On an induction weekend when the first unanimous star and one of the most unlikely selections officially entered its doors, the Hall of Fame provided a needed reminder of all that is right with the game.
Harold Baines, Roy Halladay, Edgar MartÃnez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith were inducted with 53 returning Hall of Famers in Cooperstown on Sunday, bringing the total number of Hall of Famers in town to a record 58 – the most at any location in history.
With the White Sox extending safety netting to the foul poles & the O's reportedly to take similar action for 2020, a former star for both said he's all for it MLB-wide. "It's a long time coming as guys are bigger, stronger and the ball is coming off their bats quicker and you have babies in the front row," new Hall of Famer Harold Baines told ESPN in Cooperstown. "They (fans) should be protected — in Japan, it's already like that." Washington also lengthened its netting & 4 other teams say they plan to do so. But Cleveland, where a foul past 1st base on Sun. struck a toddler — who was sent to the hospital — and Tampa Bay, where a woman was injured on a foul to LF Fri. & a man was OK after a thrown bat near 3rd base hit him on Sat., have not announced any new netting plans.
Asher Wojciechowski took an unlikely no-hitter into the seventh inning, Trey Mancini homered twice off Andrew Cashner and the Baltimore Orioles beat Boston 5-0 Sunday to win their first series from the Red Sox in 11 tries since 2017.
"I'm not an emotional man, except when it comes to family," Harold Baines said, right before his voice cracked. He doesn't say much, but he means what he says.
Orioles starter Asher Wojciechowski hasn't allowed a hit through six innings against the Red Sox. The 30-year old righty, who had a 6.49 ERA in 34 career games before today (14 starts), has fanned nine, walked one, and thrown 85 pitches.
During his Hall of Fame induction speech, - Mike Mussina said that his brother, Mark, was so superstitious that if Moose was pitching well, Mark wouldn't let anybody in his row at the ballpark leave their seats "for any reason."
The Orioles have designated Keon Broxton for assignment after the outfielder struggled to hit in Baltimore.
Rivera, Halladay, Mussina, Martinez, Smith, Baines: From the first unanimous selection to the latest controversial Cooperstown call, here's why each of these guys is worthy of the Hall.
Mike Mussina talks about how he knew it was time to retire after a 20-win final season instead of sticking around for a chance at 300 victories.
Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a pair of three-run homers, Mookie Betts homered and had three RBI, and the Boston Red Sox used their most prolific offensive performance of the year to blow out the Baltimore Orioles 17-6 Saturday night.
Saturday was a scorcher across the major leagues, with many teams forgoing batting practice and with ballparks deploying misters in an attempt to keep fans cool.
It's media session time for the 2019 Hall of Fame class in Cooperstown.
Mike Mussina said in our Cooperstown interview Fri. that when he got word in January of his election to the Hall of Fame, his initial thought was "they're giving me a courtesy call to say, ‘hey, listen, you missed by five votes'...they're just being nice to me because I was close." He said he "wasn't sitting at home with people videoing it, with the phone on the coffee table waiting for it to ring, it was nothing at all like that - I was completely surprised." Mussina was coaching a high school basketball practice when the call came and his celebration dinner with his son was "going to McDonald's and grabbing some burgers and nuggets and drinks (from the drive-through)."
New HoF inductee Harold Baines said of himself as a hitter, in our Fri. Cooperstown interview, "I could hit to all fields. You really couldn't position me correctly, because I took advantage of what you left me, and I studied, so I'd pretty much know what side of the plate you were trying to get me out on." He said he takes greatest pride in his longevity and consistency, adding, "My last 12 years I was pretty much on one-year contracts, so I couldn't afford to fail."
Anthony Santander and Keon Broxton homered off David Price, and the Baltimore Orioles got six solid innings from rookie right-hander John Means in an 11-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
In his first-person series about the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame class, Alex Rodriguez explains why his struggles facing Moose as an opponent became a blessing when they united in the Bronx.
Before speaking with Edgar Martinez about his favorite Mariners memories (33:18), Buster talks to Dave Schoenfield about how the Giants should approach the deadline, Aaron Boone's legendary rant and the career of Martinez (12:04). Plus, A-Rod tells Buster about the difficulties of hitting against Mike Mussina (48:16).
Trey Mancini hit two home runs and Baltimore pummeled the Washington Nationals' ineffective bullpen in a 9-2 victory Wednesday night that provided the Orioles with a split of the two-game interleague series.
Baltimore agreed to reimburse Boston for up to $2.5 million of Andrew Cashner's performance bonuses as part of last weekend's trade that sent the 32-year-old right-hander to the Red Sox.
