LOS ANGELES — The first time Jeff Banister stepped into a big-league clubhouse, it was 9 o'clock.

In the morning.

That night's game wouldn't start for another 10 hours, but when you've waited your whole life for that moment, there's no point in putting it off even a second longer.

The first thing Banister saw when he entered the darkened ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The San Francisco Giants were playing a night exhibition game in Arizona this month. The radio broadcast was on the MLB Network, and with Jon Miller on the play-by-play.

Miller was engaging a younger fellow in the booth in the conversation. There was a moment when this unofficial announcer asked Miller: “Did you mention there ...Read more

DENVER — The only cap Dick Monfort needs is a thinking one, preferably a number with a little less tin foil on the crown.

From 2021-24, according to Spotrac.com, the Colorado Rockies spent $25.4 million more annually than the Arizona Diamondbacks to finish, on average, 10 games back of them. The San Francisco Giants outspent the Rockies by $...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the hours, even days, after the best Royals season in a decade, an array of flattering messages flooded the phone of manager Matt Quatraro.

They came from everywhere. Friends. Family. Peers in the business.

The Royals had just completed the best turnaround in franchise history. A year after losing 106 games, they were a...Read more

LOS ANGELES — What’s ailing Mookie Betts remains a mystery — his inexplicable stomach illness has left him at a loss for words.

Down from 175 to 157 pounds, the usually joyful and cheerful Betts had a sullen look on his sunken face as he talked about his illness, which led to the Dodgers scratching him from the lineup ahead of Sunday’s ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The mandate was set the moment the dancing Dodgers flooded the Yankee Stadium field on that glorious, gutsy October night.

One is not enough.

The bar was set the minute the Dodgers squeezed past the San Diego Padres then steamrolled all of New York to dominate baseball with their best team ever.

One is not enough.

Their ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees shared tragic news on Sunday afternoon, announcing the death of Brett Gardner’s youngest son, Miller.

According to a statement released by the former Yankees outfielder and his wife, Jessica, Miller died after falling ill on vacation. He was 14.

“We have so many questions and so few answers at this ...Read more

NEW YORK — Whether it’s Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, the baseball fans of New York should be prepared for a summer of “Bullpen Ball.” By that we mean the large majority of Yankee and Met games being decided by an army of relief pitchers.

Of course that’s the way of life everywhere now in baseball’s era of analytics in which ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — I was talking myself into getting excited about the Pirates season and probably still am, but the elbow discomfort experienced by Jared Jones has the potential to put a damper on it all.

The best case for the Pirates to contend is that they have a great one-two punch at the top of their rotation and a solid group of pitchers ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — By this time next week, the Phillies will have played a ballgame or two. They’ll probably have won at least one, considering that Zack Wheeler will start their opener. In his five season debuts since joining the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler allowed zero runs twice and one run twice. He struck out 29 batters and walked four; twice...Read more

DENVER — Nolan Jones is headed back to Cleveland.

The Colorado Rockies traded the corner outfielder back to the Guardians on Saturday in exchange for utility man Tyler Freeman.

Jones was a star for the Rockies as a rookie, hitting 20 homers and flashing elite defensive ability in left field. But his 2024 season was a dud, largely due to ...Read more

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jerar Encarnacion was positioned to make an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, no small feat given how his career has unfolded.

He played six seasons in the minors before making his major-league debut. He ended up in the Mexican League, where he hit 19 homers in 26 games. He parlayed that heater into a ...Read more

MESA, Ariz. — If the regular season is a marathon, as players and managers like to say, spring training is a leisurely jog on a Sunday afternoon that increases in intensity over the final week.

But the Chicago Cubs’ Tokyo excursion sent them on a slow jog starting in early February at camp to the start of the marathon in Japan and back to ...Read more

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Drew Thorpe joined the Chicago White Sox organization last spring after being acquired as a key part of the trade that sent pitcher Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres.

The right-hander spent this spring working his way back from a right elbow injury.

Thorpe hit a bump Thursday when he exited a minor-league start with ...Read more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Rays ace Shane McClanahan left Saturday’s spring game in the third inning with what appeared to be an arm injury.

The Rays later announced that McClanahan left the game with triceps tightness. The triceps are the muscles on the back of the arm, opposite the biceps.

McClanahan, coming off the second Tommy John elbow ...Read more

MIAMI — Ah, spring! Opening Day, the words always capitalized. This is when the baseball poets with romanticized prose pay homage to “America’s Pastime.” The red, white and blue bunting decorating ballparks, the echoing crack of a bat, bags of peanuts cartwheeling from vendor’s hands, pastoral fields of emerald green.

This is when ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías was suspended through the All-Star break for a second violation of MLB's policy against domestic violence and sexual assault.

Under the discipline, announced Friday by commissioner Rob Manfred, Urías will be reinstated July 17 and be eligible to sign with any team.

Urías is the first player...Read more

PITTSBURGH — I can't be the only one confused here.

Two local publications have posted fresh stories on the Pirates' finances — and have come to violently different conclusions.

The Post-Gazette's Mark Belko reported that the Pirates are profitable and could easily be spending more on players.

Dejan Kovacevic also reported on his site ...Read more

TOKYO — When Kosuke Fukudome thinks back to his first professional season in Japan, Major League Baseball never felt like an attainable goal.

Fukudome dreamed of playing in the majors, of course. But that didn’t feel tangible until the next year as he watched the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets open the 2000 regular season at the Tokyo Dome....Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Twenty years ago, there was no such thing as openers.

Defensive shifts were a relic of the past, there were no process-and-analytics coaches in the dugout, no one was talking about exit velocity, run prevention was not yet a trendy term and pulling starting pitchers before their third time through the order sounded ...Read more