How pitcher Pedro Martinez helped reverse the curse of the Red Sox

Some say baseball's drug problem goes back to the late 1800s

At age 32, pitcher James “Pud” Galvin was feeling tired and decided to take "the Brown-Séquard elixir," which contained a testicular fluid from dogs and guinea pigs, believed to invigorate tired bodies. It might've worked: Galvin pitched a two-hit shutout the next day.

Integration of Latino players in MLB

The Senators’ spectacular losing record obscures one of the most important stories in baseball history: the club’s role in integrating Latino players into the major leagues

MLB pitchers were charged with benefiting from sports betting

In November 2025, two pitchers for the Cleveland Guardians were charged with coordinating with sports bettors to enrich themselves and others. In many instances, they shared the kinds of pitches they would throw at specific points in the game. Bettors then placed money on those actions.

The story behind one infamous World Series moment

“The Bartman Incident” during Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS forever changed the life of Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who quickly descended into anonymity. This 2005 ESPN story attempts to find answers behind the notorious Bartman.

Visualize how changes to lineups, driven by modern analytics, could have changed one of MLB's most iconic moments.

Each July 1, six-time Major League Baseball All-Star Bobby Bonilla gets $1.19M from the New York Mets, thanks to a 25-year-long deferred payment agreement.

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, which ended at 56, cost him a sponsorship deal with Heinz.

100 moments that shaped baseball history

Published in 2018 by baseball historian Jacob Kornhauser, this list examines the defining moments throughout more than a century of play on the field, from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis purportedly throwing a no-hitter while on acid to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

In 2001, Little League World Series pitcher Danny Almonte was a widely praised superstar until it was revealed he was 2 years older than his competitors.

Fenway Park is the oldest professional baseball stadium in use

The legendary park was built in 1912 and is considered hallowed ground for baseball fans, along with iconic venues like Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Wrigley Field in Chicago.

MLB 2023 rules changes were the most dramatic alterations in decades, drastically speeding up the game.

Before 1920, during the Deadball Era, a single baseball was used throughout a Major League game, leading to a notoriously dirty style of play.

How Shohei Ohtani made baseball fun again

To rise to the level of Major League Baseball in recent decades, a player needs to become a specialist in at least one of the sport's many skills: hitting, pitching, throwing, running, fielding. For decades, this specialization has made a so-called...

The 1919 Chicago White Sox, later known as the 'Black Sox,' were banned from baseball for fixing that year's World Series despite being acquitted in court.

Ken Caminiti exposed steroid use around the league

In 2002, newly retired Ken Caminiti was the first to admit to using steroids as a player, citing how common PEDs were in the league, something that had long been rumored, especially after the single-season home run record was broken in 1998 by Mark McGwire.

A history of the rare, chaotic moments when MLB batters charge the pitcher on the mound

They typically occur when a pitcher has slung a pitch a little too close to the batter—though the exact causes vary, from quick tempers to longstanding grudges. No definitive account of these infrequent but highly visible incidents has existed, so sportswriter Jon Bois compiled data on 264 such moments between 1950 and 2025. The resulting 23-minute video explores the rich narratives leading to these charged events.

In 1985, New York Mets star Keith Hernandez said 40% of his MLB peers used cocaine, highlighting an open secret about drug use in the league.

Tommy John surgery, which can save a pitcher's career, reconstructs a torn ligament in the inner side of the elbow that would otherwise stabilize the elbow during throws.

In 1970, Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter—a rare feat that was just the 174th in MLB history—while high on LSD.

The MLB's reserve clause gave owners rights to players after their contracts expired

The clause was added to contracts in 1879, allowing owners to hang on to players after the expiration of their contracts, sometimes in perpetuity.

Explore the data behind every Major League Baseball player's success rate with ABS, its new tech-assisted challenge system.

Catching up with hobby icon Sy Berger

In 1952 baseball card company Topps printed two series of cards. The first series sold well, but the late-season series, numbered 311-407 and included Mickey Mantle, didn’t. Read the first-hand account of how Topps couldn't’ even give the late-season series cards away and dumped an estimated 500 cases into the Atlantic Ocean in 1959. Decades later, it created a scarcity that drove the price of that Mantle card to $12.6 million.

Athletes in Mexico are reviving a 3,000-year-old sacred sport

A modern team is working to revive Juego de Pelota, an ancient Mesoamerican team sport played by the Maya, Aztecs, and neighboring cultures. Once central to ritual and community life, the game was outlawed by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

Check out a list of pitchers that received Tommy John surgery, an elbow procedure that can repair a pitcher's deteriorated arm.

Fourteen ways to make baseball cool again

Baseball, while commonly known as America's pastime, gets a bit of a bad rap for being long, slow, and boring. Here are fourteen fun ideas to make the sport more interesting to combat dwindling attendance.

Sidearm pitchers—who throw the ball at an odd angle, sometimes very close to the ground—are a rarity in modern baseball, which often makes them more difficult for batters to hit.

