MLB to pay $185 million in settlement with minor league players over minimum-wage and overtime allegations

Major League Baseball will pay $185 million to settle the federal class-action lawsuit filed by minor league players who sought pay for minimum-wage and overtime violations by teams, pending a judge approving the settlement, according to a document filed in California court Friday.

The suit, filed in February 2014 by former Miami Marlins minor leaguer Aaron Senne and two other retired minor league players, was settled May 10, three weeks before it was set to go to trial. Thousands of other players will be eligible to receive part of the $120,197,300 due to players, with the rest going to attorney’s fees and other costs.

As part of the settlement, MLB will issue a memo that allows teams to pay minor league players during spring training, ...

2022 MLB Home Run Derby: List of participants at Dodger Stadium

2022 MLB Home Run Derby Bracket
Here is the seeding and matchups for the 2022 Home Run Derby:

No. 1 Kyle Schwarber vs. No. 8 Albert Pujols

No. 4 Juan Soto vs. No. 5 Jose Ramirez

No. 3 Corey Seager vs. No. 6 Julio Rodriguez

No. 2 Pete Alonso vs. No. 7 Ronald Acuna Jr.

Seeding was determined based on the number of homers each player has on the season as of Thursday.

The winner of Schwarber-Pujols will face the winner of Soto-Ramirez in the semifinals. The other semifinal matchup will be between the winner of Seager-Rodriguez and the winner of Alonso-Acuna.

From there, the two semifinal winners will battle for the Derby crown.

Here’s who should’ve gone 1st in every Draft

2013 (Astros): Mark Appel (0.2)
Should’ve picked: Aaron Judge, 32nd overall, Yankees (29.9)
Appel finally made a triumphant Major League debut this season with the Phillies, but Judge has a good shot to join Kris Bryant (No. 2, Cubs) and Cody Bellinger (fourth round, Dodgers) as the third MVP Award winner from this class. (And remember, the Yanks got that 32nd pick as compensation for Nick Swisher leaving for Cleveland in free agency the previous offseason).

Ozzie Guillén challenges Jon Heyman to a charity boxing match: “Tired of this liar talking about me.”

Following Guillén’s criticism of La Russa and his uncalled for shot at Renteria, Jon Heyman of The New York Post and MLB Network tweeted that the NBC Sports Chicago analyst might be trying to get his old job back. Guillén managed the White Sox from 2004-2011, winning a World Series during his second season with the club. The comment by Heyman seemed to have irked Guillén, because he responded on Twitter by challenging the baseball insider to a charity boxing match.

According to Guillén, it wasn’t just about the allegation that he wants La Russa’s job. The former manager feels Heyman has been overly critical of him throughout the years. But as they went back and forth on Twitter, Guillén also called into Chicago’s 670 The ...

Chicago Cubs sued over alleged ADA violations at Wrigley Field

Federal prosecutors in Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Cubs, alleging the team failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act when it executed a series of renovations at Wrigley Field.

Attorneys for the government on Thursday said that while the ballpark renovations “significantly enhanced the gameday experience for many fans, particularly those able to take advantage of premium clubs and other luxury accommodations, the same can not be said for fans with disabilities.”

The suit states that the Cubs “removed the best wheelchair seating in the stadium, failed to incorporate wheelchair seating into new premium clubs and group seating areas … and failed to remove architectural barriers to access in unaltered ...

Yankees bring back Tyler Wade in trade with Angels

Tyler Wade is coming back to where he started.

The Yankees are acquiring the versatile Wade from the Angels for a player to be named later, The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed on Thursday, further bolstering their organizational depth. Wade will report to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Wade was designated for assignment by the Yankees in November to make room on their 40-man roster, leading to a trade to the Angels. But after hitting .215 with a 56 OPS-plus and eight steals in 67 games for Los Angeles, Wade was DFA’d again by the Angels on July 3.

