MLB

3:46 PM ET COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The love affair that ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian has enjoyed for decades with the sport of baseball — and everyone associated with it — reached its pinnacle on Saturday when he was honored as this year’s recipient of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award. “This has been the most overwhelming, most

4:10 PM ET ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian is headed to the Hall of Fame — and we couldn’t be prouder. We also couldn’t miss the opportunity to express just how much he means to us around here. So, as Cooperstown calls for our colleague, we wanted to share just a few of our favorite

10:03 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Raimel Tapia put his head down and started a slow jog to first base, not sure he had gotten the pop he wanted when he drove a bases-loaded fly ball to deep center field in the third inning. Then everything about the play — and the rest of

11:37 PM ET William E. Ricks The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t wait long to find their groove after the All-Star break. They put on an offensive clinic Friday night, defeating the Boston Red Sox 28-5. 1 Related Left fielder Raimel Tapia put on a show, finishing 3-for-7 at the plate with six RBIs and a

7:36 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The first-place New York Mets added some much-needed punch at designated hitter Friday, acquiring Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade for rookie reliever Colin Holderman. The burly Vogelbach, a left-handed hitter and an All-Star in 2019 with Seattle, was batting .228 with 12 home

12:32 PM ET Paula Lavigne Close ESPN Staff Writer Data analyst and reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit. Winner, 2014 Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award; finalist, 2012 IRE broadcast award; winner, 2011 Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism; Emmy nominated, 2009. Jeff Passan Close ESPN ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm:

11:47 PM ET ESPN News Services HOUSTON — The Houston Astros opened the second half of the season by sweeping the New York Yankees in a doubleheader Thursday to inch closer in the standings to the team with baseball’s best record. Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman both homered and combined for five RBI as the

5:49 PM ET Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas — Former sports superstar Bo Jackson helped pay for the funerals of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the Uvalde school massacre in May, revealing himself as one of the previously anonymous donors who covered costs for families after one of the deadliest classroom shootings in

7:00 AM ET Coming out of the All-Star break, a few teams have all but secured a trip to October, others are in the thick of the playoff hunt and some already have their eyes set on next season. Will the Yankees reach 116 wins this season? Can the Braves keep building on their momentum

9:51 PM ET ESPN News Services Veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel has been designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks after struggling in his only four starts, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday. Keuchel had been DFA’d earlier this year by the White Sox and caught on with the Diamondbacks after being signed to a

9:06 PM ET Albert Pujols was named the 2022 recipient of the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award as part of the ESPYS on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, another accolade for the retiring St. Louis Cardinals slugger. The award is given to an athlete whose “continuous, demonstrated leadership has created a measured positive impact on

4:49 PM ET Jeff PassanESPN Close ESPN MLB insiderAuthor of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” LOS ANGELES — Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday he “reject[s] the premise” that minor league players are not paid a living wage, prompting a barrage of criticism a day

11:42 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The first All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in 42 years featured Clayton Kershaw starting in front of the home fans and appearances from Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, but the final score looked all too familiar: The American League won 3-2 for its ninth straight All-Star victory and 21st

9:55 PM ET The 2022 MLB All-Star Game has officially gone Hollywood as Dodger Stadium hosts the biggest and brightest names in baseball. It’ll be familiar territory for Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who is just the sixth pitcher in the past 40 years to start the All-Star Game in his home park. 2

7:00 AM ET Before Paul Goldschmidt was a seven-time All-Star himself, he was a kid growing up in the Houston area, going to Astros games and voting for his favorite All-Stars: Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman, from that great generation of Astros players in the 1990s and early 2000s. “The hard part was deciding

11:00 AM ET Juan Soto is your 2022 Home Run Derby champion after dueling it out with rookie Julio Rodriguez in a battle of the young bats Monday evening at Dodger Stadium. At 23 years and 266 days, Soto becomes the second youngest player ever to win the Derby. He is the second Washington Nationals

11:00 AM ET It’s time for the 2022 All-Star Home Run Derby! Some of the biggest names in the sport are in Hollywood, taking aim at the Dodger Stadium bleachers. Headlining the derby is back-to-back derby champion Pete Alonso. How do the rest of the participants stack up to the home run king? Can anyone

11:00 AM ET Some of the biggest names in the sport are heading to Hollywood to take aim at the Dodger Stadium bleachers in the 2022 All-Star Home Run Derby on July 18 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). The following day, more of the league’s stars will take the field for the 2022 All-Star Game.