins Park Cake With Swarovski Crystals And A Working Retractable Roof
After trotting out Muhammad Ali like a show pony, the Marlins owner welcomed friends and colleagues to his luxury suite on opening night with this cake: a custom made replica of Marlins Park. That bigass logo? It's 3,600 crystals. Probably worth more than your life. I swear to god, this thing better...

Better Know An Umpire: Brian Gorman
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year....

Better Know An Umpire: Jeff Kellogg
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year....

Mets Announce Largest Crowd In Citi Field History, Apparently Counting Empty Seats As Fans
The Mets' announced attendance of 42,080 is the largest in the three-plus years of Citi Field. This is a stunning turnaround from this morning, when thousands of tickets were still available. And an even more stunning turnaround from earlier in the game, when it sure as hell looked like there were a...

From The Sports Guy Vault: Bill Simmons Says Tear Down Fenway Park
Let's return to the Bill Simmons Archive, a collection of Boston Sports Guy columns salvaged from the defunct AOL Digital Cities. In honor of Red Sox opening day, let's look at an old column calling for the demolition of Fenway Park—and the construction of something totally new and different in its ...

Better Know An Umpire: Bruce Dreckman
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year....

Will Kimbrough Welcomes You To Opening Day With A Special Version Of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"
What's more American than beginning the Major League season spread over four days in two weeks on two continents? How about an American singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in Sweden? Here's the first in a series of exclusive renditions of our national pastime's theme song we'll be featuring on Dea...

It's Your Opening Day Open Thread
Here we go. At 1 p.m., It's fat guys versus beer and chicken, as the Detroit Tigers meet the Boston Red Sox. Discuss that and all the rest of today's baseball action in the comments....

Deadspin Does Opening Day, Again
Another day, another Opening Day! Here's your open thread for today's baseball games. And here's some more reading for you while the Red Sox waste time between pitches: Wait, when does the season begin, again? » | The historical events that could have happened in the time it took MLB to start its se...

Better Know An Umpire: Brian O'Nora
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year....

Here's Terry Francona And Bud Selig Arguing Over Who Finished Each Other Off
ESPN's inaugural 2012 baseball broadcast last night didn't exactly go smoothly, what with people flipping off the Baseball Tonight set and cameras catching players pantsless. There was also the issue of Terry Francona's microphone, which had him either sounding like he was broadcasting from a clo...

Mets Fans Should Be Proud Of Not Selling Out Opening Day
If you're not doing anything today, why not head out to Citi Field to catch the Mets' Opening Day game? At last check, there were several thousand decent seats still available. To make it even sweeter, if you go today, you'll get free tickets to another game this weekend....

At Least One Marlins Fan Wasn't Happy Karl Ravech Insulted Their Centerfield Home Run Sculpture
ESPN would come to regret their sarcastic take on the Marlins' new digs—"center field home run thing" being one of Ravech's phrases—but the Worldwide Leader should count their blessings. After all, Miamians have been known to react a bit more violently to perceived slights; a dude flipping his midd...

ESPN Cameras Caught Rafael Furcal With His Pants Down
With an on-premises pool and the overall clothing-optional vibe of Miami, the new Marlins ballpark is ripe for sighting people without their pants on. We just figured the first person to be spotted sin pantalones would be a spectator, not a player. But ESPN did us right by grabbing this shot of t...

Police Draw Guns On Angels Outfielder Torii Hunter Outside His Home (UPDATE)
Four-time All-Star Torii Hunter was at home this afternoon when his security alarm started going off. The cops showed up, didn't believe he lived there, and actually drew their weapons on him. Hunter relayed the entire ordeal via his Twitter feed:...

Better Know An Umpire: Tim Welke
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year....

The Marlins Opened Their New Stadium In The Saddest, Most Awkward Way Possible
Marlins Park is the new jewel of Miami, and team owner Jeffrey Loria must've figured it wise to use a big-time celebrity with some Miami cred to deliver the ceremonial first pitch ball. (Also, it'd be a sly way of avoiding any boos on what was supposed to be a celebratory moment.) Loria's choice ...

The Marlins Have Scheduled A Five-Minute Standing Ovation After The First Pitch Tonight
Tweets Jayson Stark: "Still no word on who's throwing out first pitch at Marlins Park. But MLB has scheduled a 5-minute standing O when he or she is announced." Hmm. Jeb Bush?...