For the first few weeks of the 2021 season, Mike Trout looked as impressive as ever, and Jacob deGrom was dominant on the mound. It would have been something to see what they could have done over a full season, but that won't happen now because both are sidelined with injuries. Availability could play a major role in this year's award races. Trout is hitting .333 with eight home runs and an OPS of 1.090, but he went on the injured list Tuesday with a strained calf. DeGrom has an 0.68 ERA through six starts, but he has pitched only once in May because of side tightness. He's expected back Tuesday. Aside from Trout, several other recent MVPs have spent time on the IL this season, including Jose Altuve, Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton. Young stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto have also missed time. The good news is that it doesn't necessarily take these players long to find their rhythm when they return. In four games since returning from COVID-19, Tatis has 11 hits,... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — When Jimmy Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13. It’s down to 7.6% this year. As the Phillies celebrated Jackie Robinson Day along with the rest of baseball on Thursday and Friday, Rollins reflected on the decline. “It’s more than just one thing,” Rollins told The Associated Press. “Marketing. The NBA and the NFL, those guys’ faces are plastered all over the screen. Baseball, there isn’t really a great deal of marketing. Obviously, everyone knows about Mike Trout and rightfully so, but there are some young Black players that deserves some light, too.” Rollins pointed to Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds as popular players who were marketed well when he was growing up. “But when you start going outside of that select few, the sport itself isn’t marketing anyone else in a major way where kids from the inner cities are attracted to it," he said. Rollins and teammate... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — When Jimmy Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13. It’s down to 7.6% this year. As the Phillies celebrated Jackie Robinson Day along with the rest of baseball on Thursday and Friday, Rollins reflected on the decline. “It’s more than just one thing,” Rollins told The Associated Press. “Marketing. The NBA and the NFL, those guys’ faces are plastered all over the screen. Baseball, there isn’t really a great deal of marketing. Obviously, everyone knows about Mike Trout and rightfully so, but there are some young Black players that deserves some light, too.” Rollins pointed to Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds as popular players who were marketed well when he was growing up. “But when you start going outside of that select few, the sport itself isn’t marketing anyone else in a major way where kids from the inner cities are attracted to it," he said. Rollins and teammate... [More]

Oct. 15 1917 — The Chicago White Sox won the World Series when the New York Giants left home plate uncovered and Eddie Collins dashed home with third baseman Heinie Zimmerman chasing him in helpless pursuit. 1925 — Kiki Cuyler’s bases-loaded double in the eighth inning gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 9-7 victory over Walter Johnson and the Washington Senators in Game 7 of the World Series, capping a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. 1946 — Enos Slaughter scored from first on Harry Walker’s double to give the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 victory and the World Series title in the seventh game against the Boston Red Sox. 1981 — Dave Righetti, Ron Davis and Goose Gossage combined on a 4-0 shutout of the Oakland A’s to give the New York Yankees their 33rd American League pennant. 1986 — The Boston Red Sox capped one of the greatest comebacks in history by defeating the California Angels 8-1 to win the American League pennant after trailing three games to one in the playoffs. 1986 — Ray Knight keyed... [More]

Oct. 151917 — The Chicago White Sox won the World Series when the New York Giants left home plate uncovered and Eddie Collins dashed home with third baseman Heinie Zimmerman chasing him in helpless pursuit.1925 — Kiki Cuyler's bases-loaded double in the eighth inning gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 9-7 victory over Walter Johnson and the Washington Senators in Game 7 of the World Series, capping a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.1946 — Enos Slaughter scored from first on Harry Walker's double to give the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-3 victory and the World Series title in the seventh game against the Boston Red Sox.1981 — Dave Righetti, Ron Davis and Goose Gossage combined on a 4-0 shutout of the Oakland A's to give the New York Yankees their 33rd American League pennant.1986 — The Boston Red Sox capped one of the greatest comebacks in history by defeating the California Angels 8-1 to win the American League pennant after trailing three games to one in the playoffs.1986 — Ray Knight keyed a three-run... [More]

