COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- With a quiet demeanor, a humble attitude and a workmanlike approach to his craft, Harold Baines has never quite seemed like a man of his time, but one long before it. In the end, all of those qualities make Cooperstown the perfect place to immortalize his baseball career.

Baines is a Hemingway hero walking among us. He is indeed quiet and, as he will admit, shy. But as a man of few words, when he speaks, his message has meaning. His work habits as a professional hitter gave birth to the consistency that marked him. He is a man who lives according to values that were imbued upon him by his community and his family from the time he was born. And, like Hemingway's Robert Jordan and Frederic Henry, he keeps his emotions close to the vest.

"I'm not an emotional man, except when it comes to family," Baines said during his speech Sunday, when he, and five others, were enshrined in the spiritual home of baseball. He said those words immediately before his voice cracked, because he was about to speak of his father and then directly to his family out in the seats.

On Sunday, this simple man from a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland was given the highest honor in his profession, joining 2019's six-man Hall of Fame class that brings the total membership up to 329 inductees, including 232 players. As Jane Forbes Clark, the Hall of Fame's chairman of the board of directors, pointed out, that marks Baines and the other inductees part of the top 1 percent of all players who have ever donned a big league uniform.

It was a weekend for small-town men, several of whom spoke to the essential roles of family and community in their rise to baseball's highest honor. It was a weekend for the specialists who have become such an integral part of the modern game. It was, strangely enough, a weekend for Norman Rockwell. It was a weekend for internationalism, now an annual trait of induction weekend, with fans flocking to Cooperstown from all four sides of the nation, and beyond.

More than anything, it was a weekend to celebrate all that is good in the game, and all that is good about the men whose plaques now hang in the hallowed halls of baseball's Hall of Fame. And, yes, Harold Baines is an exemplar of what Cooperstown is all about, whether you wanted him there or not.

A bad reaction

To fully appreciate Baines' weekend, you have to remember the long road that took him to Cooperstown, one that seemed to be permanently closed. When Baines was announced as an inductee this past December, after being voted in by a veterans committee that included a manager (Tony LaRussa) and an owner (Jerry Reinsdorf) who both adore him, it unleashed a torrent of rip jobs across the baseball branches of social media and the internet.

Not everyone was on board with the selection of Lee Smith, either, but the majority of the vitriol was directed at Baines. The reactions used pointed words, saying the Hall was "cheapened" or was "diminished" by the addition of him. The tenor of the response bordered on vicious, and led to some weird moments.

"I think you have to ask [LaRussa and Reinsdorf]," Baines said at the winter meetings. "They know what I feel about them. They're very special to me. It probably helped me, to be honest. But our friendship goes further than the game of baseball."

To be sure, you can't really construct a convincing analytical argument in favor of Baines' selection, unless you are willing to open the doors wide open and allow the floodgates to pour in a lot of good players who have been passed over in elections past. He's not the worst Hall of Fame electee, according to most leading metrics, but he's in the lower tier. The defenses of his selection have tended to favor anecdotal evidence and cherry-picked numbers.

There are lots of players on Baines' performance level or better who never got in. Never got close. And if Baines had not been selected, it wouldn't have merited more than a passing mention in any story related to the topic. Yet all the negativity that sprung from Baines' selection obscures an essential thing: He was really good, and so, too, were all those players who might fall somewhere under the arbitrary line you might want to draw that declares Hall worthiness, and wherever it is that Baines resides.

"I was very surprised," Baines admitted. "I wasn't sitting home worried about it because it wasn't anything I could control. I don't think any player plays this game to go to the Hall of Fame. I'm very grateful."

It's not the Hall of Good, though, a fact that detractors love to point out. If you want to be tough about it, you can point out that the thing about the Hall of Fame is that once you're in, you're in. Debate until you're blue in the face. No one has ever been kicked out.

More gently, you might consider this: There is a reason why those who advocated for Baines felt so strongly, why they lobbied for a player who never in a million years would have lobbied for himself. As lacking as his performance record might be in Hall of Fame markers, Baines is rich in qualities that men in power value a great deal and, frankly, that much of we, as society, admire. You can't express it in metrics, and you might make the fair point that these traits don't make a player a Hall of Famer, but you can't deny that these traits are what landed him in Cooperstown on Sunday.

