Baseball

Arlington, Texas – Justin Turner violated coronavirus protocols when he celebrated with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates and refused instructions from security to leave the field, behavior that Major League Baseball said risked the safety of others. The commissioner’s office said Wednesday it is starting a full investigation of the […]

The most unpredictable of pennant races ended with among the most predictable of results: The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, once again, on top of the Pacific League and looking toward the Climax Series and possibly a fourth straight Japan Series title. Japanese baseball’s reigning dynasty wrapped up the 2020 pennant with […]

Arlington, Texas – No dogpile, no champagne and a mask on nearly every face — the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their first World Series title since 1988 in a manner no one could have imagined prior to the coronavirus pandemic. They started the party without Justin Turner, too, after their […]

Fukuoka – The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks clinched their 21st league championship in franchise history on Tuesday and their sixth since being taken over by SoftBank in 2005. The pennant is the Hawks’ first since 2017. Their next step will be to host the Pacific League Climax Series playoffs, abbreviated this […]

Kumagaya, Saitama Pref. – Sitting through the 2020 ikusei (development) draft Monday evening proved a long wait for Junichi Tazawa. Even three hours after its 5:15 p.m. start, when the Yomiuri Giants declared they had no more players to pick up, his name had not been called. The 34-year-old had […]

Arlington, Texas – Since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland’s Tony Phillips for the final out of the 1988 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have played 5,014 regular-season games and 113 more in the postseason in pursuit of their next title. They have spent $3.69 billion in player payroll over […]

Burnley, England – The partnership between Harry Kane and Son Heung-min is developing into the most prolific in Premier League history. Son headed in from Kane’s flick-on to secure a 1-0 win at Burnley on Monday, making it the 29th time they have combined for a goal. It was the […]

The Central League’s Hanshin Tigers secured the rights to negotiate with Kindai University’s slugging infielder Teruaki Sato on Monday at Nippon Professional Baseball’s amateur draft. The Pacific League’s Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, meanwhile, won the rights for the other most highly sought prospect, Waseda University pitcher Takahisa Hayakawa. The two […]

Pressure on Yokohama DeNA BayStars manager Alex Ramirez to deliver a pennant has been heightened since owner Tomoko Namba stepped into the center of a circle of reporters last year — about an hour after the team was eliminated from 2019 postseason — and essentially said 2020 was title or […]

Arlington, Texas – Clayton Kershaw’s glittering career lacked two of the most satisfying accomplishments: a win deep in the World Series and a championship ring. Kershaw took the mound Sunday night for a shaken Los Angeles Dodgers team and steadied his club with a gritty performance, plus one particular delivery […]