Oct. 141905 — Christy Mathewson blanked the Philadelphia Athletics 2-0 to give the New York Giants the World Series in five games. All were shutouts, with Mathewson getting three, Joe McGinnity one, and Chief Bender of Philadelphia one.1929 — The Philadelphia A's rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 and take the World Series in five games. Mule Haas' two-run homer tied the game and Bing Miller's RBI double won it.1965 — Sandy Koufax tossed his second shutout to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins and the world championship in seven games.1969 — New York's Tommie Agee made two spectacular catches to save five runs and secure a 5-0 victory over Baltimore as the Mets took a 2-1 lead in the World Series.1971 — Pittsburgh's Nelson Briles threw a two-hitter against the Orioles for a 4-0 victory to give the Pirates a 3-2 edge in the World Series.1972 — Oakland catcher Gene Tenace became the first player to hit home runs in each... [More]

Compiled by PAUL MONTELLAOct. 131903 — The Boston Pilgrims won the first World Series, five games to three, with a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.1914 — The Boston Braves completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics, first in World Series history, with a 3-1 victory.1921 — Art Nehf tossed a 1-0, four-hitter against the New York Yankees for the World Series title in eight games. The Giants scored their run in the first inning on an error by shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh.1960 — Bill Mazeroski opened the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Ralph Terry of the New York Yankees to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory and the World Series in seven games.1971 — The first World Series night game was played in Pittsburgh with the Pirates beating Baltimore 4-3. Roberto Clemente had three hits for Pittsburgh.1978 — New York third baseman Graig Nettles put on a fielding clinic and prevented seven runs as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 3 of the World Series.... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chase Utley ran out to second base one more time wearing a red pinstriped No. 26 Philadelphia Phillies jersey and dark blue suit pants while his walk-up song "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin blared and adoring fans stood and cheered.The six-time All-Star was honored Friday night at a retirement ceremony before the Phillies played the Miami Marlins. He called Phillies fans the "best" in baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch to actor Rob McElhenney, creator of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." McElhenney had a "man crush" on Utley in one of the show's episodes."Thank you the fans of Philadelphia," Utley said. "Thank you for motivating me, thank you for being straight forward, thank you for picking me up when I was down, thank you for being loyal, a bit crazy at times and thank you for being passionate. Overall, thank you for being the best fans in baseball."Utley played 13 seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chase Utley ran out to second base one more time wearing a red pinstriped No. 26 Philadelphia Phillies jersey and dark blue suit pants while his walk-up song "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin blared and adoring fans stood and cheered.The six-time All-Star was honored Friday night at a retirement ceremony before the Phillies played the Miami Marlins. He called Phillies fans the "best" in baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch to actor Rob McElhenney, creator of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." McElhenney had a "man crush" on Utley in one of the show's episodes."Thank you the fans of Philadelphia," Utley said. "Thank you for motivating me, thank you for being straight forward, thank you for picking me up when I was down, thank you for being loyal, a bit crazy at times and thank you for being passionate. Overall, thank you for being the best fans in baseball."Utley played 13 seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chase Utley ran out to second base one more time wearing a red pinstriped No. 26 Philadelphia Phillies jersey and dark blue suit pants while his walk-up song by Def Leppard blared and adoring fans stood and cheered.The six-time All-Star was honored Friday night at a retirement ceremony before the Phillies played the Miami Marlins. He called Phillies fans the "best" in baseball and threw a ceremonial first pitch to actor Rob McElhenney, creator of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." McElhenney had a "man crush" on Utley in one of the show's episodes."Thank you the fans of Philadelphia," Utley said. "Thank you for motivating me, thank you for being straight forward, thank you for picking me up when I was down, thank you for being loyal, a bit crazy at times and thank you for being passionate. Overall, thank you for being the best fans in baseball."Utley played 13 seasons in Philadelphia and helped the Phillies win five straight NL East titles, two NL pennants and the... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A surprising first half and a surge in early August had the Philadelphia Phillies in prime position to reach the postseason.Then they fell apart.Since completing a four-game sweep over the Miami Marlins on Aug. 5, the Phillies (74-71) are 11-23 and 0-10-1 in those series. They went from 1 1/2 games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East to 7 1/2 games behind with only 17 games to play.Philadelphia was only one game behind the Cubs for best record in the National League before the tailspin began. Now, finishing with a winning mark will be a challenge.Manager Gabe Kapler's positive approach hasn't wavered, but even he can't find a way to sugarcoat this collapse."There's no question that we can play better baseball," Kapler said. "We are more talented and more prepared than the outcomes that we're getting, the losses we've racked up recently."So, what happened?"It's not one thing," Kapler said. "It's a collection of many, many things. And to try to boil it down to one thing doesn't... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A surprising first half and a surge in early August had the Philadelphia Phillies in prime position to reach the postseason.Then they fell apart.Since completing a four-game sweep over the Miami Marlins on Aug. 5, the Phillies (74-71) are 11-23 and 0-10-1 in those series. They went from 1½ games ahead of Atlanta in the NL East to 7½ games behind with only 17 games to play.Philadelphia was only one game behind the Cubs for best record in the National League before the tailspin began. Now, finishing with a winning mark will be a challenge.Manager Gabe Kapler's positive approach hasn't wavered, but even he can't find a way to sugarcoat this collapse."There's no question that we can play better baseball," Kapler said. "We are more talented and more prepared than the outcomes that we're getting, the losses we've racked up recently."So, what happened?"It's not one thing," Kapler said. "It's a collection of many, many things. And to try to boil it down to one thing doesn't... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chase Utley will retire from baseball at the end of this season, capping a 16-year career that included a World Series championship with Philadelphia and an elder-statesman role with the Los Angeles Dodgers.The six-time All-Star said he's leaving to spend more time with his wife and two young sons.Utley announced his decision at a jammed news conference in the basement of Dodger Stadium on Friday, with several of his teammates surprising him by crowding into the small, steamy room."I just want you guys to know that I've signed a five-year extension," Utley deadpanned, drawing laughter from manager Dave Roberts, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Alex Wood, Andrew Toles, Joc Pederson, Logan Forsythe and Ross Stripling.Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw sat on the floor in a corner, with Matt Kemp, Rich Hill, Corey Seager, Austin Barnes and Kenta Maeda joining him.Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt looked on, while hitting coach Turner Ward used his phone to capture... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chase Utley will retire from baseball at the end of this season, capping a 16-year career that included a World Series championship with Philadelphia and an elder-statesman role with the Los Angeles Dodgers.The six-time All-Star said he's leaving to spend more time with his wife and two young sons.Utley announced his decision at a jammed news conference in the bowels of Dodger Stadium on Friday, with several of his teammates surprising him by crowding into the small, steamy room."I just want you guys to know that I've signed a five-year extension," Utley deadpanned, drawing laughter from manager Dave Roberts, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Alex Wood, Andrew Toles, Joc Pederson, Logan Forsythe and Ross Stripling.Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw sat on the floor in a corner, with Matt Kemp, Rich Hill, Corey Seager, Austin Barnes and Kenta Maeda joining him.Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt looked on, while hitting coach Turner Ward used his phone to capture video.... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chase Utley will retire from baseball at the end of this season, capping a 16-year career that included a World Series championship with Philadelphia and an elder statesman role with the Los Angeles Dodgers.The six-time All-Star said he's leaving to spend more time with his wife and two young sons."I'm ready to be a full-time dad," he said.Utley announced his decision at a jammed news conference in the bowels of Dodger Stadium on Friday, with several of his teammates surprising him by crowding into the small, steamy room."I just want you guys to know that I've signed a five-year extension," Utley deadpanned, drawing laughter from manager Dave Roberts, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Alex Wood, Andrew Toles, Joc Pederson, Logan Forsythe and Ross Stripling.Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw sat on the floor in a corner, with Matt Kemp, Rich Hill, Corey Seager, Austin Barnes, and Kenta Maeda joining him.Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt looked on, while hitting coach... