New York Yankees

The successor to Bob Costas as play-by-play voice on TNT’s Major League Baseball postseason games will be the same broadcaster who replaced the legendary Bob Miller in 2017 after Miller retired following a 44-year Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL.

Yes, Alex Faust has experience replacing a titan of the airwaves.

Costas, of course, is another Hall of Famer, and he also retired after 44 years. His final MLB call was the 2024 American League Division Series in which the New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals in four games.

Faust, 36, currently calls Friday Night MLB games streamed on Apple TV+. He also is the radio voice of the New York Rangers and has been part of hockey and tennis coverage at TNT Sports. Faust left the Kings in 2023 when their television deal with Bally Sports expired.

Costas will continue to appear on MLB Network but won’t do play-by-play. His most recent appearance on the airwaves was as a guest on the NPR news quiz “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” on Sept. 13.

After telling stories about not making his high school baseball team and recounting an embarrassing, mildly profane gaffe he made on air early in his career, Costas answered all three game show questions about the Emmy Awards correctly.

Costas joked that he had accomplished “the trifecta, the hat trick, the triple crown.” Host Peter Segal asked what the show should call it when someone goes 3 for 3. Costas laughed and replied, “The Costi.”

He probably should have an award named after him. Costas, 73, has received 29 Emmys and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 1988 through 2016. He called three World Series and 10 MLB league championships.

Costas stepped down from MLB play-by-play in November, telling Tom Verducci of MLB Network that he had planned to retire for more than a year, saying, “I couldn’t consistently reach my past standard.”

Sept. 11 (UPI) — Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance will travel to Utah Thursday to pay respects to the family of Charlie Kirk.

The vice president changed his previous plans to visit New York City to honor the victims of the Sept. 11. 2001, terrorist attacks, according to sources reported by USA Today, The Hill and Politico.

Political activist and author Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, which is about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

About 3,000 people attended the event, and Kirk was responding to a question about mass shootings when a single shot was heard at about 12:20 p.m. MDT, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason told reporters during a late-afternoon news conference.

Kirk placed his right hand on his neck as he fell. He was picked up by his private security team, which took him to Intermountain Health Utah Valley Hospital, which is near the university.

He was pronounced dead soon after.

The vice president was a close friend of Kirk.

President Donald Trump still plans to attend a 9/11 observance at the Pentagon and then a New York Yankees–Detroit Tigers baseball game at Yankee Stadium.

Vance eulogized Kirk in a long post on X late Wednesday.

“Charlie Kirk was a true friend,” Vance wrote. “The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other’s chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life.”

“I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him,” he continued. “And that’s how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in.”

Slide over, Steve Garvey. It appears another former Major League Baseball slugger with Southland ties will run for political office.

Mark Teixeira, who batted a robust .358 in a two-month stint with the Angels in 2008 before signing a longterm lucrative contract with the New York Yankees, announced his campaign for Texas’ 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House on Wednesday.

Teixeira, an avowed conservative who has lived in or near Dallas much of his adult life, said he is “ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty.”

Garvey is also a Republican, and he lost in a landslide to Democrat Adam Schiff for California’s open seat in the U.S. Senate last November. Despite being a beloved former Dodgers great, Garvey, 75, held few public events and struggled to gain traction with voters in a state that has not elected a Republican to statewide office in nearly two decades.

Unlike Garvey, Teixeira, 45, is running in a heavily Republican district that Chip Roy won by 26% of the vote in November. Teixeira’s announcement follows Roy’s decision not to seek re-election because he is running for the office of the Texas Attorney General.

Teixeira, a former first baseman, played 14 seasons for four MLB teams — the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Angels and Yankees. He retired after the 2016 season with 409 career home runs.

The Angels acquired him from the Braves in a trade late in the 2008 season, and he helped them to the only 100-win season in franchise history by hitting 13 home runs and driving in 43 runs while batting .358 in 54 games.

Teixeira also performed well in the American League Division Series, batting .467 with a .550 on-base percentage, although the Angels fell in four games to the Boston Red Sox. He was a free agent after the season and Angels owner Arte Moreno offered him $160 million over eight years before retracting the offer two weeks later.

