Christina Kahrl

Was Willie Mays the greatest player ever in MLB history? You can find any number of reasons to think so. You can read into the reverence in which he’s held, among those who saw him play and those who knew him best. You can look at what video and film there is. And if you, like me, did not see him play, you can look at the evidence compiled over a storied career. Other writers qualify Mays’ greatness to say he was the “best all-around,” for understandable reasons. It automatically kicks pitchers…

Big-league shortstops in their late 30s are pretty rare. I’m thinking about that because you might be able to see one when Brandon Crawford makes his return to the Bay Area on Monday to play against the Oakland Athletics — as a 37-year-old member of the St. Louis Cardinals. That’s after Farhan Zaidi and the San Francisco Giants turned the page on the greatest shortstop in the Giants’ San Francisco era, perhaps in its franchise history. And in not bringing Crawford back, Zaidi and the Giants made…

From Sarah Feldberg, Editor of Emerging Product: The San Francisco Chronicle is proud to announce that Sam Gordon has joined the Sporting Green staff as its new beat reporter covering the Golden State Warriors. Gordon previously worked at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he spent seven years reporting on a wide variety of leagues and sports in the emerging sporting hub. As a columnist and reporter, he wrote about the NFL’s Raiders, WNBA’s Aces and NHL’s Golden Knights, as well as UNLV, boxin…

If you thought that the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was supposed to get any easier once Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens slipped off the page, guess again. As an eligible voter in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, I look at this year’s ballot and think there are at least 16 players I could talk myself into voting for. But the decision I spent the most time considering was how to make room for Joe Mauer, on the ballot for the first time this year. Because when I look at Mauer, I’m think…

The San Francisco 49ers romped to a big lead early, overpowering the Seahawks on both sides of the ball in the first half and then decisively putting the game out of reach with Brandon Aiyuk’s fourth-quarter touchdown catch in a 31-13 victory to raise their record to 8-3 before next week’s return to Philadelphia to face the NFC-leading Eagles. How did the Niners do in taking down the Seahawks? OFFENSE: A- The 49ers moved the ball at will in the first half, with Christian McCaffrey adding two rus…

Before the MLB-worst Oakland Athletics took on the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night, they summoned reinforcements, activating outfielder Ramón Laureano from the 10-day injured list and reinstating right-handed reliever Angel Felipe from the paternity list. Laureano had been forced onto the IL for a second time this season, this time by a broken bone in his right hand, having already been shelved for a hamstring injury in April. The move was made on June 23. Around those injuries, Laureano h…

The decision not to open the doors of the Hall of Fame to Barry Bonds and others linked to...

Aaron Judge’s 62 home runs is an AL record, but we cannot asterisk or ignore history...

Coming out as transgender as an adult? Never easy. Coming out as a transgender woman when you’re someone with a public profile? Harder still. Coming out as a transgender athlete in 2022, in the United States, in today’s political climate? That’s a test of strength that might intimidate any trans person coming to terms with a decision to come out, even during Pride season. For Gisele Mayordo, known to professional wrestling fans as Gisele Shaw of Impact Wrestling, it was not a question of what’s…

Golden State Warriors rookie guard Moses Moody became the team’s fourth player in...

The San Francisco Giants and 27 other MLB teams embraced the message of an anti-bullying...

With San Francisco Giants slugger Brandon Belt out four weeks, the team is forced into a...

Oakland Athletics outfielder Ramón Laureano was suspended for 80 games by MLB for...

On a day when the NFL handed down fines large and small to multiple teams and head coaches, the 49ers did not escape unscathed. The team was among three clubs fined Thursday by the league for organized team activities (OTA) violations, with the 49ers being assessed a $100,000 fine. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was also fined $50,000. The 49ers acknowledged the penalties in a statement emailed to The Chronicle and said, “The health and safety of our players is our highest priority, and we take follow…

Finding the pitching to stick around and punch in MLB’s heaviest weight class will be...