baseball Page 285 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Independent Baseball League Adopts New Rules To Speed Up Games
The Atlantic League, and eight-team professional independent baseball league, has decided to get a little creative and institute some new rules that will help speed up the pace of play....

GM Gets Prostate Exam In Stadium, Sings "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"
Andy Milovich, general manager of the Texas Rangers' Single-A affiliate Myrtle Beach Pelicans, took minor league baseball stunts to a whole new level. He got a prostate exam in front of the whole stadium at tonight's game against the Frederick Keys and did so during the seventh-inning stretch while ...

Bryant Gumbel Says Smart Things About Tony La Russa And Mark McGwire
We'll take any allies in the war on the war on PEDs, even if that ally is the most self-satisfied broadcaster on television, a man who makes Bob Costas look like Woody Allen. Listen to Bryant Gumbel here. He speaks truth. ...

Madison Bumgarner Can Dominate Without You Even Noticing
Last night's game between the Giants and Phillies was interrupted by a rain delay in the 4th inning that lasted nearly an hour. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a good time to just abandon watching the game altogether, but Madison Bumgarner was on the mound for the Giants, and that...

Barry Bonds Was An Alien God Who Destroyed Space-Time To Bring Us Joy
Today is Barry Bonds's birthday! The greatest player in baseball history is turning 50. Here is a list of scarcely believable facts about his career, accompanied by videos of him performing impressive feats of speed and strength:...

Johnny Damon: An Idiot in Exile
Pat Jordan's latest for Sports on Earth:...

Jeff Francoeur's Teammates Prank Him, Again
Jeff Francoeur was called up the San Diego Padres today. Congrats, Frenchy! As he was making his way back to the bigs, though, his teammates revealed today that they had made him the victim of one more prank....

The Pitch Counts The Best And Worst Hitters Swing On
All hitters approach the plate differently depending on where they sit in the count. But great hitters and poor hitters differ in how often they swing in certain situations. Using TAv as a measurement, Baseball Prospectus took a look at how swing rates differ between the best hitters and worst hitte...

Andrelton Simmons Makes Another Superhuman Defensive Play
Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons has a habit of not just making spectacular defensive plays, but making spectacular defensive plays that you've never quite seen before. Last night against the Marlins, he did his thing again....

Hanley Ramirez Had A Real Shit Day At The Office Yesterday
Based on the box score from yesterday's game agains the Cardinals, it looks like Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez had himself a perfectly fine game. He got on base four times in five at-bats, didn't strike out, and scored a run for his team. Lost in those numbers, though, is the fact that Ramirez ...

Wily Mo Peña Hits Massive Home Run In Japanese All-Star Game
Wily Mo Peña has been playing in Japan since 2011 and represented the Orix Buffaloes for the Pacific League in this year's All-Star Game, played Saturday at Koshien Stadium. Peña smoked the first pitch he saw from Hanshin Tigers 20-year-old pitcher Shintaro Fujinami and damn near hit it out of the...

He Once Had A Baseball Empire
Erik Malinowski delivers this fascinating story of how Tom Emanski dominated youth baseball with his instructional videos (like the one promoted by Fred McGriff) and multiple championships — until he disappeared. ...

Tracy McGrady's Baseball Career Ends After About Two Months
Roughly two months after Tracy McGrady's debut as a baseball player, the former NBAer has retired. Looking back at his career, one thing's certain: Tracy McGrady was definitely a person who played minor league baseball for two months. ...

The Mystery Of The Vanishing Screwball
Nice story by Bruce Schoenfeld in the New York Times Magazine on a pitch we don't see anymore—the screwball:...

Yasiel Puig Nearly Dies Of Fright In Thunder Storm
There's a lot going on in this video from Yasiel Puig's Instagram account, but its real value lies in the last one or two seconds....

Luke Scott Kicked Off Korean Team For Reportedly Calling Coach "Coward"
In case you were wondering what former MLB player/birther Luke Scott was up to these days, there is word from East Asia: He's getting kicked off his South Korea baseball team for yelling at the manager....

Baseball Marks On The Green Monster
Over at National Geographic dig this cool article by Sarah Polger on the photographs CJ Gunther takes of the baseball marks on the Green Monster at Fenway Park. ...

The Astros Are Trying To Dick Draft Picks Out Of Their Money
The Astros selected high school pitcher Brady Aiken with the first overall pick in this year's amateur draft, and quickly came to a verbal agreement that would pay Aiken a $6.5 million bonus, a notch down from the $7.9 million slot value that was assigned the No. 1 pick. But now the Astros are tryin...

Minor League Baseball Fan Tries To Fight Opposing Pitcher After HBP
It got hot in the Texas League last night as a fan of the AA Corpus Christi Hooks charged the mound to attack Midland RockHounds pitcher Blake Hassebrock in the fifth inning....

Jose Offerman's Bat-Assault Lawsuit Heads To Trial
Jury selection begins this week in a civil trial brought by a former catcher who alleges Jose Offerman ended his career by hitting him in the head with a bat during a 2007 brawl. ...