People will continue to pick apart the Baines selection and others they don't agree with. Books will be written about it. On the web, there is already a virtual buffet of listicles about "worst Hall of Fame selections." Most of those leave out the fact that there really isn't a bad player in the Hall of Fame. We should all be so bad.

Anyway, the pairing of Smith and Baines on that day in December and later through a number of promotional events in Chicago proved to be ideal.

"The weird thing is, when we both got the call and went to Vegas, the [Hall representative] said it's the best contrast of guys," Smith said. "He said, 'We can't get Harold to say anything, and you won't be quiet.'"

Baseball's Rembrandt

A few hours to the east of Cooperstown is a little town in Massachusetts called Stockbridge. It's a resort town in the Berkshires best known as the final home and workplace of famed artist Rockwell. (It's also known, if less so, for being the setting of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant.")

Rockwell's paintings graced the covers of the Saturday Evening Post for decades, when that publication held immense sway in the national culture. Rockwell painted stories, caught in an image, of commonplace people doing commonplace things, but with such an earnestness of spirit that the work still stirs an unrealistic kind of nostalgia for many people in remembrance of a world that never really existed.

Cooperstown, in its way, kind of fills the same role in American culture. The Hall of Fame boasts of three Rockwell works in its collection, including "The Three Umpires," which currently hangs in the art gallery of the museum. Rockwell dabbled a lot in baseball, which could hardly have been avoided given those who paid for his work and the note he was expected to strike for all those magazine covers.

Rockwell's name is often invoked when it comes to descriptions of Cooperstown as having a straight-off-of-a-1950s-postcard quality as a quintessential small town. In fact, on the morning of the inductions, the New York Times quoted Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman as saying, "It has that Norman Rockwell-type feel for me."

One way to interpret that is to say that Cooperstown, at least on induction weekend, is a kind of fantasy. Rockwell, as a commercial artist, was selling fantasy and he did it better than almost anyone. But there were lots of people whom Rockwell didn't depict in his best-known work, largely because that is what was asked of him by his clients. That changed later on, after his Saturday Evening Post career ended. But the works of Americana that drive so much adoration and stir such a powerful nostalgia are largely fantastic in nature.

The Hall of Fame is like that, too. The plaques hanging in the gallery recount the feats of men who were far from perfect as human beings. They drop numbers that are out of context. They make everyone sound as if they walked directly off the pages of a book of mythology. That is the product the Hall is selling, perhaps best exemplified by the Saturday parade in which all returning Hall of Famers ride down Main Street between rows of adoring fans, trapped along the sidewalks with impenetrable barricades.

Baines' plaque reads as such: "Respected and clutch left-handed hitter whose professional approach and humble demeanor made him one of the most consistent and reliable players of the 1980s and 1990s." Then it lists some of his awards and statistical achievements, such his 2,866 hits and 1,628 RBIs, numbers largely compiled while serving as one of the game's most prolific designated hitters, a role he landed because of chronic knee trouble.

"In my case, I couldn't go [out onto the field for defense]," Baines said. "Because of my injuries. That made it a little bit easier in the beginning to concentrate on my role. I couldn't help the team defensively. That made it a little bit easier for me -- that's the only way I could help the team."

Think of Rockwell painting Baines at the plate. He had a certain flair with Chicago topics. The fans around him would be going berserk, jeering and twisting and laughing and yelling. The catcher would have a wry smile on his face. But Baines would be standing there, front foot raised as he always did when he was about to unleash his beautiful swing, and the expression on his face would be one of utter stoicism.

"Harold, in his own way, he makes his point," gregarious new Hall of Famer Smith said. "He's been getting on me a little bit about talking too much."

No, it wasn't just Baines who, in this class, would have made a perfect subject for Rockwell.

