baseball Page 87 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Which team played the villain role best?
With the Houston Astros now wearing the crown as the most hated team in professional sports — as indicated by the chorus of boos and piercing screams of “CHEATER!” that rang through the Oakland Coliseum (whatever ridiculous name it has today) last night on Opening Day (ahh… welcome back baseball, an...

Moving All-Star Game out of Georgia is surprisingly right move by MLB
Major League Baseball is not generally an organization that you’d think of as progressive, but Rob Manfred made a big move on Friday, stripping this year’s All-Star Game (something Rob Parker called for Deadspin on Monday) and draft from Atlanta in protest of the state of Georgia’s new voting rights...

On Opening Day, the signs of how much we’ve lost were everywhere
After getting the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, I was pretty out of it on Thursday, which meant that Opening Day was a different experience than usual. I woke up in the morning, had breakfast and walked the dog, then went right back to sleep, setting an alarm to be able to watch the first inning...

Justin Fields, Dan Orlovsky, and the never-ending degradation of Black QBs with age-old stereotypes
I find myself often being perplexed by the way some things are happening. Currently, one of those situations is the seemingly-inexplicable decrease in draft stock of a quarterback prospect I love, Justin Fields, who before the season was the consensus second-best quarterback behind Trevor Lawrence. ...

At least Biden realizes that packed ballparks are still a bad idea
I know we all want to get back to normal, but Texas’ “fuck it all, we’re completely open” approach seems a Texas-sized amount reckless. We’re close. More people are getting vaccinated by the day, there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to be smart and do exactly the opposite of wha...

Miguel Cabrera hit the first home run of the season in the snow and thought it was a double
Miguel Cabrera now has 488 career home runs (350 as a Tiger), and it’s possible that none were as unique as this....

The ones that do the least during games make the most money. No wonder baseball is America’s pastime
When I was in elementary school, we used to take annual field trips to the old Tiger Stadium. One year, Detroit was playing the Royals. I remember those blue jerseys. Our school was sitting in the outfield and somebody who wasn’t in our group pulled a beach ball out from nowhere. It eventually bounc...

Once you can return safely, here are One Lucky Fan’s picks for the best at MLB parks
It’s Opening Day… and the vast majority of Americans are at least 550 days removed from their last trip out to the old ballgame. We all know about the 2020 shortened season and the cardboard cutouts and we are trying hard to forget it. As such, I know that I am looking heartily forward to my second ...
![Pesky pandemic won’t let baseball pretend it’s over just yet [UPDATE]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/mnaazwogehaxvxbdhb4l.jpg)
Pesky pandemic won’t let baseball pretend it’s over just yet [UPDATE]
It’s Opening Day, America. It’s time to get back to our national pastime, and to leave all our worries aside. It’s our day to just focus on what we all need, a game of baseball. And isn’t that what we deserve? Nothing can interfere with the sound of a line drive or the smell of — I’m sorry. Buster O...

Francisco Lindor extension shows Steve Cohen can’t go back on his promise to build a contender
In June 2019, right after drafting Tyler Herro and K.Z. Okpala, and before trading for Jimmy Butler, Pat Riley said the following:...

Negro League researcher Cam Perron talks about his new book, the Negro Leagues, and the times to come
In a profile over the summer, I asked Cam Perron what he’s up to next. At the time, the young Negro Leagues researcher, whose work of documenting players’ service time led to their receiving MLB pensions, was operating his memorabilia business and working on a book set to hit shelves in 2021....

Vlad, Fernando, Francisco and more: The players who’ll make this baseball season interesting
Every year we discuss how baseball’s become boring, how it could grow more enjoyable for younger fans, and how we long for legitimate progress of our national pastime. ...

What to expect in the AL West
Can anyone rise over .500 and challenge the A’s? How will the Astros do without George Springer? Can the Mariners surprise a few people? Will we hear anything from Mike Trout and the Angels? And how bad will the Rangers be?...

What to expect in the AL Central
Can anyone dethrone the Twins? What will the White Sox look like with septuagenarian Tony La Russa returning to manage? Will Cleveland hit enough after trading away Francisco Lindor to help their talented rotation, and ultimately bother Cleveland or Chicago? Will K.C.’s moves move the needle? And wh...

What to expect in the AL East
Can the Rays repeat as division champs without starters Charlie Morton and Blake Snell? Can the Yankees stay healthy enough and is their starting pitching good enough to return to the top? Are the Blue Jays and all their young talent ready to break through? Where are the Red Sox? And will we see any...

What to expect in the NL West
Can the Dodgers break the single-season wins record? Can the upstart Padres with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. run down L.A.?...

What to expect in the NL Central
Nolan Arenado is in St. Louis. Defense will be on display. What to make of the Cubs and Brew Crew. And what about Cincy and Pittsburgh?...

No one seems to care that Kevin Durant is a homophobe
I made jokes about it yesterday, and that’s really all the effort I was prepared to give it. And yet, another day rolled by after Michael Rapaport (who I assume just walked off the set of another charity MTV softball game as that’s still what he does, right?) revealed the heinous and disgusting mess...

What to expect in the NL East
Francisco Lindor is in Queens. Mets Owner Steve Cohen’s Twitter feed. The Braves are still young and loaded. And is Bryce Harper still a superstar? ...

AL West Preview: Now without the noise, what are the Astros?
There are many who thought the Astros got off light before even hitting spring training last year. While the response was always “immunity,” only a couple managers and a GM suffered with the loss of their jobs. ...