Several other teams made similar if not more lucrative offers, and Teixeira signed with the Yankees for $180 million over eight years. The slugging switch-hitter helped New York to the 2009 World Series championship, leading the AL with 39 homers and 122 runs batted in.

The Yankees defeated the Angels in the AL Championship Series before beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The following season, Teixeira spoke highly of the Angels despite leaving Anaheim for the greener pastures of New York.

“I hope there are no hard feelings between Arte and myself,” Teixeira told The Times’ Mike DiGiovanna. “I loved that organization. Arte, [Manager Mike] Scioscia, it’s first class, top to bottom. But your wife and kids being happy is more important than your personal desires.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — Angels manager Ron Washington said Monday he is recovering from quadruple bypass heart surgery, the first time he has publicly addressed the health issues that have sidelined him since late June.

He made the announcement while visiting the Angels for the first time since the operation eight weeks ago in California. He is not returning to manage this season but hopes to have that opportunity next year.

Washington, at 73 the oldest manager in the majors, was last in the dugout for a 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees on June 19. The following day, the team said Washington was out indefinitely because of health issues after experiencing shortness of breath and appearing fatigued toward the end of that four-game series in New York.

“This happened fast,” Washington said. “I wasn’t feeling very good on our last trip to New York … and I finally decided to go to the trainer and let him see what was going on. My ankles were swollen. And he called the doctors in from New York and they knew right away what was going on, why my fluid was going into my ankles.”

He was cleared by Yankees doctors to fly home with the team and underwent tests after getting back to Southern California. The Angels announced on June 27 that he was going on medical leave for the rest of the season. Washington had surgery three days later.

Washington said the Angels were on a road trip when he was released from the hospital on July 7, so he got clearance to fly home to Texas where his wife could assist him with his recovery.

The well-liked Washington revealed the details of his medical issues before the Angels opened a three-game series in Texas. He plans to continue on to Houston before skipping the final stop on the road trip in Kansas City. Washington hopes to be with the team the rest of the season after the Angels return home.

Washington is the Rangers’ winningest manager with a 664-611 record from 2007 to 2014. He led them to their first two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

After initially returning to Oakland’s organization for two seasons, Washington then was on the Atlanta Braves’ staff from 2017 to 2023 and part of their 2021 World Series championship.

With a young roster after Shohei Ohtani’s departure in free agency and with three-time AL MVP Mike Trout limited to 29 games because of injuries, the Angels went 63-99 last year in Washington’s first season as manager, a franchise record for losses. They were 36-38 before Washington left the dugout this year, and entered Monday night’s game 25-31 with Ray Montgomery filling in for him.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who led them to their first World Series title two seasons ago, is the second-oldest manager in the majors. The four-time World Series champion turned 70 in April.

Hawkins writes for the Associated Press.

A funny thing blocked the path to another Andrew Friedman midsummer triumph.

An Andrew Friedman midsummer failure.

The Dodgers and their renowned baseball boss came to bat at baseball’s trade deadline Thursday poised to knock another fat midseason pitch out of the park en route to a second consecutive World Series championship.

They never took the bat off their shoulder.

Strike out, staring.

The Dodgers needed a proven closer. Six teams picked up proven closers. The Dodgers weren’t one of them.

Mason Miller went to the San Diego Padres, Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees, Griffin Jax to the Tampa Bay Rays, Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets, Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies and David Bednar to the New York Yankees.

Some other reliever went to the Dodgers. I think his name was Brock Stewart or something.

How does this make sense? Are they watching what we’re watching?

So you’re telling me they must forge ahead through the rest of the season hoping that Tanner Scott gets healthy or Kirby Yates gets consistent or Blake Treinen gets younger or, heck, maybe the Boston Red Sox cut Walker Buehler and he comes back for one more ninth inning! That’s crazy, but this entire situation is crazy, a $400-million roster with nobody to pitch the last out.

The Dodger also entered Thursday needing a defensive-minded outfielder. Four teams found one. The Dodgers did not.

Harrison Bader went to the Phillies, Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals, Austin Slater to the Yankees and Cedric Mullins to the Mets.

The Dodgers picked up an outfielder named Alex…is it Call?

• Share via Close extra sharing options

So now Dodger fans are haunted with the fear that Michael Conforto will lose a fly ball down the left-field line on Halloween with the season on the line.

