9:50 AM ET When I first reached out to Henry Aaron to tell him I was interested in writing a book about his life, he did not want to talk to me. He was convinced the public had no interest in him, except to have him serve as their proxy to criticize Barry Bonds as
MLB
7:00 PM ET So much of Henry Aaron’s baseball legacy is attached to three numbers — 715, 755 and whatever Barry Bonds’ career home run total ended up at — that we too often overlook his all-around brilliance on the field. Put it this way: If you turned his 755 home runs into outs, he
11:30 AM ET Henry Aaron, who rose up from the depths of Southern poverty to become one of the towering figures in baseball history as well a bittersweet symbol of both American racial intolerance and triumph, has died today. He was 86. When he retired in 1976 after a 23-year major league career with the
7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN Two of baseball’s big four free agents are off the board. Two remain. With the World Series ancient history and the first pitch of the 2021 MLB season still months away, we’ve reached this offseason’s unofficial midway point. While we wait for the rest of the hot stove action to
11:13 AM ET Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron, the Hall of Fame slugger whose 755 career home runs long stood as baseball’s golden mark, has died. He was 86. “We are absolutely devastated by the passing of our beloved Hank,” Atlanta Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said in a statement. “He was a beacon for our organization
12:54 PM ET After intimating as much over the last year or so, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant admitted he isn’t having as much fun playing baseball as he used to. Bryant, 29, spoke to Red Line Radio, a Barstool podcast, and was asked if there was joy for him on the field. “At
12:32 PM ET Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association are being renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum signed a licensing agreement with Mark Brandmeyer’s MaxFun Entertainment, owner of the minor league team. The
7:00 AM ET So often, when you reference the big numbers of a pitcher from baseball’s past, you are dealing with results that have no modern relevance. They certainly have little use as a signpost for what some present-day hurler might do. Things have changed too much. There are some obvious examples of that which
1:07 AM ET Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — – Mike Sadek, a popular backup catcher who played all eight of his major league seasons with the San Francisco Giants, has died. He was 74. The team announced Sadek died Wednesday in San Andreas, California, following a short illness. Sadek was a .226 career hitter with
5:07 PM ET Veteran left-hander J.A. Happ and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a one-year deal, pending a physical, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Financial terms weren’t immediately available. Happ, a free agent, will remain in the American League after spending the last two-and-a-half seasons with the New York Yankees. He will join a
2:50 AM ET In the end, despite all the grumbling and fussing about the slow offseason, George Springer will get his money. All it took was the biggest contract in Toronto Blue Jays history, a six-year, $150 million deal, according to Jeff Passan, just the second $100 million contract the franchise has handed out. The
10:55 PM ET Outfielder George Springer and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a six-year, $150 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Springer is headed to the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, for a physical. If all goes according to plan, Toronto will get the star it has been
8:10 AM ET The New York Mets fired general manager Jared Porter on Tuesday, according to owner Steve Cohen. The firing came a day after ESPN reported that he sent explicit unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016 while working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office. Cohen tweeted Tuesday that
7:00 AM ET After a very slow start, the free-agent market is finally starting to move with the Yankees inking deals with both DJ LeMahieu and Corey Kluber, and the Washington Nationals adding Jon Lester to their rotation. As the market heats up, ESPN MLB reporter Jesse Rogers weighs in with the latest offseason buzz
10:59 PM ET Mina Kimes Close ESPN Senior Writer Mina Kimes:• Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine• Joined ESPN in 2014• Former features reporter at Bloomberg• Wrote for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek• Spent five years at Fortune magazine Jeff Passan Close ESPN ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports”
1:34 PM ET Chris Sale is under contract for four more years with the Boston Red Sox — plus an option for 2025 — and with the team hoping that he can contribute throughout the length of the contract, the pace for his return from Tommy John surgery is expected to be deliberate, according to
7:00 AM ET I check all of the boxes. I played nine seasons in the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. I have experience as an executive subcommittee member in the Major League Baseball Players Association and am well-versed in baseball governance. I have an Ivy League degree at a
7:41 AM ET I write this with great respect for my many friends who are Mets fans: It might be redundant to say they are irrational. It wasn’t surprising, then, that within a few weeks of Steve Cohen being installed as the team’s new owner, some among the Mets’ faithful — their suffering made possible