Category: Baseball

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Major League Baseball will test robot umpires as part of a challenge system during spring training at 13 ballparks hosting 19 teams, which could lead to regular-season use in 2026.

MLB has been experimenting with the automated ball-strike system in the minor leagues since 2019 but is still working on the shape of the strike zone.

An agreement for big league use would have to be reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.

“I would be interested in having it in ‘26,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday after an owners’ meeting. “We do have a collective bargaining obligation there. That’s obviously a term and condition of employment. We’re going to have to work through that issue, as well.”

Manfred said the spring training experiment will have to be evaluated before MLB determines how to move forward.

“There’s two sides to that test,” he said. “It’s what the clubs think about it and also what do the players think about it? And we’re going to have to sort through both of those.”

Triple-A ballparks used ABS this year for the second straight season, but there is little desire to call the strike zone as the cube defined in the rule book and MLB has experimented with modifications during minor league testing.

The ABS currently calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone was increased to 53.5% of batter height this year from 51%, and the bottom remained at 27%.

After splitting having the robot alone for the first three games of each series and a human with a challenge system in the final three during the first 2 1/2 months of the Triple-A season, MLB on June 25 switched to an all-challenge system in which a human umpire makes nearly all decisions.

During the second half of the season, each team had three challenges in the Pacific Coast League and two in the International League. A team retains its challenge if successful, similar to the regulations for big league teams with video reviews.

“I think we will have a spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all major league players to see what the challenge system will look like,” Manfred said. “It won’t be in every single ballpark but we actually have a plan where every team will get meaningful exposure.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Tarik Skubal added many accolades to his name for the first time in 2024. Now, he’ll add the top pitching award to his mantle.

The Detroit Tigers ace was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for the 2024 season on Wednesday, beating finalists Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals) and Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) for the honor. He won all 30 first-place votes, becoming the third consecutive unanimous Cy Young winner after Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) and Justin Verlander (Houston Astros).

Skubal, who celebrated his 28th birthday on Wednesday, had a memorable breakout year that lifted Detroit into the playoffs after a surprising late-season run. He went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA, a 0.922 WHIP and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched over 31 starts. 

Skubal’s win total, ERA and strikeout total were the most in the American League, making him (along with Chris Sale in the National League) the first pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown in a 162-game season since former Tigers ace Verlander and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Clayton Kershaw did so in their respective leagues in 2011. Verlander won the Cy Young Award for his play that season as Skubal is the sixth Tigers player to ever win the award. 

After a dominant regular season, Skubal was nails in his first two postseason starts. He didn’t allow a run in either outing, shutting out the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the wild-card round before pitching seven innings of shutout ball in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Guardians. However, Skubal didn’t pitch well in the Tigers’ series-deciding loss to the Guardians, allowing five runs.

Still, Skubal’s 2024 season was as good as any pitcher’s, especially when you consider the circumstances. The lefty was out from the middle of the 2022 season through the middle of the 2023 season due to flexor tendon surgery.

As Skubal and the Tigers surprised in 2024, Wednesday’s vote wasn’t much of one. They’ll hope that’s the case moving forward, and they’ll likely have one of the game’s best pitchers for the foreseeable future to help.

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One of the most surprising comeback seasons in recent baseball history has been made complete with a Cy Young win.

Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale has won the National League Cy Young Award, defeating Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes and Philadelphia Phillies star Zack Wheeler for the honor. Sale won 26 of the 30 first-place votes.

While Sale is widely thought to be one of the best pitchers of his generation, he was considered to be a longshot at best to win the Cy Young entering the season. The 35-year-old lefty was traded by the Boston Red Sox in the 2023-24 offseason to help shed salary as the oft-injured pitcher only made 31 starts in the previous three seasons.

Sale was immediately effective with the Braves and seemingly got better as the season went along. After earning his first All-Star nod in eight seasons, Sale finished 2024 with an 18-3 record, a 2.38 ERA, a 1.013 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 177.2 innings pitched over 29 starts. Sale, along with Tarik Skubal in the American League, became the first pitcher to win the pitching Triple Crown in a 162-game season since Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw did so in 2011.