This is all so weird. This is all so, well, arrogant.

Granted, the Dodgers have baseball’s best team on paper, but they’ve had its best team for several years and that hasn’t stopped Friedman from dominating the last week in July.

One could argue that Friedman actually won last year’s championship by brilliantly acquiring Jack Flaherty and Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech at the deadline.

This has always been Friedman’s strength, humbly adding talent to a group already possessing riches of talent.

Remember, this is the time of year he also once traded for Rich Hill, Yu Darvish, Manny Machado, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Evan Phillips, all of whom led them deep into the playoffs.

The only two years during which Friedman has fumbled the deadline? He failed to acquire pitching in 2022 and they were beaten by the Padres. He brought in only Lance Lynn in 2023 and they were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This suddenly feels like one of those years.

“We felt like this is an incredibly talented group that, as we get healthy and these guys hit their stride, we feel like we’re in a great position for another deep run into October,” general manager Brandon Gomes said on a conference call with reporters.

In other words, they think they’re good enough that they don’t need to trade any top prospects for win-now talent.

But are they? And even if they are, why take a chance?

Mookie Betts reacts after striking out against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 20.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

If there’s anything the first 109 games of this season has taught us is that the Dodgers’ greatness, like all greatness in a sport that hasn’t had consecutive champions in a quarter of a decade, can be fleeting.

The window suddenly seems to be slowly closing on the Hall of Fame careers of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Shohei Ohtani has been so physically stressed that he’s leaving games with cramps.

Teoscar Hernández doesn’t look like last year’s revelation. Max Muncy can’t stay on the field. And Edman is batting aches that may last all season.

The rotation is also shaky, with fragile Tyler Glasnow and aging Clayton Kershaw and underwhelming Roki Sasaki and injured Blake Snell and, really, just one sure-fire starter is Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

“Obviously there was a lot of action today throughout the game, and a lot of teams improved, but we feel really good about this group,” Gomes said. “Coming into the year, felt like this was as talented of a roster as we’ve ever had. We’re in a position where we’re in first place, and I don’t even think we’ve played our best baseball yet. So as we continue to get some of our starters back, and then adding these pieces, and our guys just kind of playing up to their potential, we feel like it’s still a really, really strong team, and we don’t feel any differently about our aspirations than we did at the beginning of the year.”

Through their stunning inaction Thursday, the Dodger clearly made the statement that they’re good enough to a championship without any more help.

All those teams that greatly improved don’t agree.

The baseball world is sensing a Dodger vulnerability, as if there’s blue blood in the water.

Given a chance to dissuade everyone of that notion the Dodgers sighed, shrugged and passed.

A strikeout of a day, a turning point of a season?

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — If you want someone for your next celebrity roast, Ichiro Suzuki could be your guy.

Mixing sneaky humor with heartfelt messages, the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame stole the show Sunday in Cooperstown.

Morning showers and gloomy skies delayed the ceremonies by an hour, but the moisture gave way to bright skies and warm temperatures. The sun seemed its brightest during Suzuki’s acceptance speech.

The outfielder was joined by pitcher CC Sabathia, also elected in his first year of eligibility, and closer Billy Wagner, who made it in his final try on the writers’ ballot. Suzuki fell one vote shy of being a unanimous selection and he took a jab at the unidentified sports writer who didn’t vote for him.

“Three thousand hits or 262 hits in one season are two achievements recognized by the writers. Well, all but one,” Suzuki said to roaring laughter.

“By the way, the offer for the writer to have dinner at my home has now expired,” he added, with emphasis on “expired” for good measure.

A pair of Era Committee selections rounded out the Class of 2025: Dave Parker, who earned the nickname Cobra during 20 big league seasons, and slugger Dick Allen. Parker died June 28, just a month before he was to be inducted.

An estimated 30,000 fans crowded onto the field adjacent to the Clark Sports Center, sun umbrellas and Japanese flags sprinkled around. Suzuki’s No. 51 was seemingly everywhere as fans, thousands of them Seattle Mariners boosters who made the trek from the Pacific Northwest, chanted “Ichiro” several times throughout the day. A sign that read “Thank You Ichiro! Forever a Legend” in English and Japanese summed up the admiration for Suzuki on his special day.

