Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said he welcomed an investigation by Major League Baseball into tampering allegations related to the team’s hiring of Joe Maddon.

There’s no doubt Major League Baseball was overflowing with dominant, high-level starting pitching last season. Need proof? Just look at the list of nominees for MLB.com’s Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Award for Starting Pitcher of the Year. Then think about all the aces who won’t win the award, much less the ones who weren’t among the eight finalists.

Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw could take home the National League Cy Young Award hardware unanimously, while there figures to be tight race in the American League voting.

Evan Longoria’s opposite-field grand slam withstood Hanshin/Yomiuri’s late rallies and made a mockery of Koshien Stadium’s right-center-field power alley in the MLB All-Stars’ 8-7 win in Tuesday’s Japan Series exhibition.

A star-studded squad of Major Leaguers got a taste of what lies ahead in the Japan All-Star Series on Tuesday, as a feisty team of players from the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants nearly erased a seven-run deficit before MLB closed out an 8-7 exhibition victory in front of a raucous crowd at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya.

A Yankees No. 2 road jersey worn by Derek Jeter during his farewell season and a Giants No. 40 team-issued World Series jersey signed by Fall Classic MVP Madison Bumgarner are among 28 items listed through Dec. 2 in a special MLB.com Auction to benefit the Urban Youth Academy.

From World Series winners to NBA champions, some of professional sports’ greatest legends were on hand at the Wilshire Country Club in Beverly Hills on Monday for the Frank Robinson Celebrity Invitational. Proceeds from the charity golf outing benefited Robinson’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., which provides free baseball and softball instruction to underprivileged youth in the Greater Los Angeles area.

The Royals’ resurgence in 2014 was orchestrated by manager Ned Yost, who is a finalist for American League Manager of the Year Award. The winner in the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will be announced on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT on MLB Network and MLB.com.

MLB.TV subscribers and anyone wanting to sign up now for the $24.99 MLB.TV Offseason Package can watch exclusive live and on-demand streams of all five games in the Japan All-Star Series 2014 plus the two exhibitions.

Between masterfully handling the O’s pitching staff and helping lead the club to its first American League East title since 1997, Buck Showalter deserves to win the AL Manager of the Year Award.

For nearly a century, nothing had covered Koshien Stadium’s infield but a dark brown soil, tinted blackish by the volcanic ash within. But when Major League Baseball showed up in October to ensure Koshien Stadium’s readiness for a Japan All-Star Series exhibition game, field and facilities coordinator Murray Cook broke the news that the ballpark’s soil would not do.

After a little more than a month off following Jose Altuve’s dream 2014 campaign, the Venezuela native is part of the Major League team competing in this month’s All-Star Series in Japan.

On Veterans Day, it’s worth taking the time to proactively reach out and thank returning military service members and their families. Major League Baseball continues to be at the forefront of this, through its Welcome Back Veterans initiative and through a culture that is now ingrained season-long at ballgames.

Dan Duquette, the Orioles’ executive vice president of baseball operations, was named Major League Baseball Executive of the Year by The Sporting News, narrowly edging out Royals GM Dayton Moore for first place.

As the annual GM Meetings opened on Monday, there was speculation about whether Atlanta will trade Evan Gattis, Justin Upton or Jason Heyward. Braves president of baseball operations John Hart insisted that he is not aggressively shopping anyone.

The rumors landed in Phoenix for the General Managers Meetings before new Rockies GM Jeff Bridich did. Despite various reports, Bridich said the Rockies and Mets have not discussed a deal involving shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

Though Jose Abreu was already an established slugger in Cuba, there is no arguing against the unanimous decision to award him the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year Award.