The 27-year-old Wade had the best year of his career last season with the Yankees – the last of his five seasons in The Bronx – when he hit .268 with a 91 OPS-plus and 17 steals. He ...

Ray Kroc Once Got On The PA And Called His San Diego Padres Stupid In Front Of Everyone

The Padres were once again clobbered in their home opener on April 9, losing 9-5. Kroc spent the game stewing as his team committed such foibles as forgetting the number of outs, and blowing a chance to score with the bases loaded. With the Astros holding onto a 9-2 lead in the ninth, Kroc was finally set off after a pinch runner who’d just entered the game was picked off at first. He stormed from the owners box to the PA booth, grabbed the microphone, and addressed Padres fans as their team’s owner for the first time.

“Fans, I suffer with you. I’ve never seen such stupid ballplaying in my life,” he said. After a streaker briefly interrupted him—Kroc screamed for the man to be thrown in jail—he continued to roast his team. ...

What you need to know about Statcast bat tracking

Technology to track the speed and path of bats is not exactly new; teams and swing coaches have been investing in bat sensors and other technology for years, primarily used in practice or laboratory or other non-game settings. It’s a near certainty that some teams have their own internal measures of bat speed; as we said, physicists have been working out optimal swing paths and ways to calculate swing speed for decades. In 2015, to pick one example of many, Dr. Alan Nathan went deep into the physics of it all. This is a new way to attack a very old question.

What’s different, then, is that this is in-game tracking, collected from real 2022 Major League Baseball action. It doesn’t require reverse engineering from exit velocity; it ...

Orioles beat Cubs 7-1, extend winning streak to 10 games | ESPN

CHICAGO—— Anthony Santander hit a two-run double to spark Baltimore’s three-run first inning, Spenser Watkins and four relievers scattered six hits and the Orioles extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 7-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
....
With the victory, the Orioles (45-44) also went over the .500 mark for the first time since April 8, 2021, when they were 4-3. Baltimore finished off the game to chants of “Let’s Go O’s!” at Wrigley Field, where the Orioles were playing their first series since 2014.

Andrew Benintendi, Whit Merrifield among 10 unvaccinated Kansas City Royals players out for Toronto Blue Jays series

Ten Kansas City Royals players, including four of their top hitters and their best two starting pitchers this season, will not travel to Toronto this week for the four-game series with the Blue Jays because they have not received the COVID-19 vaccination.

The vaccine requirement for border crossing into Canada will affect outfielder Andrew Benintendi, super-utilityman Whit Merrifield, catcher MJ Melendez, first baseman/outfielder Hunter Dozier, right-hander Brad Keller, right-hander Brady Singer, center fielder Michael A. Taylor, outfielder Kyle Isbel, reliever Dylan Coleman and catcher Cam Gallagher.

Players who are unvaccinated and don’t make the trip to Toronto are placed on the restricted list and forfeit service time and salary for ...

MLB ALL-STAR GAME 2022: HOW MANY FUTURE HALL OF FAMERS WILL PLAY IN L.A.?

From 1963 to 2000, there were an average of 18 future Hall of Famers on All-Star rosters. If you include the players with steroid connections who would be Hall shoo-ins otherwise — Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, Sheffield, A-Rod — plus the banned Pete Rose, that number bumps up to 20.5. The highest tally was 25 in ‘72, the lowest was 12 Hall of Famers in ‘76 and ‘89.

What about this year?

The All-Star rosters are out, but they’ll change a bit between now and the game. In fact, they’re already changing, just like they always do. Carlos Rodón, J.D. Martinez and Garrett Cooper were all added as replacements on Tuesday. For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going with the rosters as of Tuesday night, knowing that ...

Tomase: Why this John Henry quote about Bogaerts is infuriating

John Henry weighed in on the state of the Red Sox with the trade deadline three weeks away, and one quote caught my eye, not to mention my ire.J

When asked by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe about reaching contract extensions with Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, Henry sounded a familiar refrain.

