ATLANTA — The baseball world saw how the Braves treat their own — and their former — during Tuesday’s All-Star Game. In some ways, this All-Star Week has been a sales pitch.

Truist Park is known for its lively atmosphere, and it lived up to that billing in hosting the Midsummer Classic. But it also showcased a passionate fan base that ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Baseball’s All-Star Game on Tuesday in Atlanta was a spectacular success.

You should, of course, thank Bud Selig.

You should also — and this might sound strange, considering the source — blame the media for making this great game difficult to watch.

Baseball has always staged the best All-Star game of any long-running ...Read more

SEATTLE — If that blown five-run lead vs. the New York Yankees spawned dejection, then these past three games should have spawned dopamine.

If getting swept by New York last week seemed like the catalyst to a second-half Seattle Mariners tailspin, then sweeping the Detroit Tigers over the weekend felt like the cure.

It isn’t easy being a ...Read more

ATLANTA — Not many of the 41,702 who filled Truist Park will remember the All-Star Game’s score. They may remember it was decided in a home-run derby reminiscent of a soccer penalty-kick shootout after the score was tied at 6-6 at the end of nine innings. (The National League won in the first-ever swing-off.)

But maybe nearly all of them ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — There were no tears.

There were no tears when he addressed the crowd in a Fox interview that was played over the Truist Park sound system.

There were no tears when manager Dave Roberts removed him from the game in the top of the third inning so the fans could salute him one final time.

Freddie Freeman didn't cry Tuesday at the...Read more

LOS ANGELES — We need bat flips.

The home run swing-off to end Tuesday's All-Star Game was great. Whether you embrace it as a revelation or dismiss it as a gimmick, baseball needs more of that kind of imagination on the national stage. On the morning after the game, it's what you're talking about.

But baseball cannot count on a tie score ...Read more

ATLANTA — A few hours before Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Truist Park, Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was considering which bat to use.

He picked up a colorful model from his locker and showed it to the media. The bat included a cartoon of the Cubs mascot, Clark the Cub, on the barrel. Using it would’ve been a marketing ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Don Kelly has managed the Pirates to a 27-32 record since he took over, and that is a significant improvement for the team. Derek Shelton was 12-26 to start the season, and that is one of the reasons that he is no longer the manager.

I am not smart enough to suggest that Kelly has found some magical formula to make the Pirates ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — More than any other sport, baseball requires patience.

The game is played without a clock, and its calendar stretches from Valentine’s Day to Halloween. Historically, Major League Baseball invites fewer teams to the postseason than the NFL, NHL or NBA, and prospects take years to work their way through the minor leagues.

...Read more

ATLANTA — In a week where so much of the focus was on players who weren’t playing in the All-Star Game, and those who were selected who weren’t seen as deserving, it was the player who had been in more Midsummer Classics than anyone else who delivered the most profound reminder.

Before the start of Major League Baseball’s 95th All-Star ...Read more

SEATTLE — The Amarillo (Texas) Sod Poodles play in a stadium called “Hodgetown,” which features a berm beyond the right-field fence and a massive blue batter’s eye stretching skyward in center. The baseball Lazaro Montes bombarded on June 27 cleared all of the above.

With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Sod Poodles pitcher ...Read more

ATLANTA — Nobody beat The Miz at the All-Star Game.

Just don’t tell the Phillies.

Jacob Misiorowski was a central figure over the two days in Atlanta after being named last week to the National League roster as a replacement. The 23-year-old Milwaukee Brewers rookie sensation has reached a maximum velocity of 102.4 mph on his fastball this...Read more

ATLANTA — Making his seventh All-Star Game appearance Tuesday night at Truist Park, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge suddenly felt ancient at age 33.

“My biggest takeaway is that I keep getting older,” Judge said. “You keep seeing young guys come in here. I look over to see the A’s Jacob Wilson, who’s 23 years old and starting ...Read more

ATLANTA — I arrived to the concourse beyond the left-field stands Monday evening with a glove and a hope for what could be.

Ditching the press box for the outfield stands seemed to offer the most potential for fun in the Home Run Derby at Truist Park, the precursor to Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

I envisioned home run balls falling like ...Read more

ATLANTA — More than nine months have passed since the Pohlad family announced its intention to explore a sale of the Minnesota Twins, but the delay in finding a buyer, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said on Tuesday, does not mean there are no bidders willing to meet the Pohlads’ price.

In fact, the commissioner said, “I ...Read more

ATLANTA — The hierarchy of stars was obvious even in the table arrangements.

At an All-Star Game media day event on Monday at the Roxy Coca-Cola Theater in Atlanta, the Dodgers' five All-Star representatives were in the same area of the large venue.

In the first row, basking under large spotlights near an elevated stage, Shohei Ohtani, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dan Serafini was a first-round draft pick from a prestigious private high school. He pitched professionally for 22 seasons and earned more than $14 million while with six Major League teams and two in the Japanese League.

Now he might spend the rest of his life in prison.

Serafini, 51, was convicted Monday of first-degree ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mitch Voit had plenty to celebrate on Sunday after being selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2025 MLB draft.

Chances are, that celebration did not resemble the now-infamous one the former Michigan infielder performed during a game against USC on March 16 in Ann Arbor.

With two outs in the bottom of the second ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — In addition to hot dogs, rain delays or keeping score, an essential part of baseball has always been appreciating nuance, a swift baserunning decision or keeping the double play in order, a smart sequence of pitches or a solid two-strike approach.

We've lost our appreciative and understanding minds when it comes to Oneil Cruz.

...Read more