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☆ Knocked Off Their Perch, the Rangers Hope to Climb Back Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This is the first season in Major League Baseball’s modern era in which all teams play each other. Consider the Mets’ current homestand, with series against the Los Angeles Angels, the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners. Sure, the Mets abandoned the pennant race a month ago, but the American League West version is flourishing in Flushing. “Hey, you’re past those dog days,” said Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy, who has seen a race or two. The Mariners, baseball’s hottest team since the start of July, overtook Texas for the division lead, with the defending champion Houston Astros close behind.

Persons: ”, Bruce Bochy Organizations: Major League, Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, American League, Rangers, ”, The Mariners, baseball’s, Texas, Houston Astros Locations: Flushing, “

☆ A Great Team, an Ambitious Plan and an ‘Existential’ Issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This is the setting, after all, that transformed professional sports as few other forces ever have, synergizing team and town and making the venue the star attraction. The team has risen (though never to the World Series) and fallen (often quite far) in the decades since, and now it is cresting again. John took a seat in the home dugout one recent afternoon while the visiting Mets took batting practice, pausing now and then to greet people by name. The clubhouse manager, Fred Tyler, whose family has worked for the team since it moved from St. Louis in 1954, got a hearty hello. “We had lost the Colts and there was some concern about the economics of professional sports and whether the Orioles might be attracted.

Persons: Peter Angelos, Peter, John, Fred Tyler, Louis, Grayson Rodriguez, Angelos, Buck Showalter —, Kurt Schmoke, “, ” Organizations: Oriole, Camden, Orioles, Mets, American League East, Colts, Stadium Authority Locations: St, Baltimore

☆ A New Generation of Oriole Magic
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The past and the future blended seamlessly on Saturday at Camden Yards, alternate visions of glory trimmed in orange and black. Between innings, the scoreboard showed clips from the Orioles’ last championship clincher, 40 years ago this fall. A splash zone in the outfield stands — the Bird Bath — to hose down fans after big hits. Oriole Magic, revisited. And they’re doing that.”After a weekend sweep of the moribund Mets, the Orioles stood at 70-42, atop the A.L.

Persons: Eddie Murray, Rich Dauer, Mike Flanagan, Dennis Martinez, ”, Scott McGregor Organizations: Camden Yards, Orioles, American League, Philadelphia, Mets, Oakland Locations: Pittsburgh

☆ The Mets Trade a Star and Embrace the Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Mets’ superfan owner, Steven A. Cohen, committed nearly half a billion dollars this season to learn a timeless lesson easily forgotten when pursuing World Series glory: Money guarantees nothing. Early Friday morning, the Mets shipped the team’s closer, David Robertson, to the Miami Marlins for two teenage prospects. As part of the deal, Scherzer will exercise his $43.3 million player option for 2024. “We put ourselves in this position,” Scherzer told reporters at Citi Field on Friday after beating Washington, the only team trailing the Mets in the National League East. I’ve had a hand in that for why we’re in the position that we’re at.

Persons: Steven A, Cohen, David Robertson, Max Scherzer, Luisangel Acuña, Ronald Acuña Jr, Scherzer, “, ” Scherzer, haven’t, I’ve, Can’t, ” Organizations: Mets, Miami Marlins, Hall of Fame, Texas Rangers, Luisangel, Citi Field, Washington, National League East

☆ ‘You Knew Who the Hall of Famers Were’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sometimes, a new Hall of Fame class fits neatly together in baseball history. Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott, 500-homer sluggers in the shadow of Babe Ruth, went in together in 1951. Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski, one-city institutions who met in a sublime World Series, took their turn in 1989. Both reached the World Series twice, winning once. More than anything else, the pairing of McGriff and Rolen is a powerful reflection of the changing standards for baseball’s highest honor.

Persons: Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Jackson, Fred McGriff, Scott Rolen, McGriff, Rolen Organizations: of, Star, Contemporary Baseball

☆ How Well Do You Know Your Baseball Hall of Famers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

There has always been an art to the language used on the plaques at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. The language, however, has evolved over the years, from spartan descriptions in the early days to stat-stuffed entries in more recent years. The plaques for this year’s Hall of Famers, Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff, will be revealed this weekend, and they will surely tell tales of Rolen’s fielding prowess and McGriff’s consistent power. But how identifiable are other Hall of Famers based on what was written about them? To test that, we are asking you to pick the Hall of Famer based on how he is described in the first line of his plaque.

Persons: Scott Rolen, Fred McGriff Organizations: National Baseball Hall of Fame, of Famers, of Famer Locations: Cooperstown, N.Y

☆ How Do You Pitch to Stan Musial? Very Carefully.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The Coliseum was like the Polo Grounds had been in the National League, very short down each line and deep in the outfield. So it was not so much of a shock to pitch in the Coliseum, because it reminded all of us of the Polo Grounds. His identity is his comment: positive thinking. In fact, he wrote a book, ‘The Power of Positive Thinking,’ and it’s a powerful book. And I think he’s right.”

