MLB celebrates Jackie Robinson Day as every player wears No. 42 on anniversary of his historic debut
LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball will honor Jackie Robinson on Wednesday, when every player, coach and umpire will wear his No. 42 to mark the 79th anniversary of the infielder breaking the sport’s color barrier. Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to...
Money and tech have closed the gap between NCAA baseball and MLB. That’s good news for coaches
PHOENIX — There was a time in the not-so-distant past that many Major League Baseball teams looked at their college baseball counterparts with a degree of skepticism. There were the metal bats, the shorter schedule and a sense that nothing could replace the seasoning that came with years of grinding...
AP study: MLB average salary hits a record $5.34M as the Mets lead spending again
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball’s average salary rose 3.4% on opening day to a record $5.34 million, according to a study by The Associated Press, and the New York Mets topped spending at the season’s start for the fourth straight year. Mets outfielder Juan Soto is the highest-paid player...
Dodgers great Davey Lopes, an infield fixture and record-setting base stealer, dies at 80
LOS ANGELES — Davey Lopes, a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record-setting infield of the 1970s and ’80s and one of baseball’s premier base stealers, died Wednesday. He was 80. The Dodgers were informed of his death in Rhode Island by his former wife, Lin Lopes. Lopes was a...
Cubs pitcher Cade Horton headed for elbow surgery, will miss rest of 2026 season
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton will miss the rest of the 2026 season after an MRI revealed UCL damage in his right elbow, Chicago manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday. “Cade is gonna have surgery,” Counsell said before the Cubs game against the Tampa Bay Rays at...
Aaron Judge goes hitless for 1st time in career on opening day; Yankees beat Giants in MLB opener
SAN FRANCISCO — Two-time reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge went hitless on opening day for the first time in his big-league career and had four strikeouts in a game for the first time since September 2024 in the New York Yankees’ 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday...
Netflix swings into MLB with Yankees-Giants opening night, betting on 3 marquee events
Netflix’s forays into live sports have already been successful with the NFL and WWE. The streamer is hoping for another home run as its partnership with MLB begins Wednesday night with the opening night game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. The opener is part of a...
Brewers add to bullpen depth, acquire Woodford from Rays
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers boosted their bullpen depth Tuesday by acquiring right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford from the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league right-hander K.C. Hunt. Milwaukee made room for Woodford on its 40-man roster by transferring outfielder Akil Baddoo to the 60-day injured list. Woodford, 29, spent last...
Even with robot umpires, MLB managers will find reasons to argue and get ejected
TAMPA, Fla. — Kevin Cash isn’t worried that manager ejections will become a relic of baseball’s past just because robot umpires have arrived to settle some debates. “You only get two challenges, right? That can come up in the first inning,” the Tampa Bay Rays manager said. Manager tantrums at...
Robot strike zone will create winners and losers among pitchers, batters who earned human calls
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Kevin Gausman got 709 called strikes over the past decade on pitches out of the strike zone, tied for the third-highest total in the major leagues. “I would have thought maybe I was top 20 maybe, but top five is kind of kind of crazy,” the Toronto...
Rockies begin franchise makeover under leadership of DePodesta, Byrnes
DENVER — Two months ago, the Colorado Rockies assembled more than 300 of their scouts, coaches, business personnel and new baseball minds for a meeting at Coors Field. First order of business: an introduction. The main item: Getting everyone on the same page. Because turning around a franchise that has...
Former NL MVP McCutchen will open 18th MLB season on Rangers’ roster
ARLINGTON, Texas — Andrew McCutchen will be on the Opening Day roster for the Texas Rangers, who expect the 39-year-old former MVP outfielder to split some time at designated hitter, maybe play a few games in the field and be a mentor to their young, talented outfielders. Chris Young, the...
MLB season preview: Robot umpires, Dodgers try for 3 in row, Rays return to Trop as lockout looms
NEW YORK — Baseball is changing at a dizzying speed in 2026 with the arrival of robot umpires, the return home of the Tampa Bay Rays and an alphabet soup of networks televising games in perhaps the last season before a labor shutdown. Much has transpired in the 4 1/2...
2-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal could set more contract records next offseason
Tarik Skubal has won back-to-back AL Cy Young Awards and will make $32 million this season after winning his salary arbitration hearing. Detroit’s ace left-hander could next set more contract records for a pitcher in free agency. Skubal could become a free agent for the first time after the World...
NL West preview: Everyone still chasing World Series champion Dodgers
SAN FRANCISCO — Dave Roberts spent much of spring training thinking about how to manage the health of his two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers so they can play for the long haul once again. That’s what happens when a club competes deep into October year after year. Now, the...
AL East preview: Yankees, Blue Jays eye something more after recent AL pennants
The AL East hasn’t produced a World Series champion since 2018, equaling the longest drought in the history of this powerful division. The breakthrough almost came last year, when the Toronto Blue Jays led by two runs in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the World Series. The Los...
Konnor Griffin, Trey Yesavage and JJ Wetherholt among MLB’s most intriguing rookies
CHICAGO — Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin made a smooth transition to the major leagues last season. Kurtz was rewarded with the AL Rookie of the Year award, and Baldwin took home the NL honor. Here is a closer look at a group of rookies looking to have a similar...
NL Central preview: Loaded Cubs going for division title, but Brewers, Reds lurking
CHICAGO — Alex Bregman, welcome to the NL Central. Welcome back, Eugenio Suarez. Bregman is hoping to lead the Chicago Cubs to their first Central title since 2020 after signing a $175 million, five-year contract with the North Siders in free agency. But the competition is tough in a division...
NL East Preview: Phillies bring back core as they try to hold off new-look Mets, banged-up Braves
NEW YORK — Still powered by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies are bringing back mostly the same team that won its second consecutive NL East title last season and made a fourth straight playoff appearance. Time to take yet another run at that elusive World Series championship....
AL West Preview: Cal Raleigh and Mariners look to defend their first division title since 2001
Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners switched things up in the American League West last season, and got as close as they ever have to making a World Series. After winning their first division title since 2001, the Mariners are looking to do it again this year with slugging switch-hitting...
AL Central Preview: Tigers open as favorites while the White Sox try to climb out of the basement
The Detroit Tigers and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal have their sights set on winning the AL Central for the first time since 2014. The Chicago White Sox would love to simply get out of the division’s basement. As for the AL Central’s other three teams — the...
MLB might consider moving thriving World Baseball Classic to midseason
MIAMI — Having set attendance and broadcast viewer records, the World Baseball Classic will return in 2029 or 2030 and at some future point could be moved to midseason, when clubs would be less likely to restrict players. Since the WBC’s inception in 2006, it has been played during spring...
Cup of Joe: Oh well, at least Team USA honored the Padres
Cup of Joe: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less Yes, Team USA choked away the overrated World Baseball Classic, its vaunted lineup again coming up small in a 3-2 loss to Venezuela and journeyman pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez in the championship game. But at least they honored the San...
Venezuela beats U.S. on Eugenio Suárez’s 9th-inning double to win first World Baseball Classic title
MIAMI — Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rebounding from a blown eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 Tuesday night on Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth. Maikel Garcia’s third-inning sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu’s fifth-inning homer off rookie Nolan McLean built a...
Ball or strike? Bethel Park product Mason Miller seals U.S. victory over Dominican Republic on controversial call
MIAMI — Ten days later, the United States and the Dominican Republic would have kept on playing. Geraldo Perdomo watched Mason Miller’s full-count slider appear to drop just under the strike zone and took a step toward his team’s dugout on the third-base side, thinking he walked to put runners...