The surprise season from Sale was also much-needed for the Braves. Atlanta lost its star pitcher, Spencer Strider, for the season in April as he needed Tommy John surgery. Sale’s strong 2024 helped the Braves make the postseason again, but he wasn’t able to pitch in the playoffs due to fatigue.

Sale has also won the one major honor that’s evaded him throughout his illustrious career with Wednesday’s announcement. He had never won the American League Cy Young during his dominant seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Red Sox despite being instrumental in Boston’s 2018 World Series title run. Now, Sale has a Cy Young to go with eight All-Star nods and a World Series ring, seemingly strengthening his Hall of Fame chances. 

But before Sale’s baseball focus turns to Cooperstown, he’s still got some time left on the mound. The Braves signed him to a two-year extension shortly after acquiring him from the Red Sox last offseason, ensuring that he will stick around in Atlanta.

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Freddie Freeman’s historic walk-off grand slam ball from Game 1 of the World Series is hitting the auction block.

The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman came to the plate on a sprained right ankle with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning against the New York Yankees last month. Freeman hit the first pitch from Nestor Cortes 413 feet for the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.

“That’s as good as it gets right there,” said Freeman, who was named World Series MVP.

The Dodgers won the game 6-3 and went on to claim the franchise’s eighth World Series championship in five games.

“It might be the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “and I’ve witnessed some great ones.”

The ball landed in the right-field pavilion, where it was corralled by 10-year-old Zachary Ruderman, who lives in the Venice section of Los Angeles. The ball rolled from the seat in front of him to his feet and he batted it to his father, Nico, who jumped on it.

The fifth-grader had been told he was leaving school early that day to get his braces removed. Instead, his parents took him to Dodger Stadium.

“Our family hopes the baseball will be displayed in Dodgers stadium so all Dodgers and baseball fans can view a very special piece of history for the City of Los Angeles,” the Ruderman family said Wednesday in a statement.

It’s the second ball connected to the Dodgers to be auctioned this season. The ball hit by Freeman’s teammate, Shohei Ohtani, that made him the first player in major league history with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season sold for nearly $4.4 million to a Taiwanese investment firm and is on display in that country. It set a record for the sale of any sports ball.

SCP Auctions is running the sale that includes Freeman’s ball from Dec. 4-14.

Company president David Kohler said he believes the ball is “easily worth seven figures.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy won National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after a stellar debut season with the Brewers, while Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt took the AL honor after leading the Guardians to 92 wins and a division title in his first year as a skipper at any level.

Murphy, 65, led the Brewers to an NL Central title, a 93-69 record and is the franchise’s first manager to earn the award since it was introduced in 1983. In the playoffs, Milwaukee lost to the New York Mets in a three-game wild-card series.

Murphy had an unusual career path to big league success — he was a longtime college coach at Notre Dame and Arizona State before moving to the professional ranks in 2010. He worked in the Padres’ minor league system until 2015 when he was hired to be Milwaukee’s bench coach under Craig Counsell, who played for Murphy at Notre Dame.

After Counsell left for the Cubs during the offseason, the Brewers quickly turned to Murphy. The transition was nearly seamless.

Murphy beat San Diego’s Mike Shildt and New York’s Carlos Mendoza. He received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Shildt, Mendoza and Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson each received one vote.

The 40-year-old Vogt beat Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s A.J. Hinch, both AL Central rivals. He’s the first AL manager to win the award in his debut season since Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli did it in 2019. He’s also the first to go from player to Manager of the Year in just two years.

The previous fastest was Joe Girardi from 2003 to 2006, when he won NL Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins.

Vogt received 27 of the 30 first-place votes. Quatraro got two and Hinch one.

Vogt led the Guardians to a 92-69 record and the playoffs in his first season after replacing three-time manager of the year Terry Francona. The former big league catcher took Cleveland to the AL Championship Series before losing to the Yankees in five games.

Vogt is the third Cleveland skipper to win the honor, joining Francona (2013, 2016, 2022) and Eric Wedge (2007).

Mendoza — in his first year leading the Mets — guided the franchise to an 89-win season and an appearance in the NL Championship Series before they lost in six games to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

Shildt guided the Padres to the playoffs in his first season in San Diego, winning 93 games. He won the Manager of the Year award in 2019 when he was in charge of the Cardinals.

