NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball players ignored claims by clubs that they need to take additional pay cuts, instead proposing they receive a far higher percentage of salaries and a commit to a longer schedule as part of a counteroffer to start the coronavirus-delayed season.Players proposed a 114-game regular season Sunday, up from 82 in management’s offer, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press. Done that way, the World Series could extend past Thanksgiving.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced. Opening day would be June 30 and the regular season would end Oct. 31, nearly five weeks after the Sept. 27 conclusion that MLB’s proposal stuck to from the season’s original schedule. The union offered scheduling flexibility to include more doubleheaders as baseball crams the games into 123 days, leaving little room for days off.MLB’s proposal Tuesday would lower 2020 salaries from about $4 billion to approximately $1.2 billion. The... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball players ignored claims by clubs that they need to take additional pay cuts, instead proposing they receive a far higher percentage of salaries and a commit to a longer schedule as part of a counteroffer to start the coronavirus-delayed season.Players proposed a 114-game regular season Sunday, up from 82 in management’s offer, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press. Done that way, the World Series could extend past Thanksgiving.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced. Opening day would be June 30 and the regular season would end Oct. 31, nearly five weeks after the Sept. 27 conclusion that MLB’s proposal stuck to from the season’s original schedule. The union offered scheduling flexibility to include more doubleheaders as they cram the games into 123 days, leaving little room for days off.MLB’s proposal Tuesday would lower 2020 salaries from about $4 million to approximately $1.2 billion. The union’s... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball players proposed a 114-game regular season Sunday, up from 82 in management's offer, but no additional pay cuts beyond the one they agreed to in March, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.Opening day in the coronavirus-delayed season would be June 30 and the regular season would end Oct. 31, nearly five weeks after the Sept. 27 conclusion that MLB's proposal stuck to from the season's original schedule. The union offered scheduling flexibility to include more doubleheaders.Players, like MLB, would increase postseason teams from 10 to 14. While management proposed an expanded postseason for 2020 only, the union offered it for this year and next.A player would receive about about 70% of his salary under the union plan. MLB's offer Tuesday included a sliding scale in which those at the $563,500 minimum would get about 47% and those at the top — led by Mike... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball players proposed a 114-game regular season Sunday, up from 82 in management's offer, but no additional pay cuts beyond the one they agreed to in March, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.Opening day in the coronavirus-delayed season would be June 30 and the regular season would end Oct. 31, nearly five weeks after the Sept. 27 conclusion that MLB's proposal stuck to from the season's original schedule. The union offered scheduling flexibility to include more doubleheaders.Players, like MLB, would increase postseason teams from 10 to 14. While management proposed an expanded postseason for 2020 only, the union offered it for this year and next.A player would receive about about 70% of his salary under the union plan. MLB's offer Tuesday included a sliding scale in which those at the $563,500 minimum would get about 47% and those at the top — led by Mike... [More]

June 11923 — The New York Giants scored in every inning to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 22-8 at the Baker Bowl.1925 — Lou Gehrig batted for Pee Wee Wanninger in the eighth and replaced Wally Pipp at first base to start his streak of 2,130 consecutive games. The Washington Senators beat the New York Yankees 5-3.1937 — Bill Dietrich of the Chicago White Sox pitched a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns in an 8-0 win.1975 — Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitched his fourth no-hitter, striking out nine. Ryan tied Sandy Koufax’s record by beating the Baltimore Orioles 1-0. It was Ryan’s 100th major league victory.1977 — Seattle’s Ruppert Jones homered off Cleveland’s Dennis Eckersley in the fifth inning to end Eckersley’s no-hit string of 22 1-3 innings, just two outs short of Cy Young’s major league record. The Indians went on to win, 7-1.1987 — Cleveland’s Phil Niekro pitched the Indians to a 9-6 victory, his 314th, over the Detroit Tigers. The win gave himself and his brother, Joe,... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Minor league players in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization will be getting something extra in their paychecks courtesy of star pitcher David Price.He will give $1,000 each to 220 minor leaguers as a goodwill gesture, a team spokesman said Saturday.They will continue to receive $400 a week from the team at least through June. Price has yet to play a regular-season game for the Dodgers because the start of the season has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. He was acquired in a February trade with the Boston Red Sox. The 34-year-old left-hander is on a $217 million, seven-year contract that runs through 2021. He was set to earn $32 million this season, with the Red Sox paying $16 millon of that. However, his pay will be determined by whether MLB and the players reach an agreement to play this season.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Phillie Phanatic had stories of his favorite adventures -- from the Galapagos Islands to the cobblestone streets of Philadelphia -- read to him most weeks from his very best buds. The Philly furball was tucked in with a bedtime story from Bryce Harper. Andrew McCutchen and manager Joe Girardi stopped by as guest readers to entertain fans and unite the Phillies community.But should the Phillies play ball this year, well, the book will close on the Phanatic.MLB wants to ban the birds -- sorry, Pirate Parrot -- and Bernie Brewer, Blooper, Bernie the Marlin, heck, all costumed creatures great and small from the ballpark this season. Firebird, Paws, the Oriole Bird, all face extinction -- at least this season, should baseball resume. Not even a muzzle on Mr. Met or a mask on Mariner Moose would help the cause.Gasp! Baseball’s furriest and funniest fans are forbidden from entering a ballpark.And that’s not cool.“Every mascot should be essential because of its ability to... [More]

