Richard Justice
MLB
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Past articles by Richard:
Ranking every playoff team's lineup, pitching
Welcome to the best baseball month of the whole year. This is when everything matters, when it feels as if an entire season is riding on every pitch, when players look back and remember it as the most fun they’ve ever had. To assist, we’ve sliced, diced and dissected every → Read More
MVP poll: Here are this year's favorites
One is Mike Trout, the best player of his generation with three American League Most Valuable Player Awards and four second-place finishes to prove it. In 10 seasons, the 29-year-old Angels center fielder’s greatness has become the gold standard for every other player. As for the other, that’s Fernando Tatis → Read More
7 first impressions that turned heads in camp
Here’s to first impressions. This isn’t just about young players, either. Did you see Gerrit Cole’s first spring start for the Yankees on Monday? Right out of the gate, Cole’s fastball touched 98 mph, and he could not have looked more ready for Opening Day. → Read More
Rookie of the Year poll sees some changes
The Astros had already played 66 games by the time 22-year-old Yordan Alvarez stepped into the batter’s box for his Major League debut, on June 9 at Minute Maid Park. He homered in his second at-bat that night, thus beginning what has been an electrifying 46-game start to his career: → Read More
These two players are climbing in MVP races
Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger remain solidly atop MLB.com's second American League and National League Most Valuable Player Award poll, but two new names -- Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco and Pirates first baseman Josh Bell \-\- have moved onto the leaderboard and bear watching. Both are having breakout seasons, and → Read More
1st Rookie of Year Poll results are in
At a time when members of baseball’s next generation of stars seem to be arriving every day or two, there’s some clarity in what could eventually be tight Rookie of the Year Award races in both leagues: Padres right-hander Chris Paddack and Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe are clear frontrunners → Read More
Frank Robinson dies
Frank Robinson, a trailblazing figure who was Major League Baseball's first African-American manager and one of its greatest players during a career that spanned 21 seasons, died Thursday after a prolonged illness, MLB.com has learned. He was 83. Known as much for his leadership, toughness and raging competitive fire as his sheer greatness as a player -- that is, crowding home plate so much that… → Read More
Craig Counsell has Crew playing its best ball
DENVER -- This is the kind of team that wins the World Series. Isn't that the bottom line on these Brewers, as they advance to the National League Championship Series? Let's check off some boxes: Their pitching staff is on a historic roll, their defense nearly perfect. Offensively, Milwaukee has stars in the middle of the lineup, but it is also getting contributions from every corner of their… → Read More
Chris Sale, Jacob deGrom lead Cy Young poll
Remember when the biggest issue surrounding the 2018 Cy Young Awards was Jacob deGrom's win total? Has it really been two weeks since that was the subject of all those hot takes? Those were such simpler times. Turns out, National League voters may end up having it easy compared to what's happening in the American League. At least in the NL, the issue is fairly straightforward: How much should a… → Read More
Five teams that may surprise in 2018
At least 25 of 30 major league teams will see a reasonable path to the postseason by the time Opening Day rolls around. So offseason optimism isn't just for the Astros and Yankees. This is the best example of baseball's new landscape, one in which 21 of 30 teams have played at least one postseason series the past five seasons and only five clubs made the playoffs in both 2016 and '17. → Read More
7 reasons to be excited for Spring Training
We interrupt the Hot Stove season for a teensy look down the road and around the corner. Here's hoping you love Spring Training as much as those of us here at MLB.com love it. Sure, there's that whole thing about sunshine and warm weather. Dreaming about that at this time of the year is no small thing -- even in Houston, where it reached a teeth-chattering 49 degrees on Tuesday. We really love… → Read More
Boone has traits to be stellar skipper in NY
Aaron Boone once took a $1 million pay cut because he didn't like the way he was playing. Any other questions about this guy's professionalism, resilience, grit and accountability? This is just one tidbit you'll learn about the reported new manager of the New York Yankees in the years ahead. Sure, this is an unconventional hire because Boone, 44, has never coached or managed at any level. → Read More
Reasons for each team to be thankful this year
On this Thanksgiving, we pause to appreciate another jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, epic-beyond-words World Series. Wait, didn't we write the same thing last year? Just when some of us wondered if a World Series could ever be better than the Cubs and Indians delivered a year ago, the Astros and Dodgers gave us another masterpiece. It was the appropriate finishing touch to a season that featured the… → Read More
MLB deals that could heat up Hot Stove season
We need just one or two dominoes tumbling to get the Hot Stove going. If it's the right guy -- say Jake Arrieta to the Phillies or Lorenzo Cain to the Giants -- it might just start a chain reaction of other deals. For instance, if Arrieta signs elsewhere, the Cubs might feel a bit of urgency to get a deal done with Yu Darvish, which could then open up several possiblities for Lance Lynn. → Read More
Predicting landing spots for MLB free agents
We love playing free-agent matchmaker. Trust us when we tell you that every executive is doing the same thing, and that's what we love about the offseason. By Opening Day, at least 25 teams will see a reasonable path to the postseason, which is a byproduct of baseball's new landscape. If eight franchises can win the World Series in the past 10 seasons, then your favorite team can win, too. → Read More
AJ Hinch, Dave Roberts reunite in World Series
LOS ANGELES -- How do close friends handle things when they find themselves managing against one another in the Fall Classic? Funny you should ask. • World Series Gm 1: Tonight, 7:30 p.m. ET air time | 8 ET game time on FOX → Read More
Sale, Verlander set for grand stage in Game 1
Two pitchers who were acquired with this very setting in mind have a chance to set a tone for their teams. So it's appropriate that the Astros and Red Sox have ended up in a place both expected to be. What now? → Read More
Justin Verlander fits Astros' needs perfectly
HOUSTON -- Justin Verlander gives the Astros a presence that they did not have before. That's a stretch-run presence. That's especially an October presence. This matters, especially for a young team. The Astros already had star power in Jose Altuve, George Springer and others. Now they have more -- a wattage built over 13 seasons. → Read More
Giancarlo Stanton putting up an MVP season
Now that's how you kick off Players Weekend. Giancarlo Stanton owned the opening day on Friday with two more home runs -- including a jaw-dropping 462-footer, his fourth-longest of this magical season, per Statcast™. In a weekend devoted to loosening things up a bit and showing off some new colors, as well as some personal color, Stanton ran his season total to 49 -- 12 more than the next… → Read More
Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Pirates eye playoffs
The National League Central race suddenly has gotten insane. We love insane. We can't get enough of it. In a perfect world, we'd have insane right through the final hour of the final day of the regular season. Here's what we've got: four teams -- the Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers and Pirates -- separated by three games as we open a weekend when none of the contenders is playing each other. → Read More