Source-attributed
The Wire.
Fast enough for now. Clear enough to trust.
Baseball
22 updates01BaseballStan Kroenke, owner of Arsenal and LA Rams, to buy MLB’s Angels for reported $4bnArte Moreno sells after owning team since 2003Deal gives KSE teams in NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLSKroenke Sports + Entertainment announced Tuesday that it will buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno in a deal that is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.The sale will require the approval of Major League Baseball and its owners. Continue reading...02BaseballMLB suspends Dominican prospect after age-fraud plot involving fake graveReport: player posed as nearly two years youngerScheme allegedly included fake grave and records$2.8m agreement with Guardians was canceledA once-prized prospect from the Dominican Republic has been suspended by Major League Baseball after a league investigation revealed the player was part of an elaborate plot to portray him as nearly two years younger than he actually was, ESPN reported Friday.The age-fraud plot included extreme efforts by the player’s handler such as falsifying school and medical records, faking birth and death certificates and even staging a gravesite, per the report. Continue reading...03BaseballSchwarber 'obliterates' walk-off home run for PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies batter Kyle Schwarber smashes a huge walk-off home run to complete an 'unthinkable' comeback with their final strike of the night against the St. Louis Cardinals.04BaseballSchwarber 'obliterates' walk-off home run for Phillies to complete comebackPhiladelphia Phillies batter Kyle Schwarber smashes a huge walk-off home run to complete an 'unthinkable' comeback with their final strike of the night against the St. Louis Cardinals.05BaseballSchwarber 'obliterates' walk-off home run for Phillies to complete comebackPhiladelphia Phillies batter Kyle Schwarber smashes a huge walk-off home run to complete an 'unthinkable' comeback with their final strike of the night against the St. Louis Cardinals.06BaseballSchwarber 'obliterates' walk-off home run for Phillies to complete comebackPhiladelphia Phillies batter Kyle Schwarber smashes a huge walk-off home run to complete an 'unthinkable' comeback with their final strike of the night against the St. Louis Cardinals.07Baseball‘I felt like Babe Ruth’: baseball’s 3ft 7in pinch-hitter, 75 years onBaseball showman Bill Veeck’s most audacious stunt sent Eddie Gaedel to bat for the lowly St Louis Browns in 1951 – and created an unforgettable diamond spectacleBill Veeck had a track record for designing some of the most elaborate marketing promotions during his four stints as a Major League Baseball owner, including an exploding scoreboard in 1960. But his most outlandish publicity stunt was sending 3ft 7in inch pinch-hitter Eddie Gaedel to the plate at a game 75 years ago Wednesday.Sporting uniform number 1/8, Gaedel was greeted with a standing ovation at Sportsman’s Park in St Louis as he came to bat in the second game of a doubleheader on 19 August 1951 for the St Louis Browns. A famous Associated Press photo shows Detroit Tigers catcher Bob Swift sitting on his knees with a ball in his glove, towering over Gaedel and his tiny strike zone. Not surprisingly, he walked on four pitches, and was immediately lifted for a pinch-runner. Continue reading...08BaseballTommy John, pitcher whose surgery changed baseball, dies at age of 83John was first player to undergo pioneering operationNew York Yankees pay tribute to four-time All-StarTommy John, the namesake of a ligament-replacement surgery that paved a path to recovery for injured baseball players, has died. He was 83.TMZ.com reported that the pitcher died at his home in Florida, surrounded by his family, including his wife, Cheryl. John had recently been in hospice care. Continue reading...09BaseballCardinals rookie Joshua Báez makes MLB history with three homers in first three at-bats23-year-old hits home run on first pitch in majorsBáez drives in five during 8-4 victory over CubsRookie was called up from Triple-A earlier in dayJoshua Báez became the first player to hit three home runs in his first three at-bats in the major leagues, leading the St Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.The 23-year-old left fielder, called up from Triple-A Memphis earlier in the day, hit the first pitch he saw into the Wrigley Field bleachers, then homered in his next two at-bats. He also drove in five runs. Continue reading...10BaseballThe rich get richer as Dodgers land ace Tarik Skubal in blockbuster tradeDefending champions send prospects to TigersCy Young-winning Skubal joins stacked rotation in LAThe Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired the biggest prize on the trade deadline market, getting two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night.Skubal got the news during the Tigers’ 8-6 win over the Athletics and was emotional after the game as he prepared to leave the