April 71925 — Babe Ruth collapsed in a railroad station in Asheville, N.C. He would be hospitalized in New York and operated on 10 days later for an ulcer.1964 — Shea Stadium in New York opened for the first regular season game. The Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.1969 — The Yankees spoiled the managerial debut of Ted Williams by defeating the Senators 8-4 in the opener at Washington's RFK Stadium. President Nixon and a crowd of 45,000 attended.1970 — Three weeks after moving from Seattle to Milwaukee, the former Pilots played their first game as the Brewers and lost 12-0 to the visiting California Angels.1973 — Cleveland set an attendance record for day games and opening-day games by attracting 74,420 fans. The Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1.1977 — The expansion Toronto Blue Jays began their major league odyssey with a 9-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. Al Woods, pinch hitting for Steve Bowling in the fifth inning, became the 11th pinch... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington pitcher Max Scherzer took over from Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout as baseball's highest-paid player at $37.4 million and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox remained the sport's biggest spender for the second straight year, according to a study of major league salaries by The Associated Press.Baseball's average salary dropped for an unprecedented second straight year on opening day, falling about $36,000 to approximately $4,375,000. But the drop was due to signing bonuses in new contracts for Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and a few others. Baseball's accounting rules allocate signing bonuses in equal portions over each guaranteed year of a contract, and the signing bonuses of nine players caused an $82,000 drop in the opening-day average.Trout was the highest-paid last season at $34.08 million but his new deal dropped his salary for this year in exchange for a $20 million signing bonus. Scherzer's salary is discounted because... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington pitcher Max Scherzer took over from Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout as baseball's highest-paid player at $37.4 million and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox remained the sport's biggest spender for the second straight year, according to a study of major league salaries by The Associated Press.Baseball's average salary dropped for an unprecedented second straight year on opening day, falling about $36,000 to approximately $4,375,000. But the drop was due to signing bonuses in new contracts for Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and a few others. Baseball's accounting rules allocate signing bonuses in equal portions over each guaranteed year of a contract, and the signing bonuses of nine players caused an $82,000 drop in the opening-day average.Trout was the highest-paid last season at $34.08 million but his new deal dropped his salary for this year in exchange for a $20 million signing bonus. Scherzer's salary is discounted because... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Washington pitcher Max Scherzer took over from Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout as baseball's highest-paid player at $37.4 million and the World Series champion Boston Red Sox remained the sport's bigger spender for the second straight year, according to a study of major league salaries by The Associated Press.Baseball's average salary dropped for an unprecedented second straight year on opening day, falling about $36,000 to approximately $4,375,000. But the drop was due to signing bonuses in new contracts for Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and a few others. Baseball's accounting rules allocate signing bonuses in equal portions over each guaranteed year of a contract, and the signing bonuses of nine players caused an $82,000 drop in the opening-day average.Trout was the highest-paid last season at $34.08 million but his new deal dropped his salary for this year in exchange for a $20 million signing bonus. Scherzer's salary is discounted because... [More]

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — When Michael Fulmer arrived in the major leagues in 2016, his impact was impressive and immediate.Now, the Detroit right-hander will settle for steady progress.Three years after that sparkling debut season, Fulmer is at a bit of a crossroads. He won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 but has struggled to return to that form, especially last year, when he went 3-12 with a 4.69 ERA. His 2018 season ended a bit early because of knee problems, and Fulmer — who turns 26 this month — has been working on some mechanical adjustments in response to his injuries."I think last year, performance-wise, I wasn't a hundred percent all the way through the season, and I think it showed," he said Monday. "This year, we're trying to kind of redo everything and get to be pain free, which I am. I'm blessed for that, and I think everything else will kind of build up."Fulmer pitched three innings in Monday's 9-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kolten Wong led off with a home run... [More]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes says he thinks he'll be able to play at some point this season.Recovering from surgery on both heels, the New York Mets slugger told reporters through a translator at spring training Friday he is finally pain-free. He has been working out and plans to begin throwing next week, but there's no timetable for when the 33-year-old left fielder will start running or hitting — and he's not sure when he might return to the lineup.The team has said Cespedes is expected to be sidelined until at least July. Mets manager Mickey Callaway said this week he hopes Cespedes can contribute "late in the season."The oft-injured Cespedes, who said he's been frustrated and bored while recovering, has been limited to 119 games since signing a $110 million, four-year contract after the 2016 season.He had separate operations to remove calcification and bone spurs from both heels, the first last August and the second in late October.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Yoenis Cespedes says he thinks he'll be able to play at some point this season.Recovering from surgery on both heels, the New York Mets slugger told reporters through a translator at spring training Friday he is finally pain-free. He has been working out and plans to begin throwing next week, but there's no timetable for when the 33-year-old left fielder will start running or hitting — and he's not sure when he might return to the lineup.The team has said Cespedes is expected to be sidelined until at least July. Mets manager Mickey Callaway said this week he hopes Cespedes can contribute "late in the season."The oft-injured Cespedes, who said he's been frustrated and bored while recovering, has been limited to 119 games since signing a $110 million, four-year contract after the 2016 season.He had separate operations to remove calcification and bone spurs from both heels, the first last August and the second in late October.