Major League Baseball confronting short time period before Opening DayVideo
CHICAGO — Forget about those halcyon first few days of spring training, when arranging for the right tee time on the right golf course is often more challenging than the work on the field. When major leaguers report next week for spring training 2.0 — or perhaps more accurately, baseball’s...
Dodgers, Twins report some positive tests for covid-19Video
LOS ANGELES — Some people in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins organizations have tested positive for covid-19, officials with the teams said Thursday. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on a video conference call that it’s “a delicate subject,” and he declined to identify those with...
Antsy MLB players such as South Park’s Randy Dobnak embrace end of extra down timeVideo
South Park graduate Randy Dobnak had finished making his morning omelette one day last week when his wife, Aerial, asked the Minnesota Twins pitcher to keep the eggs out so she could make a sandwich. For the base, she used a hot dog bun, an ingredient so bewildering to her...
U mad, bro? Readers fed up with sports and politics, MLB finances, Antonio Brown
It’s a Killer B’s edition of “U mad, bro?” Who is on the dart board for our irate readers this week? Baseball, Benz, Baltimore and “Big Chest.” The #SticktoSports crowd is feeling particularly mouthy this week as well. John from New Cumberland LOVED my column about the second round of...
MLB’s Rob Manfred: ‘We owe it to our fans to be better’Video
NEW YORK — Rob Manfred knows many fans were angered by the financial fight between Major League Baseball and the players’ association during a pandemic. “We need to get back on the field, and we need to in a less-charged environment start to have conversations about how we — and...
Rockies’ Blackmon becomes 1st MLB player known to test positive for covid-19Video
All-Star outfielder Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies became the first MLB player known to have tested positive for the coronavirus. A person familiar with Blackmon’s situation confirmed the test result to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because there was no official announcement. The Denver Post first...
Madden Monday: ‘Steelers making the playoffs this year is far from a sure thing’
Well, we’ve made it to triple digits. We are now beyond 100 days since major American team sports shut down. We’re at 103 now. So if you think it’s easy to do this job without melding the coronavirus and its surrounding society-wide quagmire into the mix, you are insane. During...
Former All-Star shortstop Addison Russell joins KBOVideo
SEOUL, Sout Korea — Former Chicago Cubs All-Star shortstop Addison Russell will look to rebuild his career abroad after he signed a one-year, $530,000 contract with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization. Russell, 26, was cut from the Cubs roster in December after the Major League club declined...
Column: Baseball fights to return, but why even try?Video
There’s a chance baseball will still be played this summer, though pettiness, intransigence and the sneakiness of the coronavirus may dictate otherwise. Just as well. Because it’s not baseball I want to see. A schedule with so few games that the regular season is meaningless. A postseason with so many...
All 30 MLB spring training sites shut down amid virus worry
Every team in Major League Baseball will shut its spring training camp over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, a move that came in the wake of the Philadelphia Phillies announcing Friday five players had tested positive for covid-19. The closures come while MLB owners and players try to negotiate a...
If baseball talks produce agreement, extra innings could start with runners on secondVideo
NEW YORK — Extra innings that start with runners on second base, games ending in ties and re-entry are among the possibilities for a radically altered 2020 Major League Baseball season, one limited to a maximum 60 games by teams that claim they can’t afford more due to the coronavirus...
Phillies: 5 players test positive for virus at Florida camp
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies say five players have tested positive for COVID-19 this week at the team’s spring training complex in Clearwater, Florida. The team also said Friday that three staff members at the camp have tested positive. The club didn’t identify any of those affected. Philadelphia has indefinitely...
MLB players commit $1 million to support minor leaguersVideo
NEW YORK — Major leaguers committed $1 million to support minor leaguers whose leagues appear unlikely to start this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Major League Baseball Players Trust, a not-for-profit affiliate of the MLB Players Association, made the announcement. While MLB and the union are trying to...
AP source: MLB makes 4th proposal to players’ unionVideo
NEW YORK — MLB has made a fourth proposal to the players’ union aimed at starting the pandemic-delayed season, a person with knowledge of the proposal said Wednesday. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made. Another person familiar with the session...
Former Cy Young winner Mike McCormick dies at age 81Video
CORNELIUS, N.C. — Longtime Giants pitcher Mike McCormick, who won the Cy Young Award in 1967, has died. He was 81. The Giants say McCormick died Saturday at his home in North Carolina after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. McCormick played 16 years in the majors from 1956-71 with...
Baseball season in jeopardy as fight between owners, players gets uglierVideo
The MLB Players Association said it is “disgusted” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred backtracked from his assertion that there “unequivocally” would be a baseball season this summer, accusing the league of “negotiating in bad faith since the beginning.” When asked by ESPN if there was going to be a season in...
First Call: ESPN’s McGwire-Sosa documentary heavy on nostalgia, light on substance
Monday’s “First Call” is going to be a review of ESPN’s Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa documentary “Long Gone Summer.” I looked at the clock for about the fourth or fifth time Sunday night. It was 10:45 p.m. “Are they going to get to the steroids topic or what?” I asked aloud....
Baseball players say talks futile, tell MLB to order returnVideo
NEW YORK — Baseball players told Major League Baseball additional talks to start the season during the coronavirus pandemic are pointless and said owners should order a return to work, which likely would spark lengthy litigation and the sport’s return to labor wars. The union’s action Saturday night could lead...
Organizations around Cincinnati weigh whether to drop Schott’s name from facilitiesVideo
CINCINNATI — Marge Schott’s slurs and other offensive comments while she owned the Cincinnati Reds have organizations in her hometown reconsidering the use of her name on facilities that benefited from her donations. Schott died in 2004, but her name is still prominent in the community. Most of her estate...
Fantasy Sports podcast: MLB frustrations, running back contract woes, Ryder Cup
We bust out the time machine for this week’s fantasy sports podcast with Jeff Erickson of RotoWire. First, we go into the future, forecasting what fantasy strategies may be like in a baseball season that lasts between 48 to 80-plus games. The big variable seems to be pitchers. With the...
Tigers continue to load up on offense on Day 2 of MLB DraftVideo
NEW YORK — The Detroit Tigers took a few more big swings at rebuilding their lineup. And they hope sooner rather than later. After selecting Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson to open the MLB Draft on Wednesday night, the Tigers used their first four picks Thursday on hitters they envision...
Baseball plans game at Field of Dreams, but will they come?Video
DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Spurred by a voice telling him, “If you build it, he will come,” the Iowa farmer played by Kevin Costner dutifully carved a baseball field out of his cornfield and then watched as Shoeless Joe Jackson and his Chicago White Sox teammates strode out of the stalks...
Detroit Tigers draft Arizona State slugger Spencer Torkelson with No. 1 pickVideo
NEW YORK — Spencer Torkelson slugged his way through college, bashing baseballs all around the country with eye-popping power. All those impressive long balls made the decision easy for the Detroit Tigers, who made the Arizona State star the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball amateur draft Wednesday...
Rob Manfred says ‘100%’ chance of MLB season, new proposal soonVideo
NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said there is “100 percent” chance of big league ball this year. MLB will make another proposal to start the pandemic-delayed season, but Manfred vowed Wednesday to unilaterally order opening day if an agreement is not reached. The players’ association made its second...
AP sources: MLB players cut to 89 games, want prorated money
NEW YORK — Baseball players moved toward teams but remained far apart economically in their latest proposal for starting the pandemic-delayed season, adamant they receive full prorated salaries while offering to cut the regular season to 89 games. The proposal by the players’ association, given to Major League Baseball electronically...
