Baseball

NEW YORK – Hyun-Jin Ryu is headed north of the border to a Toronto Blue Jays team in dire need of starting pitching. One that was willing to pay for it, too. Ryu and the Blue Jays agreed to an $80 million, four-year contract, according to a person familiar with […]

Kazuhisa Ishii did not become the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ general manger in 2018 to just sit back and be idle. The former NPB and MLB pitcher has been busy in his role as a mover and shaker in the Eagles’ front office. Busy doing what, however, is still up […]

NEW YORK – Computer plate umpires could be called up to the major leagues at some point during the next five seasons. Umpires agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball in the development and testing of an automated ball-strike system as part of a five-year labor contract announced Saturday, two […]

NEW YORK – The average salary in the major leagues has dropped in consecutive years for the first time since the players’ association started keeping records more than a half-century ago. The 988 players on Aug. 31 rosters and injured lists averaged $4,051,490, the union said Friday, down 1.1 percent […]

It’s possible around this time next year, we might be reminiscing about the Summer of Seiya 2020. It’s not at all far-fetched. There aren’t many players going into the new year with as much momentum behind them as Seiya Suzuki, the Hiroshima Carp’s resident superstar outfielder. Suzuki got a raise […]

NEW YORK – Gerrit Cole brought along a sign for the news conference to announce his signing with the New York Yankees: a crinkled poster board that read “Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever.” Then 11, Cole was caught on camera holding up that placard in the seats at Game 6 […]

LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani has completed rehab from the right elbow surgery he underwent in October 2018, the Los Angeles Angels announced Thursday. The 25-year-old has made progress in his bid to return to the mound next season. He played as a designated hitter this year while recovering from […]

PHOENIX – The first act of Madison Bumgarner’s baseball career consisted of 11 hugely successful seasons that included three World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants. The 30-year-old left-handed pitcher believes his second act in Arizona can be just as memorable. The Diamondbacks finalized their $85 million, five-year contract […]

TAIPEI – The Japanese owner of Taiwan’s first foreign-owned pro baseball club unveiled the new name and uniform of the team on Tuesday, hoping to apply his experience in Japan to attract more fans to the team’s home stadium in Taiwan. Hiroshi Mikitani, founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc., told […]

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – Yoshitomo Tsutsugo quickly felt right at home inside Tropicana Field. One day after the Rays announced the completion of a $12 million, two-year contract with Tsutsugo, the former Yokohama BayStars captain began his opening statement at his introductory news conference Tuesday in English. “Thank you so […]