FILE – Detroit Tigers coach Gene Lamont gives instruction during a spring training baseball workout in Lakeland, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE – Kansas City Royals outfielder Tommy Pham (22) heads for first base on an RBI single against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen watches his three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)
FILE – Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Brent Strom walks to the dugout during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
By DAVID BRANDT and RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writers
PHOENIX (AP) — National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes was elected to the players’ association eight-man executive subcommittee on Wednesday just six months after his big league debut as three players were dropped who had advocated for the ouster of union deputy executive director Bruce Meyer.
Jack Flaherty, Ian Happ and Lucas Giolito were dropped along with Francisco Lindor, Lance McCullers Jr. and Austin Slater.
Flaherty, Giolito and Happ were among the players who in March advocated for the ouster of Meyer, the union’s chief labor negotiator. The effort, led by former union lawyer Harry Marino, proved unsuccessful.
Union head Tony Clark vowed to keep deliberations internal this summer.
Also new to the committee are American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of Detroit, Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt, San Diego infielder Jake Cronenworth, Tampa Bay pitcher Pete Fairbanks and Baltimore outfielder Cedric Mullins.
Texas infielder Marcus Semien and Cincinnati pitcher Brent Suter remain on the committee, with Semien the only holdover from the 2021-22 lockout.
The eight, all born in the U.S., were elected by representatives of the 30 big league teams, the Major League Baseball Players Association said. The two-year terms run through start of bargaining for a labor contract to replace the five-year deal that expires in December 2026.
The 22-year-old Skenes debuted on May 11 and went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft out of LSU started the All-Star Game about two months after his promotion.
Semien is the longest-serving member, having held a spot since December 2020. Suter was elected in 2022.
Bassitt and Semien are association representatives, Cronenworth and Skenes alternate associations representatives, Fairbanks and Suter pension committee representatives, and Mullins and Skubal alternate pension committee representatives.
Baltimore pitcher Ryan Long, New York Yankees pitcher Adam Stone and Athletics first baseman Danny Bautista Jr. were elected to fill the remaining year of two-year terms leading the representation of players with minor league contracts. They join Chicago Cubs catcher William Simoneit, who was elected to a two-year term in November 2023.
Long and Simoneit are association representatives, and Bautista and Stone alternate association representatives. Bautista’s father, Danny, was a big league outfielder from 1993-2004.
The union is having its annual series of meetings in Scottsdale this week.
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Blum reported from New York.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (15) throws against Purdue during the first half of an NCAA college football game in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
By The Associated Press undefined
Penn State takes its push for the College Football Playoff on the road to Minnesota this week. The Nittany Lions are 9-1 overall and fourth in both the latest CFP rankings and the AP poll. They’re still in the mix for the Big Ten title at 6-1. The Gophers are 6-4 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They’re 2-1 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game. The Gophers have never before had three wins against ranked opponents in the same season. The Nittany Lions are favored by 11½ points according to BetMGM odds.
No. 4 Penn State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) at Minnesota (6-4, 4-3), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EST (CBS).
BetMGM College Football Odds: Penn State by 11½.
Series record: Penn State leads 10-6.
What’s at stake?
Penn State is in prime position for a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff and still in the mix to make the Big Ten championship game, with a home game against struggling Maryland waiting after this challenge on the road against a well-rounded opponent. Losing to Minnesota team coming off a bye week would be a big blow to Penn State’s playoff push and all but take a conference title off the table. Minnesota can vastly upgrade its bowl bid with a win and take some momentum into a final-week rivalry game at Wisconsin.
Key matchup
Penn State TE Tyler Warren vs. Minnesota defense. Warren, a first team AP Midseason All-America selection, totaled 190 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage last week in a blowout win at Purdue. He is second among all FBS tight ends in receiving yards (808) and also taken 13 of his 16 rushing attempts for either first downs or touchdowns. The Gophers are second in the FBS in passes defended per game, tied for fourth in interceptions per game and tied for 17th in yards allowed per pass attempt.
Players to watch
Penn State: DE Abdul Carter has had multiple tackles for loss in three straight games. The junior, who played linebacker the previous two seasons, second in the FBS with 17½ tackles for loss and seventh with eight sacks this year.
Minnesota: LB Cody Lindenberg. The fifth-year junior leads the Gophers with 76 tackles, coming off a career-high 14 tackles at Rutgers in their last game on Nov. 9.
Facts & figures
This will be Penn State’s fourth visit to Minnesota since Huntington Bank Stadium opened on campus in 2009. The Nittany Lions won in 2010 and lost in 2013 and 2019. … Penn State has won its first four road games in a season for the first time since 2011. … Penn State QB Drew Allar is third in the FBS in yards per pass attempt (9.8) and fifth in completion percentage (71.9) … The Nittany Lions have allowed 49 second-half points this season for the second-best per-game average in the FBS. … Minnesota is 2-1 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game. The Gophers have never posted three wins against ranked opponents in one season.
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FILE – This is a 2024 photo of Matt Hague of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Matt Hague as their hitting coach, bringing him back to the team that drafted him in 2008.
Hague replaces Andy Haines, who was fired after Pittsburgh finished in the bottom 10 in the majors in every significant statistical category last season, including runs (24th) and home runs (25th), while also striking out a club-record 1,504 times, second-most in the National League behind Colorado.
The 39-year-old Hague spent last season as an assistant hitting coach with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Pirates selected Hague in the ninth round of the 2008 draft. The first baseman reached the majors in 2012 with Pittsburgh but played sparingly with the Pirates and Toronto. Hague hit .226 with no home runs and 7 RBIs in 84 career major-league at-bats. He played briefly in Japan in 2016 and served as a minor leaguer in three different organizations in 2017 and 2018 before going into coaching.
Pittsburgh finished 76-86 for a second straight season due mostly to an offense that struggled to support a pitching staff that included National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes and fellow rookie Jared Jones. The Pirates figure to spend much of their offseason trying to upgrade a lineup anchored by veteran left fielder Bryan Reynolds.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE – Colorado Rockies catcher Jacob Stallings (25) in the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)