Before Rockies CF Yonathan Daza cranked a two-run homer to left in Sunday’s eventual loss to Milwaukee, there was no elaborate plan as he stepped into the box against Brewers lefty Eric Lauer. Daza, who’s ripped a .347 batting average in June with 11 RBIs, didn’t overcomplicate matters. “Before I get in the box, I guess I just think about […]

Joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Los Angeles Rams Previously covered the Angels for MLB.com THERE’S A WAITLIST for “Banana Baby.” The Savannah Bananas, a collegiate summer league team that routinely takes a sledgehammer to conventionality, begin each home game by wrapping an infant in a banana outfit and raising the baby to the sky like Simba. Up to […]

The national spotlight doesn’t shine on college baseball the same way it does on college football or college hoops. So for many baseball fans, the first chance they’ll get — well, the first opportunity they’ll take — to watch the future stars of their favorite team is the College World Series, held annually in Omaha, Neb.  And that dynamic has […]

Gerrit Cole vs. the New York baseball writers is becoming one of MLB’s best rivalries. The Yankees pitcher parried another round of questions from them about sticky substances and spin rates after he beat the Blue Jays in Buffalo on Wednesday. The first challenge came from ESPN’s Marly Rivera, who asked Cole why his spin rate was down again. Cole stumbled […]

Base-stealing might be out of fashion in today's game, with the prevalence of the home run dwarfing the need to risk making an out on the basepaths.  However, smart baserunning never goes out of style. Cleveland's Jose Ramirez combined timely hitting with some nifty moves in the bottom of the third inning Wednesday night against the Baltimore Orioles.  With one out […]

Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. New York Mets right-handed ace Jacob deGrom left his start on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs with right shoulder soreness after pitching three perfect innings. DeGrom, 33, struck out eight of the nine batters he faced while driving in a run with an RBI single in the second […]

They stood in the dugout in stunned disbelief, perhaps not able to process what had happened or maybe not ready to accept it. The Arizona Diamondbacks had lost again, no surprise there, but it was so much more than that. It was a blown lead as large as any in a loss in club history. It was an already unfathomable losing […]

At the best baseball card show of my life, three incredible things happened: Muhammad Ali handed me an autographed card , I opened a coveted Frank Thomas rookie card in a 1990 Leaf pack and I won a Lou Brock autographed baseball as a door prize.  It was a trifecta that even now makes me happy. I was 14 or […]

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that every pitcher caught using or possessing foreign substances will be given an automatic 10-game suspension beginning Monday, June 21, and team employees can also be suspended or fined for substances found in their clubhouse or dugout.  Starting pitchers will be checked more than once per game for foreign substances while relievers will be checked at least once.  “After an extensive […]