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Mickey Callaway's first season as a manager with the New York Mets was ... well ... messy.His team batted out of order due to a lineup-card snafu. Several puzzling decisions drew heavy scrutiny. And the banged-up Mets faded fast following an 11-1 start, finishing eight games under .500."I experienced a ton. I think that's probably the most valuable thing, is just going through it. Going through the ups and downs," Callaway said Wednesday. "I'm looking forward to Year 2."But as he prepares to begin his second spring training in charge, the 43-year-old Callaway is already under plenty of pressure in a potentially dicey situation.The club's new general manager, former player agent Brodie Van Wagenen, didn't hire him. Not to mention, Van Wagenen and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon want a playoff contender after spending about $80 million on free agents plus more big bucks to obtain second baseman Robinson Cano in a blockbuster trade with Seattle.On paper, the... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

A team-by-team look at the National League East entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Atlanta BravesManager: Brian Snitker (fourth season).2018: 90-72, first place, lost to Dodgers in Division Series.Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.Park: Champion Stadium.First Workout: Feb. 16/21.He's Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, C Brian McCann, C Raffy Lopez, pitching coach Rick Kranitz.He's Outta Here: C Kurt Suzuki, RHP Anibal Sanchez, RHP Brandon McCarthy, RHP Brad Brach, 3B Ryan Flaherty, RHP Peter Moylan, 1B Lucas Duda, C Rene Rivera, OF Lane Adams, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.Going campin': The 2018 Baby Braves were a surprise breakthrough team, winning the club's first NL East championship since 2013. A repeat title in a tougher NL East might be a bigger challenge. A key to the start of spring will be the health of Donaldson, who signed a one-year, $23 million deal after a left... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The timetable for Yoenis Cespedes' return to the New York Mets will remain an unanswered question until after opening day.The 33-year-old outfielder was limited to 38 games last year. Dr. Robert Anderson operated to remove bone calcification from Cespedes' right heel on Aug. 2 and from the left on Oct. 26.New Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, Cespedes' former agent, has said it is too early to prognosticate when the All-Star slugger will be back in the lineup."I don't think we'll have an idea during spring training," Van Wagenen said on a sun-splashed, spring-like Monday while watching the team's equipment truck leave for spring training. "I think that our expectation is that he can make progress every day, that we build him up in a smart fashion, that we're not taxing him too soon, and we want to make sure that he's 100 percent healthy when he comes back, whenever that day is."Originally acquired from Detroit at the 2015 trade deadline, Cespedes hit .287 with 17... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Mets don't expect to have an idea until sometime during the season when Yoenis Cespedes will return from surgery on both heels.The 33-year-old outfielder was limited to 38 games last year. Dr. Robert Anderson operated to remove bone calcification from Cespedes' right heel on Aug. 2 and from the left on Oct. 26.While watching the team's equipment truck leave for spring training Monday, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said, "I don't think we'll have an idea during spring training."Cespedes is owed $29 million in 2019 and $29.5 million in 2020, the final two seasons of a $110 million, four-year contract. He hit .262 with nine homers and 29 RBIs last year, when he missed two months after a May 13 game at Philadelphia with what the Mets said was a strained right hip flexor. He homered at the New York Yankees in his return July 20, then surprised the Mets after that game by revealing the foot issues.Van Wagenen, Cespedes' former agent, says the Mets want to make sure "we build him up in a smart fashion, that we're not taxing him too soon. and we want to make sure that he's 100 percent healthy when he comes back, whenever that day is."___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets acquired outfielder Keon Broxton from the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, giving them a center field option in addition to Juan Lagares.The Mets sent reliever Bobby Wahl to the Brewers along with a pair of minor leaguers, right-handed reliever Adam Hill and infielder Felix Valerio.Broxton had four home runs, 11 RBIs and a .179 batting average in 51 games for Milwaukee last season. While he stole 23 bases in 2016 and 21 the following year, he swiped just five last season. A right-handed batter, he hit 20 homers in 2017 but struck out 175 times.Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen called the 28-year-old Broxton a "dynamic athlete with the ability to impact the game in the outfield, on the bases and with his bat."Lagares had little depth behind him on the roster, with corner outfielders Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo his likely backups in center before the trade. Yoenis Cespedes is recovering from surgery on both heels and New York is not certain when... [More]

The next generation of Cuban baseball stars may have a much easier time reaching the major leagues.Cubans can sign under rules similar to what players from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan face, according to an agreement among Major League Baseball, its players' association and the Cuban Baseball Federation announced Wednesday. Players from Cuba would be allowed to sign big league contracts without defecting.For decades, Cuban players have arrived under mysterious circumstances, and stories have surfaced of the harrowing lengths they've gone to come play in the United States. Here are a few prominent examples:GARBEY ARRIVESBefore Cuban stars like Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes were even born, Barbaro Garbey made his major league debut for the World Series-winning Detroit Tigers in 1984. He'd come over during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, when some 125,000 Cubans were allowed to flee the island.A quarter-century later, Garbey told USA Today he had to try multiple times to join the boatlift."The... [More]

