ATLANTA — In a week where so much of the focus was on players who weren’t playing in the All-Star Game, and those who were selected who weren’t seen as deserving, it was the player who had been in more Midsummer Classics than anyone else who delivered the most profound reminder.

Before the start of Major League Baseball’s 95th All-Star ...Read more

SEATTLE — The Amarillo (Texas) Sod Poodles play in a stadium called “Hodgetown,” which features a berm beyond the right-field fence and a massive blue batter’s eye stretching skyward in center. The baseball Lazaro Montes bombarded on June 27 cleared all of the above.

With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Sod Poodles pitcher ...Read more

ATLANTA — Nobody beat The Miz at the All-Star Game.

Just don’t tell the Phillies.

Jacob Misiorowski was a central figure over the two days in Atlanta after being named last week to the National League roster as a replacement. The 23-year-old Milwaukee Brewers rookie sensation has reached a maximum velocity of 102.4 mph on his fastball this...Read more

ATLANTA — Making his seventh All-Star Game appearance Tuesday night at Truist Park, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge suddenly felt ancient at age 33.

“My biggest takeaway is that I keep getting older,” Judge said. “You keep seeing young guys come in here. I look over to see the A’s Jacob Wilson, who’s 23 years old and starting ...Read more

ATLANTA — I arrived to the concourse beyond the left-field stands Monday evening with a glove and a hope for what could be.

Ditching the press box for the outfield stands seemed to offer the most potential for fun in the Home Run Derby at Truist Park, the precursor to Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

I envisioned home run balls falling like ...Read more

ATLANTA — More than nine months have passed since the Pohlad family announced its intention to explore a sale of the Minnesota Twins, but the delay in finding a buyer, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Tuesday, does not mean there are no bidders willing to meet the Pohlads’ price.

In fact, the commissioner said, “I ...Read more

ATLANTA — The hierarchy of stars was obvious even in the table arrangements.

At an All-Star Game media day event on Monday at the Roxy Coca-Cola Theater in Atlanta, the Dodgers' five All-Star representatives were in the same area of the large venue.

In the first row, basking under large spotlights near an elevated stage, Shohei Ohtani, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dan Serafini was a first-round draft pick from a prestigious private high school. He pitched professionally for 22 seasons and earned more than $14 million while with six Major League teams and two in the Japanese League.

Now he might spend the rest of his life in prison.

Serafini, 51, was convicted Monday of first-degree ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mitch Voit had plenty to celebrate on Sunday after being selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2025 MLB draft.

Chances are, that celebration did not resemble the now-infamous one the former Michigan infielder performed during a game against USC on March 16 in Ann Arbor.

With two outs in the bottom of the second ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — In addition to hot dogs, rain delays or keeping score, an essential part of baseball has always been appreciating nuance, a swift baserunning decision or keeping the double play in order, a smart sequence of pitches or a solid two-strike approach.

We've lost our appreciative and understanding minds when it comes to Oneil Cruz.

...Read more

Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini was convicted Monday of murdering his father-in-law and attempting to murder his mother-in-law in 2021.

Serafini, 51, fatally shot Gary Spohr and seriously wounded Wendy Wood after breaking into their home in North Lake Tahoe, Calif., on June 5, 2021. Spohr, 70, and Wood, 68, were the parents of Serafini’s wife...Read more

ATLANTA — If the Rays make the playoffs, they now know where they will play home games: at Steinbrenner Field.

Major League Baseball has decided the Rays will get to remain in their interim home despite the small capacity, which has been 10,046 during the regular season.

“Our rule has always been that people play in their home stadiums ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball will not cancel its 2028 All-Star Game in order to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics, Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday.

Manfred said representatives of the league and LA28 met Monday, with both sides hoping to work toward an agreement in which major leaguers would play in the Olympics. MLB has ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Eighteen days before the trade deadline, the Phillies might have resolved their bullpen crisis.

They took right-handed fireballer Gage Wood, the kid who threw a no-hitter for Arkansas in the College World Series, in the first round of the MLB draft.

They then took left-handed sling-shooter Cade Obermueller, Wes Obermueller’s...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The name was a surprise, but the pick should not have been.

The bromide about teams picking the best available player rather than drafting for need does not apply to the Angels, at least not in the Perry Minasian era. The Angels' front office must try to win now, with an ownership that does not believe in rebuilding, and without...Read more

ATLANTA — Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, whose home run total has been the talk of Major League Baseball, had a power surge when it mattered most in the opening round of the Home Run Derby, propelling him to the championship.

After surviving a real chance of getting knocked out in the opening round, Raleigh cruised through the ...Read more

ATLANTA — The suspension of former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías ends Wednesday. The next day, Major League Baseball will remove him from its restricted list, and any team that wishes to sign him can do so.

Scott Boras, the agent for Urías, said the pitcher — the only player suspended twice for violating baseball's policy on ...Read more

ATLANTA — What a difference a year has made for Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo, an All-Star for the first time in Tuesday's game at Truist Park after having one of the best first halves of any pitcher in baseball.

Woo is among the American League leaders in several pitching categories, ranking tied for first (with Houston's Framber Valdez...Read more

ATLANTA — Seven days ago, Jacob Misiorowski was really only known by the most die-hard of baseball fans.

And even then, he was far from any sort of household commodity.

"I don't even know who I'm pitching against," future Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said last week, a day before squaring off against the Milwaukee ...Read more