What Killed Babe Ruth?

(NEWSER) - Players like Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth inspired America to endure the Great Depression, but with the season kicking off tonight, can overpaid and steroid-ridden players still mean something in hard times? Eric Spitznagel hits the spring training circuit for Vanity Fair to find out—and puts the question to feverish fans, blank-eyed players, and gob-spitting managers. "It inevitably comes back to just one thing," Spitznagel writes: "Daddy." More»

Captain, 33, seems surprised to find he's passing big names in team's record books

(NEWSER) - When Derek Jeter passed Joe DiMaggio on the Yankees' all-time hits list earlier this season, he didn’t even notice. “I had no idea,” the captain tells the New York Post. “Somebody said something to me because I didn't see it flash on the scoreboard.” Jeter, 33, will likely pass Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth this season, too—but will he notice? More»

Sets record for youngest player in 500 club

(NEWSER) - Alex Rodriguez finally blasted his way into the 500-homer club today, becoming, at age 32 and 8 days, the youngest baseball player to hit the mark. A-Rod swatted the first pitch he saw from Kansas City Royals' Kyle Davies, belting a three-run homer at Yankee Stadium. It had been a week since he hit #499, and the fans were ecstatic. More»

Johnny Damon saves New York from a three-game slide.

(NEWSER) - The Yankees snapped a three-game losing streak with a 10-6 outing against Baltimore yesterday. A struggling Johnny Damon came up big for New York, posting three hits, four runs, and one spectacular catch in left field that stymied a fourth-inning Orioles rally. Alex Rodriguez came up empty in his bid for home run 500, going 0-2 with an intentional walk in the seventh. More»

Fans third Twins batter to ice it

(AP) - Mariano Rivera set the major league record with his 602nd career save, pitching a perfect ninth inning today to preserve the New York Yankees' 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins. With fans standing and cheering from his first pitch to his last, Rivera retired Trevor Plouffe, Michael Cuddyer, and Chris Parmelee to end it. Parmelee looked at strike three—it appeared to be Rivera's signature cutter—as Yankee Stadium roared in approval. More»