1:26 PM ET The Atlanta Braves signed left-hander Drew Smyly to a one-year, $11 million contract on Monday, the team announced. The 31-year-old Smyly was 0-1 with a 3.42 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances last season for San Francisco, which signed him to a one-year major league contract in January. Smyly was
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12:40 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are the leading candidates returning to baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot in a year without any favorites among the new names. Schilling was third behind Derek Jeter and Larry Walker with 278 of 397 votes last year, finishing at 70%
11:40 PM ET We can only hope 2021 will be a more normal season, with 162 games and fans in the stands and hot dogs to eat and overpriced beer to drink. We don’t know what the state of things will be come April 1, when the 2021 season is scheduled to begin, but we
12:24 PM ET ESPN News Services Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda is hospitalized in intensive care in Orange County, California, the team announced Sunday. Lasorda, 93, is resting comfortably, according to the team. “The family appreciates everyone’s thoughts and prayers; however, they request their privacy at this time,” the Dodgers said. Lasorda attended
10:57 AM ET The Miami Marlins are hiring Kim Ng as their new general manager, making her Major League Baseball’s first female and first Asian American GM, the team announced Friday. Ng has most recently served as MLB’s senior vice president of baseball operations. She has also served as assistant general manager for the New
7:55 PM ET Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Personal memorabilia from the career of Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench was auctioned for just under $2 million. The sale that involved live and online bidding ended Saturday at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Kentucky, not far from where Bench was a 14-time All-Star
7:00 PM ET ESPN News Services Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman easily won the NL MVP award Thursday, topping off a trying year that saw him become so ill with COVID-19 he prayed “please don’t take me.” Freeman got 28 of the 30 first-place ballots in voting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association
11:08 AM ET Associated Press FREEHOLD, N.J. — Former New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden has been sentenced to a year of probation in connection with a drug arrest in New Jersey in 2019. Gooden appeared before a judge in a virtual proceeding on Thursday. He had pleaded guilty in August 2019 to one count
2:02 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Ryan Tepera? Baseball fans love to argue over who should win big awards. But there likely was no debate Thursday about the most surprising name on the list of players getting National League MVP votes. That was Tepera, the Chicago Cubs reliever who was 0-1 with a
5:54 PM ET Sarah SpainespnW.com Close Sarah Spain (follow her on Twitter @SarahSpain) is the co-host of Spain & Fitz on ESPN Radio, host of the That’s What She Said podcast, a SportsCenter reporter and an espnW columnist since 2010. She was a heptathlete at Cornell and is a lifelong Chicago sports fan. Longtime baseball
6:52 PM ET A season that started on the COVID-19 restricted list ended with the 2020 NL MVP for Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. Here’s a closer look at the stats and performances that separated Freeman from finalists Mookie Betts and Manny Machado for the award. The number that says it best 1.102. Freeman’s
6:23 PM ET The American League MVP race in the shortened 60-game 2020 season came down to a pair of sluggers named Jose from the AL Central (and third-place finisher DJ LeMahieu). Here’s why Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu edged Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez for the AL’s top individual honor. The number
7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN After all the oddities of the MLB regular season and postseason, the 2020 World Series pits baseball’s top two teams against each other, which is something that doesn’t happen every year. And while we’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Dodgers playing for the championship, this is the first Fall Classic
7:00 AM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — Let’s begin with a thought that has been conveyed — directly and indirectly — so often by prominent members of the Los Angeles Dodgers that it might as well be considered a statement of fact: Mookie Betts has exceeded expectations. Now let’s consider why that seems so outrageous: Andrew
2:58 PM ET Associated Press Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print NEW YORK — Minnesota Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz has been voted Marvin Miller Man of the Year and Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been picked as Player of the Year in annual Players Choice award voting by the Major League
7:00 AM ET Sam Miller Close ESPN.com ESPN baseball columnist/feature writerFormer editor-in-chief of Baseball ProspectusCo-author of “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer of SweetSpot baseball blog Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995 It’s a travel day in the 2020 World
2:55 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” ARLINGTON, Texas — This was for the Tampa Bay Rays. For the Silverback Tribe. Mostly, for himself. By now, Brandon Lowe understands how baseball works, how the game will gnaw at your
1:54 AM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — The Los Angeles Dodgers were three days removed from a taxing seventh game of the National League Championship Series and needed Tony Gonsolin to give them as much as he could as their opener in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night. He provided four outs, but