MLB

6:25 PM ET David Ortiz has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot with 77.9% of the vote. He put up huge numbers at the plate, and Big Papi proved to be a larger-than-life presence off the diamond as well, with a boundless charisma that affected teammates

3:58 PM ET With the process still tainted by the steroid era, David Ortiz was the lone player to gain induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, while players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were shut out. “Big Papi” was the only player to clear the 75 percent threshold for induction, according

6:45 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox added another name to their rich Cuban history when they announced Tuesday they had agreed to a contract with outfielder Oscar Colás. Considered one of the top international free agents, Colás received a $2.7 million signing bonus. The team also announced it had agreed

2:53 PM ET Jesse Rogers Close ESPN Staff Writer Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. Jeff Passan Close ESPN ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball indicated for the first time that it is open to

7:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” At the entrance to the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s plaque gallery, a sign hangs to help guide museumgoers through what they’re about to see. The first paragraph talks about how players

4:47 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association plan to meet again Tuesday after a Monday bargaining session led to the first sliver of progress between the sides since the league locked

2:28 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Mets general manager Billy Eppler said he spoke to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman well before hiring away Eric Chávez as the team’s hitting coach and that both sides had an understanding that Chávez might end up in Queens. Chávez, 44, was hired by the Yankees in

7:00 AM ET The Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results of the Baseball Writers Association of America voting Tuesday, and it’s a winter tradition that has become as much fun as shoveling wet, heavy snow that sits atop a layer of super-slick ice. Hall of Fame debates are no longer just about who

7:45 PM ET ESPN News Services Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association plan to meet Monday, when the union is expected to present a counteroffer to the league’s proposal last week, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The players’ association asked Major League Baseball on Thursday to schedule the negotiating session, which is to

1:46 PM ET Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays‘ proposed plan to split the season between Florida and Montreal has been rejected by Major League Baseball. Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg announced the news on Thursday. “Today’s news is flat-out deflating,” Sternberg said. The idea of playing in both the Tampa

4:06 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Robot umpires have been given a promotion and will be just one step from the major leagues this season. Major League Baseball is expanding its automated strike zone experiment to Triple-A, the highest level of the minor leagues. MLB’s website posted a hiring notice seeking seasonal employees

7:00 AM ET It started with J.P. Crawford. I was digging into some statistics and noticed Crawford ranked as the worst baserunner in the majors according to Baseball-Reference’s baserunning metric at minus-5 runs below average. How could that be? Crawford isn’t slow. Well, he’s not slow, but he was 3-for-9 stealing bases and he was

7:24 PM ET A woman who fell to her death at Petco Park while holding her toddler son last September died by suicide, according to a statement Wednesday from the San Diego Police Department. Authorities ruled her 2-year-old son’s death a homicide. San Diego residents Raquel Wilkins, 40, and her son, Denzel Browning-Wilkins, fell around

7:00 AM ET Who will make this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class? We don’t quite know that yet (results will be announced Tuesday), but there are a number of players who we’re pretty sure won’t make it. Either they’re not getting enough support on public ballots or they’re staring at a too-significant deficit from

10:51 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” Star free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa has hired agent Scott Boras, Correa told ESPN over the phone Tuesday night. On the 47th day of Major League Baseball’s lockout, with transactions frozen and Correa

3:54 PM ET Brandon Gomes, a former major league pitcher just six years removed from his playing days, has been named general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a position left vacant ever since Farhan Zaidi’s departure to the San Francisco Giants. Gomes, 37, has a long history with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew

7:00 AM ET Six first basemen have attained nine-figure contracts in their 30s, and the results haven’t necessarily been great. The megadeals for Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols became problems almost immediately. So did the one for Ryan Howard. Deals for Jason Giambi and Carlos Lee started off well but fizzled in the back halves.

7:00 AM ET NEW YORK — Three days into the MLB lockout, when New York Yankees fan Ray Sbarra checked Reddit for his baseball fix, he came up empty. So, with the lockout leaving the hot stove freezing cold and no end in sight, he decided to fill in the gap. “I just figured, let