May 301894 — Boston’s Robert Lowe became the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, leading the Beaneaters to a 20-11 win over Cincinnati. After hitting four straight homers, all line drives far over the fence, Lowe added a single to set a major league record with 17 total bases.1922 — Between the morning and afternoon games of a Memorial Day twin bill, Max Flack of the Chicago Cubs was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Cliff Heathcote. They played one game for each team.1927 — In the fourth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, shortstop Jim Cooney of the Chicago Cubs caught Paul Waner’s liner, stepped on second to double Lloyd Waner and then tagged Clyde Barnhart coming from first for an unassisted triple play.1935 — Babe Ruth made his last major league appearance. He played one inning for the Boston Braves against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim Bivin retired Babe Ruth on an infield grounder in the Babe’s final major league at-bat.1940 — Carl... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Agent Scott Boras recommends his clients refuse Major League Baseball’s attempt to cut salaries during negotiations with the players’ association, claiming team financial issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic have their origin in management debt financing.In an email obtained by The Associated Press, Boras wrote that players should not alter terms of the March 26 agreement between MLB and the union that called for players to reduce their salaries to a prorated rate based on a shortened season. MLB on Tuesday proposed a series of tiered reductions that would cause top stars to receive the biggest cuts.“Remember, games cannot be played without you,” Boras wrote. “Players should not agree to further pay cuts to bail out the owners. Let owners take some of their record revenues and profits from the past several years and pay you the prorated salaries you agreed to accept or let them borrow against the asset values they created from the use of those profits players generated.”Boras... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Agent Scott Boras recommends his clients refuse Major League Baseball’s attempt to cut salaries during negotiations with the players’ association, claiming team financial issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic have their origin in management debt financing.In an email obtained by The Associated Press, Boras wrote that players should not alter terms of the March 26 agreement between MLB and the union that called for players to reduce their salaries to a prorated rate based on a shortened season. MLB on Tuesday proposed a series of tiered reductions that would cause top stars to receive the biggest cuts.“Remember, games cannot be played without you,” Boras wrote. “Players should not agree to further pay cuts to bail out the owners. Let owners take some of their record revenues and profits from the past several years and pay you the prorated salaries you agreed to accept or let them borrow against the asset values they created from the use of those profits players generated.”Boras... [More]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ryan Zimmerman is a two-time All-Star infielder who has played 15 years in the majors, all with the Washington Nationals. With baseball on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, Zimmerman is offering his thoughts — as told to AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich — in a diary of sorts. In the eighth installment, Zimmerman discusses what his biggest concerns would be about resuming competition in 2020, starting with assurances about testing for COVID-19.___If we’re going to play a season, or a partial season, we’re the ones that are going out into the world in the middle of a pandemic, when basically the experts are saying not to have large gatherings.Everyone’s like: “You guys should just go do it. Why not? It’ll be safe.” Oh, OK. Really? Tell me how it’s going to be safe, and then I’ll think about it.There need to be assurances — not 90%; 100% — about health and safety for us and our families and everyone involved. Not just the players, but also the field staff, the clubhouse... [More]

June 31918 — Dutch Leonard of the Boston Red Sox pitched his second no-hitter, blanking the Detroit Tigers 5-0.1932 — Lou Gehrig became the first American League player to hit four home runs in a game, helping the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia A’s 20-13. The event was overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw as manager of the New York Giants.1954 — Henry Thompson of the New York Giants hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in a 13-8 win against the St. Louis Cardinals. Willie Mays drove in the other five runs with two homers.1971 — Ken Holtzman of the Chicago Cubs pitched his second no-hitter, beating the Cincinnati Reds 1-0.1978 — Dave Johnson became the first major leaguer to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in a season. His grand slam in the ninth inning gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.1989 — Los Angeles and Houston played 22 innings at the Astrodome in the longest night game in National League history — 7 hours, 14 minutes.... [More]

May 301894 — Boston’s Robert Lowe became the first player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, leading the Beaneaters to a 20-11 win over Cincinnati. After hitting four straight homers, all line drives far over the fence, Lowe added a single to set a major league record with 17 total bases.1922 — Between the morning and afternoon games of a Memorial Day twin bill, Max Flack of the Chicago Cubs was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Cliff Heathcote. They played one game for each team.1927 — In the fourth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, shortstop Jim Cooney of the Chicago Cubs caught Paul Waner’s liner, stepped on second to double Lloyd Waner and then tagged Clyde Barnhart coming from first for an unassisted triple play.1935 — Babe Ruth made his last major league appearance. He played one inning for the Boston Braves against the Philadelphia Phillies. Jim Bivin retired Babe Ruth on an infield grounder in the Babe’s final major league at-bat.1940 — Carl... [More]

