Remember when National League pitchers batted and Clayton Kershaw seemed like an automatic out? Your memory serves correctly: The Dodgers star left-hander batted an anemic .162 over 847 plate appearances during 13 seasons before MLB mercifully took the bat out of his — and all other pitchers — hands after the 2021 season. Well, experts … Read more
As a boy, Bryce Harper loved watching the All-Star Game, with the game’s best players taking the field in their team’s uniform. “If we could change back to that,” Harper said on the day before this year’s All-Star Game, “I think it would be really cool.” The next day, commissioner Rob Manfred said he would … Read more
The plot has thickened over the fate of Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball as another person is claiming legal ownership of the piece of baseball history. Joseph Davidov, a 32-year-old Broward County, Fla., resident, filed a lawsuit Friday in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit Court stating that he is the rightful owner of the milestone … Read more
ROME – Italian police arrested 19 people, accused of criminal ties with the powerful ‘Ndrangheta mafia group, in a move that decimated the fan clubs backing Serie A teams Inter Milan and AC Milan. Prosecutors said at a press conference on Monday that possible charges include criminal association, with the use of “mafia methods,” extortion, … Read more
NEW YORK – Shohei Ohtani topped Major League Baseball jersey sales for the second straight season while becoming the first player to reach 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same year. The Los Angeles Dodgers star was followed by Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, … Read more
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The dozen drivers who advanced to the second round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs saw Kansas Speedway as a relatively straightforward test, given the potential chaos looming at Talladega and the unpredictability of the road course at Charlotte. For most of them, it turned out to be a test of … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Giants have hired former catcher Buster Posey as president of baseball operations and fired Farhan Zaidi. Chairman Greg Johnson made the announcement Monday after the Giants finished 80-82 in manager Bob Melvin’s first season — with one more victory than in 2023. San Francisco hasn’t reached the playoffs since … Read more
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jackson Chourio is looking forward to more champagne-soaked clubhouse celebrations, even if he still isn’t old enough to partake fully. When the Brewers sealed the NL Central title, the 20-year-old Chourio found a collection of non-alcoholic drinks inside a stroller in front of his locker. The Baltimore Orioles provided a … Read more
NEW YORK – The WNBA will have its first expansion draft in 16 years in December as the Golden State Valkyries start to fill out their roster. The Valkyries will begin play next season. The league sent out guidelines to teams in a memo that was obtained by The Associated Press. Teams will be able … Read more
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves hosted the New York Mets in a doubleheader Monday to decide the final two National League wild-card spots, a day after the scheduled end of the regular season. The unusual twin bill was required after two games between the NL East rivals were washed out last week as Hurricane Helene … Read more