Baseball

In news that comes as a body blow to baseball and American sports at large, Yasiel Puig says he plans to cut back drastically on the trademark bat flips fans have come to know and love him for.

The Atlanta Braves are one of baseball's biggest surprises as they've jumped out to a 6-1 start.

While it's still very early, it is hard not to be impressed by the team's performance to date.

The Braves have beaten up the Marlins and Mets, two teams that were hot picks to challenge the Washington Nationals in the division and earn wild card berths.

You’ll come across some weird sights if you head down to Marlins Park this spring.

There's rain falling indoors, but perhaps even stranger, a pitcher who leaps like a hunter-gatherer throwing a spear while hurling the ball over the plate.

It was 67 degrees when the St. Louis Cardinals lost their home opener to the Milwaukee Brewers 5-4. With that type of weather, it's OK (sometimes) to take your shirt off. 

The New York Yankees are always one of the most divisive teams in Major League Baseball. It's also true, though, that the 2015 season brings about one of their most divisive on-field products in recent memory.

As is true of any professional sports team, there's always a divide between what fans of that team feel their chances for success are and what fans of other teams feel. However, with the 2015 Yankees, it feels as though the predictions for this team range anywhere from a sub-.500 record to 90-plus wins.

The Detroit Tigers possess no ordinary starting rotation. At least, not during their four-year postseason run that preceded this campaign. The likes of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, David Price and Rick Porcello have combined to make them the most dominant group in the American League.

Two of the early favorites to win the 2015 World Series will meet again at Fenway Park on Tuesday in the second game of a three-game interleague series between the visiting Washington Nationals and the host Boston Red Sox.

The critics came out in droves.

They slammed Billy Beane for dismantling a playoff team during the last offseason, and they questioned his commitment to keeping a winning team on the field since he jettisoned players like Josh Donaldson, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Norris and Brandon Moss for lesser returns. They even retroactively bashed his trading of Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester.

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression, but nobody says you can't recover from making a bad first impression.

That's what the Chicago Cubs must be telling themselves about Jon Lester's bad first impression, anyway. And fortunately for them, their $155 million man should allow them to breathe easy before long.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Rios left the team's April 13 game against the Minnesota Twins after getting hit in the hand by a pitch from Twins reliever J.R. Graham. He was diagnosed with a fracture in his hand and could be out from three to six weeks. The Royals placed him on the disabled list on April 14.

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