Pete Rose asks for reinstatement, cites Astros and steroids
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pete Rose again asked Major League Baseball to end his lifetime ban, saying the penalty is unfair compared with discipline for steroids use and electronic sign stealing. Rose’s lawyers submitted the application Wednesday to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who in December 2015 denied the previous request by...
Scandal-ridden Astros hire Rays exec James Click as new general managerVideo
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros hired James Click as their new general manager Monday, taking the Tampa Bay Rays executive and putting him in charge of the scandal-ridden team a week before the start of spring training. Click succeeds Jeff Luhnow, who along with manager AJ Hinch was suspended by...
Padres’ Jacob Nix pleads guilty to trespassing in doggy door breachVideo
Jacob Nix this week pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal trespassing following his October arrest for attempting to crawl through a doggy door of a home near the Padres’ spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz. Nix received 18 months of probation as part of a plea agreement. The 24-year-old pitcher also...
Report: Astros working on deal to bring in Dusty Baker as managerVideo
HOUSTON — Dusty Baker is working to finalize an agreement to become manager of the Houston Astros, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told yhe Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been completed. The 70-year-old Baker becomes the...
House resolution proposed against minor league contraction
WASHINGTON — Four members of the House of Representatives introduced a resolution Wednesday urging Major League Baseball not to follow through with its proposal to eliminate 42 current minor league teams. MLB made the proposal last year to the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the governing body of the...
Several Dodgers go public, peeved by Astros’ cheating scamVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers would rather earn a World Series trophy on their own than accept any scraps from the Houston Astros or Boston Red Sox, the teams that beat them in 2017 and ‘18. Despite being eager to focus on the upcoming season, several Dodgers publicly...
Johan Camargo determined to seize second chance at 3B for BravesVideo
ATLANTA — Johan Camargo has a second chance to be the Atlanta Braves’ starting third baseman. Camargo’s renewed motivation to make the most of this opportunity comes after hard lessons learned in a demotion to the minors last season. It shows with a renewed commitment to conditioning this offseason that...
Sign-stealing whistleblower Mike Fiers wants to focus on upcoming seasonVideo
OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers didn’t have any more to say regarding his role as a whistleblower. Fiers declined Friday to answer questions about revealing the sign-stealing scam that has engulfed Major League Baseball, instead saying he simply wanted to focus on the future. He spoke a...
U mad, bro? Prickly Pitt fans, Matt Murray defenders, Barry Bonds debaters sound off
How are we going to start this week’s “U mad, bro?” With me being mad. That’s how. I was mad because I got locked out of my email. My stupid password expired. Why do they make me update that thing so often?! So I couldn’t get to my usual material...
Phillies sign ex-Pirates Neil Walker, Francisco Liriano to minors dealsVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday signed former Pittsburgh Pirates Neil Walker and Francisco Liriano to minor league contracts with invitations to attend major league spring training Walker, a Pine-Richland graduate who was selected 11th overall in 2004, batted .261 with a .344 on-base percentage, eight homers and 38...
Mets tab Luis Rojas to replace Carlos Beltrán as manager
NEW YORK — The New York Mets are finalizing a multiyear agreement with quality control coach Luis Rojas to make him the team’s new manager, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said Wednesday. Rojas would replace Carlos Beltrán, who left the team last week before managing a single game as part...
Derek Jeter, Larry Walker elected to Baseball Hall of FameVideo
NEW YORK — Derek Jeter came within one vote of being a unanimous pick for the Hall of Fame, and Larry Walker also earned baseball’s highest honor Tuesday. Jeter, the longtime New York Yankees captain, appeared on 396 of 397 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, falling...
L.A. City Council says Dodgers should be awarded World Series titles
LOS ANGELES — With Los Angeles fans reeling from news that two of the Dodgers’ recent World Series opponents were linked to a cheating scandal that tipped off batters to what pitch was about to be thrown, the City Council voted Tuesday to ask Major League Baseball to strip the...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Penguins beating Bruins, Super Bowl matchup, Astros scandal
This week’s “Madden Monday” with Mark Madden features three big topics: • The Penguins comeback win Sunday against the Boston Bruins • The AFC and NFC championship games • The Houston Astros cheating controversy We start with the Penguins. How big of a deal is it that they got at...
Tim Benz: Hard to find sympathy for ‘cheated’ Astros rivals who stood silent
For the past week, the news cycle surrounding the Houston Astros sign-stealing controversy has been constant. And so has the bloodletting. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow have been fired. Because they were formerly members of the Astros, Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Mets manager Carlos Beltran...
Astros, Red Sox look ahead in wake of sign-stealing scandalVideo
Players from two teams at the center of baseball’s sign-stealing scandal faced their fans Saturday for the first time since the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox ousted their managers amid the fallout from the investigation into Houston’s elaborate scheme. The Astros and Red Sox held their annual fan fests,...
Analysis: Baseball has become a prisoner of technology
NEW YORK — Technology unleashed baseball’s Analytics Era, and now it’s holding the sport prisoner. AJ Hinch, Alex Cora and Carlos Beltrán are casualties, a triple play of hubris. At the cutting edge with the Houston Astros, now they have been cut. Their sign-stealing system exposed, all three managers were...
Ex-White Sox catcher, Pitt star Kevan Smith at center of Astros’ sign-stealing: ‘We knew they had something’
A former WPIAL baseball star is speaking out about the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. He was a first-hand witness to it and was prominently featured in the exposure of it. I spoke with Seneca Valley alum and former Pitt quarterback Kevan Smith on Thursday. You can hear the entire conversation...
Giants make Alyssa Nakken first female major league coachVideo
SAN FRANCISCO — Alyssa Nakken became the first female coach on a major league staff in baseball history Thursday when she was named an assistant under new Giants manager Gabe Kapler. Major League Baseball confirmed Nakken is the first woman coach in the majors. Nakken is a former softball standout...
Stolen away: Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher recalls 1951 sign-stealing scamVideo
NEW YORK — Stealing signals. Banging on a trash can. Beating the Dodgers in October. Sounds very familiar to Carl Erskine. “If they’re going to go back to 2017 with penalties for the Astros,” he said Wednesday, “then I want them to go all the way back to 1951 to...
Carlos Beltrán out as Mets manager in wake of sign-stealing scandal
NEW YORK — Carlos Beltran is out as manager of the New York Mets before a single game, the latest fallout from the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal that has rocked MLB. The Mets announced the decision Thursday in a news release, saying Beltran and the team “agreed to mutually part...
Red Sox manager Alex Cora fired in sign-stealing scandalVideo
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Tuesday, a day after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred implicated him in the sport’s sign-stealing scandal. Cora was the bench coach for the Houston Astros when they won the 2017 World Series and led Boston to the title the following...
Manager AJ Hinch, GM Jeff Luhnow fired for Astros’ sign stealing
HOUSTON — Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired Monday after the pair were suspended by Major League Baseball for the team’s use of electronics for sign stealing during Houston’s run to the 2017 World Series title and during the 2018 season. In U.S. sports’ largest...
Mookie Betts agrees to record $27 million deal with Red SoxVideo
BOSTON — Outfielder Mookie Betts agreed Friday to a $27 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, the largest one-year salary for an arbitration-eligible player. Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. also agreed to an $11 million deal, ensuring Boston will avoid salary arbitration with two of its biggest stars. Betts’ deal...
Gerrit Cole and wife Amy announce they are expecting their first child
Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole and his wife Amy announced Wednesday they are expecting their first child in June. “Baby Cole on the way soon” reads the baby onesie Amy is holding in the photo posted to Cole’s official Instagram page. “Can’t wait to meet our son in June,”...
