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...
If baseball wants its pitchers focused on durability, the rules of the game might have to change
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Bold decisions to change Major League Baseball’s longstanding rules quickened the pace of games and revived the popularity of stealing bases over the last few years. A similarly creative move may be needed to help starting pitching regain the relevance it enjoyed as recently as a decade...
Yankees mourn the death of Brett Gardner’s youngest sonVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees shared tragic news Sunday afternoon, announcing the death of Brett Gardner’s youngest son, Miller. According to a statement released by the former Yankees outfielder and his wife, Jessica, Miller died after falling ill on vacation. He was 14. “We have so many questions...
NL West Preview: Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres lead a loaded division
Could October deliver another thrilling slugfest between the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres? Or, it could be the Arizona Diamondbacks’ turn again on the big fall stage. In the loaded NL West, Shohei Ohtani and the big-money Dodgers remain the team to beat after winning 11 of...
NL East Preview: Juan Soto joins Mets in power-packed division with Phillies and Braves
NEW YORK — Juan Soto is back in the NL East, a much richer man with a new address and a different uniform. Same powerful bat, though. Again a serious problem for Braves and Phillies pitchers. Following a World Series appearance for the New York Yankees last year, Soto jumped...
NL Central Preview: Brewers looking to hold off Cubs and Reds at top of division
CHICAGO — Christian Yelich and Milwaukee finished on top of the NL Central each of the past two seasons. A three-peat is going to be quite the challenge. While the Brewers had a quiet winter in the wake of their third division title in four years, the Chicago Cubs revamped...
AL West Preview: The Astros will look different, and that could mean a new division champ this year
The Houston Astros will certainly look different when trying to continue their impressive run of AL West titles, after letting two of their best hitters go and with Jose Altuve likely moving to left field. This could be the season that another team finally overtakes the Astros as division champs....
AL East Preview: Yankees and Orioles are still talented, but the race at the top could be tighter
Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes are gone from the division, and although the Yankees and Orioles can certainly succeed without them, the AL East seems noticeably tougher to predict this year. In 2023, Baltimore and Tampa Bay won 101 and 99 games, with the rest of the division another 10...
AL Central Preview: Four solid teams, and then the White Sox
The American League Central was a surprisingly strong division last season, with four teams finishing above .500. Then there was the Chicago White Sox — who racked up 121 losses for the most defeats in modern Major League Baseball history. Expect more of the same in 2025. The defending champion...
MLB preview: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers hope to become 1st repeat champs since ’98-’00 YankeesVideo
Shohei Ohtani was in the batter’s box for the season’s first pitch Tuesday, arriving at the Tokyo Dome coronated a World Series champion. Twenty-nine other teams will be trying to dethrone his Los Angeles Dodgers, who flexed their financial might again during the offseason hoping to become the first repeat...
Pitcher Julio Urías suspended through the All-Star break under domestic violence policy
NEW YORK — Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was suspended through the All-Star break by Major League Baseball on Friday under its domestic violence policy with the players’ association. Urías had pleaded no contest last May to one count of misdemeanor domestic battery. The penalty was the second...
Former Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy returns to Padres as special assistant to CEO
SAN DIEGO — Jake Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner and member of the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame, has joined the team as special assistant to CEO Erik Greupner. Greupner said Thursday the three-time All-Star will assist multiple departments and serve as a team ambassador. “I’m...
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani deliver in MLB season opener
TOKYO — Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five strong innings, Shohei Ohtani had two hits and scored twice and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, on Tuesday in MLB’s season opener at the Tokyo Dome. Playing in front of their home country, Yamamoto and Cubs...
Shohei Ohtani merchandise is prompting long lines — even in the rain — in Tokyo
TOKYO — The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani an unprecedented $700 million contract hoping to drive interest — and the dollars that come with it — from fans across the Pacific. It seems to be working. He’s the main attraction as the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the MLB...
Dodgers’ Mookie Betts struggling with illness; status for Opening Day in doubt
TOKYO — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is still struggling to recover from an illness, with manager Dave Roberts pessimistic the eight-time All-Star will be ready for Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in Japan. Betts was able to go through a light workout Sunday but became...
Tampa Bay Rays withdraw from planned $1.3 billion ballpark in St. Petersburg, citing storms, delays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday withdrew from a $1.3 billion ballpark project, citing hurricanes and delays that likely will drive up the proposal’s cost. The team issued a statement by principal owner Stuart Sternberg saying that “a series of events” in October, which included severe...
