Signals

<p>PITTSBURGH — Given the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs" >Cubs’</a> recent travails, what better person to talk to about not hitting than a guy who made a career out of not hitting?</p><p>We didn’t have to go far to find one. He’s been in the Cubs’ TV broadcast booth all this time.</p><p><b>Jim Deshaies</b>, the Cubs’ color analyst, was a big-league pitcher at a time when National League pitchers still hit — or at least came to the plate carrying a bat.</p><p>Deshaies holds a record that most likely will never be broken, unless MLB decides pitchers are allowed to bat again.</p><p>Deshaies, who played from 1984 to 1995, holds the record for most plate appearances (440) without hitting a double. <b>Barry Zito</b>, the former A’s and Giants pitcher, had 418 PAs without a double, 22 PAs fewer than our record-holder.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center><div class="Enhancement-item"> <div class="ExternalContent-wrapper" data-embed> <iframe width="200" height="150" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FgnwKBp2ZNw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen title="HOU@NYM: Gene Walter strikes out Jim Deshaies (1987)"></iframe> </div> </div></div><p>Deshaies had 33 hits in his career, all singles.

<p>Major League Baseball owners made their long-expected salary cap proposal to the players' association on Thursday, a system the union has vowed never to accept, setting the sides on course for a confrontation that threatens the 2027 season and perhaps beyond.</p><p>Baseball owners hadn't proposed a firm cap since 1994. Their effort prompted a 7½-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.</p><p>MLB's proposal would cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool, and establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million. The Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball's biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year — around $170 million over the proposed cap.</p><p>Owners said they would discuss a phase-in schedule that would give teams like the Dodgers time to comply with the cap and an escrow system with the union as part of a proposed seven-year deal, that all current contracts would remain guaranteed and there would be no prohibition of guaranteed contracts under the cap system.</p><p>MLB said it would centralize local media revenue from the 30 teams equally and give players a 50-50 split as part of a proposal that would eliminate the current revenue-sharing plan among the clubs.</p><p>"Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 as we grow the game together," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement.

With the collective bargaining agreement set to end on Dec. 1, Major League Baseball has officially proposed a salary cap in its negotiations with the MLB Players' Association.

A routine logistics decision at an MLB organization became the subject of significant social media criticism. A former MLB president notes that the front office failed to proactively communicate or explain the decision to stakeholders, leading to public backlash that could have been mitigated through transparent communication.

Former MLB player Royce Clayton testified in a wrongful death civil trial involving Rebecca Grossman, who struck two boys with her vehicle in a Westlake Village crosswalk in 2020. This represents routine court proceedings and public legal proceedings.

Nicole Sherry, a longtime head groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles, has left her position to become assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture after more than two decades with the MLB team.

<p>PHILADELPHIA — Rookie first baseman Jacob Gonzalez’s first career home run helped power the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox" >White Sox</a> to a 6-3 victory against the hottest team in baseball on Saturday in Philadelphia.</p><p>The Sox followed their tried and true formula to draw first blood from Phillies starter Andrew Painter, who <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/05/23/sam-antonacci-white-sox-hit-by-pitch-leadoff" >plunked Sam Antonacci</a> for the rookie’s MLB-leading 14th hit-by-pitch to start the game, walked Miguel Vargas and served up an RBI single to Andrew Benintendi. Chase Meidroth and Gonzalez made it 3-0 with an RBI groundout apiece, and on the 11th pitch of his at-bat, Tristan Peters lined a double down the right-field line to make it a four-spot.</p><p>Then, in the third inning, Colson Montgomery smacked a 380-foot rainbow to right field for his 16th homer of the year, and Gonzalez later followed with an impressive inaugural 428-foot dinger that towered to the second deck at Citizens Bank Park.</p><p>"That one felt good," said Gonzalez, who <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/06/04/white-sox-rookie-jacob-gonzalez-munetaka-murakami" >debuted a week ago</a> and was pleased when a reporter pointed out his first career home run ball had been retrieved and tucked in a plastic bag in his locker. "I was just trying to get the ball and play and do something, and that something was pretty cool."</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center><div class="Enhancement-item"> <div class="ExternalContent-wrapper" > <div class="TweetUrl"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Colson Montgomery and Jacob Gonzalez both go deep in the 3rd inning!<br><br>Gonzalez’s first Major League homer is an upper-deck blast 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/sOxpd6ohg9">pic.twitter.com/sOxpd6ohg9</a></p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/2063369824055501159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div> </div> </div></div><p>Sean Burke, who surrendered solo shots to Phillies third baseman Alex Bohm and left fielder Brandon Marsh, labored through 4 ⅓ innings to give up three runs on three hits and five walks following opener Brandon Eisert.