team that drafted him in 2018 and developed him into a star to join the two-time defending World Series champions. Continue reading...11BaseballThe 'greatest in the world' with an Olympic dream for Team GBJazz Chisholm Jr's New York Yankees' team-mates tell him regularly just how good he is - but will Team GB get the benefit?12BaseballThe 'greatest in the world' with an Olympic dream for Team GBJazz Chisholm Jr's New York Yankees' team-mates tell him regularly just how good he is - but will Team GB get the benefit?13BaseballThe 'greatest in the world' with an Olympic dream for Team GBJazz Chisholm Jr's New York Yankees' team-mates tell him regularly just how good he is - but will Team GB get the benefit?14BaseballThe 'greatest in the world' with an Olympic dream for Team GBJazz Chisholm Jr's New York Yankees' team-mates tell him regularly just how good he is - but will Team GB get the benefit?15BaseballAyami Sato, the greatest pitcher in women’s baseball, is ready for her American debutA six-time world champion and three-time World Cup MVP, Japan’s Ayami Sato joins the new Women’s Professional Baseball League hoping to help build the sport’s futureWhen Ayami Sato takes the mound as the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Queens on Saturday, it will be the culmination of a professional career that has spanned 16 years and three countries. The right-handed hurler is largely considered the best pitcher in the history of women’s baseball. She has the awards and experience to prove it, and now she’s taking on America when she makes her debut in the Women’s Professional Baseball League, the first pro women’s baseball league in the United States since the 1950s.Even though most Americans tuning into the WPBL may not have heard of her, Sato’s resume speaks for itself. Sato’s fastball has been clocked at nearly 80mph and her curveball has a devastating spin rate that is higher than many Major League Baseball pitchers. As a member of the Japan National Team since 2010, Sato has won six gold medals. She is the only player in Women’s Baseball World Cup history to win three consecutive MVP awards. As a member of the now-defunct Japan’s Women’s Baseball League, Sato led the league in strikeouts in three of the last four seasons. And most recently, in 2024 she became the first woman to play pro baseball in Canada as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League. Continue reading...16BaseballLA Dodgers and MVP Ohtani launch summer of live baseball on BBCWorld Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will launch a summer of live Major League Baseball on the BBC.17BaseballLA Dodgers and MVP Ohtani launch summer of live baseball on BBCWorld Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will launch a summer of live Major League Baseball on the BBC.18BaseballLA Dodgers and MVP Ohtani launch summer of live baseball on BBCWorld Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will launch a summer of live Major League Baseball on the BBC.19BaseballLA Dodgers and MVP Ohtani launch summer of live baseball on BBCWorld Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will launch a summer of live Major League Baseball on the BBC.20BaseballLA Dodgers and MVP Ohtani launch summer of live baseball on BBCWorld Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will launch a summer of live Major League Baseball on the BBC.21BaseballTed Williams, Satchel Paige and the fight to induct Negro Leaguers into baseball’s Hall of FameSixty years ago, the famed Red Sox slugger used his Cooperstown speech to champion Black players who were excluded because of the sport’s color barrierWhen Ted Williams, the last man to hit .400, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he had an iconic career to reflect on. But he decided to dedicate a portion of his speech to championing Black players who had been excluded because of baseball’s longtime color barrier.“I’ve always been a very lucky guy to have worn a baseball uniform, to have struck out or to hit a tape-measure home run,” Williams said in his 25 July 1966 speech – 60 years ago Saturday. “And I hope that someday the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way could be added as a symbol of the great Negro players that are not here only because they were not given a chance.” Continue reading...22Baseball‘Like pulling a tractor trailer’: what it’s like to play on an awful MLB teamA 162-game season guarantees failure as much as success. Inside a losing clubhouse, staying together and believing can become the hardest part of the jobIf you ask professional athletes, they’ll tell you. Losing is no fun. But in Major League Baseball, losing big can be especially tedious.An MLB seasons boasts a whopping 162 games (twice as many as the NBA and NHL) and even the best hitters fail two-thirds of the time at the plate. If a pitcher wins half his starts, he’s an All-Star. Because of that, says decorated starter Jamie Moyer, a losing campaign takes on a particular consequence. Continue reading...