ESPN adds Chipper to MLB lineup
Hall of Fame third baseman Chipper Jones has joined the ESPN lineup. The former Atlanta Braves star will work as a major-league analyst, primarily on weeknight and holiday games. He’ll debut on opening day when San Francisco plays at Dodger Stadium on March 26.
Jones worked twice last year as a guest analyst for ESPN.
“We were instantly impressed,” senior coordinating producer Phil Orlins said in a statement Monday.
“He is a charismatic storyteller with an authentic and fun-loving personality.”
The 47-year-old Jones hit .303 with 468 home runs and 1,623 RBI in a 19-year career through 2012.
OLYMPIC QUALIFYING POSTPONED
Baseball’s final qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics has been postponed from April to June because of concerns over the virus outbreak that has infected nearly 89,000 people and caused more than 3,000 deaths, mostly in China.
The World Baseball Softball Conference announced Monday the qualification event scheduled for Taichung and Dou Liu in Taiwan from April 1-5 had been postponed to June 17-21 because of “player, personnel and spectator health and safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus.”
Hundreds of new cases of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease have been announced in recent days outside of China. There have been 40 cases and one death in Taiwan.
The Olympics are scheduled to open July 24, with baseball competition set to be played at Fukushima and
Yokohama from July 29 to Aug. 8.
The opening of the Japanese baseball season is in doubt because of the outbreak of the virus, officials said Monday, as the nation’s baseball and soccer leagues tapped three medical experts as advisers.
Baseball commissioner Atsushi Saito said protecting fans, players and coaches was critical. Preseason games are being played in empty stadiums, with a hope the regular season can begin as scheduled on March 20.
But Saito acknowledged assessing whether the regular season can open — and with or without fans — is a delicate decision, noting the virus outbreak wasn’t expected to subside soon. “That is the difficult part,” Saito said. “At this point, we still can’t say what action we will take under what conditions.“
MADDON VISITS CUBBIES
Joe Maddon hugged Anthony Rizzo, shared an ingame microphone with Kris Bryant, slapped hands with the Cubs’ mascot and drew a warm reception from the Chicago fans at Sloan Park.
As if he’d never been away at all.
The manager who guided the Cubs to an elusive World Series championship in 2016 and parted ways with the team after last season returned on Monday, now guiding the Angels.
The mini-reunion came during at a spring training exhibition, with a split-squad of Cubs topping the Angels 9-4.
“It’s very comfortable,” Maddon said before the game. “You talk about wonderful memories, it was five years, but it was a very eventful five years. There’s nothing to lament, it was wonderful. It was life-altering for me and my family to be part of this organization.”