When the Yankees want to bring a player back, they do not often let one of their own leave in free agency. Call it the powerful pull of the pinstripes -- and of course, being a big-market, big-budget team doesn't hurt, either. Just how powerful that pull is, though, was

Now in his fourth year on the Hall of Fame ballot -- after moving to the precipice of election with 70.3 percent last time around -- Carlos Beltrán's candidacy remains rather polarizing. On merit alone, the longtime center fielder has one of the best cases for election among the players

The primary job of a leadoff hitter is to get on base so his teammates can drive him in. Of course, the batter atop a lineup also simply can start things off by driving himself in, too. After all, there’s no better way for an offense to open a game

When it comes to drafting players, Major League Baseball is quite different from other professional sports leagues. For one thing, baseball's Draft historically has been many more rounds than those of the NBA, NFL and NHL. For another, although it’s not always the case, the professional path typically is much

A player hitting three home runs in a game is a remarkable feat. It's also both relatively rare and fairly fluky, not unlike hitting for the cycle or throwing a no-hitter. Want some context? The most three-homer games in a single season is 22, which happened in 2001 and 2019.

There's an electric right-handed pitcher on an NL contender who is striking out about half the batters he faces with an unhittable fastball-slider combination and who also has a case as the best reliever in baseball right now. His last name is Díaz. But it's not the one you're familiar

The Mariners have made the postseason. That's a sentence that hasn't been written since 2001, saddling Seattle with the longest active playoff drought not only in MLB, but in any of the four major pro sports in North America. At least, it was active until Friday night, when the Mariners

The relief pitcher who has had the most dominant start to the season so far throws 103 miles per hour, and there's a good chance you've never even heard of him. Until now. Meet Ryan Helsley, the 27-year-old Cardinals right-hander who not only has thrown MLB's fastest pitch this season

Few plays in baseball, if any, are more exciting than a walk-off hit -- a game-ending knock that sends the home team and crowd into a frenzy. Make it a walk-off home run, and, well, that's about as thrilling as it gets. Such a dramatic event doesn't happen all that

For much of this season, the presumption has been that the AL Cy Young Award would be Gerrit Cole's to lose. But what if it's actually now Robbie Ray's to win As the $324 million arm pitching as well as ever for the team he rooted for growing up, Cole

Sometimes a statistic is so surprising, so shocking, so unbelievable that it's best just to get right to the point. So here it is: The pitcher who leads MLB in hit batters, with 17 to be exact, is ... a reliever who has thrown all of ... 45 1/3 innings

The story of the Giants' season, obviously, is that they have surprised just about everyone by maintaining not only their spot atop the NL West but also the best record in baseball. When that happens, there's typically a lot of internet ink spilled on the "how"s, the "why"s and, especially,

With the July 30 Trade Deadline fast approaching, plenty of attention will be focused on the players acquired by contending clubs and the impact they can make down the stretch. Not every team with October aspirations, however, will be able to address needs by bringing in a new player via

Baseball is rife with sluggers these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to guess who will lead the Majors in homers in any given year. Entering 2020, Luke Voit was on the heels of a season in which he hit 21 homers in 118 games. Then, in ‘20, he

Stolen bases might not be as prevalent as they used to be, but few plays in baseball can match the thrill of the steal. That's why you're going to want to keep an eye on the 10 speedsters listed below, because they comprise the predicted 2021 league stolen-base champs (five

There are more advanced measures of a pitcher’s performance than plain old ERA, from FIP to SIERA to Statcast’s expected ERA (xERA). But although it’s not perfect, ERA still resonates, still carries plenty of meaning for the players on the mound, and factors significantly into awards voting. So which pitcher

Winning a strikeout title is the mark of a truly dominant ace. Just look at the list of names who've led their league in strikeouts in recent seasons: Jacob deGrom, Shane Bieber, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw … it's a who's who of pitching. But

The 2020 season came and went in the blink of an eye, and some of the game's brightest stars were left with less-than-stellar numbers, because the pandemic-shortened campaign didn’t provide much of an opportunity for players to bounce back from early slumps. But 2021 is a chance for a fresh

Earlier this week, we made our predictions for the breakout hitters of 2021. Now how about some pitchers? Recent seasons have seen a bunch of exciting new aces make the leap, like Dinelson Lamet and Corbin Burnes in 2020 and Shane Bieber and Lucas Giolito in 2019. Let's figure out

Let's play a little word association. When you read the word "Dodgers," which current hitter comes to mind first? Admittedly, this is a tricky task, because as the deepest team in baseball and the first to clinch a postseason berth, the Dodgers are loaded with stars, particularly on offense. Is

After the Red Sox traded away superstar Mookie Betts this past offseason, is it possible the team with the worst record in the American League could part with yet another World Series-winning face of the franchise -- and soon? Enter Xander Bogaerts. At 27 years old, the shortstop is smack

The Royals have added some Kansas City royalty to their franchise. Patrick Mahomes -- the star quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs and reigning Super Bowl Most Valuable Player -- now is part owner of the Royals, the franchise announced Tuesday. “We are very proud and excited to have Patrick

Following the current social guidelines during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic means, in most cases, remaining at home in order to stay a safe distance away from others. But just because you’re spending a lot of time inside doesn’t mean you can’t still practice and improve your baseball skills. That’s right:

Anthony Rizzo is doing his part to help during the coronavirus pandemic. The Cubs' star first baseman is helping keep necessary workers fed, thanks to the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation. Nurses at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, one of the top pediatric providers in the United States, are continuing to

With no live baseball games currently on TV, you can always fill the void by streaming a classic game from your favorite team’s past. The MLB Vault account on YouTube has numerous games, and the MLB account has a bunch more, too. Here's one memorable game for each team that