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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Within a few weeks, Rick Sofield will switch gears and get ready for spring training, but Friday night he looked out into a crowded banquet room and delivered a message similar to the one he shares with Pirates players. At Penn State baseball’s annual first-pitch dinner, the Pirates’ third-base coach served as the keynote speaker. He challenged manager Rob Cooper’s team to…

Jan 22, 2016 print Editor’s note: In the days leading up to Jan. 25, Rob Manfred’s one-year anniversary as commissioner of Major League Baseball, we asked our writers to offer one change or innovation they would make to improve baseball if the sport started over today. The change: Baseball needs to figure out where the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays should be playing. This isn’t just about doing…

Well, just like some of our races in 2015, Mother Nature is playing a role in our 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Unfortunately, due to the winter storm that hit the Charlotte, North Carolina area, Friday night’s scheduled festivities had to be postponed until today. As always, though, it will be well worth the wait. When it comes to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, I get giddy when I am…

Facebook’s Sports Stadium is launching first on iPhones, with expansion promised to other platforms in the coming weeks. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Twitter should be glowing with pride. It should be, but perhaps the company is nervous instead. That’s because the imitator is Facebook, Twitter’s biggest rival in the war for your social-media attention. Facebook on Wednesday announced a new feature to help the more than…

In newspaper patter, the sports section has always been known as the “toy department”. This is because, Peter Wilby argued in the Guardian back in 2006, “sports news meets lower standards than most other news”. Wilby said this was because it was written for fans, who only wanted “endless idle gossip about who should be dropped, who should be signed, who will win next Saturday”. Fans, he wrote, who “like…

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Within a few weeks, Rick Sofield will switch gears and get ready for spring training, but Friday night he looked out into a crowded banquet room and delivered a message similar to the one he shares with Pirates players. At Penn State baseball’s annual first-pitch dinner, the Pirates’ third-base coach served as the keynote speaker. He challenged manager Rob Cooper’s team to…

There is no worse situation for a hitter than an 0-2 count. The pitcher has complete control of the at-bat and the hitter is on the defensive, just trying to stay alive. Forget about having a plan. The plan to protect the plate and hope the ball finds grass. Unsurprisingly, MLB batters hit a dismal .171/.200/.259 (27 OPS+) after falling behind in the count 0-2 last season. More than 44…

12:59 PM ET print Editor’s note: In the days leading up to Jan. 25, Rob Manfred’s one-year anniversary as commissioner of Major League Baseball, we asked our writers to offer one change or innovation they would make to improve baseball if the sport started over today. The change: Baseball needs to figure out where the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays should be playing. This isn’t just about doing…

11:56 AM ET print International expansion would undoubtedly expand baseball’s reach, but how practical is it? Illustration by Elias Stein Editor’s note: In the days leading up to Rob Manfred’s one-year anniversary as commissioner on Jan. 25, we asked our writers what one change or innovation they would make to improve baseball if the sport started over today. The change: International expansion How it would work MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has…

Facebook’s Sports Stadium is launching first on iPhones, with expansion promised to other platforms in the coming weeks. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Twitter should be glowing with pride. It should be, but perhaps the company is nervous instead. That’s because the imitator is Facebook, Twitter’s biggest rival in the war for your social-media attention. Facebook on Wednesday announced a new feature to help the more than…

From new championship formats to an abundance of new rules to new drivers and tracks, the sport of NASCAR has undergone numerous and often monumental changes in the past two decades. But which single change in the past 20 years has been the biggest positive? Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame memeber and seven-time NASCAR Cup champion turned team owner Richard Petty tackled this intriguing question head on this week during…

To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free. Don’t have an account yet?Create an account » Subscribed through iTunes and need an NYTimes.com account?Learn more » Need to connect your Home Delivery subscription to NYTimes.com?Link your subscription »

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Within a few weeks, Rick Sofield will switch gears and get ready for spring training, but Friday night he looked out into a crowded banquet room and delivered a message similar to the one he shares with Pirates players. At Penn State baseball’s annual first-pitch dinner, the Pirates’ third-base coach served as the keynote speaker. He challenged manager Rob Cooper’s team to…

12:59 PM ET print Editor’s note: In the days leading up to Jan. 25, Rob Manfred’s one-year anniversary as commissioner of Major League Baseball, we asked our writers to offer one change or innovation they would make to improve baseball if the sport started over today. The change: Baseball needs to figure out where the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays should be playing. This isn’t just about doing…

For Yoenis Cespedes, the decision of which team he will play for in 2016 may come down to money versus comfort. The 30-year-old outfielder reportedly has a five-year deal on the table from the Nationals but he has talked with Mets about a three-year deal with a one-year, opt-out clause, according to ESPN. It speaks to Cespedes’ comfort level with the Mets that he would be willing to pass on…

11:56 AM ET print International expansion would undoubtedly expand baseball’s reach, but how practical is it? Illustration by Elias Stein Editor’s note: In the days leading up to Rob Manfred’s one-year anniversary as commissioner on Jan. 25, we asked our writers what one change or innovation they would make to improve baseball if the sport started over today. The change: International expansion How it would work MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has…

If you watch sport on TV you will have seen the endlessly rotated gambling adverts featuring The Ladbrokes Life guys. The guys themselves are a closeknit group of charismatic “Betting Men” with interlocking but nonetheless very distinct and complex characters. There’s the Professor, leader of the pack, who has a beard and a mind like a high-powered computer. In one scene the Professor does millions of whirring calculations in his…

From new championship formats to an abundance of new rules to new drivers and tracks, the sport of NASCAR has undergone numerous and often monumental changes in the past two decades. But which single change in the past 20 years has been the biggest positive? Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame memeber and seven-time NASCAR Cup champion turned team owner Richard Petty tackled this intriguing question head on this week during…

Just hours after a Thursday morning news report about a changing of the guard in the No. 7 ride, Tommy Baldwin Racing issued a news release saying that it had parted ways with Bowman. Approximately five hours later, the Tommy Baldwin-owned team announced that former Southern 500 winner Regan Smith would take over as TBR’s primary driver. Bowman competed in 35 of 36 Sprint Cup races for Tommy Baldwin Racing last year, failing to qualify for…