BY J.A.SCHWARTZ The Oakland A’s are the defending AL West champions, and are coming off their third consecutive postseason berth. Despite an offseason of player movement that saw Marcus Semien decamp to Toronto and Khris Davis move to Texas in a salary relief trade, Oakland should be in contention to …

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Minnesota Twins won the AL Central last year on the strength of a lineup heavy with HR hitters and a deep bullpen. Those same attributes should return for the Twins in 2021. They retained the ageless Nelson Cruz on a one-year deal to anchor the middle …

BY J.A.SCHWARTZ The Tampa Bay Rays are the defending American League champions, and they pushed the Dodgers to six games in the World Series before being defeated. Despite their achievements in 2020, the Rays enter the 2021 season no better than the fourth choice to represent the AL in this …

BY J.A.SCHWARTZ Only in the feverish cogitations of San Diego Padres General Manager AJ Preller could a plan to transform his nondescript baseball team into a legitimate threat to win a championship in 2021 be imagined. To contemplate the plan is but the first step in the process. Preller has …

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ By any measure, James Harden has had a Hall of Fame career. He’s easily the best player the Rockets have employed this century, and the second best player in franchise history, behind only the iconic Hakeem Olajuwon. In the context of his place in NBA history, Harden …

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is responsible for the election process that admits or denies retired players access to the Hall of Fame. The process is very straightforward. Once a player elects to retire, a period of five years must pass before that player can …

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ From the moment a young man makes it his aspiration to become a professional baseball player, he dreams of two things: 1) Win the World Series, and 2) Earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. The vast majority of kids who are fortunate enough to make it …

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The New York Yankees are arguably the most storied franchise in all of sports. They have won 27 World Series championships, more than twice as many as any of their competitors. They have been led, at various points in their storied history, by some of the most …

BY J.A SCHWARTZ The National League playoffs will kick off tomorrow and will do so without the reigning World Series Champion Washington Nationals, who will not have the opportunity to defend their title. Baseball has not seen a repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankee dynasty won three straight. …

BY J.A. SCHWARTZ The 2020 baseball season has arrived at a destination that many felt would never be reached: the successful end of the regular season. Due to the legitimate concerns of staging baseball games amid a pandemic, many skeptics predicted that it was no better than a coin flip …