The next generation of Cuban baseball stars may have a much easier time reaching the major leagues.Cubans can sign under rules similar to what players from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan face, according to an agreement among Major League Baseball, its players' association and the Cuban Baseball Federation announced Wednesday. Players from Cuba would be allowed to sign big league contracts without defecting.For decades, Cuban players have arrived under mysterious circumstances, and stories have surfaced of the harrowing lengths they've gone to come play in the United States. Here are a few prominent examples:GARBEY ARRIVESBefore Cuban stars like Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes were even born, Barbaro Garbey made his major league debut for the World Series-winning Detroit Tigers in 1984. He'd come over during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, when some 125,000 Cubans were allowed to flee the island.A quarter-century later, Garbey told USA Today he had to try multiple times to join the boatlift."The... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Wilson Ramos had a grip on the New York Mets from the moment he walked into their winter meetings suite in Las Vegas last week."It was his handshake," new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen recalled Tuesday at the catcher's introductory news conference. "As some of you may get to know, this guy has really big, strong, strong mitts here for hands."Ramos agreed to a $19 million, two-year contract, the fourth All-Star to join the Mets since Van Wagenen was hired in late October. New York acquired second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz from Seattle and brought back former closer Jeurys Familia as a setup man."Internally, we would argue that we're the favorites in the division right now," Van Wagenen told the team's SNY network.Ramos commanded the room, according to Van Wagenen, when he met with the GM, manager Mickey Callaway and other New York executives. Ramos looked at home during the Citi Field news conference, wearing a sports shirt and sneakers as he slipped... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Wearing red Santa's helper hats, Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz got right to work for the New York Mets — as elves, handing out presents to school kids during the team's holiday party at Citi Field.A day after the club added the star second baseman and ace closer, new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen offered a gift to all Mets fans, too."We did not make this move to have it be our last move," Van Wagenen vowed Tuesday.Chimed in Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon: "I think there's a lot more that's going to happen."Still too early to tell if that means something major, such as a swing at free agent slugger Bryce Harper. That was the buzz on radio talk station WFAN, where the seven-player trade with Seattle drew strong, mixed reaction from Mets rooters.Van Wagenen, however, seemed to throw shade on the notion that pitcher Noah Syndergaard was going anywhere. Despite recent speculation the Mets might trade him, the GM said it would take "very special circumstances for... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom says he has not yet chosen a new agent after Brodie Van Wagenen left his agency to become Mets general manager, and the NL Cy Young Award winner is open to discussing a contract extension with New York.Speaking on Wednesday night after being awarded his first Cy Young, deGrom said he is still "trying to figure everything out" after Van Wagenen gave up his career as an agent to deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes, Todd Frazier and others to become the Mets' general manager last month.The 30-year-old right-hander is under contractual control with New York through the 2020 season. He says he is open to signing an extension with the Mets, but says no discussions have begun. He says his "goal is to continue to keep an open dialogue and just see where things go."Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon has said there are provisions in Van Wagenen's contract "to deal with any conflicts of interest." Some players and rival agents have expressed concerns about Van Wagenen flipping labor-relations roles.___Follow Jake Seiner: https://twitter.com/Jake_Seiner___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — At first, the New York Mets reached out to Brodie Van Wagenen simply for recommendations.Preparing to begin a general manager search last summer, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon already had a long relationship with Van Wagenen and figured the powerful player agent could offer some quality candidates thanks to his vast network of contacts developed during nearly two decades of negotiations.Turned out, the more they talked, Wilpon started to think Van Wagenen himself was the right man for the job — despite his unorthodox background.And when Wilpon late in the season suggested Van Wagenen switch sides at the bargaining table to take over the Mets' baseball operations, Van Wagenen was intrigued. They discussed all the parameters over a private breakfast, and an atypical idea soon became a reality."I recognize I am not the path of least resistance," Van Wagenen said Tuesday.At a crowded news conference in a sprawling club area on the fifth floor of Citi Field, the 44-year-old... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — At first, the New York Mets reached out to Brodie Van Wagenen simply for recommendations.Preparing to begin a general manager search last summer, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon already had a long relationship with Van Wagenen and figured the powerful player agent could offer some quality candidates thanks to his vast network of contacts developed during nearly two decades of negotiations.Turned out, the more they talked, Wilpon started to think Van Wagenen himself was the right man for the job — despite his unorthodox background.And when Wilpon late in the season suggested Van Wagenen switch sides at the bargaining table to take over the Mets' baseball operations, Van Wagenen was intrigued. They discussed all the parameters over a private breakfast, and an atypical idea soon became a reality."I recognize I am not the path of least resistance," Van Wagenen said Tuesday.At a crowded news conference in a sprawling club area on the fifth floor of Citi Field, the 44-year-old... [More]