Overlooked as always

In the museum of the Hall of Fame, they set up exhibits each year with artifacts from the careers for each of the new inductees. In Baines' display, there is a White Sox jersey of 1983 vintage, a couple of small medallions he won for being named Designated Hitter of the Year -- an award now named after Edgar Martinez, with whom Baines shared the stage Sunday. And there was an old copy of Baseball Digest, with a picture of Baines on the cover and a caption that read, "One of baseball's most overlooked stars."

Baines wasn't written about often because he wasn't quotable. It was his choice. The most oft-repeated story of the weekend was about Baines hitting the winning homer of an epic-length game played in bad weather. After, he was asked about the conditions and how he must have really hit the ball hard. "Evidently," Baines said. And that was the media conference. It became a kind of nickname for him, too, and last week the White Sox announced the availability of some new Baines bobbleheads marking his enshrinement. They will have that one-word quotation: "Evidently."

"During my career, I acquired a reputation as someone who didn't say much," Baines joked during his speech Sunday. "I'm not sure why."

He is very much as Hemingway would have written him and Rockwell might have painted him, though the portrait would have left any raw displays of emotion to the side characters. Baines is from and still resides in the small tourist town of St. Michaels, Maryland. It's where his father, Linwood Baines Jr., a bricklayer who was a good athlete in his own right, lived from the age of 9 until he passed in 2014 at the age of 77.

Baines was brought in to tour the Hall of Fame earlier this year, as all the candidates are. They get to see relics from baseball history and their own careers. They see the spots where their plaques will be hung and they sign the backing. Baines, it was reported, grew a little misty when it was suggested his plaque will reside about 20 feet from Babe Ruth's. Still, when asked whether he sought out any particular great during his visit, a favorite player or hero, he simply said, "No."

But then he went on, "My idol is my father. No disrespect to all the Hall of Famers that are there. But my idol is my father."

Linwood Baines Jr. lived a long life and got to see his son grow into one of the most respected members of his profession. He got to see him get all those hits and RBIs, post an .820 career OPS that rose to .838 with runners in scoring position and .862 in high-leverage spots. He got to see him challenge the 3,000-hit milestone, which he surely would have gotten if not for the injuries and the labor strife during his career. He got to see him hit .324 with five homers and 16 RBIs with an .888 OPS in 31 postseason games.

But for Harold, that's all sidebar. It was most important that his father got to see him marry and start a family of his own. He got to see him remain a part of the St. Michaels community and become the man he would have had him be.

"I know I made him proud on the baseball field," Baines said. "But I know I made him prouder as the man, the husband, the father, the teammate and the friend I have become."

Does any of this change your mind about whether Baines belongs in Cooperstown? Should it? Of course not. But can you really sit there and say that this man's presence "cheapens" the institution? Too bad, bucko, because that door only swings one way.

Induction weekend

The scenes are always the same, even if the MLB merchandise they are donning morphs each year with the identities of those being inducted into the Hall. This year, the novelty shops were heavy in Mariano Rivera gear. Baines was represented, too, though you had to dig for his stuff. The shop-owners know each year who is most likely to butter their bread.

Former major leaguers are always around as well, beside the exclusives staying at The Otesaga Resort Hotel. This year, Bill Madlock was signing at a table near the driveway at Doubleday Field. Both Frank Thomases were on hand -- the Big Hurt, at the resort, as a Hall of Famer, and the original one, who mashed for the Pirates in the 1950s and played for the early woeful Mets. Denny McLain was back, as was Pete Rose. Jim Leyritz was holding court down the street from wrestling's Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart. The actor who played John Kinsella in "Field of Dreams" set up a table at the corner of Main and Pioneer and appeared to draw very well.

As fun as the people- and player-watching are in Cooperstown, it still all comes down to the ceremony on Sunday. These are the moments that are preserved and remembered and replayed again and again in the future whenever a Hall of Famer is mentioned. For Baines, it has been the source of much consternation over the past few months.

"I've played in front of thousands of people, so I can handle that part of it," Baines said the day before the ceremony. "I'm a shy guy. So I don't like to speak. So that's going to be the tough thing. But I'm speaking about people I care about, so that should be a little easier."

