Top News:
Associated Press:
Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper to bat 6th in All-Star Game — WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper will get to enjoy at least one more grand celebration as a hometown fan favorite at Nationals Park when he trots out to right field at the beginning of the All-Star Game.
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Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
All-Star Game: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander take different paths to historic dominance — WASHINGTON - They have everything you'd possibly want in life. — They've got more than $400 million in guaranteed contracts, the kind of money that will take care of generations of their families long after they're gone.
Jorge L. Ortiz / USA Today:
Home Run Derby participant Jesus Aguilar finding stardom in Milwaukee — WASHINGTON - David Ortiz had just turned 27 when the Minnesota Twins released him in December 2002, thinking the first baseman/DH was starting to get expensive and wouldn't amount to much.
Gabe Lacques / USA Today:
Astros are baseball's most dominant force — and they're having more fun than you — WASHINGTON — They are the envy of baseball, with a World Series championship last fall, another division champion in the pipeline and a six-pack of All-Stars here for the 89th All-Star Game.
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Photos: Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB All-Star Game … The Diamondbacks have hovered at or near the top of the National League West all year, never falling more than 1 1/2 games back. But if the season had ended at the All-Star break on Sunday, they would have finished just behind …
Arizona Republic:
What time is the All-Star Game Home Run Derby? — One of the most exciting aspects of a baseball are the home runs. It's what gets the fans riled up and excited. — Tonight the MLB will celebrate the 33th annual Home Run Derby with a showcase of some of the heaviest hitters in the game.
USA Today:
MLB at the All-Star break: Seven eye-opening numbers from the first half — A first half that never seemed to end has finally reached the All-Star break. — And several storylines have dominated Major League Baseball heading into its symbolic halfway point - many of them coming out of Boston.
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …
David SchoenfieldESPN Senior / ESPN:
Who's ready to bash? Meet the eight Home Run Derby competitors
Who's ready to bash? Meet the eight Home Run Derby competitors
Discussion:
Lookout Landing, Federal Baseball, Pinstripe Alley, Bleed Cubbie Blue and McCovey Chronicles
Carlos Monarrez / Detroit Free Press:
Detroit trying to move past breakup with Justin Verlander
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Cubs have long history of competing in the Home Run Derby
Associated Press:
Success on the road lifts A's into contention — The Oakland Athletics have played their way into contention by beating up on teams that are far from it. — Oakland enters the All-Star break having won 21 of its last 27, and the A's are only three games behind the second wild card.
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Jesse RogersESPN / ESPN:
Cubs surge to top of NL at All-Star break thanks to clubhouse culture
Cubs surge to top of NL at All-Star break thanks to clubhouse culture
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors:
Latest On Manny Machado — The Orioles are getting “very close” to reaching an agreement on a Manny Machado trade, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). However, despite a report of a “handshake agreement” between the Orioles and Phillies by Barstool Sports …
Discussion:
Phillies Nation and NESN.com
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Matt Ehalt / Daily Record:
Jacob deGrom hoping to get second chance to wow crowd at All-Star Game — Greg Tartaglia, Staff Writer, @NJTags13 — NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom caused Dave Eiland to break from his routine. — When Eiland's team is up to bat, the Mets pitching coach prefers to sit on the bench. He gets out of the way.
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Kristie Ackert / New York Daily News:
Mets ace Jacob deGrom on All-Star Game: ‘I want to start’
Mets ace Jacob deGrom on All-Star Game: ‘I want to start’
Discussion:
MLB Baseball News …, Over the Monster, Federal Baseball, Gaslamp Ball, Brew Crew Ball and Bleed Cubbie Blue
Josh Newman / NorthJersey.com:
Mets: Corey Oswalt's effort wasted as Nationals salvage weekend split
Mets: Corey Oswalt's effort wasted as Nationals salvage weekend split
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue
Derrick Goold / Kansas City Star:
High-tech approach led Cardinals to sign Mikolas without seeing him in person — Almost all of what the Cardinals saw of Miles Mikolas' reinvention as a pitcher in Japan was the byte-sized view offered by video clips they played and replayed again on a laptop or tablet.
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Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Mike Trout's incredible start elevates him into the class of MLB's all-time elites — Chicago Tribune — Former Angels scouting director Eddie Bane cringed after soliciting help from one of his evaluators in 2009. — “Around the time of the draft, I asked our scouts to give some comps …
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R.J. Anderson / CBSSports.com:
With MLB All-Star break underway, here are six observations from the first half of the 2018 season
With MLB All-Star break underway, here are six observations from the first half of the 2018 season
Discussion:
Halos Heaven
Brian Niemietz / New York Daily News:
Yankee slugger Giancarlo Stanton flew to Miami to party while his teammates headed to the All-Star Game — Former Miami Marlin Giancarlo Stanton couldn't wait to get back to Florida. — Shortly after the Bronx Bombers got trounced 5-2 by Cleveland to wrap up the first half of the baseball season …
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
One step back, huge step forward for Mariners All-Star outfielder Mitch Haniger — Chicago Tribune — As no better than a fourth outfielder in Double A three years ago, Mitch Haniger believed he had nothing to lose by requesting a demotion. — “If I stay at Double-A (Mobile) and don't play, I get released,” Haniger recalled.
Steve Schuster / Toronto Sun:
Former Goldeyes skipper's best signing may have been current manager Forney — Former Winnipeg Goldeyes' manager Hal Lanier had his number retired during a pre-game ceremony at Shaw Park on Thursday. — Lanier's “22” became just the fifth number taken out of circulation in the franchise's 25-year history.
Chicago Tribune:
Cubs' Albert Almora Jr. says wife Krystal ‘is doing much better’ — Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr., who was placed on family medical emergency list Sunday, tweeted Monday that his wife, Krystal, “is doing much better and baby #2 is kicking all over the place!”
Steve Simmons / Toronto Sun:
SIMMONS: Marcus Stroman's explosion symptomatic of Blue Jays' woes — All tangled and twisted in 68 inches of rage, frustration and disappointment, the unfortunate words of Marcus Stroman — some of them true yet contradictory — speak volumes about the troubling and confounding state of the Blue Jays at the all-star break.