Sport Scores

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Texas Rangers secured their second straight AL West title, becoming the first American League team to clinch a playoff spot with a 3-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. Beltre’s homer came during a three-run seventh after Oakland starter Kendall Graveman (10-11) pitched six perfect innings. Texas got its first baserunner when Carlos…

NEW YORK — Liam Carroll probably couldn’t have picked a better location for the biggest games of his coaching career. As manager of the team representing Great Britain at this week’s World Baseball Classic qualifier, Carroll and his 28-man roster have their sights set on earning the final berth in next year’s 16-team WBC field. It would easily qualify as the biggest moment in the history of the British baseball…

But citing basketball as the reason for a decline is just scratching the surface. Youth sports participation is down among almost all games and all races, according to a Wall Street Journal article . From 2000-2013, baseball took the biggest hit, falling from 8.8 million players aged 7 to 17 to 5.3 million, a decrease of almost 40 percent. Economics also play a significant role when examining African-American youth participation…

Photo: Annie Wermiel The world’s most expensive baseball card has hit the auction block, and sports fans in Manhattan scored a peek at it Friday. The extremely rare 1909 Honus Wagner — which experts have called the “Holy Grail” of sports memorabilia — is expected to fetch up to $5 million in an online auction ending Oct 1, said Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions. “In the world of sports,…

12:16 PM ET Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email print comment NEW YORK — Barry Larkin doesn’t have any delusions of baseball supplanting soccer as the king of sports in Brazil. But the Hall of Fame shortstop, who serves as manager for Brazil in baseball’s version of the World Cup, is deeply ambitious about the potential to cultivate the game in Latin America’s most populous nation — and he knows the best…

But citing basketball as the reason for a decline is just scratching the surface. Youth sports participation is down among almost all games and all races, according to a Wall Street Journal article . From 2000-2013, baseball took the biggest hit, falling from 8.8 million players aged 7 to 17 to 5.3 million, a decrease of almost 40 percent. Economics also play a significant role when examining African-American youth participation…

Cole Hamels, Rangers – In a weak slate of starting pitchers (I’m not using Jake Arrieta since he plays in the lone early game), Hamels might be the best option. On the road this season, he is 9-3 with a 2.57 ERA. Chris Archer, Rays – He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in six consecutive starts and has struck out at least six batters in 11 of his past…

3. Chapman finally has company in the 100-mph-for-a-season club. Mauricio Cabrera, 23 years old, 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, arrived with the Atlanta Braves on June 27. And all he’s done ever since is average 100.1 mph on his fastball, the fastest palindrome possible. Just as impressive, Cabrera has the biggest changeup in baseball, averaging 91 mph. How hard is that? It’s faster than the average fastball of 169 pitchers who have…

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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 »

As a self-described baseball geek, writer-producer Dan Fogelman was eager to take on “Pitch,” Fox’s new drama about the first woman to become a major league player. But he had one big concern. “I said, ‘If we don’t get Major League Baseball to sign on as partners, I don’t think we can do the show,’” he said in a recent interview from his office on the Paramount lot in Hollywood. “I…

CONWAY, S.C. — Tyler Chadwick, the Coastal Carolina second baseman who helped the Chants win the College World Series title, is working at quarterback as the injury riddled Chants prepare for Furman this week. Coastal coach Joe Moglia announced Chadwick’s addition Wednesday. Hey @CoastalBaseball, this guy was pretty good for you, mind if we give him a run? pic.twitter.com/5LNXR1SB4X — CCU FOOTBALL (@CoastalFootball) September…

Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each…

The stories are everywhere: baseball’s a dying game. American kids don’t play it anymore, and the hard-core fans like me are on Social Security. L.A.’s Mike Trout is the best player around, but he could walk down the street almost anywhere and not be recognized. And on and on. Well, I remember folks in the early 1960s saying that baseball was a goner, and the game’s done pretty well since…

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You’ve learned the rules of the game, and you’ve met the players, but now meet the man who brought Pitch to life on the small screen. Paris Barclay, whose credits include shows on opposite ends of the spectrum — Sons of Anarchy and Glee — was tasked with directing the pilot for Fox’s new baseball drama, which follows a young female pitcher (Kylie Bunbury) who defies the odds when she…

As September draws to a close with multiple teams still locked in tight playoff races, baseball fans across the country have ample reason to pore over every last detail of their managers’ decisions. And when it comes to bullpen management, they have a great deal to scrutinize. Mistakes in this arena — which, by definition, almost always occur late in games — usually come in the form of either saving…

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Dusty Baker is one of two African American managers in baseball currently. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post) ATLANTA — As one of the few African American managers in the major leagues — and perhaps the most prominent over the past two decades — Dusty Baker knows he is a go-to voice on race at baseball’s highest level. He has expressed his beliefs on plenty of occasions and recently did on Jackie Robinson…