Baseball Page 994 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
MLB’s shift ban hasn’t solved baseball's real problem, but it also probably can’t
A little more than two months into the MLB season, the first with a shift-ban that keeps two infielders on each side of second base, and the league will probably declare victory. There are more hits, and left-handed batters are seeing more grounders and line-drives are resulting in base hits, which ...
Thanks for the memories, Bartolo Colon
Bartolo Colon hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2018 but is finally retiring — at age 50. His former club, the New York Mets, will hold an official retirement ceremony for “Big Sexy” on Aug. 26 before a game against another one of Colon’s ex-teams, the Los Angeles Angels. ...
The Philadelphia Phillies' offense is doing that thing again
The Philadelphia Phillies are an imperfect being. Yes, they’ve been that way for pretty much their entire existence. But every baseball fan/watcher knows that the recent vintage of the Fightins is kind of a top-heavy outfit, that generally plays defense like it’s just about to sneeze, and the bullpe...
Clayton Kershaw whines about his poor, misunderstood Christian faith
Looking for a night to not go to Dodger Stadium? Might we suggest July 30? Not only is it usually ungodly hot in Chavez Ravine at the end of July, but Clayton Kershaw will be pushing Christianity and faith on everyone. There are just way more pleasant places to eat a hot dog and drink a beer in L.A....
Remember when Gary Sanchez was a thing?
There was hope that when the New York Yankees called up Gary Sanchez that he’d be the team’s backstop of the future. Sanchez showed plenty of pop — he hit 33 home runs in 2017 in his first full season in the Bronx, and 34 in 2019 — but was also a defensive liability. He committed double-digit errors...
Which MLB hot starts through Memorial Day are here to stay?
We’ve reached Memorial Day, the first real milestone of the MLB season. The first seven weeks or so don’t decide who makes the playoffs, but it gives us a pretty good barometer. But which (at least somewhat surprising) starts are here to stay?...
Ronald Acuña Jr. might be starting his own historic club the way he's playing
Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. is running away in the National League MVP race. He’s tied for first in MLB in runs, third in hits, sixth in batting average, fifth in OPS, and second in stolen bases. He has 11 home runs and 22 stolen bases through 51 games, helping the Braves to run away with t...
Aaron Boone wants to yell at real people, not robots
Aaron Boone has a knack for early showers. You can blame it on a short temper or having the pinky-up attitude of being the Yankees’ manager. Whatever the case, no one has spent less time helming his team from the dugout in Major League Baseball than Boone this season, or since the start of the 2018 ...
MLB scheduling change making it easier for American League East to assert its dominance
Six months or so after the NFC East was the best division in football, the American League East has overtaken MLB. No team is below .500 as of Friday morning/early afternoon, and the fives clubs are a combined 105-56 against opponents outside the division. The Tampa Bay Rays (37-15) and Baltimore Or...
How many wins do the Angels need at the deadline to keep Shohei Ohtani?
If the Los Angeles Angels don’t make the playoffs this season then there’s no question that Shohei Ohtani is gone. Now in his sixth MLB season and heading into free agency, he has yet to reach the postseason and has said that winning is the most important thing to him....
Believe in fun, believe in the Diamondbacks
There was always hope that a young, funky team would finally not just get the best of the Dodgers, but signal the end of the now decade long run of the Dodgers running roughshod over the NL West. Yes, the Giants got them once, in a season where the Dodgers still won 106 games. And we know what happe...
Colorado Rockies’ new tech makes buying beer, stealing personal data easier
It’s not enough that Big Tech has our personal information, facial scan, bank records, and thumbprint, but now Amazon wants you to scan your palm in order to expedite the booze-buying process at large events. Colorado Rockies fans can now go to Coors Field, and instead of the lengthy process of show...
MLB shouldn’t have to be guided through every faux pas by fans
The reason it’s called man-splaining is because men hate being lectured. We’d rather be the ones doing the preaching, and have everybody else do the listening. Even when we’re wrong, we hesitate to admit it, and then when we finally do relent, we don’t want to be told why we fucked up. We just want ...
![Glen Kuiper said his excitement is why he 'rushed’ and said the N-word...riiiggghtttt [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/132727d44bfaf52a9c2b8bd9b279a482.png)
Glen Kuiper said his excitement is why he 'rushed’ and said the N-word...riiiggghtttt [Update]
Glen Kuiper didn’t misspeak less than three weeks ago during a pregame segment when detailing his trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. That hateful six-letter word doesn’t just slip out of your mouth unless you’ve used it dozens of times before and it’s part of your vernacular. ...
The Baltimore Orioles are on the highwire
One of the bigger stories of MLB so far this season is the unrelenting and pretty comedic dominance of the AL East. The last-place team, the Toronto Blue Jays, have the exact same record as the first-place team in the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins. Every team is at least three games over .500. The...
![Congrats, Baltimore, enjoy your oft-injured OF [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/edd39d97137423207b52b7358521a8e6.jpg)
Congrats, Baltimore, enjoy your oft-injured OF [Update]
The New York Yankees swung a trade with the rival Red Sox for outfielder Greg Allen, and needed to make a corresponding roster move. The Bronx Bombers could have optioned Oswaldo Cabrera, or cut ties with Jake Bauers, or Willie Calhoun. Instead, Aaron Hicks’ disastrous eight-year tenure with the tea...
The Texas Rangers are doing what the Mets were supposed to
If the New York Mets are going to fumble the torch for those who want teams to try and spend money (or more accurately watch it simply fall from a great height and break), we must find a new bearer to keep the dream alive. Never mix your dreams with the Mets anyway. Sure path to heartbreak. The Padr...
Trevor Bauer sent to the Japanese minors
After posting a sparkling ERA of 8.40 and 1.867 WHIP, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Japanese league have sent former Dodger pitcher Trevor Bauer down to the minor leagues. You hate to see it....
Brandon Lowe may be the best of Tampa Bay's nameless bunch
The Tampa Bay Rays are off to one of the best starts to an MLB season in recent memory. A 30th win through 40 games gives the club the best record through that mark since the 1984 Detroit Tigers, who went 35-5 en route to a 104-win season and a World Series title....
Craig Kimbrel joins 7 other relievers with 400 saves
Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel is the second MLB closer this season — and eighth all-time — to reach the 400-save mark. He closed out Philadelphia’s 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves....