AP source: MLB labor talks to resume after 42-day breakVideo
NEW YORK — MLB and the players’ association are scheduled to meet Thursday, ending a 42-day break in negotiations that began when management started a lockout in the sport’s first work stoppage since 1995. With the scheduled start of spring training five weeks away, management was planning to make a...
AP sources: Yanks’ Balkovec to be first female MiLB managerVideo
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees are promoting Rachel Balkovec to manager of the Low A Tampa Tarpons, making her the first woman to skipper a team affiliated with MLB, according to two people familiar with the move. The people spoke to the Associated Press on Sunday night on...
Cone, Perez, Ravech replace A-Rod, Vasgersian on ESPN Sunday
BRISTOL, Conn. — Former players David Cone and Eduardo Perez are joining Karl Ravech to form a new broadcast team for ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” telecasts. Alex Rodriguez, the scandal-tainted three-time MVP who had been on the telecasts during the past four seasons, will shift to eight Sunday night alternate...
One of a kind: Shohei Ohtani wins AP Male Athlete of Year award
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Most of the time in professional sports, it’s easy to think it’s all been done before. With so many finetuned athletes constantly pushing each other to the peak of human potential, we can experience unprecedented demonstrations of sporting brilliance every week of our lives. But it’s truly...
New York Mets hire Buck Showalter as managerVideo
NEW YORK — Buck Showalter is back on the bench in New York. Nearly 30 years since making his name in pinstripes, Showalter has been hired as manager of the Mets as he returns to the Big Apple to take over his fifth major league team. The former New York...
Trickle-down economics at heart of MLB labor disputeVideo
NEW YORK — Francisco Lindor’s $341 million contract with the New York Mets was supposed to be a boon for other shortstops. Same for pitchers when aces Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer signed megadeals. Baseball players long have benefited from trickle-down economics, where stars set a market that leads to...
Breaking down the main issues of MLB’s lockoutVideo
NEW YORK — When baseball players agreed a decade ago to restraints on signing bonuses for draft picks, then-union head Michael Weiner said: “If it doesn’t work, we can always try something else.” Getting a side to give back something it gained previously in collective bargaining can lead to difficult...
Even if games go on, MLB lockout could alienate Gen ZVideo
NEW YORK — Max Scherzer stars in the last video posted to MLB’s TikTok account before the league locked out the players Thursday morning. The clip, viewed more than 400,000 times, shows the final out from Scherzer’s first no-hitter in 2015 with Washington, followed by teammates dousing the three-time Cy...
Winter of waiting: Baseball fans hope MLB lockout fleetingVideo
PHOENIX — The only hint of activity outside of Chase Field on Thursday afternoon was the low humming noise from a construction crew, which was busy hanging some signs for an upcoming college football bowl game. Otherwise, the home of MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks was quiet, almost serene. That’s fine —...
Manfred, Clark divergent views point to lengthy MLB lockoutVideo
ARLINGTON, Texas — Hours into MLB’s first work stoppage in 26 years, commissioner Rob Manfred and union head Tony Clark presented diametrically opposed views of each side’s negotiating positions that point to a lengthy lockout. In separate news conferences less than half a day into baseball’s ninth work stoppage, Manfred...
1983 AL Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt dies at 66
CHICAGO — LaMarr Hoyt, who won the 1983 AL Cy Young Award with the Chicago White Sox, has died. He was 66. The White Sox announced his death on Wednesday. The team said he died Monday in his hometown of Columbia, S.C., following a lengthy illness. Hoyt went 98-68 with...
MLB lockout begins as collective bargaining agreement expires
IRVING, Texas — Major League Baseball plunged into its first work stoppage in a quarter-century when the sport’s collective bargaining agreement expired Wednesday night and owners immediately locked out players in a move that threatens spring training and opening day. The strategy, management’s equivalent of a strike under federal labor...
Tigers, Javy Baez agree to $140 million, 6-year dealVideo
Javier Baez is taking his high motor to Motor City. Baez has agreed to a $140 million, six-year contract with Detroit, giving the Tigers a dynamic bat for the middle of their order. Baez, who turns 29 on Wednesday, hit .265 with 31 homers and 87 RBIs in 138 games...
AP source: Rangers land Corey Seager on $325M, 10-year deal
The Texas Rangers reached an agreement on a $325 million, 10-year deal with shortstop Corey Seager, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the deal was pending a physical and wasn’t finalized. Seager was the World...
AP source: Max Scherzer and Mets nearing $130M, 3-year deal
NEW YORK — Max Scherzer has shattered baseball’s record for highest average salary, agreeing Monday to a $130 million, three-year contract with the New York Mets, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement is subject to a...
Mariners acquire All-Star 2B Adam Frazier from San Diego
SEATTLE — Seattle’s first big move of the offseason was completing a deal Jerry Dipoto tried to make last summer. The Mariners finally landed former Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier on Saturday, acquiring the All-Star in a trade with the San Diego Padres. “We thought we were at the...
Former Pirates outfielder Starling Marte reportedly joins Mets on 4-year dealVideo
NEW YORK — The New York Mets have bolstered their lineup with three free-agent deals, adding speedy center fielder Starling Marte to go along with Mark Canha and All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar. Marte’s four-year contract is worth $78 million, according to a person familiar with the deal. New York also...
Wander Franco signs $182-million, 11-year contract with RaysVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Wander Franco and the Tampa Bay Rays have finalized an $182 million, 11-year contract that includes a club option for the 2033 season. The shortstop’s deal, which could be worth up to $223 million if the club option is exercised and incentives are reached, was announced...
David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez among newcomers to Hall of Fame ballotVideo
NEW YORK — David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum and Alex Rodriguez are among 13 first-time candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joining 17 holdovers. Steroids-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens make their 10th and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot...
Shohei Ohtani voted AL MVP; Bryce Harper wins NL honor
NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani was voted unanimiously American League MVP on Thursday for a two-way season not seen since Babe Ruth, and Bryce Harper earned the National League honor for the second time. Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by members of the Baseball...
Justin Verlander agrees to $25M, 1-year deal with AstrosVideo
HOUSTON — Justin Verlander agreed to a $25 million, one-year contract with the Houston Astros that includes a conditional $25 million player option for a second season. Verlander became a free agent after completing a $94 million, three-year contract with the Astros. He played in just one game in the...
Toronto lefty Ray wins AL Cy Young, Brewers’ Burnes takes NLVideo
Toronto left-hander Robbie Ray bounced back from a dismal season to win the AL Cy Young Award, and Milwaukee righty Corbin Burnes returned from a bout of covid-19 to win the NL’s top pitching prize Wednesday. In the Year of the Pitcher, Burnes led the majors with a 2.43 ERA,...
Kevin Cash wins 2nd straight Manager of the Year; Gabe Kapler named NL winnerVideo
Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash became the second skipper to win manager of the year honors in back-to-back seasons, taking the American League award Tuesday night. San Francisco’s Gabe Kapler won the NL honor. Cash led the low-payroll Rays to a second consecutive AL East crown. Tampa Bay (100-62) finished with...
AP source: Blue Jays, Berrios reach deal for 7 years, $131M
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement with pitcher Jose Berríos on a seven-year, $131 million deal, pending a physical, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Tuesday. The Blue Jays acquired the 27-year-old right-hander at the July trade deadline from the Minnesota...
Rays OF Arozarena, Reds 2B India earn Rookie of Year honorsVideo
It didn’t feel like Randy Arozarena was a rookie this season. Tampa Bay’s speedy and powerful outfielder certainly didn’t play like one, either. Arozarena won AL Rookie of the Year honors with a superb follow-up to his 2020 postseason heroics, and Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India earned NL Rookie...
