Nestled in a clearing between rye fields and lush jungle, the bases on one of the few baseball diamonds in the Philippines' Tanauan City sat in sludge.

In video taken by scouts visiting the area, a rooster crowed in the background and a dog watched from behind a rusty foul-line fence.

Baseball dreams hardly exist there, where kids play with ...Read more

The Angels could use a bit of swagger. They could use an October too.

Yes or no, Perry Minasian: Is this a playoff team?

"We'll find out," Minasian said.

Minasian, the Angels' general manager, earned respect throughout the sport for a second consecutive winter of guiding owner Arte Moreno away from the brightest stars in the free-agent ...Read more

After the success of the World Baseball Classic, Major League Baseball begins its regular season Thursday at a ballpark near you.

It’s a little like having dessert before a full-course dinner, knowing you’ll be full by the end but not caring a bit because it tasted so good.

If MLB could bottle the feeling the WBC created and repackage it ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Shortly after the Yankees’ Sunday spring training game against the Blue Jays, the team’s shot-callers asked Anthony Volpe to stick around. He swears it’s the only time he’s felt his heart beat all spring.

Volpe, who has insisted that he hasn’t allowed the Yankees’ shortstop competition with Oswald Peraza to consume ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — If Charlie Manuel is right, Pennsylvania is about to see a spike in babies named “Trea.”

That’s what happened when rugged second baseman Chase Utley rose to mythical status as one of the best Phillies in the team’s Golden Era. The name “Chase“ tripled in popularity in the Keystone State.

Manuel managed or coached ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Upon his hiring as the general manager of the Texas Rangers in 2001, John Hart famously said, “The landscape is littered with train wrecks that have never made the postseason.

“Clubs that are in large markets and have floundered around and never had a clear path. We are not going to become one of those train wrecks.”...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Somewhere, a pitcher is muttering under his breath. A hitter is fidgeting in the batter’s box. A fan is grousing about the intrusion of a pitch clock on a game of timeless elegance.

To this, I say, pffffftttt!

You want real angst? Real pressure? Real job-changing significance due to baseball’s recent rule changes? ...Read more

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Nobody has to tell Buck Showalter he’s going to have to manage his butt off this season if he is to get Steve Cohen’s $336 million Mets back to October and beyond. Quite simply it is going to be an Edwin Diaz-less adventure for 162 games.

We were standing on the sidelines watching the Mets going through some pre-...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shortstop Wander Franco was scratched from the lineup for Saturday’s exhibition game due to right quad soreness, and the Rays aren’t sure about the extent of the issue yet.

“I don’t really know much other than just some soreness in the right (quad),” manager Kevin Cash said after the 4-2 win over Boston. “...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees’ rotation has suffered another blow, as Luis Severino is dealing with a low-grade lat strain on his right side.

“It’s gonna put him in jeopardy to start the year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Saturday morning. Boone added that it’s “probably an IL” situation for the right-hander, but Boone’s ...Read more

ATLANTA — ESPN ranks eight Braves among MLB’s top 74 players. Ronald Acuna is No. 14, Ozzie Albies No. 74. In between come Austin Riley, Max Fried, Michael Harris, Spencer Strider, Matt Olson and Sean Murphy. That’s two pitchers, one catcher, three infielders and two outfielders. That’s what you’d call comprehensive.

We note that ...Read more

SARASOTA, Fla. — Gunnar Henderson knows how dangerous Adley Rutschman can be with the game on the line.

“You can just tell by his face: He gets locked in,” Henderson said. “You want to keep it away from him or get him on his heels. It’s tough to do, but you’ve got to be more strategic.”

Henderson wasn’t talking about the ...Read more

CHICAGO — After signing a seven-year, $177 million deal in December to be the centerpiece of the Chicago Cubs lineup, Dansby Swanson entered the final weekend of Cactus League play hitting .059.

It wasn’t just a subpar spring. No one in spring training with 30 or more at-bats had a lower batting average than the new Cubs shortstop.

In his ...Read more

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who was diagnosed with a left ACL tear on Thursday, will likely miss the rest of the season, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced on Friday.

Dombrowksi said Hoskins will get a second opinion soon but emphasized that he would be “shocked” if the first baseman ...Read more

When the San Diego Union-Tribune hired me in 2008, Petco Park was a fantasy wasteland.

Almost nobody rostered any Padres outside of Jake Peavy or San Diego's own Adrian Gonzalez.

Relying on Tadahito Iguchi's team-leading eight steals likely would have earned you ridicule from your entire league (assuming you weren't in the deepest of NL-only ...Read more