MLB

9:17 PM ET Albert Pujols is giving back to his team and his native Dominican Republic. According to the Los Angeles Times, the veteran Angels slugger is covering $180,000 in salary lost by staff members of the team in the Dominican who were furloughed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The gesture will cover about five

2:02 PM ET The Major League Baseball Players Association has finalized a proposal to MLB for a season in the neighborhood of 70 games, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers. Following a four-hour negotiation in Phoenix between the leaders Tuesday, MLB emerged believing the framework of a deal had been agreed upon, sources

7:00 AM ET They might just end up being the three words that turned the tide for Major League Baseball — or at least for the players who seemingly moved ahead of the league in the public relations game between the two sides earlier this week. It has already become a T-shirt, and with the

4:14 PM ET MLB InsidersESPN After several days of stalemate in the negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, we may have some traction toward a deal to resume the 2020 season. After commissioner Rob Manfred and union chief Tony Clark met face-to-face, we’re seeing the sport move back toward discussions about

4:20 PM ET ESPN.com staff With the 2020 baseball season hanging in the balance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have been trading proposals to return to action. Here, we break down the details of the offers and counteroffers from the owners and the union as

7:00 AM ET The 2021 draft class is pretty solid at the top, with an SEC-heavy flavor and players with whom scouts have multiple years of high-level history. This is subject to change, even later today, as the first event of the summer, Perfect Game National, is being held in Hoover, Alabama, and features most

9:20 PM ET In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases warned of the potential dangers of letting the Major League Baseball season go too far into the fall. “If the question is time, I would try to keep it in the

7:00 AM ET The 2020 MLB draft was held in unique circumstances — reduced to five rounds, conducted remotely, with spring scouting virtually nonexistent because of the coronavirus pandemic. But in the end, the same old question must be answered: How did each team do? Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of all 30 draft classes, grouped

8:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” “The owners are 100 percent committed to getting baseball back on the field.” — Rob Manfred, June 15, 2020 Then do it. It’s time. It’s far past time, actually. It’s time to

4:44 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN on Monday he’s “not confident” there will be a 2020 baseball season and that “as long as there’s no dialogue” with the MLB Players

10:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Here are some truths about Major League Baseball right now. The league and players have spent the past two months bickering, not listening to one another and prioritizing self over sport. Their

10:42 AM ET Major League Baseball informed clubs on Monday that they can resume scouting activities, ending the ban that was instituted on March 19 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a source told ESPN. There is a limit of three scouts per MLB club for each event, as a way for clubs to ramp up

11:00 PM ET If anything, “Long Gone Summer” is a time capsule of a wonderful summer from 22 years ago, when baseball ruled the sports landscape — perhaps the last time, except for a few weeks in October 2004 and October 2016, when the national pastime could make that claim without any arguments. Of course,

8:00 AM ET What we’ll call the Jeff Luhnow mentality could be defined as the absolute devotion to gleaning every fragment of advantage, every bit of efficiency, regardless of whether you might drift beyond the bounds of common sense. The ends justify the means; just win the moment, baby. It’s as if Major League Baseball’s

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN Before tuning in to watch ESPN’s “Long Gone Summer” (9 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN) on the famous 1998 race between Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs to top Roger Maris’ single-season home run record (61), we asked three of our baseball

7:33 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” The Major League Baseball Players Association asked MLB to set a schedule for the 2020 season rather than counter the latest return-to-play proposal by the league, setting the stage for MLB to

8:38 PM ET James Micioni was born and died in the same place — a modest, two-story house on a hilly neighborhood in Boonton, New Jersey. He never married, never became a father and never owned a car. He walked to nearby jobs as a high school custodian and a chemical-factory worker, leaving his small,

7:55 AM ET The Sunday Funday Bunch has met via Zoom every Sunday for the past two months. It is an eclectic mix, including former Orioles players, those who played for other teams or other sports, writers, PR people, fans, sons and daughters. Sometimes the meetings last an hour, sometimes three, depending how long the