baseball
Baseball by the numbers
THE NATIONAL NINE 1 The Brewers’ Ryan Braun leads the majors with three opposite-field homers. 2 Through Wednesday, the Brewers led the National League in home homers with 30 and the Braves lead with 31 road homers. 3 Of Mark Reynolds’ first 11 homers, 10 …
Baseball by the numbers
THE NATIONAL NINE
1 When Ubaldo Jimenez is ahead in the count this season, batters are 0-for-31.
2 No team has as many relievers (four) who have earned saves this season as the Tigers: Joaquin Benoit, Phil Coke, Drew Smyly, Jose Valverde.
3 With runners …
Carlos Zambrano, Phillies agree to minor league deal
PHILADELPHIA — Right-hander Carlos Zambrano has agreed to a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Zambrano will report this week to Clearwater, Fla., for extended spring training. The three-time All-Star rhasn’t pitched in the majors since last September with Miami.
Zambrano, 31, is 132-91 …
BILL CHUCK: Baseball by the numbers
THE CHICAGO FILES
1. The Cubs and White Sox are each 5-5 in the last 10 Opening Days. The Cubs have lost three in a row.
2. It’s rare when the Chicago teams change catchers. Since 2001, the Sox have had only two catchers on …
Former Braves outfielder Otis Nixon arrested with crack
Former Major League outfielder Otis Nixon has been arrested on drug charges following a weekend traffic stop in suburban Atlanta.
From the Bill Chuck files...Chicago Edition
1The Reds’ Shin-Soo Choo has been hit by 10 pitches, more than any other entire team. 2Ten of the Royals’ first 12 homers were solo shots; the other two were grand slams by Billy Butler and Alex Gordon. The Royals hit only one slam last …
Mickey Mantle 1960 contract up for auction
NEW YORK — The original contract signed by Mickey Mantle for the 1960 season will be auctioned off and proceeds from the sale will be donated to a New Jersey relief fund for Hurricane Sandy. Danny Mantle, the son of the Yankees’ Hall of Fame …
Report links associate of Yankees’ Robinson Cano to Biogenesis
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has denied any involvement with a South Florida clinic under investigation by Major League Baseball after a report linked an associate of his to the facility.
ESPN reported Monday that the spokeswoman for Cano’s …
Boston celebrates with the return of pro sports on Saturday
BOSTON — A defiant David Ortiz stood on the Fenway Park infield and told the crowd to “stay strong,” bringing a rousing cheer from Bostonians weary from a week of bombings, stay-at-home orders and a manhunt that locked down the city for a day. Playing …
BILL CHUCK: Baseball by the numbers
THE CHICAGO NINE
1If you are looking for something to love about the Cubs, try this: Fifty-four percent of the time, Cubs baserunners have advanced more than one base on a single and more than two bases on a double, the best rate in the …
Snow delays Mets vs. Rockies game
DENVER — Colorado’s game with the New York Mets is in a delay despite the efforts by Rockies owner Dick Monfort and general manager Dan O’Dowd to help shovel the field to squeeze in a doubleheader on Tuesday. No new start time has been announced …
Jackie Robinson Day hits Major League Baseball parks
Everybody in uniform at the Tampa Bay Rays game Monday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park wore the number “42” as Major League Baseball celebrated its fifth annual Jackie Robinson Day.
McGRATH: If we’re being fair, it’s Cubs who look like No. 2
In a previous life, I oversaw baseball coverage for a newspaper that was the Cubs’ corporate partner. As hard as we tried to be balanced and fair toward both Chicago teams, White Sox fans were eternally suspicious and borderline hostile. No force on Earth, no …
Cubs closer Kyuji Fujikawa on disabled list
A day after getting his first major league win—and after his first blown save—Cubs closer Kyuji Fujikawa went on the disabled list Saturday with a muscle strain in his right forearm. The condition is one the former Japanese closer star has had before, Fujikawa said, …
BILL CHUCK: Baseball by the numbers
CHICAGO NINE TO KNOW
1The number of double plays a team turns is not as important as the percentage of DP opportunities converted. For example, through Wednesday, the White Sox, Astros and Twins led the majors with 10 DPs. But the Astros turned 10 in …
McGRATH: Frank Robinson a pioneer in his own right
There was an appointment downtown that had to be kept last week. But with Frank Robinson around, it could wait. The Hall of Fame outfielder followed Jackie Robinson as a baseball pioneer, becoming the first African-American manager when the Cleveland Indians hired him in 1975. …
