Latest in Major League Baseball

Although it had been in the works for a while, today’s virtual upfront presentation by Fox Sports packed uncanny punch after Thursday’s big mask news. The Centers for Disease Control dramatically shifted its guidance, saying those vaccinated against Covid-19 could ditch their masks in most situations. Fox’s 45-minute…

Major League Baseball announced today that the 2021 All-Star Game will be hosted this summer by the Colorado Rockies at Denver’s Coors Field. The decision comes following last week’s MLB announcement that the game and draft would be relocated from Atlanta due to Georgia’s newly passed restrictive voting law. The game…

Major League Baseball has postponed a season-opening, three-game series between the New York Mets and Washington Nationals due to a Covid-19 outbreak. The teams’ opening game on Thursday had already been scratched after three positive coronavirus test results were confirmed by the Nationals. Today, the team confirmed…

Declaring in all-caps on Twitter that “BASEBALL IS BACK,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said venues like Yankee Stadium and Citi Field are cleared to be 20% full as of April 1. Sports venues that can hold at least 1,500 people indoors or 2,500 people outdoors can reopen on April 1, Cuomo said. Capacity indoors is 10% and…

NBA star LeBron James, who already had a stake in the Fenway Sports Group’s Liverpool soccer club, has become part-owner of the company’s marquee asset: the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Globe first reported the news, which was then confirmed by ESPN. James, a regular on social media, has not yet weighed in. Just prior…

Henry Aaron, the slugger known as “Hammerin’ Hank” who cemented himself in baseball lore when he broke Babe Ruth’s career home run mark in 1974, died Friday. He was 86. His daughter confirmed the news to media outlets but did not provide details. The Hall of Famer played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and…

Tommy Lasorda, the colorful, quotable and revered Los Angeles Dodgers legend who managed the team to two World Series title and four National League pennants in the 1970s and ’80s, died today at 93. The Dodgers announced that the Hall of Famer "suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home" on Thursday…

HBO Sports and Major League Baseball are teaming up on documentary Under The Grapefruit Tree: The CC Sabathia Story, about the life and career of the former New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians pitcher. The feature doc, which will debut on December 22 on HBO and will then stream on HBO Max, will…

The commissioners of the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball addressed the impact of COVID-19 on their sports as well as TV ratings, rules changes and plans for next season during a virtual panel hosted by the Paley Center. With rates of coronavirus infection now surging nationwide, the feat of each league managing to…

Major League Baseball has opted not to punish Los Angeles Dodgers star Justin Turner for joining his teammates in an on-field celebration of winning the World Series after he’d left the game because of a positive COVID-19 test. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said today that Turner apologized for the October 27 incident…

The Los Angeles Dodgers winning their first World Series title since the Reagan era Tuesday was tempered by news that the team’s star third baseman Justin Turner tested positive for COVID-19 and was informed late in the deciding Game 6. He left the field before the eighth inning and was put in isolation but returned…

WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports and Major League Baseball have reached a seven-year rights extension through 2028, with HBO Max potentially a future venue for game broadcasts. While the partners are not commenting on the valuation of the deal, it has been reported to be $3.75 billion, or $535 million a year. The re-up…