“It takes two to make a deal,” he said. “I think it’s clear both of them want to be here. We want them here. We made efforts in the past to try to sign players that we weren’t able to sign.

“It’s not 100 percent our fault when we don’t end up signing a player. We’ve signed players where it’s really worked out. We’ve signed others that, it’s our job to try to sign the right players. Frankly, over the last 20 years, we haven’t done it [every ...

Blue Jays fire Charlie Montoyo

Finnish baseball player flies headfirst into river while chasing ball

No, this isn’t faked — as much as you might want to believe it is. This clip comes to us from the “Superpesis,” the championship series of “Pesäpallo,” which is a Scandanavian variant of baseball. Playing in perhaps the worst conceived sporting arena ever, the Saarikenttä or “island stadium” is surrounded on four sides by a river, and can only be accessed by crossing a bridge.

This leads to a lot of unique moments, as one can imagine. Unlike baseball there’s no equivalent of a ground rule double in Pesäpallo, which means a ball hit into the river (which occurs fairly often) is still live. With players needing to wade through actual flowing water to get the ball and throw it back on the field it’s generally accepted ...

MLB testing ‘pie slice’ infield experiment aimed at reining in defensive shift in Class A FSL

The Florida State League will limit defensive shifts by drawing chalk lines in a pie shape from second base to the outfield grass starting July 22, prohibiting infielders from the marked area prior to the pitch in an experiment that could increase offense.

Major League Baseball has been testing shift limits all season at Double-A and Class A, requiring teams to have four players on the infield, including two on each side of second base.

The experiment in the Class A FSL was first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by MLB on Tuesday.

Chicago White Sox drop the opener of an 8-game trip after Ken Williams reportedly addressed the ‘underachieving’ team

Executive Vice President Ken Williams reportedly addressed Chicago White Sox players and staff Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

News of the meeting, reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, became public Monday just as the Sox were beginning their final trip before the All-Star break with the first of four games against the Cleveland Guardians.

It was a bumpy start for the Sox as the Guardians scored five in the first off Lance Lynn. The Sox got within a run before losing 8-4 in front of 13,655 at Progressive Field.

“When you give up five runs with two outs, that hurts,” Lynn said. “But I have to be better early on. I have to be better all the way around. There’s no other way to put it.

“Make better pitches. Get myself in ...

‘Bring it on’: Scherzer leads statement win vs. Braves

The lone blight on Max Scherzer’s evening was still in the recent past on Monday when Eddie Rosario stepped to the plate with two outs in seventh. Standing on second base was Marcell Ozuna, who represented the tying run. Back in the dugout was Austin Riley, who had homered off Scherzer moments earlier. All around the Mets’ ace, a sold-out Truist Park crowd thundered as loudly as it could.

Scherzer ignored it and went to work, jumping ahead of Rosario in the count. He wasted an 0-2 pitch and then came back with his silencer: an 88-mph cutter that caused Rosario to fly open and swing wildly at the baseball. When Rosario did, Scherzer whirled and slammed his fist toward the ground, letting out an audible roar of emotion.

He knew how ...

Merrifield’s Iron Man streak ends at 553 games

he longest consecutive games-played streak in the Majors came to an end on Monday.

Whit Merrifield, dealing with a bone bruise and ligament swelling in his big toe, will not play on Monday for the first time since June 24, 2018—more than four years ago. His consecutive-games-played streak comes to an end at 553, a franchise record and the longest streak in the Majors since Miguel Tejada played in 1,152 straight games from June 2, 2000-June 21, 2007.

“It’s unfortunate it had to happen this way,” Merrifield said before Monday’s doubleheader against the Tigers. “I’ve been—lucky is a good word for it in some instances, but I’ve put myself in a good position to play every day physically, mentality-wise. I showed up ready to ...

Philadelphia Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto, Aaron Nola, 2 others unvaccinated, out vs. Toronto Blue Jays

The Philadelphia Phillies will be without J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson during a two-game series in Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on unvaccinated travelers.