How fantasy baseball fights the loneliness epidemic

Experts believe the erosion of traditional community organizations has led to a loneliness epidemic. This deep dive explores how fantasy baseball has filled the gap for some men, providing a stand-in social network.

Major League Baseball, explained

Major League Baseball is America’s oldest professional sports league. Alongside triumphs, the league has faced scandals, including drug abuse and steroid use, shaping its path over the decades. Today, MLB embraces new rules, international talent, and a growing connection to legalized sports betting.

Why ‘Shoeless Joe’ Jackson was banned from Major League Baseball

Few baseball stars are more infamous than "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, one of the game's greatest hitters. Jackson was part of the Chicago White Sox team (notoriously dubbed the "Black Sox") accused of fixing the 1919 World Series. This resource breaks down the criminal trial that investigated those allegations. Curiously, Jackson and his teammates were acquitted, but Major League Baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis still banned them from the league for life.

In 1975, a Major League Baseball clause that kept players legally tied to their teams after retirement was dismantled, creating the modern concept of free agency.

Explore some of the best baseball books, including Michael Lewis' influential 'Moneyball' and Bob Uecker's autobiography 'Catcher in the Wry.'

The 1960s Boston Celtics are among the NBA's best teams

The 1960s was a decade dominated by the Boston Celtics. They won nine championships in the decade and 11 titles in 13 seasons between 1957 and 1969, propelled by their coach and general manager "Red" Auerbach" and center Bill Russell.

Jackie Robinson's iconic 42 is the only number that's been retired leaguewide, meaning no current players can wear it except in his honor.

Talese’s story on Joe DiMaggio examined the sports star’s life post-retirement

The profile, written in the aftermath of his popular “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” similarly offered a close look at an American icon after their prime. In DiMaggio’s story, however, the Yankees player seeks to vanish into obscurity and live a quiet life, golfing and mourning his ex-wife Marilyn Monroe.

Every MLB baseball needs to be rubbed with a special kind of mud, provided by one New Jersey family.

Check out a list of the top 100 players in baseball history, from Barry Larkin to Babe Ruth.

'The Star-Spangled Banner' became associated with sports at the 1918 World Series thanks to an impromptu rendition during the 7th inning stretch.

Rob Gronkowski dented the Lombardi Trophy during the Patriots' celebration

After their victory in Super Bowl LII, Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski dented the trophy by using it as a baseball bat before throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park. Team owner Robert Kraft decided not to repair the trophy.

The Pete Rose scandal was exposed by Sports Illustrated

In the spring of 1984, a reporter at Sports Illustrated answered a call on the newsroom tip line claiming player/manager Pete Rose was gambling on baseball games. That March, the magazine published the bombshell report that led Major League Baseball to investigate and then ban Rose for life.

Experience a century of America's healthcare advances with this medical visualization, tracing a sampling of healthcare innovations from head to toe.

The first Boston Marathon was held the next year

In 1897, the manager of the US Olympic team organized the first Boston Marathon, which featured a field of 15 runners. The race took place on Patriots Day, a holiday commemorating the first battles of the American Revolution.

Every baseball used by the MLB only lasts about 7 pitches before it's discarded.

Inside MLB's robo-umping experiment

Human umpires call roughly 94% of pitches right overall, but performance reduces on borderline pitches in high-leverage moments, the calls that shape game outcomes most. A professor and historian analyze early experiments with the full "robot ump" system that helped shape MLB's decision to implement a compromise "challenge" system.

How baseball shaped Black America during Reconstruction

A cornerstone of the budding Black culture following the Civil War was baseball, with several clubs springing up in Black neighborhoods and leaders like Frederick Douglass cheering on the players, including his son, who played for a team in Washington. This detailed history of the early Black leagues unpacks how the game enhanced the upwardly mobile community—and why that fact led to the segregation of what would become Major League Baseball.

President Bush threw the first pitch at the World Series in New York City less than two months after 9/11.

Sabermetrics, the empirical analysis of baseball statistics made famous by 'Moneyball,' redefined how people evaluate baseball players, overturning a century of assumptions about which metrics matter most.

A 1930s card game birthed modern fantasy sports

"National Pastime" used the statistics of real Major League Baseball players to determine a winner, creating the template for the modern fantasy sports model.

Liza Minnelli's 'New York, New York' used to play after the Yankees lost

For a time, Minnelli's version of the song was played following defeats. After each Yankees victory, it was Frank Sinatra's version. Ultimately, the team stopped using Minnelli's version, though Sinatra's is still played after every Yankees win.

Measuring which nation has the most baseball fans

It's known as America's pastime, but just how devoted are Americans to baseball? FiveThirtyEight outlines several metrics indicating Puerto Rico may have the most devoted fanbase. See how they used an adjusted metric to rank the world's biggest...

A major upset in Super Bowl XLII prevented the Patriots from completing an undefeated season

In Super Bowl XLII, the heavily favored New England Patriots lost 17-14 to the Giants, ending a 16-0 season after David Tyree's improbable helmet catch set up the winning drive.