Walks and game time up, pitches in strike zone down through first full month of MLB’s robot umpires
NEW YORK — Walks are up 7.3% as pitches in the strike zone dropped markedly and the average time of games increased by 5 minutes through the first full month of MLB’s initial season with robot umpires. Average attendance increased 2.8%, and the big league batting average went up by...
Don Mattingly thought he was done, then Phillies pinned hopes on him
PHILADELPHIA — Don Mattingly thew in the towel on his managerial career and had all but retired from baseball after he left his bench coach job with the Toronto Blue Jays following the World Series. Prodded by his son, Mattingly decided to give baseball another go, and he accepted a...
Phillies fire manager Rob Thomson after losing 11 of 12 games, name Don Mattingly interim skipper
PHILADELPHIA — Manager Rob Thomson, who led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, was fired on Tuesday after Philadelphia lost 11 of 12 games and began the day tied for last place in the majors. Bench coach Don Mattingly was named interim manager through...
Direction of the Boston Red Sox feels ‘up in the air’ after Cora’s firing, Trevor Story says
BALTIMORE — Less than 24 hours after the Boston Red Sox shockingly fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff, infielder Trevor Story said the club’s path forward feels unclear. “I mean obviously, it’s kind of up in the air what the true direction is,” the two-time...
Boston Red Sox fire manager Alex Cora and 5 coaches
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox have fired manager Alex Cora, who led them to the World Series championship and a franchise-record 108 regular-season wins in 2018. Chad Tracy, who had been managing the team’s Triple-A Worcester affiliate, will serve as interim manager with the major league club. “Alex Cora...
Brewers 2nd team to face AL, NL Cy Young winners in consecutive games
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers had the daunting task of facing the AL and NL Cy Young Award winners in consecutive games. The results were mixed, with both ending in losses for the defending NL Central champions. After having late-inning success against the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal on Thursday in Detroit,...
Devin Williams gets the win (and the save) after Mets bullpen mixup
NEW YORK — Already struggling to win games, the New York Mets also had difficulty figuring out which pitcher was supposed to be on the mound Thursday night. Closer Devin Williams headed to the mound from the bullpen to start the ninth inning after Bo Bichette’s go-ahead, three-run double. And...
Players say MLB’s robot umpires are shrinking the strike zone
PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald knows that — in theory — Major League Baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike system shouldn’t favor batters or pitchers. In practice, he thinks one side has gained an advantage. And it’s not the guys throwing the baseball. “It’s what (MLB) wanted — people on...
Francisco Lindor defends manager Carlos Mendoza after Mets drop 11th straight game
CHICAGO — The losses are piling up for the New York Mets, and Francisco Lindor thinks the criticism surrounding the team is about to get very loud. It’s already pretty noisy. New York dropped its 11th consecutive game when closer Devin Williams blew a ninth-inning lead in a 2-1 loss...
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...