Persons: ”, it’s, Norman Vincent Peale —, there’s Organizations: National League

☆ Honoring the Last of the ‘Boys of Summer’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is the first inning, you might say, and Carl Erskine does not have his best stuff. A camera crew has set up in his living room, and a filmmaker, Ted Green, gently tries to guide Erskine through a short speech. There has always been something inviting about Erskine, a welcoming look that draws you in warmly and melts away the decades. “He’s a 96-year-old guy,” Green says, “with 12-year-old eyes.”Soon the eyes are dancing and the memories come rushing back. Erskine keeps one beside the lamp on the end table, an out pitch he can always reach.

Persons: Carl Erskine, Ted Green, Erskine, Erskine apologizes, “, ” Green, he’ll, ”, Betty Erskine Organizations: Brooklyn Dodger, Ebbets Field

☆ An Unlikely Hero Emerges to End an All-Star Losing Streak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If he could have scaled Mount Rainier to spread the message from on high, Rob Manfred surely would have. “What do they call it — a virtuous cycle, right?” Manfred said Tuesday afternoon, before the 93rd edition of the All-Star Game. “The rule changes are good, the players stay positive, it makes the fans even more positive about them because the players are positive about them. So it’s really been great for us.”On one point, though, Manfred acknowledged that baseball had simply caught a break. “The culmination of Ohtani and Trout, you can’t plan that.”

Persons: Rob Manfred, Manfred, ” Manfred, it’s, ”, Mike Trout Organizations: Major League Baseball, Los Angeles Angels, Japan Locations: Rainier, “

☆ The Hottest Thing in Baseball Is a Grid of Nine Blank Squares
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those Hall of Famers — like Stan Musial, Derek Jeter and so many other greats — had something in common: Except for the All-Star Game, they never changed teams. That singular identity gives their stars extra glimmer, but largely removes them from a new game sweeping the baseball landscape. The name is Immaculate Grid, and with apologies to the surging Atlanta Braves — who had eight selections for the National League’s team in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Seattle — it’s the hottest thing going in the sport. The grid — named for the immaculate inning, in which a pitcher strikes out the side on nine pitches — is a daily quiz in the form of a tic-tac-toe board designed by Brian Minter, a software developer in suburban Atlanta. He said the game averages about 200,000 players every weekday.

Persons: Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, Stan Musial, Derek Jeter, —, Brian Minter Organizations: Cal, Cal Ripken Jr, Famers, Immaculate Grid, Atlanta Braves —, National League’s Locations: Detroit, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Atlanta

☆ At the All-Star Game, Learning Opportunities Abound
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The All-Star Game is baseball’s ultimate learning lab: the best of the best, teammates for a moment, swapping stories and secrets. The days of Bob Gibson snarling through the festivities, impervious to camaraderie with enemies turned teammates, are gone. “I’m looking forward to learning as much as I can.”López is not alone. The All-Star Game — scheduled for Tuesday at the home of the Seattle Mariners — was once the setting for Roy Halladay learning a cutter grip from Mariano Rivera. He was more of a shaman, a possessor of wisdom who inspired teammates by his mere presence.

Persons: Bob Gibson snarling, who’ve, ”, Pablo López, “, Seattle Mariners —, Roy Halladay, Mariano Rivera, Halladay, Rivera Organizations: Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, Hall of Fame Locations: Cooperstown

☆ M.L.B. Draft Trades Magic for Efficiency
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Tyler Kepner | More About Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Sunday in Seattle, for the fourth year in a row — enough for a full class of college prospects — Major League Baseball will hold a streamlined version of its amateur draft. From an event with unlimited rounds to one with 50 rounds, then 40, and now just 20, the draft is exclusive and efficient, in keeping with baseball’s restructured minor league system. But efficiency has a cost: the countless long-shot careers that may never be realized. Dozens of current major leaguers turned pro after being drafted in rounds that no longer exist. Chosen 941st overall from a community college in Illinois, he has won three Gold Gloves, played in the World Series and earned more than $60 million in an 11-year career.

Persons: ”, Kevin Kiermaier, ” Kiermaier Organizations: — Major League Baseball, baseball’s, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays Locations: Seattle, Illinois

☆ Domingo Germán Proves Perfection Can Come at Any Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The threadbare A’s are baseball’s worst team, already 40 games under .500, consumed by their vision of a new home in Las Vegas. Yet they have endured many dreadful seasons, and this was the first perfect game against the franchise since 1904, when Boston’s Cy Young did it to the Philadelphia Athletics. When Larsen did it, the feat had not been accomplished since 1922, by a nondescript Chicago White Sox rookie named Charlie Robertson. Yu Darvish, Yusmeiro Petit and Max Scherzer each lost a bid when the 27th batter reached base. The Yankees’ Carlos Rodón — as a member of the White Sox in 2021 — lost his attempt when a slider nicked the top of a batter’s shoe in the ninth inning.

