PITTSBURGH — Be careful what you wish for.

I’m still reeling from the fact that Andrew McCutchen spoke those words at PiratesFest last weekend, in defense of team owner Bob Nutting — the man who didn’t have the guts to take questions during the “Ask Pirates Management” session, instead putting human shield/CEO Travis Williams in ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Braves tried to sign right-hander Jeff Hoffman … but he failed his physical with them, had another one flagged by Baltimore and then signed with Toronto.

The Braves sought prized young starter Garrett Crochet in a trade … but the White Sox ended up dealing him to Boston.

The Braves did not land either, but the two ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Invincible.

The word first came to mind Wednesday afternoon when the Dodgers held a news conference to introduce a nervous kid who has never played a minute in the major leagues.

Nearly 100 reporters still showed up to gawk at their greatness.

Invincible.

The word jumped out again when I queried co-owner Peter Guber, who was ...Read more

SEATTLE — It’s likely we’ll never uncover the identity of the one voter who did not include Ichiro on his or her Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Ichiro would like to meet that person, though.

“I was able to receive many votes from the writers, and I’m grateful for them,” Ichiro said through interpreter Allen Turner during a news ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Houston Astros are hated because they cheated. The Dodgers are not cheating. Outside Los Angeles, however, they are hated a little more every day.

The supply of money appears endless. So does the line of All-Stars. But the deferred contracts are what might irk the haters the most.

The defending World Series champions have ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Where to begin with Ichiro Suzuki? With how he’d appropriate his daily lunch of chicken wings from seven to five pieces, or vice versa, as needed to weigh 172 pounds?

How he’d put his ear to his bat and tap it with his finger for a harmonic sound only he heard to decide it was worthy?

Or, since he was in ...Read more

SEATTLE — Twenty, maybe 25 years from now, do you see a player entering the Baseball Hall of Fame with a Mariners cap on?

If Félix Hernández, the former Cy Young winner who finished with just more than 20% of the vote this year, doesn’t garner enough support — is a current M up next, after Ichiro was voted in this week?

You have multi-...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers aren’t ruining baseball. No one is ruining baseball. But if you want to be mad at a ball club for eroding parity in the game, if you’re peeved about the super-duper team that’s not your team, then go yell at the … Angels.

Maybe you’ve already forgotten — sometimes it feels like people have — but once ...Read more

City Administrator Rob Gerdes has told the Tampa Bay Rays in a letter that St. Petersburg is under no obligation to repair Tropicana Field in time for opening day 2026, as the Rays now expect.

The back-and-forth written exchange between the Rays and the Pinellas County Commission over next steps after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodger Stadium remains under construction, in the midst of significant offseason renovations for the defending World Series champions.

But hundreds of reporters flocked to Chavez Ravine nonetheless Wednesday, to witness the team put one of the key final touches on its 2025 roster.

Less than a week after announcing he would sign...Read more

SEATTLE — There are two people you could talk about.

But only one Ichiro.

On Tuesday, Ichiro — perhaps the most globally impactful player to ever grace the game — earned election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His induction, of course, was never in question, cemented by 4,367 hits across 28 seasons and two continents. He bagged...Read more

ATLANTA — Thus far, the story of the Braves' offseason could be written on a Post-it Note, and probably a small one.

The club has made no moves of consequence, and pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 10 to North Port, Fla. The countdown clock is draining away.

Without a notable acquisition, here’s a guess at two names that ...Read more

NEW YORK — Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, are accused of covering up the sexual abuse of a minor at their church and in their home, according to a lawsuit filed in New York.

The complaint claims the couple hid the abuse of a young girl associated with their church, Refuge of Hope in New Rochelle, where 55-year...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When Roki Sasaki sat down for a sushi dinner with Dodgers officials and players last week, days before agreeing to sign with the club in one of the biggest coups of baseball's offseason, Shohei Ohtani was one of several stars in attendance.

It wasn't the first time the former Japanese teammates had dined together in recent ...Read more

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