May 291916 — Christy Mathewson defeated the Boston Braves 3-0 for the New York Giants’ 17th consecutive road win.1922 — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled organized baseball was primarily a sport and not a business, and therefore not subject to antitrust laws and interstate commerce regulations. The suit had been brought by the Federal League’s Baltimore franchise.1928 — Bill Terry hit for the cycle to lead the New York Giants to a 12-5 win over Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. Terry became the first player in major league history to include a grand slam as part of the cycle.1942 — New York’s Lefty Gomez, who calls himself the worst-hitting pitcher in baseball, banged out four hits while pitching a 16-1 four-hitter against Washington.1946 — In a reverse integration role, Edward Klep became the first white to play in the Negro leagues in a game played in Grand Rapids. Klep pitched seven innings for the Cleveland Buckeyes against the American Giants in his debut with the Negro American League team.1956... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players appeared likely to propose more regular-season games this year while holding to their demand for full prorated salaries, people familiar with their deliberations told The Associated Press.Washington pitcher Max Scherzer, among eight players on the union's executive subcommittee, issued a statement late Wednesday night calling management's proposal for more salary cuts a non-starter.A day after Major League Baseball proposed a sliding scale of salary slashing for a pandemic-delayed season with an 82-game schedule in ballparks without fans, the union held a conference call Wednesday that included its executive board, player representatives and alternate player representatives, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.Scherzer, among the sport's highest-paid players, confirmed the call without divulging who was on it.“After discussing the latest developments with the rest of the players there's no need to engage... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players appeared likely to propose more regular-season games this year while holding to their demand for full prorated salaries, people familiar with their deliberations told The Associated Press.Washington pitcher Max Scherzer, among eight players on the union's executive subcommittee, issued a statement late Wednesday night calling management's proposal for more salary cuts a non-starter.A day after Major League Baseball proposed a sliding scale of salary slashing for a pandemic-delayed season with an 82-game schedule in ballparks without fans, the union held a conference call Wednesday that included its executive board, player representatives and alternate player representatives, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.Scherzer, among the sport's highest-paid players, confirmed the call without divulging who was on it.“After discussing the latest developments with the rest of the players there's no need to engage... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players appeared likely to propose more regular-season games this year while holding to their demand for full prorated salaries, people familiar with their deliberations told The Associated Press.Washington pitcher Max Scherzer, among eight players on the union's executive subcommittee, issued a statement late Wednesday night calling management's proposal for more salary cuts a non-starter.A day after Major League Baseball proposed a sliding scale of salary slashing for a pandemic-delayed season with an 82-game schedule in ballparks without fans, the union held a conference call Wednesday that included its executive board, player representatives and alternate player representatives, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.Scherzer, among the sport's highest-paid players, confirmed the call without divulging who was on it.“After discussing the latest developments with the rest of the players there's no need to engage... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players appeared likely to propose increasing the number of regular-season games this year while holding to their demand for full prorated salaries, people familiar with their deliberations told The Associated Press.A day after Major League Baseball proposed a sliding scale of salary slashing for a pandemic-delayed season in ballparks without fans, the union held a conference call that included its executive board, player representatives and alternate player representatives, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.One of the people said many players were angered by the proposal teams made Tuesday. It was unclear when the union will respond to MLB's plan, the people said.Stars Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole would lose the most under MLB's plan, about 77% of the $36 million each they were set to be paid this season. In all, there are 133 players whose contracts call for salaries of $10 million or more, not including shares... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball players will take at least a few days and possibly until next week to respond to Major League Baseball’s proposed sliding scale of salary slashing for a pandemic-delayed season in ballparks without fans.Stars Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole would lose the most under the proposal teams made Tuesday, about 77% of the $36 million each they were set to be paid this season.A big leaguer earning $1 million or less would keep at least 43% of his salary under the six-tier scale. About 460 of approximately 900 players on rosters and injured lists when spring training was stopped in mid-March due to the new coronavirus make $1 million or less.Trout and Cole would be cut to about $8 million each. Colorado’s Nolan Arenado would drop from $35 million to $7.84 million.“Interesting strategy of making the best most marketable players potentially look like the bad guys,” Milwaukee pitcher Brett Anderson tweeted.The players’ association called the proposal “extremely disappointing.” The... [More]

Ross Stripling has spent much of the last two months working on an island —- the one in the kitchen of his Houston home.With baseball halted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander returned to his offseason job. When not throwing fastballs, he pitches clients as a financial adviser for B. Riley Wealth Management.The All-Star has retired George Springer in the World Series on a bases-loaded fly that Stripling was sure would be a grand slam. And he’s logged on in the morning, seen a stock drop 30% and felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.Stress compounded.“When I have someone else’s money in my hands and that’s their future, their nest egg, there’s a lot of pressure there,” Stripling said. “There’s a lot of anxiety to perform well for their sake.”Interest rates approaching 0 have been on his mind more these days than spin rates of 2,650. No need to look up ERA, but a daily dissection is essential of an elevated VIX, the “fear index” of market volatility.Analytic... [More]