Author: rfagan@sportingnews.com (Ryan Fagan)

Tom Petty was right. The waiting, it turns out, probably was the hardest part.

Shohei Ohtani made a lot of important people smile during his first Halos spring workout. His hitting display helped answer questions about how much he can help LA as he makes the transition from Japan.

Media gathered Monday to talk with 18-year-old slugger Kotaro Kiyomiya, the next potential superstar to wear the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters uniform. Haven’t heard of him in America? You will, soon.

Strikes and lockouts have happened for different reasons through the years, with varying lengths and intensity.

These are the groups that have not only the lockdown guys in the eighth and ninth innings, but a full cadre of arms.

If you’re a Brewers fan, you should definitely be excited.

For those of us who mildly obsess over every single Hall of Fame class, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s group of first-timers.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been mulling over a change to the way I approach my Hall of Fame ballot, and something happened in December that confirmed my thinking. And, no, this has nothing to do with Joe Morgan and his letter to Hall of Fame voters in the BBWAA.

Andrew McCutchen never gave Pirates fans any reason to be anything other than proud to call him their own, because McCutchen understood what it meant to represent his team and his community.

The Giants can start forgetting about 2017 after adding Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria in a pair of offseason trades.