The 51-year-old Quatraro, in his second season with the franchise, led the Royals to the postseason one year after a 106-loss season. Kansas City finished with an 86-76 record before beating Baltimore in a wild-card series.

Kansas City, led by catcher Salvador Perez, young star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., lost to the Yankees in a four-game division series.

Hinch, a 50-year-old in his fourth season leading the Tigers, also made the playoffs with a torrid second half despite losing quality players like right-hander Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes capped a remarkable season by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, while Luis Gil of the New York Yankees edged Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser to take the AL honor.

Skenes won the award over San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio.

He received 23 first-place votes for 136 points while Merrill had seven firsts and 104 points. They were named on all ballots. Chourio had 26 points.

Gil played a key role in helping the Yankees win the American League East before reaching the World Series. He moved into the Yankees’ rotation after ace Gerrit Cole was injured early in the season and received 15 first-place votes for 106 points. Cowser got 13 firsts for 101 points and Gil’s Yankees teammate Austin Wells received 17 points.

The only closer election since 1980 was when Royals shortstop Angel Berroa beat Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui 88-84 in 2003.

It’s the first time the rookie awards went to two pitchers since 2011, when Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson and Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel won.

After being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes quickly lived up to the hype. The 22-year-old was called up to the majors in May and was an immediate sensation. He had a 12-start span between May and July when he posted a 1.64 ERA to go with a 6-1 record, throwing seven innings of no-hit ball in one start.

Skenes’ dominance on the mound made him one of the top stories in sports over the summer. It also helped him earn an All-Star nod and be tabbed as the starting pitcher for the National League team in the 2024 All-Star Game. He became just the fifth rookie pitcher to ever start an All-Star Game.

Skenes ended the season with an 11-3 record, posting a 1.96 ERA, a 0.947 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings over 23 starts. His memorable rookie season has also made him one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award, which will be announced on Wednesday.

This marks just the second time that a Pirates player has won National League Rookie of the Year. Jason Bay was the first Pirates player to win the award in 2004. He is the 24th pitcher to win the award.

As New York dealt with Cole’s absence through the opening months of the season, Gil was able to bring some stability to its rotation. He wound up going 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, a 1.193 WHIP and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings pitched over 29 starts. He made two starts in the postseason, but he only lasted four innings in each outing as he didn’t get a decision in either start.

The 2024 season wasn’t Gil’s first taste in the majors. The 26-year-old actually made his MLB debut in August 2021 and split time between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the Yankees to open the 2022 season before injuring his elbow. He needed Tommy John surgery as a result, sidelining him until the final month of the 2023 season. He only pitched with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year, keeping him eligible to win Rookie of the Year in 2024.

Gil is the 10th Yankees player to ever win the Rookie of the Year and the first Yankees pitcher to win the award since Dave Righetti in 1981. Prior to Gil, Aaron Judge was the last Yankees player to win the award, doing so in 2017. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and pitcher CC Sabathia are among 14 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, joining 14 holdovers led by reliever Billy Wagner.

Pitcher Félix Hernández, outfielder Carlos González and infielders Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramírez also are among the newcomers joined by reliever Fernando Rodney, second baseman Ian Kinsler, second baseman/outfielder Ben Zobrist, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, catchers Russell Martin and Brian McCann, and outfielders Curtis Granderson and Adam Jones.

Wagner received 284 votes and 73.8% in the 2024 balloting, five votes shy of the 75% needed when third baseman Adrian Beltré, catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer and first baseman Todd Helton were elected. Wagner will be on the ballot for the 10th and final time.

Other holdovers include stars Alex Rodriguez (134 votes, 34.8%) and Manny Ramirez (125, 32.5%) along with Andruw Jones (237, 61.6%), Carlos Beltran (220, 57.1%), Chase Utley (111, 28.8%), Omar Vizquel (68, 17.7%), Jimmy Rollins (57, 14.8%), Bobby Abreu (57, 14.8%), Andy Pettitte (52, 13.5%), Mark Buehrle (32, 8.3%), Francisco Rodríguez (30, 7.8%), Torii Hunter (28, 7.3%) and David Wright (24, 6.2%).

