The 2015 Major League coaching staff for new Astros manager A.J. Hinch is beginning to take form, after the team named four new members Friday. Trey Hillman was named bench coach, Dave Hudgens as hitting coach, Gary Pettis as the third-base coach as well as outfield/baserunning instructor and Rich Dauer as first-base coach and infield instructor.

Nationals center fielder Denard Span is still waiting for the Nationals to pick up his option for 2015, worth $9 million. He said his agent informed him that the team could wait until after the World Series to pick up the option.

Royals manager Ned Yost has plenty to think about in regard to his starting rotation and his 25-man roster for the World Series. But he does have the luxury of time.

Following a cross-country voyage from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles this week, Andrew Friedman was introduced Friday at Dodger Stadium as the team’s new president of baseball operations.

Jeff Banister’s extraordinary journey to become the new manager of the Rangers included dealing with bone cancer that threatened the loss of his left leg in high school and three crushed vertebrae in his neck that left him paralyzed in college.

The Rays concluded a busy week of shuffling in upper management on Friday when Chaim Bloom and Erik Neander were each promoted to the position of vice president, baseball operations.

Travis Ishikawa’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth on Thursday night to clinch the National League pennant for the Giants will be the play everyone is talking about, but a defensive play in the top half of the inning might just be what made it all possible.

Following a cross-country voyage from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles this week, Andrew Friedman was introduced Friday at Dodger Stadium as the team’s new president of baseball operations.

It appears that the return of Korean superfan SungWoo Lee is official. The Seoul native who won the hearts of Kansas Citians this summer will make it to Game 1 of the World Series, according to Sam Kim, a political reporter for Bloomberg News in Korea.

As the Yankees’ professional scouting meetings wrap up this week at Yankee Stadium, the club has started its search for a new hitting coach, setting up interviews with former big leaguers Chili Davis and Dave Magadan about the vacancy.

The Rangers introduced manager Jeff Banister, the 18th full-time skipper in club history, at a news conference at Globe Life Park in Arlington on Friday.

The Giants’ ability to overcome injuries and a couple of rough stretches has made their third NL pennant in the past five years all the more sweet.

With his walk-off shot in the ninth inning Thursday, the Giants’ Travis Ishikawa joined Chris Chambliss, Aaron Boone and Magglio Ordonez as the fourth player to hit a pennant-winning home run in the League Championship Series era.

Turning an embarrassing performance into an excellent one, Travis Ishikawa drilled a three-run homer to break a ninth-inning tie and lift the Giants to a 6-3 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series. The outcome gave the Giants a 4-1 victory in the series and advanced them to the Fall Classic for a best-of-seven confrontation against Kansas City.

The Giants’ unparalleled success over the last half-decade can be credited in large part to a core of players — Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Madison Bumgarner, to name three — that has remained intact longer than so many others throughout professional baseball.

The Giants are trying to win the World Series for the third time in five seasons. The Royals are trying to do it for the first time in 29 years, and only the second time overall. They’ve only been to the Fall Classic three times in club history.

Madison Bumgarner helped pitch the Giants to their third World Series berth in five seasons, and for his ace performance, the left-hander was named the National League Championship Series MVP on Thursday. It’s the first time a Giants pitcher has earned the coveted honor.