The absence of Roy Halladay was felt, beginning with a very emotional video played marking his career that featured close friend Chris Carpenter. One person who didn't see it was Halladay's widow, Brandy, who gave the speech. Knowing she'd have to take the podium in a few minutes, she simply couldn't watch.

"Maybe someone can send it to me," she joked at the beginning of her roughly seven-minute speech. There were people wiping away tears all through the crowd, and many others fighting off lumps in their throat. Brandy Halladay grew emotional, of course, but held it together. And she more than once alluded to all the Hall of Famers sitting beside her on the stage, recounting just how supportive everyone had been. Roy is now an immortal in the sport, and the Halladays have found yet another new baseball family.

"I can't tell you how many hugs I've gotten," she said. "Anybody who thinks baseball isn't a family has never been involved in baseball."

It was a heroic performance and in a rather surprising twist, it was Brandy Halladay who did more than anyone to humanize the players who in Cooperstown are elevated to the status of legend.

"The message I wanted to convey," Brandy said afterward, "is that Roy was a very normal person with an exceptionally amazing job. These men, who are out there doing those amazing things, they are still real people. They still have feelings, still have families. They still struggle.

"So many of the guys I've known through my life through baseball, they work so hard to hide that. I know Roy did. Sometimes it's hard to present the image you know everybody wants to see. It's also hard to be judged by what people expect of you. I think it's important that we don't sensationalize or idealize what baseball players are."

Roy Halladay was from suburban Denver. Baines, as mentioned, resides in tiny St. Michaels. Lee Smith is from Castle, Louisiana, of which he joked, "You think Cooperstown is small, you've never been to Castle." Mariano Rivera is from Puerto Caimito, Panama, a small fishing village near Panama City, where he worked on his father's boat. Martinez is from Dorado, Puerto Rico, a good-sized municipality west of San Juan, and lived in the neighborhood of Maguayo. Mike Mussina is from Williamsport, Pennsylvania -- home of the Little League World Series.

Hall of Famers can truly come from anywhere. And for all the thought we put into what team a new Hall of Famer will honor with his cap -- not an issue for the two new one-team members, Rivera and Martinez -- the players represent so much more than that. They represent colleges, towns, regions, countries and families.

"From teachers to coaches to town residents, who showed me both kindness and discipline, I thank you for all you've done for me," Baines said during his speech. Later, he added, "I cannot ever express enough appreciation for St. Michaels. It still remains my home to this day as I live there with my wife and family."

Never is that sentiment more apparent and more true than it is each summer in Cooperstown. And in making those points, Smith and Baines and the others are helping the community in which, in a sense, they will now reside forever. Every street between Main Street and the sports complex in Cooperstown is lined with lemonade stands and beverage stations and tables where you can get grilled food. Most of it goes to help the students who live in Cooperstown year around.

As for the speeches, no one could possibly rival Brandy Halladay when it came to bravery and emotional impact. One of her first lines was, "This speech is not mine to give." But she gave it anyway and no one will forget it.

"Really a great lady," Smith said. "It's been awesome to get to know her and her sons. It had to be tough. It's unbelievable how she handled it."

If not for the bittersweet circumstances of the Halladay family, we might be celebrating the bravery of Baines. Here was a shy man who had spent his life avoiding the media spotlight, who didn't like attention and who feared nothing -- except for public speaking. Imagine being that person and stepping onto a stage with thousands of people rolled out before you and knowing countless more are trained on you via television or some other gadget.

Baines did just fine, speaking for about nine and a half minutes after joking that the other players were timing him because they were betting on just how short his speech would be. But it wasn't that short because he wasn't speaking of himself. There were a lot of people to thank and appreciate, in the game and out of it, even though Baines is man of deeds, not speeches.

"I thought it would be a lot tougher than it was," a relieved Baines said after his speech. "Especially toward the end, when I talked about my father. I got through that pretty well and was proud of myself. I started off my speech talking about community, which is very big to me."

