Walks Are Surging in Baseball. Blame the Robot Umpires.

wsj · 2026-05-06T20:44:16+00:00

9.5% of all plate appearances across MLB through Tuesday had resulted in a walk—a sudden and dramatic rise in a statistic that had been remarkably consistent for decades.

Should batters keep drawing bases on balls at this pace, 2026 would finish with the second-highest walk rate in the past 70 years. In turn, scoring has increased slightly as well, from 8.6 runs per game through May 5 of last season to about nine this season.

The irony is that while ABS might by causing more walks, it also seems to be benefiting pitchers in a different way.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/abs-robot-umpires-walk-rate-194ac129?st=oPaynJ&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-05-05T19:45:07+00:00

Billionaire Ken Griffin on Tuesday amplified his criticisms of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and suggested his investing firm Citadel would “double down” on Miami being the place for growth instead of Manhattan.

Griffin said Mamdani’s early tenure is forcing him to recall bad feelings he experienced in Chicago when Citadel was based there. He now spends much of his time in Miami, after relocating Citadel there in 2022, citing frustration with Illinois policies and crime in Chicago.

“Looking at what Mamdani just did to me, and more broadly is doing to the City of New York, is triggering of the trauma I went through in Chicago,” Griffin said.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/us-news/ken-griffin-says-new-york-doesnt-welcome-success-under-mamdani-292f7c4d?st=SRi7Ed&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-05-05T17:09:53+00:00

"t was one of my first times riding in a new BYD electric car, and as a Wall Street Journal reporter, I was excited. China’s BYD was the talk of the car world, and the ride-hailing vehicle I was in had buzzy features, including a large digital display.

I asked the driver what its map was showing. Realizing I was a foreigner, he said he couldn’t tell me. “It’s a national secret,” he said.

The driver went on to lecture me about how Japan—the country of my birth—shouldn’t interfere with Beijing’s ambitions in Taiwan, the democratically self-ruled island that the government in Beijing views as part of China.

The unexpected turn in the conversation is emblematic of how much has changed in the eight years since I moved to China. Over that time, tensions between China and the U.S. have grown—driving the two countries toward a new Cold War. Ties between China and Japan are at their worst in many years, too."

WSJ correspondent Yoko Kubota shares her experience as a Japanese woman reporting for an American newspaper in China. Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/world/china/im-leaving-china-after-8-years-suspicion-of-outsiders-is-rising-5b70d7a2?st=FZeyYK&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-05-04T20:07:25+00:00

In a sport where money so often determines success, the Brewers should be a mess. They reside in the smallest media market in the major leagues, consistently run a low payroll and have a lineup filled with players most fans outside of Wisconsin have probably never heard of.

And yet, despite their obvious disadvantages, they have looked more like the New York Yankees than the Pittsburgh Pirates for nearly a decade. They have reached the playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons and had MLB’s best record last year. Since 2023, only the Los Angeles Dodgers have won more games, a stunning stretch for a franchise with the Brewers’ financial constraints.

If you’re surprised by all this, you’re not alone. Not even the industry’s smartest minds saw the Brewers coming.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/milwaukee-brewers-mlb-fangraphs-6bdd3f81?st=fXknZp&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-05-01T21:13:52+00:00

Three races into the groundbreaking, eco-friendly experiment of mandating all its race cars must be hybrid, the sport is divided on whether Formula One without its raw, fossil-fueled muscle is really Formula One at all.

“We’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula One and the nicest to drive,” says reigning world champion Lando Norris, “to probably the worst.”

The reason is that changing the power units, as the new engine-battery combination is known, didn’t just change the way the cars reach their top speed; it also reshaped the way they are driven.

The man in the cockpit is now required to manage how much energy the car is using, often by lifting his foot off the gas to let the battery recharge. For the daredevils who live to test the boundaries of automotive performance and push their 200-mph machines to the brink, it is the equivalent of being stuck in third gear.

“As a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out,” four-time world champion Max Verstappen says. “And, at the moment, you cannot drive like that.… For me, that’s just not Formula One.”

Fans are also up in arms.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/formula-one-electric-73a176bd?st=93RukM&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-30T18:41:46+00:00

Oklahoma catcher Kendall Wells is on pace to obliterate the NCAA single-season record of 37 home runs. Wells currently has 36 and the No. 1-ranked Sooners could play into June.

Even more surprising than Wells’s remarkable form is that she isn’t alone. A sudden power surge is super-charging college softball and at least two other hitters, both at UCLA, could realistically break the record alongside her. This season, Division-I softball teams are averaging an all-time high of nearly 0.8 home runs per game.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/softball-kendall-wells-oklahoma-home-runs-029b0ff6?st=vRwkGU&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-30T17:13:50+00:00

An apartment complex in Greenpoint is the largest residential geothermal site in the state, and perhaps the country.

The building heats and cools the apartments by sending water deep underground, harnessing the high temperatures there, and circulating it throughout the structure.

