Sport Scores

Pete Rose watches a Cincinnati Reds game when he was a player/manager in 1985. He broke baseball’s career hit record that year, but was banned on Aug. 25, 1989 for betting on baseball. Rick Stewart / Getty Images BY STEVE MYERS With the 25th anniversary of  Pete Rose being banned from baseball last month and the impending retirement of current Major League Commissioner Bud Selig, a growing number of voices…

“1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever (Da Capo Press), by Bill Madden As the pennant races head into the fall stretch, it’s worth remembering that 60 years ago the sport of baseball was changed permanently as African-American players began to establish their presence in the major leagues and would transform the sport. The premise of Bill Madden’s “1954” is…

The sausage race at a Milwaukee Brewers game Cal Sport Media/Zuma Press If you’ve been to a Major League Baseball game recently, chances are you’ve seen an increasingly popular competition within the game: the mascot race. But as the ballpark experience has become a blur of sprinting, costumed characters—ranging from ex-players to ex-presidents, sausages to sodas, and a paint brush to a toothbrush—one all-important question has remained unexplored: Which team…

Bruce MacPherson Nobody enjoys going up against the baseball skeptics. These people are notoriously averse to new ideas and philosophies. If it were up to them, everyone would be wearing stirrups. But after several years of experimentation around the major leagues, even the purest of purists seem to have warmed up to one thoroughly modern tactic: the defensive shift. These days, more and more teams are positioning fielders in unusual…

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The greatest trick the NFL ever pulled was convincing us it cared. The NFL does not care. It doesn’t care about concussions, or steroids, or wife-battering tailbacks. It doesn’t care about anything except defending the shield. Yesterday’s Ray Rice horror show provided the starkest example of how far the league will go to preserve its brand. If the powers that be could rewind to the night the Baltimore running back…

“1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever (Da Capo Press), by Bill Madden As the pennant races head into the fall stretch, it’s worth remembering that 60 years ago the sport of baseball was changed permanently as African-American players began to establish their presence in the major leagues and would transform the sport. The premise of Bill Madden’s “1954” is…

Zimmerman, who suffered a Grade 3 hamstring strain against the Rockies on July 22, said Monday he is feeling better. Manager Matt Williams already said Zimmerman will play in the instructional league before he gets back to the big leagues. “It’s still progressing nicely. I don’t want to say anything one way or the other,” Zimmerman said. “Things are going well. Hopefully, if things go well, we can play sometime…

Brandon Belt is resuming baseball activities. Throw open those curtains and let the sun in. This is good news. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he’s guaranteed to make it back before the season ends. Belt’s been cleared to resume baseball activities before, but the symptoms of the concussion kept reappearing. Still, the slow march toward activation is better than the myriad of alternatives. From Alex Pavlovic: …

“1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever (Da Capo Press), by Bill Madden As the pennant races head into the fall stretch, it’s worth remembering that 60 years ago the sport of baseball was changed permanently as African-American players began to establish their presence in the major leagues and would transform the sport. The premise of Bill Madden’s “1954” is…

Starting pitcher projected Game Scores for September 7 2014 Statistics Past 21 Days GS Team Name T Opp W-L ERA WHIP W-L ERA WHIP 87 Clayton Kershaw L SD 17-3 1.70 0.83 3-0 0.75 0.75 71 Felix Hernandez R Hou 14-5 2.18 0.90 1-1 3.92 1.11 58 Sonny Gray R @CWS 13-8 3.25 1.23 1-1 5.31 1.28 56 Danny Salazar R LAA 6-6 3.80 1.35 2-1 1.08 0.96 56 Mike…

ZANESVILLE – The Muskingum Valley Old Timers Baseball Association and area high school coaches have formulated a new plan for summer 2015. The Old Timers will begin the Junior Pioneers Youth Baseball Organization, which consists of 13-and-under, 14U, 16U, 19U and 22U teams. These teams will play in tournaments, participate in the Central Ohio Youth Baseball League, and play against American Legion squads. The first workout for 13U and 14U…

Those of us reveling in how the Angels have outdistanced the rest of Major League Baseball this season may not have noticed, but the sport has been suffering from a more than decade-long slump in offense. There are signs that the falloff in slugging generally and home runs especially is taking a bite out of the game’s TV ratings, which have fallen by roughly 25% or more over the last…

There goes another one. Westfield‘s Craig Lacey’s verbal commitment to play baseball at Bryant University marks the ninth Western Mass. athlete to commit to play Division I baseball since the beginning of June. Lacey, who spent the summer playing baseball with the Manchester, Conn.-based Rebels Baseball Club, said he first received interest from Bryant when its coaches were there scouting a teammate, John Nollet, of Storrs, Conn. “I pitched the…

“1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever (Da Capo Press), by Bill Madden As the pennant races head into the fall stretch, it’s worth remembering that 60 years ago the sport of baseball was changed permanently as African-American players began to establish their presence in the major leagues and would transform the sport. The premise of Bill Madden’s “1954” is…

Starting pitcher projected Game Scores for September 6 2014 Statistics Past 21 Days GS Team Name T Opp W-L ERA WHIP W-L ERA WHIP 72 David Price L SF 13-10 3.25 1.07 2-2 3.60 1.20 68 Madison Bumgarner L @Det 16-9 2.97 1.08 3-0 1.55 0.66 65 Johnny Cueto R NYM 16-8 2.26 0.97 2-2 3.62 1.39 63 Zack Greinke R Ari 13-8 2.72 1.16 1-0 1.80 1.15 63 Drew…

NEW YORK – Retiring Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has let it known that his post-playing aspirations include pulling a George Steinbrenner and buying a Major League club. Yankees great Mariano Rivera thinks it’ll happen for his long-time teammate. “He says he wants to own a team,” baseball’s all-time saves leader said Sunday on Derek Jeter Day at Yankee Stadium. “I trust him and I believe that. He will. One day…

The Giants lead the Majors in batting average (.280), runs per game (4.78) and batting average with RISP (.321) since the All-Star break. They’re second in OPS at .746. And now they might add another dangerous bat to the mix. First baseman Brandon Belt is “doing well,” manager Bruce Bochy said, and Belt will begin baseball work sometime this week. The hope all along was that he would be…

Copyright © 2014 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I’m Scott Simon. Where BJ Leiderman writes our theme music and now, including this one – it’s time for Sports. September has snuck in through the swelter in the pennant race heats up, especially in smaller markets. Howard Bryant of ESPN.com…