All the players sounded such notes Sunday, as they always do. For every player who goes into the Hall of Fame, there is a tremendous network of parents, siblings, coaches, spouses, managers, teammates and predecessors who helped them along. Those are the people whom induction day is for. And that's why it takes a truly cynical soul to begrudge anyone who has made it over the threshold and into the plaque gallery.

Where the game is always good, and so are we

Induction weekend was as always a celebration, of Baines and the others. It was just as magical as every weekend that unfolds over these precious days of summer. And for those new members of baseball's most elite fraternity, whose plaques are left behind even as they make their way back home, that celebration never really ends. They are in the club, and they are welcome back every summer. In fact, 58 Hall of Famers were in Cooperstown during this broiling weekend, the most living Hall of Famers ever in one place at one time.

"It's very overwhelming," Baines said, in his concise way. "I'm very happy to be a part of it."

What was being celebrated? WAR? Win probability added? OPS? No, those are the tools for before the election, but in Cooperstown, they are rendered obsolete. What's left is all that is good in these players, and more important, in the game itself. We were celebrating the inductees for what they did do, not what they didn't do.

Going last, as always, Rivera summed up the theme for the weekend, saying, "Baseball is a team sport. You cannot do it alone."

All of those who helped the new Hall of Famers find their place in the Hall of Fame are celebrating. But you have to be especially happy for the small towns, because there is a place for their children on the shores of Lake Otesaga. There always has been, but now those villages and hamlets can be in the Caribbean or Central America or Canada or the Pacific Rim. You can come from anywhere now and end up in Cooperstown.

On this weekend, we are reminded again of all that is good in the game. We are reminded that the game is available to more people than ever. And because of that, the best chapters for the sport might well have not yet been written. The Hall of Fame reminds us of where we've been, and of the progress we've made. And, best of all, every induction weekend in Cooperstown reminds us of who we are when we're at our best.

LOUDON, N.H. – All season, the question has been asked: when will Kevin Harvick break through and return to victory lane in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series?

Sunday, that question was finally answered, as Harvick successfully snapped the Cup Series dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing with his first victory of the season in Sunday’s Foxwood Casino Resort 301.

The 2014 Cup Series champion, who was nursing a 21-race winless drought and had finished no better than fourth in his first 19 starts this year, stayed out for track position during the day’s final caution with 36 to go, when Kyle Larson ran into trouble in the second turn of the flat, 1.058-mile Granite State Oval.

That decision gave Harvick a lead he would never relinquish. He cleared Erik Jones on the final restart with 29 laps left and then successfully held off a pair of late-race advances by Denny Hamlin on the last lap en route to his second win in a row at the Magic Mile and the 46th of his Cup Series career.

It was also the first win of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing, as well.

Harvick led the last 35 laps in succession, but it wasn’t without a few nervous moments, as Hamlin tried to bump the No. 4 Busch Ford Mustang out of the way in turn one and then charged the outside in turn three coming to the checkered flag trying to get a run before Harvick slammed the door shut.

From there, all Hamlin to do was chase as Harvick came home the winner by .210 seconds.

“I didn’t think we had the best chance to win staying out, but Rodney and those guys made a great call with our Busch Beer National Forest Foundation car here,” noted Harvick. “We had a good car all day; we just never could get track position and stayed out there and ran a lot of good laps. I didn’t want to see their traffic there at the end. It really made my car tight, and he (Hamlin) got to me. He tried to move me out of the way down there, and I knew that was coming as close as he was. So, I just stood on the brakes and I was about half throttle down the back straightaway.

“After that, I was determined he wasn’t going to get under me again, and he drove to the outside of me, and I waited until he got near me, and I just put a wheel on him,” Harvick added. It worked out for us.”

While Harvick wasn’t as confident in the call that ultimately won him the race, his crew chief Rodney Childers had full faith in his driver to be able to hold the field back when it counted.

“I felt like we had had a great car all weekend, and everybody had been doing a good job. We were just in a bad spot there with track position, and I didn’t think we were going to win from where we were at,” said Childers. “Sometimes you have to make those decisions, and Kevin did a great job on the restart to hold his own. Track position was key today, and I’m really proud of everybody at Stewart‑Haas Racing and everybody at Ford that has pushed hard for us to get our cars better and to get back in victory lane.”