Persons: Boston’s Cy Young, Connie Mack —, —, Larsen, Charlie Robertson, Germán’s, Hernández, Yu Darvish, Yusmeiro Petit, Max Scherzer, Carlos Rodón —, ” Rodón Organizations: Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Yankees, White Sox Locations: Las Vegas

☆ ‘His Ability to Do Pretty Much Everything Is Crazy’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In March, Carroll, the centerpiece of the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks, agreed to an eight-year, $111 million contract, with a ninth-year team option. Carroll was terrible the first day, Gardner said, but took about 200 bunts the next day and improved. Carroll finished the 2022 season in the majors, after smashing 24 homers with a .611 slugging percentage in the minors. Over the winter, when he visited the Diamondbacks’ training complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., he asked Gardner if he could bunt some more. They worked together for five or six sessions, hundreds and hundreds of attempts.

Persons: Corbin Carroll, Carroll, Jeff Gardner, Gardner Organizations: Arizona Diamondbacks, Diamondbacks, Class AA Locations: Amarillo , Texas, Scottsdale, Ariz

☆ With Everything Going Wrong, the Cardinals Still See Opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But this is also 2023, and Marmol manages the St. Louis Cardinals. “It didn’t work out,” Marmol said. I saw the line and I didn’t think that was the play.”The way things are going, Marmol said, he might have provoked another customer and ended up in a fight. Saturday afternoon was better for Marmol, whose Cardinals snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Mets at Citi Field. But it was only the third win for the Cardinals in June, and their 28-43 record was the worst for the franchise through 71 games since 1978.

Persons: Oliver Marmol, Marmol, ” Marmol, didn’t, Nolan Arenado Organizations: Louis Cardinals, Cardinals, Mets, Citi Field Locations: New York

☆ Vida Blue Was a Baseball Comet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tony La Russa knew that much, because he’d been there. La Russa was destined for a storied career as a major league manager, but on the field he was a bonus baby who couldn’t really hit. “There are minor leaguers, there are big leaguers, and then there’s that higher league of All-Stars and Hall of Famers,” La Russa, 78, said by phone on Monday. “And that was Vida, and he was 20 years old.”By the end of that 1970 season, in the majors for good with the Oakland Athletics, Vida Blue would throw a no-hitter. His next season would be a baseball comet, a wonder in both majesty and brevity, the kind of year people talk about forever, especially in moments of loss.

☆ The Rays Are Better Than Everyone. At Everything.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays had just won again Tuesday night, but their architect was flustered by a small crack in the foundation. Erik Neander, the Rays’ president of baseball operations, wondered if any available veterans were lined up to start in the minors the next day. Anderson had pitched for a month in the Rays’ farm system last summer — and, most important, was lined up to start a morning game in Omaha in about 12 hours. The Rays made the requisite phone calls, got Anderson for cash considerations — “Maybe a dollar,” Neander said — and booked him on a 7 a.m. flight on Wednesday. That night, naturally, Anderson pitched three scoreless innings against Pittsburgh for his first career save in the majors.

☆ What’s It Like to Be Shohei Ohtani? Only Bo Would Know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a pitcher in the 1980s and ’90s, Gubicza was a teammate of Bo Jackson on the Kansas City Royals. As a television analyst now, he calls games for the Los Angeles Angels, the team of Shohei Ohtani. “Bo Knows Sho,” Gubicza said this week, by the Angels’ dugout at Yankee Stadium. “I think we’re finally going to get it this year.”Ohtani, the Angels’ pitching and hitting sensation, was born in the summer of 1994, just as Jackson’s celebrated athletic career was ending. Bo didn’t know pitching, like Ohtani, but he could have.

☆ The 2022 Baseball Trivia Extravaganza
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In baseball, the Holliday season started in July, when the Baltimore Orioles took a high school infielder named Jackson Holliday with the first pick in the amateur draft. He played like a happy Holliday, reaching base in nearly half of his 90 plate appearances in the minor leagues. He also played for Tony La Russa, who once managed a fellow named Steve Christmas. Matt Holliday played his last game in 2018, the same year Gift Ngoepe — the first major league player from Africa — played his. And here is our annual gift to you: a baseball quiz put together with care, in hopes that your answers soon will be there.

☆ An Imperfect Decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-04 | by ( Tyler Kepner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The San Francisco Giants were playing their own game, just down the steps from the home clubhouse at Oracle Park, but Carlos Rodón and some of his teammates stayed inside. Down the coast, Clayton Kershaw was working on a perfect game for the Los Angeles Dodgers. At least there was the possibility of history, and that was enough to intrigue Rodón, who had come so close to his own slice of it in 2021. That spoiled Rodón’s perfect game, but he was thrilled to settle for a no-hitter, one of 317 in major league history. “We were like, ‘We’re not even close.’ This is like the third longest, only 10 years.”

Persons: Carlos Rodón, Clayton Kershaw, Rodón, Roberto Pérez’s, ” Rodón, “, We’re, ” Organizations: San Francisco Giants, Oracle, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Los Angeles Angels

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