Baseball

PEORIA, ARIZONA – Former major league star Ichiro Suzuki said Friday that by putting pro baseball in the United States and Japan on hold, the current coronavirus pandemic has made him realize ballplayers cannot take their game for granted. Speaking to Kyodo News on the anniversary of his retirement, Suzuki, […]

NEW YORK – Let’s play two? Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black would be down for doubleheaders. Maybe even a couple a week. That might be a necessity to make up games once a baseball season delayed by the new coronavirus gets under way. “In theory, yeah, I think all of […]

FUKUOKA – Carter Stewart, who turned his back on major league baseball to sign with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks a year ago, made his first-team debut in a practice game on Friday. With Nippon Professional Baseball’s season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, clubs began playing practice games on […]

BOSTON – Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale will have Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, an operation that would keep him out the entire 2020 baseball season if and when it resumes after the coronavirus pandemic. “There’s no real way to sugarcoat this. It’s not what anyone wants,” […]

NEW YORK – Major League Baseball is considering skipping its amateur draft this year and putting off the next international signing period as a way to preserve cash while games are affected by the new coronavirus, people familiar with the discussions said. Talks between management and the players’ association are […]

There are a few trains of thought about spring training. One of the most prevalent, is that it doesn’t matter. Or to be more precise, the results don’t matter. The win-loss records don’t count for anything and are largely forgotten the second the first pitch of the regular season is […]

NEW YORK – Major League Baseball pushed back opening day until mid-May at the earliest on Monday because of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, after the federal government recommended restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement following […]

Hideaki Wakui gave himself a passing grade following his start against the Yomiuri Giants on Sunday, the final scheduled day of preseason games in Japanese baseball. Wakui allowed a pair of runs over five innings in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ victory. Despite a shaky finish and the two runs […]

JIM, ALLEN – Jerry Sands may be a longshot bet to have success with the Hanshin Tigers this season, but Korean pro baseball’s 2019 RBI leader has a history of bucking long odds. Sands turned pro after being selected in the 25th round of Major League Baseball’s 2008 amateur draft, […]

NEW YORK – Baltimore slugger Chris Davis was driving down Florida’s west coast on Interstate 75 from Sarasota to Fort Myers for an exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins when he got the call. No game tonight. No games for a while. “Pretty shocked,” Davis said, “just how quickly things […]