Phillies score 6 in 9th inning, top Cardinals in Game 1 of wild-card seriesVideo
ST. LOUIS — Philadelphia scored six times in the ninth inning off the stingy St. Louis bullpen, highlighted by a bases-loaded single by Jean Segura, and the Phillies beat the NL Central champion Cardinals, 6-3, on Friday in the opening game of their National League wild-card series. The Cardinals, who...
Jose Ramirez’s 2-run homer sends Guardians past Rays in AL wild-card openerVideo
CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez connected for a two-run homer, Shane Bieber dominated Tampa Bay for 7 2/3 innings and the young Cleveland Guardians played with poise in their postseason debut, beating the Rays, 2-1, in the wild-card opener on Friday. Ramirez’s shot off Shane McClanahan in the sixth inning helped...
MLB crowds jump from 2021, still below pre-pandemic levelsVideo
PHOENIX — Even with the homer heroics of sluggers like Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols, MLB wasn’t able to coax fans to ballparks at pre-pandemic levels this season, though attendance did jump substantially from the covid-19 affected campaign in 2021. The 30 MLB teams drew nearly 64.6 million fans for...
Shakeia Taylor: Barry Bonds is the real home run record holder — and nothing can change that until someone breaks it
CHICAGO — In 2001, 37-year-old Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, beating Mark McGwire’s single-season record of 70 set three years earlier. You probably remember it happened, whether you watched it or not. Even if you don’t have a relationship to baseball, it’s one of those facts many people know....
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ballVideo
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, Calif., told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans,...
Fan who caught Aaron Judge’s 62nd HR offered $2M for ball
The owner of a sports memorabilia auction house says he has offered $2 million to the fan who caught Aaron Judge’s American League-record 62nd home run. JP Cohen, president of Memory Lane Inc. in Tustin, California, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he has texted and emailed Cory Youmans,...
No-No Joe Musgrove wants a championship for hometown Padres
SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove took a moment away from the mayhem of the clubhouse celebration after the San Diego Padres clinched a playoff spot to reflect on where his career has been and where he wants it to go. The big right-hander will forever be remembered as the hometown...
MLB playoff picture all set, best-of-3 matchups start Friday
Albert Pujols taking his final swings in October, Julio Rodríguez stepping in for the first time. Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom facing Manny Machado and Juan Soto. Bryce Harper, back at last. José Ramírez and his Cleveland teammates trying to break a long drought — with a new name. And...
Yankees star Aaron Judge hits 62nd homer to break Roger Maris’ AL recordVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night, breaking Roger Maris’ American League record and setting what some fans consider baseball’s “clean” standard. The 30-year-old Yankees slugger drove a 1-1 slider from Texas right-hander Jesús Tinoco into the first couple of rows of...
Beyond the grunt: Umpires mic up, and baseball changes a bitVideo
NEW YORK — After a century and a half of Major League Baseball — after generations of grunts and growls, of muffled shouts and dramatic arm gestures and a cultivated sense of remoteness — something quietly extraordinary happened to the national pastime this year: The umpires began talking to the...
Ohtani agrees to $30 million deal for 2023 with Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani has agreed to a $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2023 season in the two-way superstar’s final year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. The Angels announced the deal Saturday, avoiding a potentially complicated arbitration case with the 2021 AL MVP....
Ex-Pirate Charlie Morton, Braves reach $20 million, 1-year deal for 2023Video
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves have reached a deal with starting pitcher Charlie Morton on a $20 million, one-year contract for 2023 with a $20 million club option for 2024 that does not include a buyout. Morton, 38, is 9-6 with a 4.29 ERA in 30 starts this season. The...
Aaron Judge’s 61st HR another murky milestone for MLBVideo
Aaron Judge’s homers almost always impress, and No. 61 on Wednesday night was no exception — a laser-beam shot that landed in the Blue Jays bullpen amidst huge cheers from the crowd in Toronto. Baseball history was made, and the joy was palpable. The New York Yankees slugger had just...
Yankees star Aaron Judge hits 61st home run, ties Roger Maris’ AL recordVideo
TORONTO — Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season, going deep for the New York Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old slugger drove a full-count pitch from Tim Mayza over the left-field fence in the seventh inning...
MLB playoff primer: Things to know as postseason nears
Major League Baseball’s postseason has a little more heft this season. The playoffs are rapidly approaching, with the final regular season games set for Oct. 5. The postseason begins two days later with a field of 12 teams — up from last year’s 10 — and includes a best-of-three format...
Just call them champions, young Guardians win AL CentralVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — A sturdy pair of goggles was mandatory attire Sunday in Cleveland’s clubhouse, where impromptu showers of Champagne and beer broke out inside a thick haze of cigar smoke. The Guardians, baseball’s youngest team, finished an unexpected run to the top of the AL Central. Rookie Steven Kwan...
Cardinals’ Albert Pujols hits 700th home run, 4th player to reach mark
LOS ANGELES — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th home run on Friday night, connecting for his second drive of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and becoming the fourth player to reach the milestone in major league history. With the drive in the final days...
Mark Madden: Yankees fan should have cashed in on Aaron Judge’s remarkable accomplishment
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees is making $19 million this year. He’s made $36 million during his career. He’s going to break the bank in free agency after the season. On Tuesday, he hit his 60th home run. That’s in the Yankees’ 147th game. Judge got to 60...
Maury Wills, base-stealing shortstop for Dodgers, dies at 89
LOS ANGELES — Maury Wills, who intimidated pitchers with his base-stealing prowess as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers on three World Series championship teams, has died. He was 89. Wills died Monday night at home in Sedona, Ariz., the team said Tuesday after being informed by family members....
Mark Madden: Shohei Ohtani has the showbiz market cornered, but Aaron Judge should be AL MVP
In 1941, Ted Williams hit .406. He remains the last MLB player to hit .400 or better. He led MLB with 37 home runs and was fourth with 120 RBIs. Williams led MLB in all the stats that didn’t matter then or weren’t kept: WAR, OPS, etc. Joe DiMaggio hit...
MLB celebrates Roberto Clemente Day, ceremony at Citi FieldVideo
NEW YORK — For the big leaguers who saw him play, Roberto Clemente was a breathtaking talent and unmistakable force on the field who made a powerful impact on young ballplayers. His selfless humanitarianism left a lasting impression, too. Major League Baseball celebrated its 21st annual Roberto Clemente Day on...
Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina make record 325th start as batteryVideo
ST. LOUIS — Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina made their 325th career start together on Wednesday night, setting a major-league record for most as a battery. The St. Louis duo eclipsed the regular-season mark of 324 by the Detroit Tigers pair of Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan...
As Aaron Judge approaches milestone, what counts more: 61 or 73?
NEW YORK — To some, Aaron Judge’s season has a special sheen because he appears to be Mr. Clean. They would consider Judge the record-holder if he surpasses Roger Maris’ 61 homers, absent the steroids stain sticking to the tainted trio of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. “To...
MLB prepared to voluntarily recognize minor league union
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is ready to voluntarily accept the formation of a minor league union, a key step that will lead to collective bargaining and possibly a strike threat at the start of next season. The Major League Baseball Players Association launched the unionization drive on Aug....
MLB adopts pitch clock, shift limits, bigger bases for 2023
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball adopted its first pitch clock, limits on defensive shifts and larger bases for next season in an effort to shorten games and increase offense in a tradition-bound sport. The decision on the clock and shift restrictions by the sport’s 11-man competition committee was made...