Gary Sheffield was dropped after receiving 246 votes and 63.9% in his 10th and final year on the ballot. He will be eligible for consideration when the ballot is selected for the committee that considered contemporary era players in December 2025.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 23. Anyone elected will be inducted on July 27 along with anyone chosen Dec. 8 by the hall’s classic baseball committee considering eight players and managers whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.

Suzuki in 2001 joined Fred Lynn in 1975 as the only players to win AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in the same season. Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time Gold Glove winner, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle (2001-12, 2018-19), the New York Yankees (2012-14) and Miami (2015-17). He had a record 262 hits in 2004.

Sabathia was a six-time All-Star, won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and a World Series title in 2009. He was 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland (2001-08), Milwaukee (2008) and the New York Yankees (2009-19).

Hernández, the 2010 AL Cy Young winner and a six-time All-Star, won the 2010 and 2014 AL ERA titles. He was 169-136 with a 3.42 ERA and 2,524 strikeouts for Seattle from 2005-19. Hernández pitched the 23rd perfect game in major league history against Tampa Bay on Aug. 15, 2012.

González was a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2010 NL batting champion. He hit .285 with 234 homers, 785 RBIs and 122 stolen bases for Oakland (2008), Colorado (2009-18), Cleveland (2019) and the Chicago Cubs (2019).

Pedroia was a four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, helping Boston to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013. He batted .299 with 140 homers, 725 and 138 steals for the Red Sox from 2006-19, winning the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL MVP.

Ramírez was voted the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year and won the 2009 NL batting title, becoming a three-time All-Star. He hit .289 with 271 homers, 917 RBIs and 281 stolen bases for Boston (2005, 2015-18), the Florida and Miami Marlins (2006-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2012-14) and Cleveland (2019).

Dick Allen, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant are being considered by the classic era committee along with Tommy John, Steve Garvey, Ken Boyer and former Negro Leaguers John Donaldson and Vic Harris.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol will miss the first half of next season after having surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder.

The surgery was performed Thursday by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Dodgers announced Friday.

Graterol is expected to return in the second half of the 2025 season.

Graterol pitched in seven games during the regular season and three in the World Series against the New York Yankees, which the Dodgers won in five games. He allowed three hits over 2 1/3 scoreless innings in those World Series appearances.

The 26-year-old Graterol was slowed this season by shoulder inflammation and a hamstring injury.

The hard-throwing Venezuelan spent his first season in the majors with Minnesota in 2019, and the Twins traded him to the Dodgers before the 2020 season. For his career, he has a 2.78 ERA and 11 saves in 188 games.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox were selected Major League Baseball’s Comeback Players of the Year on Thursday.

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year Award and St. Louis Cardinals righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined Hall of Famer and current FOX Sports MLB analyst David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter Awards. 

Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298 1/3 innings. He was acquired by Boston from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the disabled and injured lists with the Red Sox, mostly due to shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. In his second start back he broke his left pinkie finger on July 17 when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of then-Yankee Aaron Hicks. Sale then broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season that year.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74 1/3 innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66 1/3 innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Dave Sims is replacing John Sterling as Suzyn Waldman’s play-by-play partner on New York Yankees radio broadcasts.

WFAN, the local radio home of the Yankees, made the announcement in conjunction with the team on Thursday.

“It’s great to be home,” said Sims in a statement through WFAN. “What an honor to be part of the iconic Yankees franchise. New York is where it all started for me, and I can’t wait for Opening Day and to work with my good friend Suzyn!”

Sims, 71, has spent the last two decades calling Seattle Mariners games. Hours after the announcement, he released a video on his X account thanking Mariners fans for their support.

Sims is a Philadelphia native and was previously a reporter for the New York Daily News and midday WFAN talk show host from 1989-1993, per the New York Post. He also broadcasts college basketball games, primarily in the Big East, for FOX Sports.

He reportedly beat out Yankees Spanish-language radio broadcaster Rickie Ricardo, the other finalist to succeed Sterling.

Sterling, 86, retired in April, a few weeks into his 36th season, but he returned in the final week of the regular season and worked in the postseason, broadcasting the Yankees’ run to their first American League pennant in 15 years. The Yankees then lost the World Series in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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