7:00 AM ET Editor’s note: From rising strikeout totals and unwritten-rules debates to connecting with a new generation of fans and a looming labor battle, baseball is at a crossroads. As MLB faces these challenges, we are embarking on a season-long look at The State of Baseball, examining the storylines that will determine how the
MLB
7:00 AM ET After a short stay at the top of the list by the Tampa Bay Rays, a new team has passed the defending AL champs as No. 1 in our final MLB Power Rankings of June. Did the San Francisco Giants finally impress our voters enough to move to the top of our
8:09 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — On-field exams of pitchers started Monday, a week after Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced a crackdown on unauthorized grip substances. How’s it going so far? Depends on who you ask. While players throughout baseball have offered several different takes — many have been outspoken
11:22 AM ET Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi was playing games when he spurred the umpires to check Max Scherzer for foreign substances on Tuesday night and embarrassed everyone in the process. “It’s embarrassing for Girardi, it’s embarrassing for the Phillies, it’s embarrassing for baseball,” Rizzo said Wednesday
1:37 AM ET Two days into Major League Baseball’s revamped enforcement of sticky stuff, a couple of things are clear. First, no one, no matter his stature, is above suspicion. Just ask Cooperstown-bound ace Max Scherzer. Second, if MLB expected a smooth integration of its newest guidelines into the flow of its games, that appears
10:57 PM ET ESPN News Services ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It didn’t take long for Wander Franco to display the many skills that scouts have been raving about. The kind of skills that made him the No. 1 overall prospect in Major League Baseball. The kind of skills that the Tampa Bay Rays hope to
4:33 PM ET ESPN News Services Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah has been suspended five games and fined for throwing at Baltimore Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco on Saturday and triggering a benches-clearing altercation, MLB senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill announced Tuesday. Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo also received and will
12:24 AM ET CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez was benched by manager David Ross after forgetting how many outs there were and getting doubled off first base in the fourth inning of Monday’s 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. “We have to make sure we’re focused and locked in during the game,” Ross
8:03 PM ET Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas — The search is on by major league umpires for sticky stuff that pitchers might use to doctor baseballs. What has long been against the rules but rarely enforced is being overlooked no more. The crackdown began Monday when major and minor league umpires started regular checks of
3:50 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The New York Mets have fired two high-ranking employees and will overhaul their legal and human resources departments on the recommendation of independent investigators hired to review the organization following allegations of sexual misconduct against former manager Mickey Callaway. Callaway, fired in October 2019 for on-field performance,
7:00 AM ET Alden Gonzalez Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Los Angeles Rams Previously covered the Angels for MLB.com Jesse Rogers Close ESPN Staff Writer Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. Beginning with Monday’s games, pitchers will be ejected and suspended for using
Jun 11, 2019 Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Editor’s note: This story originally ran on June 11, 2019. Wander Franco has been told he has been called up to the majors by the Tampa Bay Rays on June, 20, 2021
11:47 AM ET Baseball’s rule against the use of foreign substances has been buried for decades underneath a gentlemen’s agreement that held among managers, who almost uniformly refused to ask umpires to check opposing pitchers because they knew that their own pitchers would not be checked. But with Major League Baseball set to order umpires
8:45 PM ET Associated Press SAN DIEGO — Joey Votto and manager David Bell of the Cincinnati Reds were ejected in the first inning Saturday following a heated argument with home plate umpire Ryan Additon after Votto was called out on a checked swing. A Padres fan sitting in the expensive seats near the Reds
10:35 PM ET San Diego Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. exited Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds early with an apparent injury to his left shoulder, the same one that gave him trouble in spring training and landed him on the injured list at the start of the regular season. Tatis, the National League
4:28 PM ET Beginning Monday, major league umpires will check pitchers for foreign substances after they’ve pitched — with the exception of the closer, who will be inspected before entering the game — sources familiar with the process said. Pitchers will be inspected between innings and/or after they come out of the game unless they’re
9:59 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — Second baseman Kolten Wong was reinstated from the 10-day injured list on Friday as part of a series of roster moves by the Milwaukee Brewers. Wong, who had been sidelined by a left oblique strain, was in the starting lineup and back in the leadoff spot for a
5:13 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The pace of coronavirus vaccinations in Major League Baseball has slowed, with no additional teams in the past week joining the 22 that had already reached the 85% vaccination threshold for players and other on-field personnel. Major League Baseball and the players’ association said Friday that 85.3%