Former MLB pitcher Scott Erickson testified about depleted finances as a jury deliberates additional damages in a civil case where he and a former lover were found liable for a car crash that killed two young brothers in Westlake Village.

<p>The Cubs caused a stir in Northern California, and it had nothing to do with the action on the field this weekend.</p><p>After all, the Giants won the series and could've swept it.</p><p>The angst came from the Giants' Spanish-language radio crew being moved from a booth into the rafters of the Wrigley Field press box, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Standard. </p><p>On Friday, broadcasters Erwin Higueros and Carlos Orellana had the booth next to the Giants' English-speaking crew of Joe Ritzo and F.P. Santangelo.</p><p>But when ESPN Radio, an MLB rights holder, arrived for games Saturday and Sunday, the Cubs moved Higueros and Orellana to the upper reaches of the press box, which has an obstructed view.

20 Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Hall of Famer Greg Maddux are the only MLB pitchers over the last 50 years to retire the final 20 batters in a game on three separate occasions. Yamamoto retired the final 22 batters…

MLB spoke with Dodgers and Rams physician Neal ElAttrache about a New York Times story that connected him with UFC fighter Conor McGregor taking banned substances.

Colt Emerson hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning for his first MLB hit, and the Mariners snapped their losing skid with a 6-1 win over the White Sox.

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Yankees legend Mariano Rivera says he supports an MLB salary cap Former New York Yankee Mariano Rivera says he supports MLB salary cap as long as small-market teams are also spending.

Former Mariners closer and three-time MLB All-Star Edwin Díaz has been linked to illegal cockfighting in Puerto Rico, according to a Friday report from USA Today.

<p>LAS VEGAS — Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder entered the last regular-season game in 1990 with 49 home runs. The Caesars Palace sportsbook had posted a seasonlong MLB proposition of 50½ dingers.</p><p>George Foster had last cracked the 50 barrier with 52 for the Reds in 1977.</p><p>Like clockwork, the sports-betting-radio figure kept buying “NO” tickets that summer. Vinny Magliulo, who ran that book, spreads his right index finger half an inch from the thumb and says, “His stack was this thick.”</p><p>Fielder belted No.

Baseball writer, author Ken Davidoff joins a new Best Podcast in Baseball to discuss his new book, a 'fragile' time for MLB, and more with host Derrick Goold.

<p>PHILADELPHIA — The upstart <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox" target="_blank" ><u>White Sox</u></a> raised some eyebrows when they finally <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/05/13/white-sox-reach-500-this-late-in-season-for-first-time-since-2022-colson-montgomery-will-venable-jordan-hicks-seranthony-dominguez-bobby-witt" target="_blank" ><u>cracked .500</u></a> last month while playing their best baseball in four years — an admittedly low bar.</p><p>They turned more heads with an extra-innings, walkoff Crosstown Classic <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/05/17/edgar-quero-white-sox-rally-past-cubs-to-take-crosstown-series" target="_blank" ><u>win for the ages</u></a>, and their entirely-too-early wild-card contention has national observers taking notice of what general manager Chris Getz has cooking on the South Side.</p><p>But MLB’s most surprising turnaround story might not convert skeptics into true believers until the end of the month, as the Sox embark on their biggest sustained test through a brutal stretch of the schedule rife with playoff contenders, starting this weekend in Philadelphia.</p><p>After facing a stacked Phillies’ lineup that figures to stay in the National League wild-card conversation despite their early-season turmoil, the Sox will head home for three-game sets against the Braves, who are running away with the NL East behind the best record in baseball, and the perennial World Series-contending Dodgers.</p><p>Then it’s off to Yankee Stadium before a run through the American League Central gantlet, highlighted by their first matchup of the year June 22-24 against the Guardians, whom the Sox are sizing up for the division lead.</p><p>Rational fans might save the postseason talk until seeing whether the Sox can make it through their daunting June trial with a respectable record, but that’s not the attitude in the clubhouse.</p><p>“We want to be the best team we possibly can, and it's kind of a good litmus test for us to see where we're at,” fireballing reliever Grant Taylor said. “We're playing above .500 right now, but we want to go and beat those guys and show why we deserve to be in contention for being considered one of the best teams.</p><p>“I'm really excited about it. I think the guys in the clubhouse are excited about it, but every team in the big leagues is a tough team to beat,” Taylor said.

