MLB

1:00 PM ET In 2021, the top of the National League West included both the best teams in baseball and a race to win the division that wasn’t settled until the final day of the season. Now the top of the division is a jumble. And after Major League Baseball’s lockout ceases — whenever that

1:41 PM ET Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Cleveland Indians outfielder and commentator Jack Graney has won the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. Graney, who died in 1978, will be honored during the Hall’s induction weekend from July 22-25. Graney first played for Cleveland, then known as the Naps,

4:10 PM ET ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian is headed to the Hall of Fame — and we couldn’t be prouder. We also couldn’t miss the opportunity to express just how much he means to us around here. So, as Cooperstown calls for our colleague, we wanted to share just a few of our favorite

12:08 PM ET After four decades of covering Major League Baseball, longtime writer and ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian is the 2022 winner of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Career Excellence Award (formerly the J.G. Taylor Spink award). The award, the highest honor awarded by the BBWAA, is given out annually “for meritorious contributions to

7:00 AM ET It was fun while it lasted. For two glorious weeks, we got a glimpse of what baseball’s hot stove season could look like if allowed to flower to its full potential. It began with a few trickles in the middle of November — an Eduardo Rodriguez here, a Noah Syndergaard there —

4:13 PM ET Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Kenneth Moffett, the federal mediator during the 1981 baseball strike who briefly succeeded Marvin Miller as the second head of the players’ association, has died. He was 90. Moffett died Nov. 19 at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, said his wife, the former Mary Taddeo. He had

7:00 AM ET When MLB free agency began, as I was comparing notes with agents and executives, a popular discussion was how many players would sign big deals before the collective bargaining agreement expired on Dec. 1. The common opinion was that only a couple of guys would sign for $75 million or more —

7:05 PM ET ESPN News Services Buck O’Neil, a champion of Black ballplayers during a monumental, eight-decade career on and off the field, joined Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso and three others in being elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Former Minnesota Twins teammates Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat, a longtime television broadcaster

3:28 PM ET Daisuke Matsuzaka brought his 23-year professional baseball career to a close Saturday in a ceremony that included a surprise appearance by Ichiro Suzuki. Matsuzaka, who faced only one batter this season for the Saitama Seibu Lions — issuing a walk in an October appearance — told fans at Seibu’s MetLife Dome that

11:07 AM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas — Hours into Major League Baseball’s first work stoppage in 26 years, commissioner Rob Manfred said the union’s proposal for greater free agency and wider salary arbitration would damage small-market teams. Owners locked out players at 12:01 a.m. Thursday following the expiration of the sport’s five-year collective bargaining

9:23 AM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson earned a ring last month. U.S. women’s national team forward Mallory Pugh got one this month. The World Series champion and the World Cup winner announced their engagement on Instagram Thursday night. The two have dated since 2017. The couple met through Swanson’s former teammate

7:00 AM ET As much as it might feel like it, the baseball world has not completely shut down. While the thrilling rush of free-agent signings and trades from the past few days will cease for now because of the lockout, there is a lot of baseball business still to be conducted. One of the

5:14 PM ET NEW YORK — While the owners and Major League Baseball players intend to collectively bargain for the terms of their next agreement, one group will not be at the table during those discussions: minor leaguers. While Major League Baseball recently announced improved housing conditions across all levels of the minor leagues —

1:16 PM ET NEW YORK — Within minutes of locking out players Thursday amid contentious negotiations on the next collective bargaining agreement, Major League Baseball scrubbed all remnants of player likenesses off its official properties such as MLB.com, replacing player photos with generic silhouettes. In response, players decided to lean all the way in. Players

7:00 AM ET The contract numbers spent in free agency so far are record-setting, mind-bending. Max Scherzer‘s annual salary of $43.3 million is the highest ever for a pitcher. The Texas Rangers spent more money in two days on two players — Corey Seager and Marcus Semien — than they have on their entire roster

11:42 PM ET The Red Sox and Brewers swung a significant trade Wednesday night just ahead of the lockout, with Boston shipping outfielder Hunter Renfroe to Milwaukee for a package centered around Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley, 31, was a mainstay for Boston from 2013 to 2020, starring defensively in the outfield before the Gold Glover

12:05 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” IRVING, Texas — Major League Baseball locked out its players early Thursday morning, certifying the game’s first work stoppage in more than a quarter-century after months of talks yielded little progress toward

11:22 PM ET The San Diego Padres and right-hander Nick Martinez have agreed on a four-year, $20 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Martinez’s deal includes opt-outs after his first and second year. Martinez, 31, spent the past four seasons in Japan and starred for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks this year, posting a 1.62