In Year 2 with new rules, stolen bases in MLB could keep piling up
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Trea Turner’s speed and instincts helped him go perfect on the bases. The Philadelphia Phillies’ star shortstop set a major-league record for most steals in a season without getting caught, going 30 for 30 on the basepaths last year. He wasn’t the only player who had a...
Column: Greatest team or biggest flop? The 2024 Dodgers will decide their place in history
They opened the season surrounded by strangers in a tiny, rattling dome in South Korea. They played two games witnessed in Los Angeles only by those fans willing to awaken in the middle of the night. By the time they embarked on the 6,000-mile flight home, all hell had broken...
Mark Madden: Something seems sketchy with Shohei Ohtani, but does MLB want to know?
As MLB and the NBA face calamitous gambling scandals, one wonders how ESPN covers them without casting a bad light on ESPNBet, the company’s online sportsbook. Networks and leagues are sponsored so heavily by bookies. It’s everywhere. (My radio program, too.) Gambling and sports are directly and massively intertwined now,...
MLB’s new managers adjusting to jobs as Opening Day approaches
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Joe Espada has worked for an impressive group of managers. Espada was an assistant for three managers who have won a World Series in Joe Girardi, A.J. Hinch and Dusty Baker before becoming a skipper for the first time after the Houston Astros hired him...
Shohei Ohtani says he never bet on sports, interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole money, told liesVideo
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports, and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole money from him and told lies. Ohtani held a news conference at Dodger Stadium, five days after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers in the wake of reports from the Los...
Longtime Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos dies at 94
BALTIMORE — Peter Angelos, owner of a Baltimore Orioles team that endured long losing stretches and shrewd proprietor of a law firm that won high-profile cases against industry titans, died Saturday. He was 94. Angelos had been ill for several years. His family announced his death in a statement thanking...
White Sox release infielder Mike Moustakas, outfielder Kevin Pillar
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Chicago White Sox released infielder Mike Moustakas and outfielder Kevin Pillar on Friday. Both were in camp on minor league deals. The moves increase the likelihood of Gavin Sheets making the team’s opening-day roster. The 35-year-old Moustakas hit .247 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs in...
MLB investigating gambling, theft allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into illegal gambling and theft allegations involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara was let go from the team Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties...
In Japan, Shohei Ohtani’s ‘perfect person’ image could take a hit
SEOUL, South Korea — Shohei Ohtani is referred to in Japan as “kanpeki no hito” — the perfect person — because of his manners and impeccable behavior. That image may have taken a hit when the Dodgers fired his good friend and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara on Wednesday over allegations he...
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter fired by Dodgers after allegations of illegal gambling, theft
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter and close friend was fired from the Los Angeles Dodgers after allegations of illegal gambling and theft from the Japanese baseball star. Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was let go from the team Wednesday following reports from The Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged...
Ohtani, Dodgers rally to beat Padres in season opener and 1st MLB game in South Korea
SEOUL, South Korea — Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single capped a four-run eighth-inning rally in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 in Wednesday night’s major league opener, the sport’s first game in South Korea. The game turned when a routine grounder went through the webbing...
Reports: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole expected to miss at least 1-2 months
TAMPA, Fla. — After days of uncertainty, New York Yankees ace and former Pittsburgh Pirates star Gerrit Cole is expected to miss at least one to two months, according to multiple reports. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Mark W. Sanchez were the first to report that, along with...
50 years later, Tommy John surgery remains a game-changer
GLENDALE, Ariz. — There is a bridge that runs from Tommy John and Dr. Frank Jobe in 1974, all the way to Shohei Ohtani, Justin Verlander and Bryce Harper. A thread that connects an increasing number of baseball’s biggest stars. Mostly on the mound, but at the plate, too. An...
Joey Votto says he has agreed to minor league contract with hometown Toronto Blue JaysVideo
TORONTO — Former NL MVP Joey Votto said he agreed to a minor league contract with his hometown Toronto Blue Jays. The 40-year-old first baseman became a free agent last fall after the end of a $251.5 million, 12-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds, his only team over 17 major...
A’s release renderings of new Las Vegas domed stadium that resembles famous opera house
LAS VEGAS — The Oakland Athletics and their design teams released renderings Tuesday of the club’s planned $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas that show five overlapping layers with a similar look to the famous Sydney Opera House. The A’s hope to move into that 33,000-seat domed stadium in 2028,...
Astros ace Justin Verlander to start season on injured list
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will open the season on the injured list after dealing with right shoulder inflammation during the offseason, which could jeopardize his conditional $35 million option for 2025. Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday the 41-year-old Verlander hasn’t suffered any setbacks...
Phillies sign ace Zack Wheeler to $126 million, 3-year deal
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed with ace Zack Wheeler on a three-year contract worth a reported $126 million, and his $42 million average salary would be the highest in franchise history. The Phillies announced that Wheeler had agreed to the new deal Monday. The Phillies scheduled an 11...
Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says company unfairly blamed for new MLB uniforms
BOSTON — Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says his company is being unfairly blamed for new Major League Baseball uniforms that have see-through pants and other fit and design problems. “This is a little bit of a difficult position,” he said Friday at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. “We’re purely...
Stacy Wakefield had a passion for service that continued after husband Tim Wakefield’s deathVideo
Stacy Wakefield had somewhere she needed to be. Two months after her husband — longtime Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, died from cancer — and with the disease wreaking havoc inside her own body, she was back at Boston’s Dana Farber Children’s Hospital, delivering presents and some cheer to...
Phillies are scrapping $1 hot dog nights as a result of unruly fan behavior
PHILADELPHIA — For more than a quarter-century, Phillies fans considered dollar hot dog night among the best ballpark promotions — but the team has now decided it was the wurst. Those dog days of April — when the Philly weather is cold and the wieners are a steal — are...
Stacy Wakefield dies less than 5 months after her husband, World Series champion Tim Wakefield
Stacy Wakefield, the widow of former Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and two-time World Series champion Tim Wakefield, has died. Her family said in a statement released through the Red Sox that she died Wednesday at her Massachusetts home, less than five months after her husband died at...
Shohei Ohtani shows he’s ‘built differently,’ slugs 2-run HR in Dodgers debut
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani stepped into the bright Arizona sun, carrying the weight of a $700 million contract and the expectations that go with it, before launching a two-run homer in his first exhibition game for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not a bad way to endear himself to his...
Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani will make his spring training debut Tuesday
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Spring training Sho-time starts Tuesday with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani will make his exhibition debut with the Dodgers when he serves as the designated hitter for Los Angeles on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. Los Angeles has been taking it slowly with the two-way...
Cody Bellinger returning to Cubs on $80M, 3-year deal
Cody Bellinger is going back to the Chicago Cubs, agreeing to an $80 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press. The slugger can opt out of the deal after each of the first two seasons, according to the person who spoke to the AP...
MLB players miffed at sport’s new see-through pants, relaying concerns to league
PEORIA, Ariz. — MLB’s new uniform reveal hasn’t gone very well. Now some of the rampant criticism has moved below the belt. Major League Baseball Players Association deputy executive director Bruce Meyer confirmed on Thursday that the organization is relaying concerns from players to MLB about the new pants, which...