With 52 returning Hall of Famers on hand, Suzuki paid homage to his new baseball home in Cooperstown and his adoring fans by delivering his 18-minute speech in English. His humor, a surprise to many, delighted the crowd.

He threw shade at the Miami Marlins, the last stop of his professional career.

“Honestly, when you guys offered me a contract in 2015, I had never heard of your team,” Suzuki joked.

He kidded that he showed up at spring training every year with his arm “already in shape” just to hear Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs scream, “‘Holy smokes! Another laser-beam throw from Ichiro!’”

He even took a moment for some tongue-in-cheek modesty.

“People often measure me by my records. Three thousand hits. Ten Gold Gloves. Ten seasons of 200 hits.

“Not bad, huh?” Suzuki said to more laughs.

He thanked his late agent Tony Anastasio for “getting me to America and for teaching me to love wine.”

But he also took time to get to the root of what made him extraordinary.

“Baseball is much more than just hitting, throwing and running. Baseball taught me to make valued decisions about what is important. It helped shape my view of life and the world. … The older I got, I realized the only way I could get to play the game I loved to the age of 45 at the highest level was to dedicate myself to it completely,” he said. “When fans use their precious time to see you play, you have a responsibility to perform for them whether you are winning by 10 or losing by 10.

“Baseball taught me what it means to be a professional and I believe that is the main reason I am here today. I could not have achieved the numbers without paying attention to the small details every single day consistently for all 19 seasons.”

Now he’s reached the pinnacle, overcoming doubters, one of whom said to him: “‘Don’t embarrass the nation.’” He’s made his homeland proud.

“Going into America’s Baseball Hall of Fame was never my goal. I didn’t even know there was one. I visited Cooperstown for the first time in 2001, but being here today sure feels like a fantastic dream.”

Sabathia thanked “the great players sitting behind me, even Ichiro who stole my Rookie of the Year award (in 2001).” He paid homage to Parker and spoke about Black culture in today’s game.

“It’s an extra honor to be a part of Dave’s Hall of Fame class. He was a father figure for a generation of Black stars. In the ’80s and early ‘90s when I first started watching baseball and Dave Parker was crushing homers, the number of Black players in the major leagues was at its highest, about 18%. Me and my friends played the game because we saw those guys on TV and there was always somebody who looked like me in a baseball uniform.

“Baseball has always been a great game for Black athletes, but baseball culture has not always been great to Black people. I hope we’re starting to turn that around. I don’t want to be the final member of the Black aces, a Black pitcher to win 20 games. And I don’t want to be the final Black pitcher giving a Hall of Fame speech.”

Wagner urged young players to treat obstacles not as “roadblocks, but steppingstones.”

“I wasn’t the biggest player. I wasn’t supposed to be here. There were only seven full-time relievers in the Hall of Fame. Now, there are eight because I refused to give up or give in,” he said.

Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes (99.7%) from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia was picked on 342 ballots (86.8%) and Wagner on 325 (82.5%), which was 29 votes more than the 296 needed for the required 75%.

After arriving in the majors in 2001, Suzuki joined Fred Lynn (1975) as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.

Suzuki was a two-time AL batting champion and 10-time All-Star and Gold Glove outfielder, hitting .311 with 117 homers, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases with Seattle, the New York Yankees and Miami.

He is perhaps the best contact hitter ever, with 1,278 hits in Nippon Professional Baseball and 3,089 in MLB, including a season-record 262 in 2004. His combined total of 4,367 exceeds Pete Rose’s major league record of 4,256.

Sabathia, second to Suzuki in 2001 AL Rookie of the Year voting, was a six-time All-Star who won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award and a World Series title in 2009. He went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts, third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, during 19 seasons with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the New York Yankees.

A seven-time All-Star, Wagner was 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and 422 saves for Houston, Philadelphia, the New York Mets, Boston and Atlanta.

Tom Hamilton and Tom Boswell were also honored during Hall of Fame weekend. Hamilton has been the primary radio broadcaster for the Cleveland Guardians franchise for 35 seasons and received the Ford C. Frick Award. Boswell, a retired sports columnist who spent his entire career with The Washington Post, was honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.

Frank writes for the Associated Press.