Tyler Kepner

Philadelphia

Senior Writer @TheAthletic covering MLB. Author "K: A History of Baseball In Ten Pitches" (2019) and "The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series" (2022)

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Articles

A tribute to the incomparable Tony Gwynn, who would have turned 65 on Friday

5 days ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

The aspiring ballplayer could find it hard to concentrate in class. As a student at San Diego State, Seby Zavala would let his mind wander to his favorite lunchtime hangout, the one that served no food, just wisdom from a professor without peer: Tony Gwynn. "He would sit in the dugout and eat his lunch every day, so I would get out of class and go straight to the dugout, just to talk to him," said Zavala, a catcher in the majors for parts of the past four seasons.
Lift, launch, pull? The Nats' James Wood just tries to smoke every ball

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

PHILADELPHIA - It's a Wednesday afternoon in Toronto, the end of the Washington Nationals' first road trip of the season. Ninth inning, two outs, time to pack for the airport. But James Wood has one more swing, and that is always worth watching. The description on Statcast of what happens next is appropriately mundane: James Wood singles on a ground ball to right fielder Anthony Santander.
Sliders: Eugenio Suárez is streaky, superstitious — and now he’s made his mark on baseball history

1 week ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Tyler Kepner

Share Welcome to Sliders, a weekly in-season MLB column that focuses on both the timely and timeless elements of baseball.Sportswriters often honor a player with a “Good Guy” award for cooperation with the media. Eugenio Suárez won it last year from writers covering the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also won it a few years ago, in Cincinnati.
Sliders: Eugenio Su├írez is streaky, superstitious

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

Sportswriters often honor a player with a "Good Guy" award for cooperation with the media. Eugenio Suárez won it last year from writers covering the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also won it a few years ago, in Cincinnati. His personal mantra is "Good Vibes Only," and by all accounts he lives it. "Geno is the same guy every single day - the epitome of it, literally," said the Mets' Jesse Winker, a teammate with the Reds and Seattle Mariners. "He's happy every single day, man.
Former Cardinals, Reds executive Walt Jocketty dies at 74

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

Walt Jocketty, who helped transform three franchises into winners as a top executive from the early 1980s to the mid-2010s, died on Saturday. The St. Louis Cardinals confirmed his death. Jocketty, who was 74, had been hospitalized for months after undergoing surgery for a lung transplant.
For 'The Simpsons,' MLB's gambling ties make a perfectly cromulent premise

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

Nothing celebrates life's absurdities quite like "The Simpsons," the longest-running sitcom in television history. For nearly 800 episodes since 1989, it's been an animated masterpiece of satire, gleefully skewering pretty much every topic imaginable. Itself included. "It's hard to do, but we look at what's in the news and we make a comment on it a year and a half later," said Joel Cohen, an executive producer.
The Mets are playing like baseball's best and they're not surprised at all

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

NEW YORK - The Mets have the best record in baseball now, at 18-7, but that's not what should worry the rest of the league. The problem for the Phillies, the Braves and all the others is that the Mets will be this way for a long time. What we're seeing now is the reason Steve Cohen wanted David Stearns so badly. Cohen, the Mets' outrageously wealthy owner, could always sign superstars.
Sliders: For MLB umpire Mark Ripperger, a ‘very good’ game turned out to be perfect

3 weeks ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Tyler Kepner

Welcome to Sliders, a weekly in-season MLB column that focuses on both the timely and timeless elements of baseball.Mark Ripperger had played two years of high school baseball in Escondido, Calif., when he decided, as most 16-year-olds do, that he’d like to make some money.
Behind the plate, all the right calls all game long

3 weeks ago | sacbee.com | Tyler Kepner

Mark Ripperger had played two years of high school baseball in Escondido, California, when he decided, as most 16-year-olds do, that he’d like to make some money. His parents and friends suggested he find a job in a field he loved, and the field he loved was baseball. He thought about umpiring Little League games, but instead, he hooked up with a high school umpires association, taking assignments far from home to avoid conflicts of interest.
For MLB umpire Mark Ripperger, a 'very good' game turned out to be perfect

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Tyler Kepner

Mark Ripperger had played two years of high school baseball in Escondido, Calif., when he decided, as most 16-year-olds do, that he'd like to make some money. His parents and friends suggested he find a job in a field he loved, and the field he loved was baseball. He thought about umpiring Little League games, but instead hooked up with a high school umpires association, taking assignments far from home to avoid any conflicts of interest.