MLB

8:00 AM ET In May, my 5-year-old son and I draped his bedroom in blankets from wall to wall, crawled inside and flew our imaginary ship all over the world. Jacob chose to visit places we couldn’t go because of the coronavirus, and we landed on the roof of Grandma’s house in the country and

7:00 AM ET The most high-profile season in Korea Baseball Organization history begins its full charge toward the Korean Series on Sunday. With the start of the KBO playoffs, the spotlight will be on many of the league’s biggest stars — some of whom might be playing in the major leagues as early as next

8:04 PM ET CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs declined the $25 million team option on pitcher Jon Lester Friday but are likely to announce picking up the $16.5 million option on first baseman Anthony Rizzo before a Sunday deadline, sources told ESPN. Lester, 36, was at the end of a 6-year, $155 million contract with

12:25 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” In November 2014, six months after the Arizona Diamondbacks named Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa their chief baseball officer, the organization announced that it had hired Dr. Ed Lewis as

7:00 AM ET Sam MillerESPN.com Close ESPN baseball columnist/feature writerFormer editor-in-chief of Baseball ProspectusCo-author of “The Only Rule Is It Has To Work” It felt, immediately, like The World Series That Ended Too Soon. When Julio Urias struck out Willy Adames on Tuesday night, it concluded the 951st baseball game of 2020. The 951st game

7:42 PM ET ESPN News Services The Detroit Tigers have made progress in finalizing a deal with former Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch to be their next manager, although the agreement is not finalized, sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney. Last Friday, Tigers general manager Al Avila said the team wasn’t ruling out hiring either Hinch

5:30 PM ET Jesse Rogers Close ESPN Staff Writer Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. David Schoenfield Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer of SweetSpot baseball blog Former deputy editor of Page 2 Been with ESPN.com since 1995 After 34 years, Tony La Russa is back as the Chicago

7:00 AM ET The weirdest, strangest, wackiest, smartest, stupidest, best, worst season in baseball history is finally over — and it’s not clear if we should be happy or sad. Major League Baseball brought us so much pleasure, but also such a large measure of pain. So all we can hope, for so many reasons

11:40 PM ET We can only hope 2021 will be a more normal season, with 162 games and fans in the stands and hot dogs to eat and overpriced beer to drink. We don’t know what the state of things will be come April 1, when the 2021 season is scheduled to begin, but we

5:00 AM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — Clayton Kershaw was the last one to reach the infield. After the final out was recorded, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had finally secured the World Series championship, Kershaw lifted both arms in the air while a swarm of teammates sprinted past him. He emerged from the right-center-field bullpen,

6:40 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” ARLINGTON, Texas — In this oddest of years, this most peculiar of baseball seasons, there was perhaps no more telling snapshot of the United States, circa 2020, than a COVID-19-positive man sitting

11:38 PM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — The Kirk Gibson home run had endured, but it had also run its course. The clip remained a constant presence around the Los Angeles Dodgers, consuming their broadcasts and playing on a near-constant loop at their stadium. It stood as the seminal moment from a bygone era, of a

7:00 AM ET MLB InsidersESPN After all the oddities of the MLB regular season and postseason, the 2020 World Series pits baseball’s top two teams against each other. While we’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Dodgers playing for the championship, this is the first Fall Classic for the Rays since 2008 and only the second

7:00 AM ET If the Los Angeles Dodgers go on to win this World Series, remember that 1 inch — the 1 inch that Manuel Margot needed to complete the first steal of home in the World Series since 2002. Instead, he was the third out of the bottom of the fourth inning as Clayton

3:27 AM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — The Tampa Bay Rays were the home team these past three nights. If not for their white pants, you might not have known it. Over the past three weeks, as they situated themselves inside a quasi-bubble in Texas’ metroplex, the Los Angeles Dodgers have commandeered Globe Life Field and

12:00 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” ARLINGTON, Texas — As Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts strolled to the mound with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, a chorus of boos rained down from the

2:59 AM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” ARLINGTON, Texas — Cali Kershaw, 5, a nuclear bundle of energy, jitterbugged around the room, under the table and over it, side to side, everywhere space permitted. Her little brother Charley, 3,

11:39 PM ET ARLINGTON, Texas — The theme late Saturday night and early Sunday afternoon — in the aftermath of a heart-wrenching, stomach-churning loss — was universal among the members of the Los Angeles Dodgers: They had to forget. They had to wipe away the memory of an improbable ninth-inning breakdown, bounce right back and