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Following attacks from primary rival Jeb Bush about his past use of eminent domain, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Sunday accused the Bush family of using the practice to build a baseball stadium in Texas. "Eminent domain is a very important thing," Trump said on ABC's "This Week." "Jeb Bush doesn't understand what it means, and if you look into the Bush family - I found this five minutes ago - they used eminent domain for the stadium in Texas, where they own, I guess, a piece of the Texas Rangers." When host George Stephanopoulos said that was Jeb's...

Kind of a fun watch Pitchers and catchers report in 13 days

Baseball, as baseball, is not yet half a century old. The making of the first; ball is attributed to the Lydians, and it is true that ball-playing was a favorite way of recreation with the ancient Greeks. Although the greatest game of baseball probably had its origin long ago with the stages of its evolution being marked by "Club Ball," j "Rounders,"

The change: Implement the designated hitter rule in the National League. How it would work: The DH rule would be in effect for all professional games in every league at all levels -- with no exceptions. I spent most of my front-office career in the National League, and have always preferred the game played without the DH rule. I like the late-inning strategies, the double-switches and deciding whether to take out your best pitcher when you're tied or down a run. I also like the fact that the bench and bullpens are more important in game strategy without a DH....

Major League Baseball is exploring the possibility of making the designated hitter a staple of the National League as soon as 2017, according to Newsday's David Lennon.Commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly said the idea is "gaining momentum," per Lennon. Although the potential change could ruffle the feathers of baseball purists, Lennon cited several reasons MLB is seeking to implement the DH in the NL:

The league recently sent out memos to clubs outlining the new policy, according to ...(espn).

Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, a power-hitting outfielder who starred for the New York Giants in the 1950s in a career abbreviated by major league baseball's exclusion of black players, has died. He was 96.

Of the 32 names on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, only two were approved Wednesday by baseball writers to join the immortals inside Cooperstown: Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza. They're two iconic sluggers of the 1990s with 1,057 homers between them, whose paths will cross again when they're inducted July 24. Griffey, on his first ballot, earned 99.3 percent of the vote, a total that surpasses Tom Seaver's record of 98.84 in 1992. Griffey missed three ballots. Piazza, in his fourth Hall of Fame campaign, received 83 percent, up from the 69.9 percent that left him outside of...

Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Piazza - MLB Hall of Fame Class 2016

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Sandy Koufax, the great Dodgers pitcher, turns 80 today. Happy birthday, Sandy! Wikipedia article Career statistics Baseball Hall of Fame Top stats to know as Sandy Koufax turns 80 Watch Sandy Koufax Highlights on Legend's 80th Birthday Direct link to video: Legend Series: Sandy Koufax HighlightsIMDb

Jim O'Toole, a star pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1960s, has died after a long battle with cancer. O'Toole was 78... He was the National League's starting pitcher in the 1963 All-Star Game. O'Toole called that one of his proudest career moments, recalling that manager Alvin Dark chose him to start with a roster that included future Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn...

The Dodgers are finally going the statue route at Dodger Stadium and on Tuesday announced the first would be of Jackie Robinson. The Dodgers said the statue will be 9 to 10 feet tall and located at a stadium site to be determined during the 2016 season.

Greensboro resident Hal "Skinny" Brown, who pitched in the major leagues for 14 seasons, has died at age 91 ... Brown, who was 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds during his playing days, compiled a record of 85-92 with a 3.81 earned-run average in 358 appearances with the Chicago White Sox (1951-52), Boston Red Sox (1953-55), Baltimore Orioles (1955-62), New York Yankees (1962) and Houston Colt .45s (1963-64) ...

Yes, I would rather be thinking aloud about such things as Jeff Samardzija’s slightly ridiculous contract. (Shades of Bud Black.) About whether John Lackey’s and (especially) Jason Heyward’s signings with the Cubs really do make them a 2016 World Series entrant. (Berra’s Law still applies, as the 2015 Nationals can tell you.) About how much financial flexibility Michael Cuddyer’s retirement leaves the Mets. (Some, but maybe not quite enough to think about re-signing Yoenis Cespedes.) Or Johnny Cueto signing with the Giants. Among other things. But commissioner Rob Manfred has let it be known that Pete Rose isn’t going to...

Charlie Hustle is still out. Baseball's hit king Pete Rose got an early Christmas present from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, and it wasn't what Rose had on his wish list.

The following piece was originally published in the March, 1958 issue of True, and is excerpted from The Top of His Game, a collection of W.C. Heinz's best sportswriting. It is reprinted here with permission from Gayl Heinz. "Down in Los Angeles," says Garry Schumacher, who was a New York baseball writer for 30 years and is now assistant to Horace Stoneham, president of the San Francisco Giants, "they think Duke Snider is the best center fielder the Dodgers ever had. They forget Pete Reiser. The Yankees think Mickey Mantle is something new. They forget Reiser, too." Maybe Pete Reiser...

"You're always in need of left-handed pitching, left-handed hitting, and in need of speed," he said. "I think that's the number one thing that's missing, I think, in the game is speed. You know, with the need for minorities, you can help yourself — you've got a better chance of getting some speed with Latin and African-Americans. "I'm not being racist," he added. "That's just how it is."

But in perhaps the game’s starkest good-news-bad-news case, only once did a single pitcher complete a nine-inning game without yielding a hit and still manage to lose it. The man who owns that two-faced distinction, Ken Johnson, whose otherwise middling 13-year career in the major leagues included stints with seven teams, died on Saturday in Pineville, La. He was 82.

Ruth A. Hartman, an accomplished local sheep breeder known locally and nationally as an original member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, has died in Reading Hospital of injuries suffered over the weekend after her SUV struck a deer in Oley Township. - See more at: http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/champion-sheep-breeder-from-limekiln-remains-critical-after-weekend-accident#sthash.ih8zyVSB.dpuf