Baseball

Mired in the worst slump of his career, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is reportedly expected to announce his retirement from baseball Friday, effective at the end of the 2016 season.

ESPN's Buster Olney first reported the news, and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports provided confirmation.

To baseball fans east of the Mississippi River, San Francisco is a place where luck strikes in even years and baseballs splash into McCovey Cove.

If you're a fan of star-studded Major League Baseball free-agent classes, I come bearing bad news. There's not going to be one this winter. Sorry.

But hey, at least Edwin Encarnacion will be out there. That's something. A big something, even.

Just before the trade deadline, the San Diego Padres dealt the big contract of 31-year-old veteran outfielder Matt Kemp to the Atlanta Braves, ending his short stint with the club. 

It's not easy to take Justin Turner seriously as a star player. He used to be an anonymous New York Mets utility guy. He's now a Los Angeles Dodger not named Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Gonzalez or Corey Seager.

The AL Central race had been feeling like a foregone conclusion. The Cleveland Indians took hold of first place in early June and held a lead of at least five games every day between June 25 and July 26.

But now here to crash the proverbial party are the Detroit Tigers.

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Edwin Diaz has reached 50 career strikeouts faster than any major leaguer since at least 1893, needing just 25.1 innings to reach the mark, which he accomplished during Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox, per Elias Sports Bureau (via

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