8:45 AM ET Jeff Passan Close ESPN ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Alden Gonzalez Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Los Angeles Rams Previously covered the Angels for MLB.com HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD, in the country that thus
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12:35 PM ET The word from the White House was that the president wanted baseball and other professional sports to resume to help keep the country moving forward, to provide at least a few minutes a day for a devastated nation to think about something other than the consuming horrors and death toll. In the
3:41 PM ET Associated Press Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander says he will donate his weekly paycheck during the coronavirus shutdown to organizations that are helping with relief efforts. Verlander and wife Kate Upton made the announcement Saturday in an Instagram post. The couple said it would pick an organization each week and highlight its
3:13 PM ET Major League Baseball teams can now contact amateur prospects using electronic communication and gather data and video on players, but they remain barred from attending in-person activities and holding tryouts as they prepare for the 2020 draft and international signing period, according to a memo obtained by ESPN. The memo, sent to
9:00 AM ET The Yankees, Dodgers, Athletics and Cardinals have combined to win 53 World Series, so it feels right that all four franchises have been knocked out of a tournament all about second chances as we begin our 32-team sim tourney of the best squad from every franchise to never win it all. It
10:21 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper and New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz are the latest baseball players to make donations to coronavirus relief efforts. Harper and his wife, Kayla, are giving $500,000 to Direct Relief and Three Square in his hometown of Las Vegas and to Philabundance
5:18 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — About 370 players who were at big league spring training with minor league contracts will get advance payments of up to $50,000 each from the Major League Baseball Players Association. The money approved Friday by the union’s executive board will be in addition to $400 weekly allowances
7:00 AM ET A month ago, when the world still felt predictable and baseball important, Dusty Baker and AJ Hinch were two sides of a damaged coin. The Houston Astros were the disgrace of baseball, a once extremely valuable currency in sharp decline. The Astros fired Hinch, who was without objection serving the yearlong suspension
7:33 PM ET Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Justin Turner has a lot of time on his hands these days, and has come up with a novel idea for deciding extra-inning games once the regular season starts. Taking a cue from NHL shootouts, Turner suggested that baseball go to a home run derby if a game
6:45 AM ET No matter how many times your team wins it all, it doesn’t every quite erase the memory of the one that got away. As a Royals fan, to an embarrassing degree my happiness over them winning the 2015 World Series was hampered by the unshakable memory of Alex Gordon being stranded on
7:39 AM ET You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we’ll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history. ON THIS DATE IN 2001, Ichiro made his Major League Baseball debut. Ichiro Suzuki was the first position player from Japan to
12:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Twice a week, beginning Friday morning, Brandon McDaniel, the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ director of player performance, will stream 30-minute workouts through the team’s social media outlets for everyone to partake. He wants to help fans stay in shape while they’re stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. He wants
10:00 AM ET Willie Mays was still finding himself as a player when he departed the New York Giants in late May of 1952. There was no doubt he’d already displayed one of the best skill sets anyone had seen on a Major League Baseball field, but he was very much still in the process
7:33 PM ET Associated Press BALTIMORE — Following three straight frustrating seasons that led him to consider retirement, Chris Davis was in the midst of an outstanding spring training when Major League Baseball came to a halt because of the deadly coronavirus. Now, as the slugger strives to find ways to keep his three daughters
7:26 AM ET You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we’ll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history. ON THIS DATE IN 1994, Michael Jordan was assigned to the Double-A Birmingham Barons. This began a fascinating year in baseball and
6:59 PM ET Sports venues are an emerging asset in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. From staging grounds to drive-thru testing facilities to makeshift hospitals, the once-empty stadiums have become a bustle of activity again. The Washington Nationals‘ spring facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, is the latest to be turned into a testing
8:06 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — Two Chicago Cubs employees who attended an annual training session at Wrigley Field on March 8 have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. One was hospitalized and the other was recovering at home, spokesman Julian Green said Sunday. Green also said there was “nothing definitive” indicating the session
8:06 AM ET You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we’ll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history. ON THIS DATE IN 1867, Cy Young, after whom the pitching award was named, was born Denton True Young in Gilmore, Ohio.