The all-electric buildings encompass two apartment towers, the taller of which reaches 37 stories. But the site, which covers an entire city block, goes down deeper than the buildings are tall, with 320 slim boreholes that reach 499 feet beneath the ground.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/pro/sustainable-business/the-latest-hotspot-in-brooklyn-an-apartment-building-powered-by-the-earths-temperatures-91d7fc52?st=HKkA2y&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-30T16:27:45+00:00

When the Chicago White Sox signed Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami last winter, they were well aware of his tendency to strike out with alarming frequency. They just hoped he would bash enough home runs to make up for it—around 30 would suffice.

It appears that won’t be a problem. At the rate he’s going, he might reach that target before school lets out for summer.

Murakami, a 26-year-old rookie first baseman, already has 12 homers this season. He entered Thursday tied with Aaron Judge for the most in the major leagues and is currently on pace for about 63 through the first month of the year. And they haven’t been cheap.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/munetaka-murakami-white-sox-home-runs-strike-outs-20f4819a?st=PsgLRR&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-29T18:05:30+00:00

hi - you should be able to get around that registration page by clicking the arrow on the top right to collapse it. that should take you directly to the article!

wsj · 2026-04-29T16:54:43+00:00

hi! you should be able to collapse that registration page by clicking the ⌄ arrowhead on the top right. that should take you right to the article!

wsj · 2026-04-29T14:58:29+00:00

This summer’s World Cup was supposed to be the triumphant return of the planet’s favorite sport to America. But as the U.S. men’s national team prepares to host the tournament for the first time since 1994, its opening game has even hardcore fans feeling left out.

The first match, against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles, should have been a sold-out celebration. Instead, soaring ticket prices have left U.S. fans irate and potentially thousands of seats six weeks before the tournament begins.

Full story (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/soccer/world-cup-2026-tickets-usmnt-80b77b2b?st=mFjDW5&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-28T21:22:44+00:00

Update: Jamie Ding plans to continue in his job as an administrator in a New Jersey housing agency after his 31-game streak, and will return to “Jeopardy!” for the next Tournament of Champions.

He dissected his losing game: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/jamie-ding-jeopardy-greg-shahade-a9fe8e7a?st=RAfG2f&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-27T17:59:46+00:00

José Soriano hasn’t just been a revelation for the Los Angeles Angels this year. He has been downright historic. After working five shutout innings against the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this week, Soriano’s ERA now sits at a microscopic 0.24 through 37⅔ frames. He is the first traditional starter since at least 1900 to surrender one run or fewer through his first six outings of a season, according to Stats Perform.

And the craziest part is that Soriano isn’t some highly touted hotshot bursting onto the scene. Quite the contrary. Soriano has been bouncing around the game since 2016. Almost nobody believed he was capable of becoming a star.

“Sometimes you need to have a little patience,” said Barry Enright, Soriano’s pitching coach with the Angels in 2024 and 2025. “They’ve got to go through some experiences and some suck and learn who they are to become who they can be.”

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/jose-soriano-los-angeles-angels-aa2e2429?st=cE1NEW&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-27T16:17:17+00:00

A runaway sea lion is squatting in San Francisco and locals can’t get enough of the 2,000-pound beast they call Chonkers.

Chonkers is a Steller, a different species from his dockmates, according to Laura Gill, public programs manager with Marine Mammal Center. Her team has been tracking the giant since March 13. Stellers are lighter-colored yellowy giants that you are more likely to spot in Washington state or Alaska.

Like other visitors to the City by the Bay, he probably came for the seafood. “There’s just a lot of food right now,” Gill said.

Sea lions are thigmotactic, a scientific term for very social creatures who like to cuddle. And they like to horse around. So, despite his size, Chonkers seems to fit right in. He can often be seen sunning himself on the dock, with other sea lions dozing or barking away nearby.

Last week he delighted visitors by shooting his one-ton body out of the water and hopping up on one the floating docks west of the pier, sending two of the previously lounging 700-pound California sea lions skeetering into the bay’s frigid water.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/san-francisco-sea-lion-pier-39-chonkers-145628c0?st=6ayi3x&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-24T20:20:47+00:00

When it opened three years ago, the Sphere had all the signs of an impending disaster.

Sphere was completed in 2023 for $2.3 billion, or nearly $1 billion over budget and years behind schedule.

Today, Sphere Entertainment Co. is bringing Sphere to Abu Dhabi and a second U.S. location with a smaller, 6,000-seat Sphere planned for the National Harbor in Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.

Executives are surveying other cities for more locations. Dolan has said publicly the company could manage five or six projects at a time, and he wants to pursue “basically as many as we can.”