Hamlin, who took the lead off a fast pit stop and led 113 straight laps in the final stage before Harvick took control on strategy, admitted afterward that he “knew what he could have done differently” on the final lap to try and get past Harvick for the victory.

Instead, he was forced to settle for second with his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry.

“I shoved him up a little higher and tried to get him out of the groove,” Hamlin said. “I wanted to just tap him there, but I didn’t want to completely screw him. I at least wanted to give him a fair shot there. Down the backstretch, I kind of let off, and decided to just pass him on the outside and do it the right way … but once I had that big run, he just turned right. I would have done the same thing.

“It was a fun race, and congratulations to Kevin and his team. They made a great call there at the end.”

Erik Jones rebounded from a rocky day, which included a near-penalty on his final pit stop, to finish third. He was followed across the finish line by Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto, who completed a standout weekend with his second top-five finish of the season.

Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, followed by Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and polesitter Brad Keselowski.

Sunday’s race was slowed by nine caution flags and featured 14 lead changes among seven different drivers.

Defenseman Neal Pionk agreed to a two-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, the team announced.

Pionk, 23, was acquired by Winnipeg in June from the New York Rangers. His new deal has an average annual value of $3 million, the Jets said.

Pionk had 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 73 games last season with New York.

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed forward Oskar Sundqvist to a four-year, $11 million contract extension, the team said Sunday.

Sundqvist, 25, appeared in 75 regular-season games with the Blues in 2018-19, scoring 14 goals with 17 assists while logging 22 penalty minutes. The forward had four goals and five assists in 25 playoff games, helping the Blues capture the 2019 Stanley Cup.

The Blues withstood the suspension of Sundqvist for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals for delivering an elbow to the head of Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. St. Louis went on to claim the Cup in seven games.

Drafted 81st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, Sundqvist was acquired by the Blues in a trade with Pittsburgh in June, 2017.

Pity Martinez scored the go-ahead goal in the 89th minute after being held out of coach Frank de Boer's starting lineup, and Atlanta United scraped out a 2-0 victory over visiting D.C. United on Sunday afternoon.

Josef Martinez added an insurance goal -- his 16th of the season -- in second-half stoppage time after missing an earlier penalty kick for Atlanta (11-8-3, 36 points), which moved above D.C. (9-6-8, 35 points) into second place in the Eastern Conference.

Pity Martinez provided the assist on that breakaway effort.

Brad Guzan made three saves to preserve his MLS-leading 10th shutout against a D.C. side that was at times surprisingly dangerous despite playing without star forward Wayne Rooney and conceding 71.4 percent of the possession.

Rooney was not on the roster after coach Ben Olsen permitted him to take the weekend off to recover from a range of minor injuries, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Atlanta signed Pity Martinez prior to the season from Argentine club River Plate for an MLS record transfer fee reported to be $14 million. But the reigning South American player of the year had only two goals and five assists in 20 games prior to Sunday, the second consecutive game in which de Boer relegated the attacking midfielder to the bench.

Martinez came on to replace Brandon Vazquez in the 65th minute, and finally got the game's crucial breakthrough 24 minutes later.

Midfielder Darlington Nagbe created the opportunity with his lofted pass from the right byline. Martinez drifted in front of goal, leaped and met Nagbe's cross at the top of the 6-yard box, heading it past goalkeeper Bill Hamid from close range.

Hamid had previously made four saves, including two impressive first-half stops on Josef Martinez to keep things even. And his refusal to bite on Josef Martinez's juke during a 72nd-minute penalty kick resulted in a spot kick that sailed well over the crossbar.

But the Atlanta United striker finally beat the D.C. goalkeeper after running onto Pity Martinez's through ball into a one-on-one, with little Hamid could do.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is a "disgrace" for his comments about Gareth Bale's situation at the club, the player's agent told ESPN FC.

Zidane left Bale out of Saturday's 3-1 International Champions Cup defeat to Bayern Munich, and afterward the manager said: "We hope he leaves soon. It would be best for everyone."

