Free Republic

In the case of Hernández v. the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, longtime umpire Ángel Hernández alleges Major League Baseball discriminated against him because he is of Latino descent by declining to name him a crew chief and preventing him from working World Series games. Given the plum assignment of first base in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Monday night, Hernandez proved one thing beyond a reasonable doubt: MLB is guilty of discriminating against getting calls right when it allows Ángel Hernández to umpire a playoff game. If MLB on Tuesday morning filed an exhibit...

Mets legend Ron Darling is under fire for using the term “chink in the armor,” in reference to Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka...

Ron Darling may be in hot water after a boneheaded comment during the TBS broadcast of Game 2 of the American League Division Series Saturday night. With Masahiro Tanaka on the mound in the fourth inning, Darling referenced the right-hander losing his command and used a racial slur. “Chink in the armor for Tanaka here,” Darling said. “It’s the first inning he has lost a little of his control.” Darling did not appear to realize that he had used the slur in reference to Tanaka, who is Asian.

ATLANTA -- Mike Foltynewicz stood as the great unknown, who occasionally displayed limitless potential, as the Braves spent the past three seasons going through a massive rebuild. But everything changed this year for him and this team that confidently enters the postseason with what appears to be a possible ace. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker did not surprise anyone when he announced Foltynewicz will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Thursday. Los Angeles will counter with Hyun-Jin Ryu.

The games that matter so far: Braves 1 Phillies 2 - End 4 Dodgers 12 Giants 0 - Bottom 4th Tigers 0 Brewers 3 - Top 5th Cardinals 2 Cubs 3 - Bottom 3rd

One pitch cost New York Yankee hurler C.C. Sabathia a lot of money Thursday. Sabathia was tossed from Thursday’s game after hitting Tampa Bays Rays catcher Jesus Sucre in the bottom of the sixth inning. Umpire Vic Carapazza determined that it was in retaliation for a pitch thrown by Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge at Austin Romine in the top of the sixth. Sabathia didn’t deny that it was thrown in response to Kittredge throwing at Romine. But it did cost him some money. He has an incentive clause in his contract that said if he pitched 155 innings this year,...

The person who originally posted the video to Instagram, Quinelle May, claimed the worker was 'mad and having a bad day' when he spat on the pizza - but also said he had done it in the past. In the video caption, May described how he reported the video to management but was shut down and sent home. 'Every time I tried to talk, they told me to shut up,' he said.

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper won’t be a free-agent until October, but the anonymous backlash has already begun. One National League executive didn’t hold back, calling Harper a “losing player,” according to Robert Murray of FRS. What happened? A “top National League executive” sent Murray three texts with some harsh thoughts on Harper. Text one: “He’s simply overrated. The good ain’t worth the bad. He’s a losing player. Cares about himself more than the team. If I was in charge and had money, my team would not pursue him. We would use that money to sign 2-3 winning players.” Text...

I actually don't care so much myself as I can't remember the last time I actually watched a ballgame. I've been to a few ballgames over the past few years as my company has luxury boxes at multiple stadiums in which we entertain important clients. But all we do at those games is drink heavily, eat lots of food and talk to each other without paying all that much attention to the game on the field. I used to be a fan. Back in the 1970s, as a boy, I used to go to Fenway Park all the time. I...

TORONTO — The Cleveland Indians have removed the Chief Wahoo logo from the sleeve of their uniforms for a four-game series in Toronto. The decision to nix the logo was partially driven by a failed legal challenge against the team when it played in Toronto during the 2016 AL Championship Series. While Cleveland played the Blue Jays, a lawsuit was filed to have the logo and team name banned from Canadian TV. A judge dismissed the case.

My wife is a big Tigers fan so I watch a lot of Tigers games. As such, I’m quite familiar with the Fox Sports Detroit broadcast crew of play-by-play man Mario Impemba and color commentator Rod Allen. They’ve been together for years. I think Impemba is one of the better play-by-play guys around and, while not everyone’s cup of tea, Allen — who is, frankly, kinda weird sometimes — sort of grows on you over time. Tigers fans have even developed a drinking game for when he’s on the air that is fun, albeit dangerous for your liver. My favorite...

Boston Red Sox star J.D. Martinez stood by his controversial Instagram post showing Adolf Hitler, saying Tuesday he was defending the Second Amendment. Martinez, a perennial American League MVP candidate, posted the photo in 2013. The picture featured Hitler along with the quote, “To conquer a nation, first disarm it’s (sic) citizens.” Martinez captioned the post, “This is why I always stay strapped! #thetruth” He was 25 at the time.

One thing you learn from studying baseball history is that people have always predicted the sport’s demise. Over and over, the game weathers every perceived crisis and continues to thrive. More than 70 million fans will attend major league games this season; another 40 million or so will go to minor league games. Countless more watch the sport on television and online. And yet attendance is down, and more and more balls are being kept out of play. Some longtime observers consider the shifting landscape — hitters swinging for the fences, pitchers throwing everything with maximum effort, fielders standing in...

Feeling down, Mets fans? UMA Health, a New York-based online mental health marketplace, is offering free, confidential therapy sessions to Mets fans, who have watched their team make history in all the wrong ways this season. Not only did the bottom-dwelling Mets have the worst June in franchisse history, falling to the Nationals 25-4 on Tuesday. UMA health's website has a form to fill out, including "your most difficult Mets moment." The lighthearted promotion is meant to bring attention to the important role of therapy and eliminate the stigma of seeing a therapist. The injury-plagued Mets are 45-63 entering Sunday's...

A California teenager was so mortified by his mom’s sexy dancing at a baseball game that he started blushing. The mother was seen dancing in short shorts and a white blouse during Monday night’s Padres game at San Diego’s Petco Park, much to the chagrin of her son, who looked incredibly embarrassed.

Not the right time to tell Alex Bregman to stick to sports, Houston and LSU fans. Not if our President won't stick to politics.

A pair of Twitter users whose posts exposing offensive tweets by baseball players went viral over the weekend say their aim was not malicious but to give fans a fuller picture of whom they’re cheering for, and to expose the sport’s “toxic” culture. In exclusive interviews with The Associated Press, both users said they weren’t looking for the years-old tweets from Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader or Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb, but when the posts came across their timelines, they felt obligated to share them.

ATLANTA -- Left-hander Sean Newcomb apologized to his Atlanta Braves teammates on Monday for a series of offensive tweets he sent as a teenager. Newcomb's apology was delivered in a meeting attended by players, coaches, manager Brian Snitker and Atlanta staff. Ender Inciarte and Dansby Swanson said players accepted the apology. Each said tweets made public on Sunday did not represent Newcomb's actions on the team.

Shortly after the Washington Nationals fell to the Miami Marlins 5-0 on Sunday, Nationals shortstop Trea Turner found himself in an increasingly familiar position across the MLB. Multiple old tweets of Turner’s surfaced on Twitter on Sunday afternoon that contained offensive language. The tweets in question date back to 2011 and 2012, when Turner would have been 17 or 18 years old, and at least four of them contain both racist language and homophobic slurs. Be advised that the language used in the tweets below is offensive.

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb apologized Sunday for a series of offensive tweets he sent as a teenager, calling them "some stupid stuff.'' The 25-year-old Newcomb spoke less than an hour after he nearly pitched a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The tweets were sent in 2011 and 2012, when Newcomb was a senior in high school. One tweet included a racial epithet that was part of a rap lyric, and several others contained gay slurs. "I just wanted to apologize for any insensitive material,'' Newcomb said. "It was a long time ago, six or seven years...