Nola started on the mound Monday night for Philadelphia’s 6-1 loss at St. Louis, and was not scheduled to pitch against the Blue Jays during the series that begins Tuesday. Bohm, an infielder, came out of Monday’s game with a dislocated left ring finger.

President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters before the game that the four players will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit two days of pay and major league service time in accordance with the terms of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.

“I’m not going to let Canada tell ...

Dodger Stadium concession workers threaten strike ahead of All-Star Game

Dodger Stadium concession workers have threatened a strike in the days leading up to the All-Star Game.

Unite Here Local 11, the union that represents those workers, announced in a news release on Monday that “99%” of the employees voted in favor of going on strike, adding that one could occur “at any moment.” A representative for Levy Restaurants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dodger Stadium will soon host its first All-Star Game in 42 years, beginning with the Futures Game on Saturday, the Home Run Derby on Monday and the main event on Tuesday. The Dodgers will navigate a five-game road trip ahead of the festivities.

Dodger Stadium concession workers are employed by the Chicago-based company Levy Restaurants, ...

OMNICHATTER for the week of July 11-17, 2022

Atlanta gets No. 35 pick from KC for top prospect, two others

The Braves acquired the 35th pick in this Sunday’s MLB Draft from the Royals on Monday for center fielder Drew Waters, RHP Andrew Hoffmann and infielder C.J. Alexander.

The pick is a Competitive Balance Round A pick, which is eligible to be traded. As MLB.com’s Jim Callis reported in April, the 35th pick holds a slot value of $2.2 million. The Braves, who also own the 20th overall pick, bumped their Draft pool money up to $10.2 million, the 10th-highest total.

Waters, Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was the Braves’ second-round pick in 2017 and has spent parts of the past three seasons at Triple-A Gwinnett. The Southern League MVP in 2019, the switch-hitting Waters slashed .246/.305/.393 with five home runs and ...

Smooth sailing: Santana, Mariners win 8th straight, sweep Jays

Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a throw bust through the webbing of his glove and the Seattle Mariners took advantage for their eighth straight win, beating Toronto 6-5 Sunday on two home runs by Carlos Santana.

“Baseball can be cruel sometimes when things aren’t going right,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said.

A day after Santana hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning for a 2-1 win, he connected for a go-ahead, two-run drive in the eighth. The Mariners are 16-3 for their best 19-game stretch since 2003.

“Everything is positive right now, so we have to keep it up,” Santana said. “The energy is great. The fan support, in the clubhouse, teammates are great. When you see that, everything is great.”

Warriors Owner Joe Lacob Says He Has ‘Standing Offer’ to Buy A’s

Lacob doesn’t mince words about how he thinks the ballpark situation would’ve played out under his control.

“I had the A’s done,” Lacob told the Chronicle. “It was just taken away from me. You know what, everyone’s confident in their own abilities, obviously. I think we would’ve had a stadium a long time ago if I had bought it. That’s just me.”

Lacob also told the Chronicle that he remains interested in buying the A’s. In fact, he told the newspaper that a “standing offer” has existed for him to buy the team from the Fisher family, which purchased Wolff’s share of the club in 2016, for more than 10 years.

“I’ve had a standing offer to buy the A’s from John Fisher for I don’t even know how long. Over a ...

Reds beat Rays via 23rd walk-off balk in MLB history

A game between the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays ended in bizarre fashion on Friday when, with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the 10th, home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso called a balk on Rays pitcher Matt Wisler.

Wisler appeared to have moved his glove to encourage catcher Francisco Mejía to go through his signs again, but Moscoso apparently thought it was too much movement. Pitchers can not halt their motion to a set position once it has begun, as Reds analyst Chris Welsh explained.

With the game tied at 1-1, the balk scored the runner on third and ended the game.