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chase Utley's 16-year baseball career is nearing an end.A person with knowledge of the situation said Friday the six-time All-Star will retire from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of this season. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Utley's decision had not been formally announced.Utley was to speak at a news conference later Friday at Dodger Stadium. The topic was not disclosed.The 2019 season would have been the final year of a $2 million, two-year contract.The 39-year-old second baseman made his name with the Philadelphia Phillies, earning five All-Star berths and winning four Silver Slugger awards. He helped the team to a World Series title in 2008, combining with shortstop Jimmy Rollins as a standout double-play duo.Utley has a .276 career average with 259 home runs. He is renowned for his base-stealing ability, with 153 steals in 175 attempts.The Phillies traded Utley to the Dodgers in August 2015.That fall, Utley broke the... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chase Utley's 16-year baseball career is nearing an end.A person with knowledge of the situation said Friday the six-time All-Star will retire from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of this season. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Utley's decision had not been formally announced.Utley was to speak at a news conference later Friday at Dodger Stadium. The topic was not disclosed.The 2019 season would have been the final year of a $2 million, two-year contract.The 39-year-old second baseman made his name with the Philadelphia Phillies, earning five All-Star berths and winning four Silver Slugger awards. He helped the team to a World Series title in 2008, combining with shortstop Jimmy Rollins as a standout double-play duo.Utley has a .276 career average with 259 home runs. He is renowned for his base-stealing ability, with 153 steals in 175 attempts.The Phillies traded Utley to the Dodgers in August 2015.That fall, Utley broke the... [More]

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — All that Auburn pitcher Casey Mize needs to do now is change his Tigers stripes.And then lead Detroit out of the American League doldrums.The rebuilding Tigers selected Mize with the top pick Monday night in a Major League Baseball draft that included an eye-opening surprise when Oakland chose Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray at No. 9 overall.Mize went from undrafted out of high school three years ago all the way to No. 1."It means a ton," he said in an interview on the MLB Network broadcast. "I can't describe this feeling right now."After striking it rich, hard to blame him. The signing-bonus slot value for this year's first pick is a cool $8.1 million.Mize has pitched the Auburn Tigers into the NCAA Tournament super regionals, going 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts against only 12 walks in 109 2/3 innings this season. The polished right-hander features outstanding command of four pitches, including a mid-90s (mph) fastball and a wicked changeup that he throws... [More]

SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — Casey Mize went from undrafted three years ago all the way to No. 1.The Detroit Tigers selected the Auburn right-hander with the first pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. The announcement at MLB Network studios marked the second time the Tigers led off the draft, and first since they took Rice pitcher Matt Anderson in 1997.The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Mize had long been linked to the Tigers, and this season he pitched his way to the top spot on the board. Mize wasn't chosen by any organization out of high school three years ago, but developed into a potential big league ace while in college."It means a ton," he said in an interview on MLB Network's broadcast. "I can't describe this feeling right now."Mize is 10-5 with a 2.95 ERA and 151 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 109 2/3 innings while helping the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament super regionals. He has outstanding command of four pitches, including a fastball that hovers in the mid-90s (mph), and his... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors today:___WE MEET AGAINIn the latest round of baseball's most storied rivalry, the Red Sox (25-9) and Yankees (24-10) have the top two records in the majors heading into a clash for first place in the AL East. Following their throwback brawl in Boston last month, the teams square off on Yankee Stadium soil for the first time this season. New York ace Luis Severino (5-1, 2.11 ERA), coming off his first career shutout last week in Houston, starts the opener of a three-game showdown against lefty Drew Pomeranz (1-1, 6.14). The streaking Yankees have won six straight and 15 of 16, not to mention nine home games in a row. Boston hopes to have Mookie Betts back in the lineup after the star outfielder left Sunday's game at Texas with a bruised right shoulder.OUT WESTSporting the best mark in the National League, the Diamondbacks (23-11) visit Los Angeles to renew their NL West rivalry with the struggling Dodgers (15-19) in a matchup of injury-depleted... [More]