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MLB

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred standing at a lectern with a microphone. His image is cut out and placed on a sepia-toned background of a manual baseball scoreboard. | Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Tampa Bay Times | ZUMA Press | Newscom | Andreblais | Dreamstime.com

Sports

Rob Manfred Can't Fix Baseball. But These 4 Changes Might.

Plus: College football insanity, fans jailed in Venezuela, and the benefits of betting

Jason Russell | 8.19.2025 10:45 AM

A man standing on a soccer field wearing an Olympique Lyonnais jersey turns to face the camera. | Illustration: Eddie Marshall |  Icon Sport/LECOEUR Philippe / Agence FEP/Sipa USA/Newscom

Sports

The Lawyers Are Taking Over Soccer

Plus: surviving Philadelphia, and fixing sports

Jason Russell | 8.5.2025 11:05 AM

A presnap photo of a football game between Texas and Georgia, with Texas in their white jerseys and Georgia in their red ones. An SEC banner looms in the background with a slogan in all caps: "IT JUST MEANS MORE." | Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire DKB/Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire/Newscom

Sports

The SEC (the Sports One) Is Acting Like It's Invincible

Plus: Sports teams are writing it off, motorsports documentaries, and the NBA and Stanley Cup finals.

Jason Russell | 6.3.2025 10:30 AM

Pete Rose in a Cincinnati Reds uniform | Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty

Sports

Free Pete Rose

There is no question that Rose defiantly broke the rules, but we love our baseball characters, warts and all.

Matt Welch | 5.14.2025 7:00 AM

The Auburn basketball team (and others) wearing hats and t-shirts that say FINAL FOUR on them. One player is holding a trophy and another is throwing confetti in the air. | MIKE ZARRILLI/UPI/Newscom

Sports

March Madness Isn't Dead

Plus: Fix the NIT, NFL kickoffs, and more.

Jason Russell | 4.1.2025 10:30 AM

The backswing of a Shohei Ohtani swing. | Yuji Arakawa/Creative 2/AFLO/Newscom

Sports

Labor Strife Looms Over MLB Opening Day

Plus: Untenable in Tampa, Cinderella didn't show up for March Madness, TGL, and more.

Jason Russell | 3.25.2025 12:35 PM

Shohei Ohtani running while wearing a gray Dodgers uniform and a blue batting helmet. | Kyodonews/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Sports

Athletes Find New Way To Avoid Taxes

Restructured contracts may help franchises who have a certain competitive disadvantage.

Jason Russell | 1.11.2025 6:30 AM

John Fisher, owner of the Athletics | Hector Amezcua/TNS/Newscom

Crony Capitalism

Poll: A Majority of Las Vegas Voters Don't Want To Pay for Athletics' New Stadium

The team's owner, John Fisher, may have overestimated Las Vegas residents' enthusiasm for a new baseball team.

Varad Raigaonkar | 4.12.2024 12:57 PM

krtphotoslive938467 | Tammy Ljungblad/TNS/Newscom

Crony Capitalism

Taxpayers Refuse To Pay New Stadium Expenses for Billionaire Sports Owners

Jackson County, Missouri, voted not to extend a sales tax that would have benefited the Chiefs and the Royals.

Varad Raigaonkar | 4.3.2024 3:45 PM

Arrowhead Stadium | Image of Sport/Newscom

Crony Capitalism

Taxpayers Will Soon Find Out if They'll Have To Finance Fancy Stadiums for the Chiefs and the Royals

Jackson County, Missouri, residents should not be billed for the undertakings of private businesses.

Varad Raigaonkar | 3.29.2024 3:52 PM

Camden Yards, the ballpark for the Baltimore Orioles, is packed with fans. | Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire 749/Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire/Newscom

Sports

Baltimore Orioles Owners Demand Even More Unnecessary Taxpayer Money

Apparently $600 million to improve a very nice stadium isn’t enough.

Jason Russell | 8.12.2023 7:00 AM

upiphotostwo834707 | KATE AWTREY-KING/UPI/Newscom

Sports

The Atlanta Braves Won the World Series. Their Stadium Is Still a Taxpayer Boondoggle.

The economic benefits are a home run that never came, and never should have been expected.

J.C. Bradbury | 4.7.2022 7:00 AM

galaad-linosfil-f1BFXj1bTo0-unsplash | Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@aerilys?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Galaad Linosfil</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Sports

Major League Baseball: Don't Nationalize it, Privatize it!

Opening Day and a bad New York Times op-ed are timely reminders that much of what ails professional baseball is the intrusion of government.

Matt Welch | 4.6.2022 1:49 PM

Photo-by-Fikri-Rasyid-on-Unsplash-3 | Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash

Biden Administration

Voting Laws, High-Speed Rails, and Vaccine Passports

It's a regulation-heavy Monday.

Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman, and Matt Welch | 4.5.2021 5:02 PM

book2 | University of Nebraska Press

Biography

Into the Dugout

Jim Bouton pulled back the curtain on the MLB and changed the perception of sports forever.

Clayton Trutor | 11.15.2020 6:00 AM

culture | Justin Casterline/Getty

Sports

The Games Must Go On

COVID-19 upended the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and MLB. How the professional sports leagues responded offers a glimpse into our future.

Eric Boehm | 10.22.2020 6:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Gerald Mothes/Dreamstime.com

Seattle

Seattle Mariners Want Taxpayers to Fork Over $180 Million, Or Else

The baseball team says it will only sign a long-term lease to remain at Safeco Field if the county ponies up.

Joe Setyon | 7.27.2018 4:55 PM

Large image on homepages | Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire DCT

Cuba

Baseball Star Jose Abreu Ate His Fake Passport on Flight to the U.S.

The Cuban defector and Chicago White Sox star's bizarre tale is indicative of how ridiculous immigration policy can be.

Anthony Fisher | 3.2.2017 2:30 PM

Large image on homepages | Flickr/Arturo Pardavila III

Baseball

Miami Marlins Pitcher Jose Fernandez, Survivor of Cuba's Castro Regime, Dies at 24

The father-to-be was one of three killed in a late-night boating accident.

Anthony Fisher | 9.25.2016 11:15 AM

Large image on homepages | Flickr/Nicole Mays

Baseball

Cobb County Has No Money Left for Public Parks Because They Gave it All to the Atlanta Braves

Voters supported funding parks, but not a billionaire's ballpark.

Anthony Fisher | 6.7.2016 10:13 AM

Large image on homepages | Flickr/Keith Allison

Baseball

Atlanta Braves Are a Terrible Baseball Team, But "A Fairly Major Real Estate Business"

Small-town Southern taxpayers subsidize minor league ballparks for baseball's worst team.

Anthony Fisher | 5.5.2016 12:10 PM

Large image on homepages

Politics

The Baseball Commissioner Who Made Bush President

The culture, politics, and economics of baseball in the Bud Selig era

Anthony Fisher | 10.8.2015 6:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Policy

Court Briefing Blasts Sports Leagues' Hypocritical Stance Against Legalized Gambling

Jim Pagels | 1.16.2015 5:38 PM

Culture

Why Blaming the Umps for Favoring Certain Teams is Wrong

The MLB post-season's had some controversial calls by umpires

Reason Staff | 10.12.2012 9:08 AM

Culture

MLB Trade Activity Up as Deadline Looms

Baseball teams have until 4pm ET today to make a deal

Reason Staff | 7.31.2012 1:53 PM

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