You've heard of a walk-off, now get ready for a balk-off. pic.twitter.com/62anHf4MEq

— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2022

Former 1B Keith Hernandez cherishes ‘a great moment,’ as New York Mets retire No. 17 jersey

About an hour before addressing the packed house at Citi Field, a concentrated Keith Hernandez stared in deep study at his index cards in a mostly empty interview room—his big brother sitting just a step away.

Always prepared. Always a pro. Always with Gary by his side.

A rock-steady leader for the New York Mets’ last championship team, Hernandez received a rare honor Saturday when the club retired his No. 17 jersey before a game against the Miami Marlins.

“This is just a great moment for me,” Hernandez said from a podium between the pitcher’s mound and second base. “I never dreamed I’d be here this long, in the organization. I am absolutely humbled and proud that my number will be up in the rafters for eternity.”

Moments later, No. 17 ...

Full All-Star rosters stacked with game-changing talent

AMERICAN LEAGUE
STARTING PITCHERS

Shane McClanahan, LHP, Rays
Nestor Cortes, LHP, Yankees
Alek Manoah, RHP, Blue Jays
Framber Valdez, LHP, Astros
Martín Pérez, LHP, Rangers
Paul Blackburn, RHP, A’s
Gerrit Cole, RHP, Yankees
Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros
Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Angels

RELIEF PITCHERS

Clay Holmes, RHP, Yankees
Emmanuel Clase, RHP, Guardians
Gregory Soto, LHP, Tigers
Jorge López, RHP, Orioles

FAN-ELECTED STARTERS

Alejandro Kirk, C, Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays
Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros
Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox
Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox
Shohei Ohtani, DH, Angels
Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees
Mike Trout, OF, Angels
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees

RESERVES

Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros
Miguel Cabrera, DH, ...

Orioles rally in ninth, beat Angels, 5-4, on Trey Mancini’s walk-off single for sixth straight victory

The first time they chanted his name, the hyped-up crowd of nearly 28,000 filling Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the first time since April, the letdown had been felt with a groan and the slam of a bat.

But with two outs in the ninth inning, as the fans rose to their feet and the pressure rose with them, catcher Adley Rutschman came to the plate and wasn’t rattled. He didn’t look like a 24-year-old rookie in front of the largest crowd he’s ever played for in Baltimore. The elevated fastball, the sixth pitch of the at-bat, leapt off his bat and split the right-center gap for a run-scoring double, giving the Orioles — and their fans — a breath of life.

Cedric Mullins took that breath and turned it into the game-tying single, ...

Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout lead way as MLB announces All-Star Game starters

The starters for each league:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

C: Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays (1st selection): 74% to 26% over Jose Trevino

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Blue Jays (2nd selection): 66% to 34% over Ty France

2B: Jose Altuve, Astros (8th selection): 57% to 43% over Santiago Espinal

SS: Tim Anderson, White Sox (2nd selection): 55% to 45% over Bo Bichette

3B: Rafael Devers, Red Sox (2nd selection): 60% to 40% over Jose Ramirez

OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees (4th selection): automatic selection as leading vote-getter

OF: Mike Trout, Angels (10th selection) and Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees (5th selection): over George Springer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Angels (2nd selection): 52% over 48% over Yordan Alvarez

NATIONAL LEAGUE

C: ...

Former White Sox reliever reveals dark rehab story to social media after release

Burr writes in his Instagram caption, “I got to a point where I could no longer pitch through the pain,” and that “The mental effects of not being 100% may have been even worse than the physical effects from the shoulder.”

Burr was reinstated from the 10-day IL in late April from his shoulder injury, but was optioned back to Triple-A two days after his last appearance in the MLB in late May. In that game versus the Kansas City Royals, Burr gave up three hits and two runs in one inning.

This season, Burr appeared in eight games, giving up eight hits and six runs in nine total innings to give himself a 6.00 ERA.

It wasn’t until June that the White Sox made their final decision on Burr.

“On June 13th, the White Sox released me,” Burr’s ...