ATLANTA — Andruw Jones, the iconic former Braves center fielder, was not elected to the Hall of Fame in his eighth year on the ballot. His gains suggest he could be inducted in either of the next two years, but he’ll need a bump in support.

Jones appeared on 66.2% of ballots, an increase from his 61.6% in 2024. A player must be on 75% of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Ichiro Suzuki is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

That has long been the assumption among baseball fans regarding the Japanese outfielder who played the majority of his 19-year MLB career with the Seattle Mariners, along with stints with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins.

On Tuesday, that assumption is set to become reality, ...Read more

NEW YORK — CC Sabathia’s career ended abruptly.

Yes, the longtime Yankees left-hander had announced months earlier his plans to retire after the 2019 season, but his final appearance did not go as ceremoniously as Derek Jeter’s or Mariano Rivera’s.

As an appreciative Yankee Stadium crowd chanted “CC” in the eighth inning of an ALCS...Read more

NEW YORK — In Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, the Baseball Writers Association delivered quite an eclectic trifecta to Cooperstown on Tuesday.

The first Japanese player ever elected to the Hall of Fame, a reformed alcoholic, and an under-sized, under-rated strikeout artist from rural Virginia who finally made it in his last year ...Read more

SEATTLE — Ichiro's iconic baseball career has formally reached its historic capstone.

The Mariners’ all-time hits leader received the expected call Tuesday afternoon officially welcoming him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

Ichiro was the first Japanese position player to appear in an MLB game, and he will be the first ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — A preteen from Paul Skenes' home state has secured one of the most coveted baseball cards in the game.

Topps announced Tuesday that a special print card, which features Skenes' autograph and a jersey patch from the right-hander's MLB debut, was uncovered by an 11-year-old collector hailing from Los Angeles. Skenes, 22, was named ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Another day, another impact player potentially joining the Dodgers.

After adding star Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki on Friday, then agreeing to a four-year contract with top free-agent reliever Tanner Scott on Sunday, the Dodgers were closing in Tuesday morning on a deal with right-handed reliever Kirby Yates, according to a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It has become a predictable talking point around baseball the last couple of offseasons, amplified every time the Dodgers sign a star on what has become an increasingly common contract for the club.

Nine times in the last five years, the Dodgers agreed to deals with significant amounts of deferred money — large portions of ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — They could name a roller coaster at Kennywood after what David Bednar has experienced over the past 10 months or so, the frustrations of a down year in 2024 juxtaposed with the excitement of soon becoming a new dad.

It's not all that dissimilar to the highs and lows experienced by Bednar's beloved Steelers, although he'd probably...Read more

CHICAGO — The 38th Chicago Cubs Convention fittingly ended around the same time as the brief TikTok outage, giving Cubs fans and TikTok users a chance to reboot their attention spans.

It’s going to be a long ride in 2025, so hop on board at your own risk.

It was, as advertised, the most interesting, buzz-creating and media-fueled Cubs ...Read more

BALTIMORE — During his eight years with Baltimore, Anthony Santander played under two regimes, endured a painful rebuild and saw the ballclub sold. Throughout it all, Santander became one of baseball’s best power hitters, made an All-Star Game and earned the lucrative contract he received Monday.

Santander, a fan-favorite, has officially ...Read more

CHICAGO — When the Chicago Cubs handed Craig Counsell a five-year, $40 million contract to become the highest-paid manager in baseball, they didn’t do it for his sparkling personality or quotability.

Simply put, Counsell was brought to the Cubs to win.

The 2024 team was basically the same group the Cubs had in 2023, along with a few ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — This time last year, discussions about Paul Skenes centered around whether the former No. 1 overall pick would start the season in Triple-A or the big leagues.

Much has changed in the time between then and the second day of PiratesFest on Sunday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Skenes turned in a marvelous season in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Roki Sasaki might have been the exclamation point on yet another big Dodgers offseason.

But the team isn't done adding to its 2025 roster yet.

In another splashy offseason signing Sunday morning, the Dodgers agreed to a four-year, $72-million deal with lockdown left-handed reliever Tanner Scott, according to multiple people ...Read more

NEW YORK — By now one would hope Pete Alonso has finally gotten the memo: The New York Mets never wanted him back. That’s why they never budged off their three-year offer in the $70 million range to him when he and his agent Scott Boras continued to push, first, for six and five-year deals and finally three years with an annual average value...Read more

SAN DIEGO — You can’t hit a home run from the dugout.

The Padres were right to pursue Roki Sasaki, even though, by the time the Japanese pitching ace chose Friday to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, much of their offseason had come and gone to little effect.

The potential reward was far too great to not recruit Sasaski, who, according to...Read more

CHICAGO — When Sammy Sosa apologized in a statement last month for making “mistakes” over the course of his baseball career, the question of exactly what those mistakes were was left hanging.

After reuniting with the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk and being named to their Hall of Fame, Sosa briefly ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the wake of Roki Sasaki's announcement Friday that he was signing with the Dodgers, it didn't take long for grumbles about his free agency to emerge.

Over the last year, there had been speculation around the sport that the Dodgers had a possible handshake agreement in place with Sasaki, before the 23-year-old phenom was even ...Read more