Baseball Page 854 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Message to USA Baseball: Olympics shouldn't be Old-Timers' Fortnight
It’s a Trash Talking Tuesday, and today I’m trashing USA Baseball....

Scott Kazmir returns for first start in five years
After José Godoy became the 20,000th player in major league history on Friday, Rays’ shortstop Taylor Walls debuted on Sunday, becoming No. 20,001....

Five pitchers whose Cy Young-caliber seasons are going unnoticed
Baseball has gone through an entire “repressed Catholic kid going into their freshman year of college”-type transformation over the past several years. With baseball moving ever closer to a “three true outcomes” game, several pitchers have revitalized their careers and several more have just started...

Position player pitching alert gone awry: Wilmer Difo ignominiously and historically lit up
Wilmer Difo has played second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions during his career with the Nationals and Pirates, and now he can add pitching to his resume....

Gimme an X! MLB’s 20,000th player reminds us what baseball desperately needs
In 1975, Bob Watson scored Major League Baseball’s one millionth run, an achievement which earned him one million Tootsie Rolls and one million pennies from the candy company, all of which Watson donated to charity....

La Russa is still managing like it’s 1989
The Yankees and White Sox combined for 26 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. In 2012, that’s not so surprising. What is a bit of a stunner is that Aroldis Chapman didn’t get any of those K’s. Carlos Rodón fanned 13, Jordan Montgomery punched out 11, and Michael Kopech added two whiffs out of the Chic...

A-Rod starts makeup for men product line, and we're all for it!
Maybe it’s the break-up, maybe it’s Maybelline. Look, we all handle heartbreak differently. Some of us change our hair color. Some of us go on soul-searching trips. I sob uncontrollably for a few hours while I re-download Tinder for the 30th time. For former MLB All-Star Alex Rodriguez, launching ma...

Former All-Star closer found guilty of sexual assault against a 13-year-old
Fifteen counts of sexual assault against a minor. For such horrific charges as statutory sexual assault and corruption of a minor....

Baseball America’s Top 50 names in college baseball is missing some Sharts and a Hug
Baseball America has ranked this year’s top 50 names in college baseball, and it’s a good list....

I feel nothing when I watch Major League Baseball
Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again. Yesterday I penned an article (which, by the way, is an incredibly outdated expression) highlighting the increasing number of no-hitters thrown in MLB, and how we are growing desensitized to them. Two nights ago, it was Spencer Turnbull no-hitting the Seattle Mariner...

Stephen A. Smith and baseball, always an incredible combination
Just over a quarter of the way into the MLB season, it’s pretty safe to say that Shohei Ohtani has been insane. Ohtani currently leads Major League Baseball in home runs. He’s 3rd in slugging percentage, 15th in OPS, 18th in wOBA, and a partridge in a pear tree. Oh, he’s also been pretty damn good a...

The boys of… spring? Full-season baseball back in Brooklyn for the first time since 1957
Tuesday was a big night for the Brooklyn Cyclones, as they played their first home game in more than 600 days, celebrated their 2019 New York-Penn League championship, and, after 20 years as a short-season affiliate of the Mets, brought full-season baseball back to Brooklyn. The Cyclones’ 4-3 loss t...

When I'd rather watch 'Schitt's Creek' than ANOTHER no-hitter, you know baseball has a problem
Last night, I was scrolling Twitter as the dulcet tones of Schitt’s Creek provided a backdrop to my evening. In short, I was doing nothing. As the late night baseball game out west between the Seattle Mariners and and the Detroit Tigers wore on, I started seeing familiar tweets in my timeline — we w...

Pitchers are even less afraid these days
We didn’t need Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter last night to know that pitchers have smothered baseball these days (and that the Mariners have had all their bats replaced with Play-Doh). It’s the fifth no-hitter of the year, and we’re barely a quarter through the season....

Joey Gallo’s teammates build mock crime scene to investigate his trip over first base
Hi, I’d like to report a crime. Yes, his last name is Gallo, first name Joey… Uh huh, yes, he got roasted by his teammates after tripping on first base. I know, it’s hilarious....

More Tony La Russa ‘the right way’ B.S. — he’s mad his player hit a home run
White Sox manager Tony La Russa is stuck in an outdated philosophy full of unwritten rules and other bullshit that needs to go away if baseball has any chance of not dying with the dinosaurs that still run it. Last night, the White Sox were thumping the Minnesota Twins, 15-4, with two outs in the to...

Joe West’s 'record' is a testament to inertia
I wasn’t aware that the Major League Baseball Umpires’ union had a Twitter feed. I mean, why wouldn’t they? You also might, for a very brief moment, ask if it’s an outlet where the union might help explain some controversial calls or the like. But then you’ll quickly remind yourself that this these ...

Don’t miss the Ruthian show Shohei Ohtani is putting on right now
Shohei Ohtani is on a whole other planet right now. It takes a truly special talent to even be considered in the same realm as Mike Trout, but Ohtani is doing it, comfortably sharing the spotlight and elevating his game to a level of dominance that should have him as the front-runner for the America...

LOOK AWAY: Mets’ Kevin Pillar drilled in face by pitch, has multiple nasal fractures
There was a scary moment last night in Atlanta when Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar was hit in the face with a 94 MPH fastball thrown by Jacob Webb, suffering multiple nasal fractures, according to the team....

Kris Bryant is Kris Bryant again, just in time to be shipped out
If you don’t live on the North Side of Chicago, or carry those emotions, then like most of the baseball world you’ve probably forgotten about Kris Bryant at some point in the last few years. Even a good portion of those who do pass through the Addison Red Line stop had written him off or made him so...