MLB

LEADING OFF: Harper, champ Red Sox open, all 30 teams play

March 27, 2019 Associated Press

A look at what’s happening around the majors Thursday: FOR OPENERS Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and everyone else is set to play, at last. All 30 teams are in action, with opening day on deck at Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium and ballparks in between. The forecast is pretty good in most places, with […]

MLB

In data-driven age, ‘honor’ of opening day start still big

March 27, 2019 Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — As spring training neared its conclusion, a reporter mentioned to Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez that Max Scherzer was not precisely on schedule to start on opening day. “He’s going to be lined up,” Martinez said with a laugh. “Come Thursday at 1:05, he’ll be on the mound.” Of […]

MLB

MLB to use 20-second pitch clock in spring training

February 17, 2019 Rick Solem

A new experiment looking to speed up baseball will be utilized in spring training. Like a shot clock but for pitchers, the MLB commissioner announced the use of a 20-second pitch clock. “You will see pitch clocks in those (spring training) games,” Manfred said Sunday. “We will start getting ready for the possibility that we’re […]

MLB

Frank Robinson, baseball’s fearsome trailblazer, dies at 83

February 7, 2019 Associated Press

Crowding the plate, fearsome and fearless, Frank Robinson hammered his way into the Hall of Fame. His legacy, however, was cemented that day in 1975 when he simply stood in the dugout at old Cleveland Stadium — the first black manager in Major League Baseball. Robinson, the only player to earn the MVP award in […]

MLB

MLB blasts ‘unwritten rules’ in official postseason ad

October 2, 2018 Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is opening October by blasting the game’s so-called “unwritten rules.” MLB released an advertisement ahead of Tuesday’s postseason opener denouncing the anti-bat flip attitudes of many baseball traditionalists. Rewrite the rules. #postseason pic.twitter.com/bPGdECFVbi — MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2018 “Don’t stop and stare. Don’t flip your bat. Respect […]

MLB

Batting average sinks to 46-year low, strikeouts top hits

October 2, 2018 Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The big league batting average dropped to its lowest level since 1972, strikeouts topped hits for the first time and defensive shifts increased by another 30 percent while innings and pitches per starting pitcher dropped again in a another baseball season of rapid change. The batting average fell seven points to […]

MLB

MLB attendance down 4 percent as 6 ballparks set lows

October 2, 2018 Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart could hear the difference at Great American Ball Park, one of six major league stadiums that set record lows for attendance this year. “It’s pretty hard to not notice it when you can hear the light towers buzzing,” he said. Major League Baseball’s average attendance dropped 4 […]

MLB

Baseball union, teams meet on revenue grievance

September 18, 2018 Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players’ union officials met last month with management of the four teams accused in a grievance of improper spending of revenue-sharing money, people familiar with the grievance process told The Associated Press. Players’ association general counsel Ian Penny and Rick Shapiro, senior adviser to union head Tony Clark, were among […]

MLB

Column: Baseball is a mess, but Smoltz has ideas to fix it

August 23, 2018 Associated Press

A lot of baseball fans are wondering what happened to the sport. John Smoltz believes he knows. And he wants to do something about it. The former Atlanta Braves great will get that chance as a member of the MLB competition committee that is looking into the problems facing the game. By the time spring […]

MLB

Minors team wins with no BBs or hits thanks to extras rule

August 6, 2018 Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The minor leagues’ new extra innings rule led to a bizarre victory for the Clearwater Threshers on Monday night. The Philadelphia Phillies’ Class A affiliate had no hits and no walks against the Tampa Tarpons, yet it beat the New York Yankees’ Florida State League club 1-0. RECAP: Threshers get no-hit…and […]