NEW YORK — As Buck Showalter readies himself for all things Mets, he does so with the luxury of having a pretty good roster already in place.

That has not always been the case for the salty old veteran, whose first seasons with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Orioles were hardly smooth sailing. However, unlike these expectation-laden ...Read more

DETROIT — One of the favorite memories of my career is of Jim Leyland, when he was the Detroit Tigers’ manager, conducting a morning interview in his office while lying on his couch, wearing a bathrobe and smoking a cigarette.

The only way to provide you with anything close to an accurate visual image of Leyland’s pose is to compare it to...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A decade before he ever showed up on a ballot, Carl Crawford was a Hall of Famer.

At least that’s how it seemed to a lot of people who watched him play for those early Devil Rays teams. He had the talent, he had the intangibles, he had the stats. It felt like Cooperstown and a retired jersey were just a few more line ...Read more

SEATTLE — Based on what I've seen on Twitter, this will be about as popular an opinion as calling for a national ban on puppies.

The consensus on that platform — which, as I often emphasize, doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the public — is that Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds were robbed of their rightful place in Cooperstown.

On ...Read more

It’s becoming increasingly rare for teams to win at the Major League level without a shortstop.

Even if your shortstop isn’t a stratospheric superstar, getting either superb glove work or pumped up power is basically a requirement now. While Atlanta won the World Series with Dansby Swanson — maybe the 12th or 13th best shortstop in the ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Hall of Fame and cheating.

The two were synonymous on this year’s ballot, as David Ortiz entered Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility. Far bigger stars, like home-run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, fell off the ballot in their 10th and final year due to controversy over their alleged ...Read more

Only a couple hours after Major League Baseball killed the Tampa Bay Rays’ kooky, controversial plan to split their home schedule with the city of Montreal, my phone rang last week.

It was the great Pat Williams on the other end.

“Mikey boy, now’s our chance,” Williams said. “Now’s our chance to bring baseball to Orlando.”

...Read more

CHICAGO — Former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was the only player on the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot to be elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Congrats to “Big Papi,” a larger-than-life player who made it in his first year of eligibility, garnering 77.9% of the vote by the BBWAA, surpassing the...Read more

Dillon Lawson isn’t reinventing hitting, he just wants to look at it differently. The Yankees’ new hitting coach said Wednesday he is focused on “hitting strikes hard,” hitting the ball over the infield and making every swing the best — not just with two strikes.

“I’m still going to cheer and be excited about the 100 mile per hour...Read more

NEW YORK — After wading through the muck of steroids cheats, drug dealer associations, lurid sexual harassment charges, and an alt-right extremist who once called for their lynching, the Baseball Writers Association Tuesday bid good riddance to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling on their ballot, dealt a major body blow ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Neither his name nor his greatest accomplishment are hidden. On the official website of Major League Baseball, he is immortalized as owner of the sport’s most cherished record, atop the all-time home run list: Barry Bonds, 762.

There is no asterisk by his name, even though steroids enhanced his performance enough for him to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — David Ortiz, primarily a designated hitter who helped the Boston Red Sox win three World Series after an 86-year drought, was the only player elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Snubbed for a 10th and final time by the Baseball Writers Association of America were all-time career and single-season home run leader ...Read more

It was probably on the first day of his first spring training, Chase Utley said, that he first met Jimmy Rollins. Or maybe it was the summer before when Utley stopped by Veterans Stadium after being drafted in 2000 by the Phillies.

“Actually, I don’t recall the first time,” Utley said with a laugh. “That’s a long time ago.”

Utley ...Read more

To listen to Billy Eppler and Buck Showalter discuss the team they are building is to listen to a pair of men gushing with confidence, sometimes even bordering on arrogance.

Part of it is earned, to be sure. Eppler has done everything right in the offseason, but the offseason is not where he’ll ultimately be evaluated. And Showalter comes ...Read more

In today’s Major League Baseball labor negotiation news: there is no deal, but there is another meeting.

The Monday meeting in Midtown between the league and the players’ union ended with the slight step forward of scheduling another meeting, according to multiple reports. The sides will reconvene on Tuesday, marking the first time in these...Read more

While the NFL dominated the sports landscape the past two weekends, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association continued to dawdle and damage their own popularity.

Negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement between baseball's owners and players are set to resume Monday, but there have been no indications that either side ...Read more

NEW YORK — Kids in Queens have dreamt about it for generations.

Late-game situation. No-hitter intact. Friday night home game. Ball headed your way.

Mike Baxter, a Queens Whitestone native and graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School, found himself in that situation on June 1, 2012. Johan Santana was eight outs away from completing the ...Read more