BARRY BONDS

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run, becoming the fourth player to reach the milestone in major league history.

Albert Pujols joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth as the only players in MLB history to hit 700 home runs in their careers on Friday.

Albert Pujols has hit his 699th career home run, continuing his remarkable run toward history in his final season.

Sal Durante was 19 when he caught Roger Maris’ record-breaking 61st home run in 1961.

Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols could make this a milestone week for home runs.

Albert Pujols hit his 698th home run, a tying two-run drive in the sixth inning that sparked the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 6-5.

Albert Pujols hit his 698th home run, a two-run drive that pulled the St Louis Cardinals into a sixth-inning tie with the Cincinnati Reds.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said that 73 home runs is the record as he chases the American League record for home runs in a season.

Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made history with the first pitch of the game, then the record-setting battery helped the St. Louis Cardinals extend their NL Central lead by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1.

Albert Pujols hit his 697th home run, moving past Alex Rodriguez into fourth place on the career list and doing it in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning drive that rallied the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.

Albert Pujols hit his 696th home run, tying Alex Rodriguez for fourth place on the career list, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5.

St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols has hit his 696th home run, tying Alex Rodriguez for fourth place on the career list.

Aaron Judge homered for the fourth straight game, hitting No. 55 of the year in a doubleheader opener against Minnesota to set the New York Yankees’ season record for right-handed hitters.

Albert Pujols hit his 695th career home run in the eighth inning and Miles Mikolas tossed eight scoreless innings to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0.

Albert Pujols hit career homer No. 693, Jordan Montgomery pitched a one-hitter and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 for their season-high eighth straight victory.

The playoff-hopeful Seattle Mariners are holding their collective breath that All-Star rookie Julio Rodríguez isn’t seriously injured.

Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs, and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2.

Yankees star Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs with a two-run drive in the second inning for New York against the Kansas City Royals.

LeBron James liked the clown nose.

Aaron Judge homered twice to match Roger Maris’ franchise record of 33 before the All-Star break, Matt Carpenter also connected twice and drove in seven runs, and the New York Yankees throttled the Boston Red Sox 14-1.

Hanser Alberto hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers climbed out of a huge hole in a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera were added to All-Star Game rosters by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred under a provision in the sport’s new labor agreement.

Joc Pederson homered three times and drove in a career-high eight runs, including a tying single with two outs in the ninth inning, and the San Francisco Giants outslugged the New York Mets 13-12 in one of the wildest games imaginable.

Rylan Bannon became just the third Baltimore player since 2000 to get a hit on the first pitch of his big league career, Jorge Mateo and Anthony Bemboom homered and the Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2.

Angels manager Joe Maddon ordered the second bases-loaded intentional walk of his career and only the third in the majors since at least 1950, and Shohei Ohtani homered twice to lead Los Angeles past the Texas Rangers 9-6.

Angels manager Joe Maddon intentionally walked Texas Rangers star Corey Seager with the bases loaded Friday night, the third time that’s happened in major league history.

Two people familiar with the sport’s Joint Drug Program tell The Associated Press that Major League Baseball has stopped testing players for steroids for the first time in nearly 20 years due to the expiration of the sport’s drug agreement.

With Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling off the ballot, next year’s Baseball Hall of Fame vote figures to be a bit less contentious.

David Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first turn on the ballot, while steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied entry to Cooperstown in their final year under consideration by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Baseball Hall of Fame voters get one last chance to elect, or ignore, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and David Ortiz appear to be the only players with a chance at Hall of Fame enshrinement when results are unveiled Tuesday, with Ortiz most likely to get in on his first try.

Buck O’Neil, a champion of Black ballplayers during a monumental, eight-decade career on and off the field, has joined Minnie Miñoso, Gil Hodges and three others in being elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum and Alex Rodriguez are among 13 first-time candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joining 17 holdovers.

Logan Webb struck out 10 pitching masterfully in his postseason debut, Buster Posey hit a two-run homer that held up, and the 107-win San Francisco Giants blanked the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the opener of their NL Division Series.

Trea Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston’s Yuli Gurriel won their first batting titles in a season of boom and bust that saw four teams lose 100 games for only the third time, and four 90-game winners in the AL East alone.

On that sunny morning two decades ago, in the hours and minutes and seconds before everything changed, sports was playing its usual role in the fabric of life.

Boston left-hander Chris Sale is scheduled to make his first big league appearance in just over two years when he faces the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.

Kris Bryant homered in his Giants debut, a two-out solo shot in the third inning, and San Francisco beat the Houston Astros 5-3 on Sunday.

A showcase for Shohei Ohtani became a grand stage for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., too.

Debates about right and left at the All-Star Game used to deal with pitchers or perhaps batting orders.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. joined his father as an All-Star and Fernando Tatis Jr. accomplished a feat his dad never achieved.

Kyle Schwarber’s exploits have now progressed into truly rarified air.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom can set the team record for scoreless innings when he starts against the Phillies at Citi Field on Saturday.

Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer and passed Mel Ott for 14th on the career runs list, and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended the Arizona Diamondbacks’ losing streak to 17 games with a 9-8 victory.

Oakland tries for its 14th consecutive victory when the Athletics play Baltimore at Camden Yards.

Corey Seager’s two-run single in the sixth inning provided the go-ahead runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame another two-homer night by Fernando Tatis Jr. to defeat the San Diego Padres 5-4.

When Jimmy Rollins made his first All-Star team as a rookie with the Philadelphia Phillies 20 years ago, the percentage of Black players in the majors was 13.

FILE - In this May 18, 2019, file photo, home plate umpire Mike Winters looks on during the eighth inning of a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics in Detroit. After more than three decades of hard work as a big league umpire, Winters is retiring. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)After more than three decades of hard work as a big league umpire, Mike Winters is ready to loaf. But I’m getting there.”One of 12 umps to opt out during the pandemic-shortened season, the 62-year-old Winters has made it official. The reworked schedule gave Winters a chance to reconsider, but he already was looking ahead to days off the diamond.

Spencer Green, File)Pedro Gomez, a longtime baseball correspondent for ESPN who covered more than 25 World Series, has died. He was a Dad, loving husband, loyal friend, coach and mentor,” the Gomez family added. He was a correspondent on ESPN's “SportsCenter,” “Baseball Tonight” and additional shows, including the network's “Wednesday Night Baseball” package. “We are shocked and saddened to learn that our friend and colleague Pedro Gomez has passed away,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement on Twitter and the network's public relations page. “More than an elite journalist, Pedro Gomez was a good and decent man, so proud of his family, and his heritage,” said former “SportsCenter” anchor Bob Ley.

The Baseball Hall of Fame won't have any new players in the class of 2021 after voters decided no one had the merits — on the field or off — for enshrinement in Cooperstown on this year's ballot. He later wrote on Facebook that he has asked the Hall of Fame to remove his name from next year's ballot. Hall of Fame Board Chairman Janes Forbes Clark said in a statement that the board "will consider the request at our next meeting." Schilling, Clemens and Bonds will be joined on next year's ballot by sluggers Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. BBWAA members are instructed to elect Hall members "based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

The baseball Hall of Fame wont have any new players in the class of 2021 after voters decided no one had the merits on-the-field or off for enshrinement in Cooperstown on this year's ballot. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)It could be a while before the Baseball Writers' Association of America votes anyone new into the Hall of Fame. AdSchilling wrote on Facebook that he has asked the Hall of Fame to remove his name from next year’s ballot. LAST CHANCEBonds and Clemens have one more year on the writers' ballot, and Schilling does, too, unless the Hall abides by his request for removal. OTHER AVENUESEven if the BBWAA doesn't vote anyone in next year, there's still a chance someone will be elected by one of the Eras Committees, which consider players no longer eligible for the BBWAA vote.

The Baseball Hall of Fame won't have any new players in the class of 2021 after voters decided no one had the merits — on the field or off — for enshrinement in Cooperstown on this year's ballot. He later wrote on Facebook that he has asked the Hall of Fame to remove his name from next year's ballot. Hall of Fame Board Chairman Janes Forbes Clark said in a statement that the board "will consider the request at our next meeting." Schilling, Clemens and Bonds will be joined on next year's ballot by sluggers Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. BBWAA members are instructed to elect Hall members "based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

Like many baseball writers, C. Trent Rosecrans viewed the Hall of Fame vote as a labor of love. Schilling, a right-handed ace who won three World Series titles, finished 16 votes short of the 75% threshold necessary for enshrinement. Schilling, Clemens and Bonds will be joined on next year's ballot by sluggers Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. Schilling wrote on Facebook that he would like the veterans committee to review his Hall case. “I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” Schilling wrote.

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA – As his adopted hometown mourned Hank Aaron's death, some fans called on the Atlanta Braves to change their name to the Hammers in his honor. The NFL's Atlanta Falcons, Major League Soccer's Atlanta United and Georgia Tech's football team all announced they would retire Aaron's trademark No. The Hammer spent nearly all of his 23-year career with the Braves, whose nickname has drawn some criticism as being offensive to Native Americans. The Braves have steadfastly resisted calls to change their name, saying they view it as a tribute to Native Americans rather than a slur. There has been no indication that Aaron's death would change the team's stance on its Braves nickname.

Like many baseball writers, C. Trent Rosecrans viewed the Hall of Fame vote as a labor of love. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)Like many baseball writers, C. Trent Rosecrans viewed the Hall of Fame vote as a labor of love. Ken Rosenthal, Rosecrans’ colleague with The Athletic, began a recent column this way: “I hate my Hall of Fame ballot. So it remains up to the voters to decide how they’ll weigh off-field issues when evaluating Hall of Fame candidates. Lynn Henning, a former columnist for the Detroit News, understands what makes some of these candidates objectionable — but he doesn’t think the Hall of Fame vote is the right forum for holding them accountable.