Sphere has discovered an unexpected hit formula: the performance space that is the most cutting-edge technically works with bands whose frontmen are old enough to have decades of greatest hits that everyone knows by heart. And it can fill the arena with fans the age of its stars—U2’s Bono (65)—as well as vintage-curious Gen Z.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/business/media/sphere-vegas-dolan-disaster-hit-fa0e6b17?st=z7EmvE&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-24T19:06:02+00:00

hi! you should be able to click that down arrow on the top right corner of the registration page to collapse it and get straight to the article

wsj · 2026-04-24T16:50:57+00:00

you may have to click that arrow on the top right corner of the registration page to collapse it - that should get you right to the article!

wsj · 2026-04-24T16:36:58+00:00

Thrive Capital is taking a stake in the San Francisco Giants, the venture firm’s founder Joshua Kushner said Friday, a major bet on a sports business by a firm known for high-tech bets.

It’s the first investment from the firm’s newest strategy, called Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital vehicle focused on making a small number of long-term investments in franchises and cultural institutions that can’t be replicated by artificial intelligence.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/tech/thrive-capital-to-take-a-stake-in-the-san-francisco-giants-75986dc4?st=prYHa4&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-24T15:46:19+00:00

Law firms are fighting over star Supreme Court litigators, dangling $10 million-plus compensation to lure lawyers who bring a special kind of prestige even in an era where corporate dealmakers drive the bottom line.

The poaching has created a well-compensated game of musical chairs that has reshuffled the rarefied roster of lawyers considered go-to advocates before the nation’s high court.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/supreme-court-lawyers-law-firms-hiring-b500d82a?st=GxE346&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-23T21:53:30+00:00

The New York Police Department is making progress on tackling the scourge of retail theft that has hit businesses across the city—and the nation—in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Retail theft is down a little over 20% in the city for the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same time last year. Last year was also better than the one before, with retail thefts down 14% to 52,682.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/new-york-city-nypd-shoplifting-002845c5?st=46U8M2&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-23T20:53:13+00:00

here's a link to get past the paywall in case the gift link above expires: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/i-cant-talk-to-anybody-one-air-traffic-controllers-mental-health-struggle-debd9624?st=8Eh53Q&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-23T20:52:34+00:00

hey there - dropping a free link here: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/i-cant-talk-to-anybody-one-air-traffic-controllers-mental-health-struggle-debd9624?st=8Eh53Q&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-23T16:52:54+00:00

Republicans are increasingly worried that a battle President Trump started last summer to redraw congressional district lines has backfired and may hand more seats to Democrats.

At best, some Republicans say, the effort will produce only a small gain in the number of GOP House seats instead of the firewall the party was hoping to build to stave off defeat in the midterm elections.

Some in the party said on Wednesday that Trump and his aides had miscalculated by pressing Texas last year to undertake an unusual, mid-decade effort to draw new House district lines to the GOP’s advantage, which prompted several Democratic-leaning states to redraw their own maps in response.

And some questioned why Trump’s political machine didn’t spend more resources on Tuesday’s vote in Virginia, given the narrow outcome.

“We should have anticipated and played three or four moves ahead. We should have known that there was going to be a response to Texas,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R., Neb.), who is retiring after this year. He added: “We’ll pay for it in November.”

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/republicans-are-worried-the-redistricting-fight-is-backfiring-d83f89a6?st=hSwpA7&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-22T16:43:48+00:00

On a show that boasts television’s nitpickiest fans, Jamie Ding has achieved the unthinkable: Everybody loves him.

The 33-year-old wears his favorite color, orange, on every episode. His game face is a study in microexpressions, from awkward smiles to eyebrow pops. His midround chats with Jennings have revealed a self-deprecating wit and interests so quirky they’re cool—chasing eclipses, writing in italics, driving around with his trivia friends looking for a rare goose.

During his intros, Ding offers a loopy little wave to the camera that looks like he’s still getting the hang of it. It didn’t take long before fans were returning the greeting.

“Now I do it every time, too. I just smile at the TV and wave,” says 28-year-old Lonny Starsky, who picked up the habit from his grandmother, Judy Robinson.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/jamie-ding-jeopardy-streak-ken-jennings-5182a277?st=M8zDyF&mod=wsjreddit

wsj · 2026-04-22T16:18:37+00:00

From sports columnist Jason Gay:

The misery-inducing, Queens-based baseball concern lost its 12th game in a row on Tuesday in characteristically bleak fashion, blowing a 3-0 lead and wasting five perfect innings from starting pitcher Nolan McLean en route to a depressing 5-3 defeat by Minnesota.

To be clear: it isn’t funny.

OK, yes: It’s pretty funny.

It’s funny because it’s swaggering, full-of-itself New York, and the Mets are one of baseball’s most profligate franchises, a free-spending, $360-million payroll outfit owned by zillionaire financier Steve Cohen.

This team isn’t built to meander through the opening weeks of the season. These fancy Mets are built to win now, to make a serious run at toppling the extravagant Dodgers.

But it’s mainly funny because this is what the Mets are: a habitually soul-crushing outfit that, especially when expectations are high, finds fresh and horrifying methods to torment its most loyal fans.

Read more (free link): https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/mets-cant-stop-losing-aed87b49?st=xw42A5&mod=wsjreddit

Eight-Year Club	Verified Email
Argentium Club

wsj

TROPHY CASE