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How good would Mike Trout be in the KBO? We have the numbers
If you like watching professional baseball, the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) League ought to be your thing right now. The general level of play isn’t the same as Major League Baseball or even Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). But that misses the point entirely; it’s a very different atmosphere than Major League Baseball, with wild bat […]
Continue readingAn 82-game season? A universal DH? Key takeaways from MLB’s 2020 proposal
MLB owners approved a proposal that aims to have Major League Baseball back in early July, sources told ESPN. Commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly plans to present the proposal to players Tuesday. While player safety playing during the coronavirus pandemic and financial questions about compensation for a shortened season will be at the top of the […]
Continue readingPower rankings, top players, key storylines and more: Everything you need for KBO opening day
The Korea Baseball Organization, the highest level of baseball in South Korea, is scheduled to begin its season on Tuesday (which is overnight Monday in the U.S.), making it one of the first major professional sports leagues to return to action during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not quite the opening day that fans of Major […]
Continue readingWhen the rest of the world stopped, Josh Roenicke and baseball played on in Taiwan
If Americans think self-quarantining during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States has been tough, go talk to former MLB pitcher Josh Roenicke. He is entering his third season with the Uni-President Lions of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) — and the pandemic even stretched Roenicke’s love for baseball. He returned to Taiwan at […]
Continue readingTim Kurkjian Baseball Fix – Omar Vizquel reveals his ‘magic’ trick
You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we’ll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history. ON THIS DATE IN 1967, Omar Vizquel was born. Omar Vizquel has the greatest hands I’ve ever seen. And, after Ozzie Smith, Vizquel is the […]
Continue readingThe biggest one-hit wonders for every National League team
One of the beautiful aspects about Major League Baseball: Great seasons can come from nowhere. The line between great and mediocre is smaller in baseball than other sports. A few extra strikes a game. A couple of extra swing-and-misses. A few more hits each month or a couple extra home runs and you’re an All-Star […]
Continue readingThe best pitching performance ever for all 30 teams
Editor’s note: The original version of this story ran on June 27, 2018. As part of ESPN’s Strikeout Saturday on March 28, 2020, David Schoenfield updated his evaluations, particularly of who’s most likely to beat each team’s best-ever pitching performance. On May 4, 2018 Gerrit Cole pitched one of the best games you will ever […]
Continue readingAll the ways MLB teams could use new 26th man on the roster
The most intriguing MLB rule change, however, is the change from a 25-man roster through Aug. 31 to 26 players. I’ve long advocated for a change in roster size, an acknowledgement that pitcher usage — and the number of pitchers rostered — has changed dramatically in the last two-plus decades. For example, in 1977, six […]
Continue readingOne stat that will shape 2020 for each National League team
Last week, we looked at one key statistic for each American League team. Let’s do the same now for the National League — a key number from the 2019 MLB season and how that will shape what happens in 2020. NL East | Central | West The number: 4.18. The Braves finished 11th in the […]
Continue readingOne thing to watch for all 30 teams as spring training begins
When spring training kicked off a year ago, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remained unsigned. The drama this year will center around the Houston Astros: their cheating scandal, reactions from other players about the Astros’ cheating scandal, the possibility of other teams throwing at Astros hitters in spring training, the counter-reaction from Astros pitchers and […]
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