Kim Ng, former Dodgers executive and MLB's first female general manager, is now commissioner of Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

<p>DENVER — It’s too early to say whether Seiya Suzuki slammed the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs" >Cubs</a> out of their early-summer freefall.</p><p>But boy, did this team need a hit like that one.</p><p>The team’s struggles with runners in scoring position have received plenty of attention during what’s become a monthlong losing stretch, but its lack of power has been just as glaring.</p><p>Though they got a solo homer in each of the first two games of their series in mile-high Colorado, the typically hitter-friendly conditions did little to goose the Cubs’ sputtering bats.</p><p>Until the fourth inning Thursday, that is, when Suzuki came through with the knock his team has so frequently failed to deliver over the past several weeks, sending a grand slam out to left field to flip a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center><div class="Enhancement-item"> <div class="ExternalContent-wrapper" > <div class="TweetUrl"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Seiya Suzuki&#39;s 10th homer of the season is GRAND ‼️ <a href="https://t.co/2QLwOtN6PN">pic.twitter.com/2QLwOtN6PN</a></p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/2065163410103300545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div> </div> </div></div><p>The Cubs rode onto a 9-3 win — one that also featured Alex Bregman and Carson Kelly leaving the yard in the team’s first three-homer game since late April — to avoid being swept by the Rockies.</p><p>“As a team, in those opportunities, we haven’t gotten that one hit,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “Today, we can use that as a breakthrough.”</p><p>Only a couple hours earlier, manager Craig Counsell lamented his team’s lack of power. Coming into Thursday, the Cubs owned a .332 slugging percentage that ranked as baseball’s lowest since May 9, the day after they completed the second of their two 10-game win streaks this season.</p><p>Suzuki’s slam and some long-awaited pop from the team’s big free-agent addition served as a nice remedy.</p><p>But will it be more than just a temporary one?</p><p>Just recently, the Cubs experienced some false monkey-off-their-backs moments with walk-off wins at Wrigley Field that preceded more losing.</p><p>Inside a victorious postgame locker room Thursday, no one was ready to claim this win as a season-saver.</p><p>“We have maybe three guys playing to their potential.

Former top prospect Daniel Espino has joined the Guardians and could make his long-awaited MLB debut this weekend against Detroit after overcoming multiple shoulder surgeries and more than three years away from game action.

11 The Brewers and Athletics combined for 11 home runs on Monday in Milwaukee's wild 15-14, 12-inning victory at the home of the A's Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. The game lasted 4 hours and 14 minutes. — MLB

FORT WORTH, Texas — America’s favorite sport is not football, or soccer, but screwing over sports fans, which is why FIFA should hold its World Cup in the United States permanently. The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and NCAA should all…

‘It smells like an election-year stunt’: Is Ken Sim’s MLB proposal realistic for Vancouver? The mayor announced that he is going to bring a motion to council to encourage staff to study the idea of bringing a professional baseball team to Vancouver

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2nd Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies is the second MLB pitcher in the modern era to have a three-start span with at least 24 innings pitched, 30 strikeouts, no more than one walk, and zero runs allowed. The first…

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MARINERS: Seattle recalled IF Colt Emerson, who made his MLB debut Sunday night. He was hitting .255 with seven homers at Triple-A Tacoma this season.

5 key stats behind Ivan Herrera's on-base streak as Cardinals battle Brewers: First Pitch Ivan Herrera has reached base in 21 straight games, a career best and one of MLB's longest current streaks. A look at some numbers behind the streak.

<p><a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox" >White Sox</a> left-handed reliever Bryan Hudson was a pretty big deal as a prospect before the 2015 MLB Draft — and not just because of his 6-8 frame.</p><p>Though MLB.com ranked him as the 71st prospect, then-Cubs president Theo Epstein personally scouted Hudson when he pitched for Alton (Illinois) High School. Hudson never met Epstein, but he heard Epstein was at the game.</p><p>The Cubs ended up drafting Hudson in the third round on the recommendation of the late, great area scout Stan Zielinski, who also signed Kyle Schwarber and Jeff Samardzija, among many others, in his 38 years of scouting.</p><p>But after pitching at every level in the Cubs’ system, Hudson was let go in November 2022. To this day, he doesn’t understand what went wrong.

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Colt Emerson has impressed Seattle Mariners teammates in his first two games of his MLB career.