With new commissioner Rob Manfred taking over, the case of suspended all-time hits leader Pete Rose being reinstated and elected into the Hall of Fame has been in the news. Rose thinks Manfred should allow the Baseball Writers' Association of America to debate his case for the 10 years and decide whether he belongs in Cooperstown. Manfred is mum on the subject. Not so with former President Jimmy Carter. In an Oct. 30, 1995 opinion piece for USA Today, Carter wrote that baseball should...

Nothing can stir up an Orioles fan like a perceived slight about their team or their players. So it was this week when some fans reacted to me via Twitter, upset that Manny Machado did not make MLB Network's list of "The top 10 third basemen right now." The shredder, the formula used by the network, is not as big of a fan as last year when Machado was ranked No. 10. But coming off a season where Machado played just 82 games and then had a second knee surgery, this is probably fair. For now...

Whose glove do you love? The Nationals accomplished a lot in 2015, among them most wins in the National League and Silver Slugger Awards for Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon. But not one Nats player was awarded a Gold Glove last season. In fact, in the 10 seasons of Nationals baseball, only two Nationals - Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche - have received Gold Gloves. Ironically, Zimmerman is replacing the departed LaRoche this season, but is basically a novice at his new first base position having...

Major League Baseball has officially awarded the 2017 All-Star Game to the Miami Marlins. It's also convinced that the Orioles moved back to St. Louis. That's three straight National League cities, and Washington could make it four in a row in 2018. However, MLB is trying to be "fair" by alternating which league bats last, since these games determine home-field advantage in the World Series. Meanwhile, the scream you heard earlier this week was Ubaldo Jimenez reacting to MLB's interest in...

The Nationals are rolling out a slew of interesting promotional giveaways to mark their 10th anniversary season, including an array of historical mementos to celebrate their first decade in D.C. On the heels of last year's successful Jayson Werth garden gnome, the Nats will offer an Anthony Rendon garden gnome to the first 25,000 fans through the turnstiles on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Werth fans shouldn't be worried, as their favorite bearded player will be celebrated in a unique Chia Pet to be...

Following today's completion of the "10 Days of Teddy" and the reveal of the final promotional item, the Washington Nationals released the 2015 season promotional schedule. The 2015 season marks the 10-Year Anniversary of the Nationals arrival in Washington, D.C. and a number of special promotional items to commemorate this season will be distributed at select games. Initiatives include monthly 10-Year Tuesdays, six designated games that will feature special guests, pregame ceremonies and a...

Attending youth baseball openers for local teams has been a tradition since the Orioles arrived in Sarasota for Major League Spring Training in 2010. This season, the Oriole Bird will make three stops to help open youth baseball leagues. On Saturday, February 14, the Oriole Bird will participate in Opening Day ceremonies for Venice Little League, followed by Sarasota Little League on February 21, and the Miracle League of Manasota on March 14. The Oriole Bird will open the Venice Little League...

Pitchers and catchers report to Nationals spring training in Viera, Fla., on Feb. 19. The club announced its non-roster invitees yesterday, a list that included catchers Spencer Kieboom, Steven Lerud and Pedro Severino. Both Kieboom and Severino played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. Lerud played 60 games with the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves last season. Nats director of player development Mark Scialabba told me this week that the catching depth is solid throughout the...

Two words: Anthony Rendon. All he did was finish fifth in the National League MVP voting and win a Silver Slugger Award in just his second season in the majors. Rendon led all NL third baseman with a .287 batting average, slugging percentage (.473) and OPS (.824). He added 39 doubles, six triples, 21 home runs and 83 RBIs, and his 111 runs scored were the most in the league. Rendon also had 17 steals in 20 attempts. The 24-year-old hit .368 (7-for-19) in the National League Division...

Bryce Harper is becoming one of social media's new stars. The 22-year-old has been piling up re-tweets and likes on his Twitter and Instagram accounts over the past few weeks with anything from pictures of him hanging with Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter at Super Bowl parties to crushing golf balls into outer space. By the looks of his most recent Instagram post, it appears the Nationals outfielder is more than ready for spring training. A video posted by Bryce Harper (@bharper3407) on...