Heliot Ramos’ wild Little League homer punctuates walk-off win for Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Heliot Ramos thought he’d just leg out an infield single to lead off the ninth inning in a tie game. He wound up circling the bases to win the game, capping his mad dash by diving across home plate in dramatic fashion. Ramos’ infield single followed by...
Cleveland fan ejected for heckling Red Sox star Jarren Duran, who revealed suicide attemptVideo
CLEVELAND — Jarren Duran has found plenty of support from his Boston Red Sox teammates and others outside baseball since he revealed in a Netflix documentary that he attempted suicide three years ago. His openness has also exposed him to hecklers, though. Duran said a fan in the front row...
Former Phillies slugger Ryan Howard makes pitch for Negro Leagues Baseball Museum expansion
PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard was a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies just putting baseball on notice with his moonshot home runs when he met Buck O’Neil, a champion of Black ballplayers during a monumental, eight-decade career on and off the field. Howard was introduced to O’Neil as a modern-day Josh...
Manfred eager to see how many fans turn out for the MLB Speedway Classic at BristolVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Major League Baseball has played at the “Field of Dreams” movie site. Now baseball is eager to see how big a crowd will show up for a game at a NASCAR bullring of a track. And Bristol Motor Speedway can hold a lot of people. It’s part...
Aaron Judge, Yankees angry over home run that wasn’t
TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were angry over the home run that wasn’t. Judge drove a changeup from Tampa Bay’s Eric Orze deep down the left-field line, high above the foul pole at Steinbrenner Field. Umpires called the ball foul, a decision upheld in a...
Ronald Acuña criticizes Braves manager Snitker’s response to Kelenic failing to hustle on long driveVideo
ATLANTA — Ronald Acuña Jr. watched with interest when Jarred Kelenic was thrown out at second base after failing to hustle out of the batter’s box on a long drive in the Atlanta Braves’ 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. Acuña went to social media to criticize the way manager...
Shohei Ohtani returns to Dodgers’ lineup with ‘dad strength’ after birth of daughter in California
ARLINGTON, Texas — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup Sunday for the series finale against the Texas Rangers, activated off the paternity list after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child in Southern California. The 30-year-old Ohtani, who didn’t address the media before...
Fox Chapel, Seton Hill product Patrick Monteverde promoted to Marlins
Pitcher Patrick Monteverde is on his way to the big leagues. The 27-year-old left-hander out of Fox Chapel received a call-up Saturday to the Miami Marlins. He had been with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the International League. Monteverde, who played at Seton Hill and is the first Griffins...
Rockies hire former Pirates manager Clint Hurdle as hitting coachVideo
DENVER — The Colorado Rockies fired hitting coach Hensley Meulens and replaced him with former manager Clint Hurdle — who also managed the Pirates — on Thursday. The Rockies, who had the day off before starting a series against the Nationals, are 3-15. They are hitting .220, tied for 27th...
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred meets with President Donald Trump at White House
NEW YORK — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred met this week at the White House with President Donald Trump. “President Trump is a longtime fan of baseball,” MLB said in a statement Thursday. “As he has done in the past, Commissioner Manfred was pleased to visit the White House again to...
What is Jackie Robinson Day around Major League Baseball and why is it always on April 15?
LOS ANGELES — Jackie Robinson’s legacy is being celebrated around the major leagues on Tuesday, with the day named for the first Black baseball player of the modern era and marking the 78th anniversary of his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson’s historic achievement preceded President Harry S. Truman’s desegregation...
Pedro Martinez says he has family members unaccounted for in Dominican nightclub roof collapseVideo
Dominican-born Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez said Wednesday he has family members unaccounted for who were inside the Santo Domingo nightclub when its roof collapsed. The 53-year-old Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, about 10 miles west of the Dominican Republic’s capital city. At least 124 people were killed and...
Guerrero, Blue Jays agree to a $500 million, 14-year deal that starts in 2026
NEW YORK — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a $500 million, 14-year contract that starts in 2026, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press, a deal that removes what would have been the biggest star from next offseason’s free-agent market. The person...
Some diehard baseball fans in sports-crazed Sacramento welcome Athletics and hope they stay awhileVideo
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Van Thompson walked through the busy concourse shortly before first pitch and sang along to the national anthem, a white Athletics ball cap in hand covering his heart. Earlier Wednesday morning, Susan Falcon took her dog out on the other side of town near a bustling...
Braves are desperate for recovery as they enter their home opener as the majors’ only winless teamVideo
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves’ longest winless start since 2016 has left manager Brian Snitker desperate for a recovery he hopes begins with the team’s home opener against Miami on Friday night. Atlanta blew a 5-0 lead and lost 6-5 on Shohei Ohtani’s ninth-inning homer Wednesday night. The loss left...
Demand for viral ‘torpedo’ baseball bats has sent a Pennsylvania factory into overdrive
KING OF PRUSSIA — A 70-year-old man who plays in an area senior hardball league popped into Victus Sports this week because he needed bats for the new season. Plus he just had to take some cuts with baseball’s latest fad and see for himself if there really was some...
U mad, bro?: Perpetual position problems, Tony Award-level QB drama fatigues fans in PittsburghVideo
It’s Final Four week. But we’ve got many more entries than that for this week’s “U mad, bro?” None of them reference college basketball, though. With so much going on surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB hunt, Penguins goaltending uncertainty and early Pirates woes, our blind rage over Duke making another...
Jackson Merrill, Padres agree to $135 million, 9-year contract for 2026-34
SAN DIEGO — All-Star outfielder Jackson Merrill and the San Diego Padres agreed Wednesday to a $135 million, nine-year contract covering 2026-34. Merrill gets a $10 million signing bonus, $1 million payable within 30 days of the contract’s approval by Major League Baseball and $3 million on Jan. 15 in...
Garrett Crochet agrees to $170 million, 6-year deal with Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox believe their way back to the World Series will begin with a youth movement on the mound. They are hopeful their latest move is a step in that direction. Boston and ace left-hander Garrett Crochet announced an agreement Tuesday for a record-breaking $170 million, six-year contract....
Torpedo bat designer says it’s more about the players than the bat model
MIAMI — For the MIT-educated physicist behind the torpedo bat, it’s more about the talent of the players than their lumber at the plate. The torpedo model — a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like...
Braves’ Jurickson Profar gets 80-game PED ban, calls it ‘most difficult day’ of his career
NEW YORK — Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar has been suspended for 80 games without pay for performance-enhancing drug use. Major League Baseball announced Monday that Profar tested positive for Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) in violation of the league’s joint drug prevention and treatment program. The suspension of Profar is effective...
Torpedo-shaped bats draw attention after Yankees hit team-record 9 homers in rout of BrewersVideo
NEW YORK — New torpedo bats drew attention when the New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers that traveled a combined 3,695 feet on Saturday. Using a strikingly different model in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like...
Terry Francona has rough opening day in debut as Reds managerVideo
CINCINNATI — Terry Francona’s first Opening Day as manager of the Cincinnati Reds started in a dentist’s chair. About 12 hours later, Francona was experiencing baseball’s equivalent of a root canal. The Reds were one out away from a successful debut for Francona, until the San Francisco Giants rallied for...
Nashville group finds partner in search for land that could become the site of an MLB-ready stadiumVideo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Music City Baseball is teaming with a property company in hopes of buying land that one day could serve as the home of a Major League Baseball team. The deal between Music City Baseball and Lincoln Property Co. announced Tuesday is designed to secure land for a...
There’s no easy answers for slowing down rising level of pitching injuries at all levels of baseballVideo
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy. Finding a solution could prove much more challenging. Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on...
