Opinion

It was, in most respects, a typical Ichiro Suzuki hit: The tightly coiled, upright stance; the quick, slashing swing; a low, scorching liner past first base and into the right field corner.

But this particular hit—which came in the ninth inning of the Miami Marlins' 6-3 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday—carried extra significance.

Just about a month from now, the American and National Leagues will send their best and brightest to San Diego's Petco Park for MLB's 87th All-Star Game.

Unsurprisingly, fan voting has become nothing more than a popularity contest. In some cases, it's about how many votes fans can stuff into a virtual ballot box for members of their favorite team (we're looking at you, Kansas City).

The Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals open a three-game set in Milwaukee on June 24. Ryan Braun will probably still be in a Brewers uniform at that point, though the trade chatter surrounding him will only intensify as the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline approaches.

In his first two big league starts, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon has faced off against Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, arguably the two biggest studs in the defending National League champion New York Mets' stable.

Welcome to The Show, kid.

Just when you thought baseball's rumor mill was about to shift into a higher gear, it stalled out.

There's been plenty of speculation mixed in with a smattering of rumors, but much of it has revolved around the same names we've been focused on since Opening Day. With so many teams still trying to figure out if they're contenders or pretenders, things may stay in that holding pattern for a few weeks.

You can already imagine it on a shelf at your local book store: Better Late Than Never: The Jurickson Profar Story.

Every time Madison Bumgarner hits a home run, the baseball gods smile. 

So it stands to reason that if Bumgarner were to participate in the Home Run Derby, there would be grins all over the place.

According to the best measure we have, the top power hitter in Major League Baseball in 2016 is David Ortiz. That's not too surprising. Although he's 40 years old, he's still David Ortiz.

But the best power hitter in baseball after him? Adam Duvall. Didn't see that one coming, did you?

Clemson University’s Clate Schmidt was at Turner Field in July 2015 to meet Chicago Cubs star Jon Lester—anxious to discuss the many things they had in common.

Both are pitchers. Both were high school baseball prodigies—with Schmidt earning All-American honors. The Boston Red Sox drafted both, though Schmidt elected to return to Clemson for his senior season. He also chose not to sign after the Tigers selected him out of high school.

Unfortunately, they shared one more common bond.

The deal the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers struck last July will always be known as the Yoenis Cespedes trade, and for good reason.

Cespedes, after all, went on a Ruthian tear after heading from the Motor City to Queens, helping the Mets reach the postseason and win the National League pennant.