PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Throughout Florida and Arizona, players are working to adjust to Major League Baseball’s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, which will debut this season.

Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.

Be yourself, unless you feel like being something else. This is now an established Minor League Baseball promotional strategy, as teams across the country regularly assume alternate identities in lieu of their day-to-day primary identities. These alternate identities often have a local connection, with teams celebrating their region's culinary specialties,

With an unforgettable performance on Thursday in Milan, Italy, 20-year-old Alysa Liu became the first American to win a gold medal in an individual Olympic women’s skating event in 24 years. But before she won gold representing her country in the Winter Olympics with her tremendous skating skills, Liu was

Promotional giveaways are a treat when you go to the ballpark, like icing on the cake of taking in a Major League game. And increasingly clubs are becoming more and more clever in their homage to former players, managers, broadcasters and other important figures in franchise history. The Mets are

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The dog treats have become an integral part of Josh Naylor’s routine. Before hitting the field for infield work and batting practice at Spring Training, the Mariners’ slugging first baseman can be seen stretching on the turf adjacent to the weight room. And at his side is

Farm systems are huge. In addition to Rookie-level leagues at complexes in the Dominican Republic and the grounds where big league Spring Training camps are held, there are four under-the-lights, ticket-selling affiliates for every single Major League Baseball organization, amounting to 120 Minor League Baseball teams. Many of these teams

It wasn’t long into the 2026 college baseball season by the time Baylor’s Tyce Armstrong made some serious history. During the Bears’ season opener Friday against New Mexico State at Baylor Ballpark in Waco, Texas, Armstrong pulled off an amazing feat at the plate -- one no Major Leaguer has

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman put Arlington High School in suburban Memphis, Tenn., on the map by making his first All-Star Game. Last Sunday, Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III put Arlington at the center of the successful-athlete-producing universe by earning Super Bowl LX MVP honors in Seattle’s

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tarik Skubal is a back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner, a Team USA ace and a record winner in arbitration. He got here by never being satisfied, which might explain his next foray in pursuit of more hardware. Skubal is an aspiring barista.

Yusei Kikuchi and Shohei Ohtani — two stars who rose from Iwate Prefecture to the world stage — have been named to Japan’s roster for this spring’s World Baseball Classic. Both graduates of Hanamaki Higashi High School, what impact have the two had on their hometown of Iwate and their

Former big league pitcher Kyle Farnsworth was born in Wichita, Kan. He went to high school and college in Georgia. He pitched for Chicago, New York, Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Pittsburgh during his big league career. He had an electric fastball and some good seasons, but was

Not only does Topps art director Adam Schwartz vividly remember receiving his first jersey as a kid, he knows exactly where it is. The black Mets Jose Reyes model has a permanent spot in his closet, long outgrown but still a cherished keepsake from his childhood. “It doesn't fit me

There are, unfortunately, many similarities between how Black athletes were treated in both Major League Baseball and English soccer in the early part of the 20th century. Like in baseball, there wasn't an official rule, but a kind of "gentlemen's agreement" that Black players couldn't participate in the top soccer

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Sept. 8, 1990, is an otherwise lackluster date in the history of Texas Rangers baseball. But on that date, future Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan created the iconic picture of him pitching with a bloody lip.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- What a difference one letter can make. When Munetaka Murakami first arrived at Camelback Ranch on Sunday morning, the nameplate above his home White Sox clubhouse locker read “Munetaki Murakami.” It unofficially goes down as the first error of Spring Training. Murakami posted the mistake on his

Bad Bunny put on quite the performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which included many notable guests like Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga, Cardi B, Karol G and Pedro Pascal. Also included in the exhilarating show? None other than Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. The Venezuelan native was seen partying

A version of this article was first published on MiLB.com on Feb. 1, 2018. The first Super Bowl took place on Jan. 15, 1967, when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers won the Super Bowl again the following season, this time over the Oakland Raiders.

A version of this story first ran in February 2022.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Jefry Yan is aware of the attention his energetic celebrations of strikeouts and key outs have drawn, as he’s gone viral multiple times over the past couple of years. Thanks to his particular style of celebrating on the mound with the Estrellas Orientales in the Dominican League

If you're a baseball player, it's hard to ask for a better landing spot than the Dodgers. Or make that the Yankees. No, wait, definitely the Dodgers. That ping-pong between big-market behemoths has been exactly the experience for outfielder Michael Siani over the past two weeks. The 26-year-old was claimed

CHICAGO -- There will be a new White Sox addition within their 2026 Rate Field home clubhouse, thanks to another new addition within their 2026 Rate Field home clubhouse. Munetaka Murakami is the latter of those two, after agreeing to a two-year, $34 million deal as possibly the biggest signing

A version of this story was originally published in June 2024.