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The Wales international is under contract until 2022. His agent, Jonathan Barnett, told ESPN FC: "Zidane is a disgrace to speak like that about someone who has done so much for Real.

"If and when Gareth goes it will be because it is in the best interest of Gareth and nothing to do with Zidane pushing."

Bale has won the Champions League four times during a trophy-laden spell at Madrid and scored one the competition's all-time great goals with his overhead kick in a 3-1 victory against Liverpool in 2018.

He featured in 42 matches last season, with 21 coming as a starter, but injury problems have limited him to 79 games of a possible 151 in La Liga. He has also won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, as well as lifting the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup three times apiece.

Manchester United wanted to sign Bale in 2013 but he opted for Madrid in a deal worth around £85 million -- a world-record transfer at the time. Sources have told ESPN FC that United do not wish to reignite their interest this summer, while Tottenham have been linked with a move for their former player.

Marca reported on Tuesday that Spurs were ready to offer Bale an escape route from the Bernabeu, with a bid of around €60m mooted. It was claimed they would pay around half of his €17m a year salary, with Madrid handing the winger €25m up front to cover the remaining three years of his contract.

Speaking after Tottenham beat Juventus 3-2 in the International Champions Cup on Saturday, Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino said: "I saw in the media, but I don't know which club is working to sign him.

"At the moment I have no information from my chairman, so I don't know if we are or not. It's not my job. It's the job of my chairman to make the best squad possible."

Pressed on what stage the negotiations are at surrounding Bale's potential exit, Barnett told ESPN FC there is "nothing more at the moment," regarding the player's future. Barnett previously told ESPN FC this summer that Bale, 30, is ready to take on Zidane in a power struggle at Madrid.

Madrid have not responded to requests for comment regarding Bale's situation.

The club have already spent more than €300m shaking up a squad which failed in 2018-19, with Eden Hazard the headline addition, but Zidane is keen on adding Paul Pogba to the squad this summer.

The club's next match in preseason is against Arsenal on Tuesday in Landover, Maryland (7 p.m. ET, 11 p.m. GMT -- ESPN Deportes), with Zidane's men starting their La Liga campaign at Celta Vigo on Aug. 17.

ESPN FC's Real Madrid correspondent Dermot Corrigan contributed to this report.

PHOENIX -- Milwaukee Brewers All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff has left his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth inning with an abdominal injury.

Woodruff grimaced after throwing a second strike to Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Tim Locastro on Sunday, and Milwaukee's trainer immediately ran out with manager Craig Counsell.

After a brief discussion, Woodruff slowly walked to the dugout. The team said he left with "abdominal discomfort."

The hard-throwing right-hander allowed four runs on six hits. He was replaced Junior Guerra with the game tied 4-all.

Woodruff has been Milwaukee's best pitcher this season, earning his first NL All-Star nod. He entered Sunday's game 11-3 with a 3.53 ERA and had allowed three earned runs in 20 1/3 innings his previous three starts.

CLEVELAND -- Francisco Lindor wasn't thinking about his home run that helped the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 5-4 on Sunday. Instead, the All-Star shortstop said he was concerned only about the young child who was struck by a line drive he hit.

In the latest instance this season around the majors of a fan being injured by a foul ball, Lindor said he was told his liner sent a 3-year-old boy to the hospital.

"It stinks, man," Lindor said. "You don't want to get nobody hurt. I have heard the kid is doing well. He's in the hospital. He's getting checked and all I know is he's in stable condition and he's doing good.

"In a way, that makes me happy, but it stinks, you don't want that to happen to anybody, especially a little kid."

The Indians said in an email following the game that they could not disclose any information.

An adult holding the child immediately left the seating area after Lindor's drive down the right field line in the sixth inning. Lindor said he stepped out of the box briefly before continuing the at-bat against pitcher Glenn Sparkman.

"You take that moment to say a little prayer, 'God, help him. Hope he's OK,'" he said.

The protective netting at Progressive Field runs to the end of each dugout. Lindor's line drive landed several sections beyond the netting and was about 12 to 15 rows into the stands.

Lindor echoed the calls by many major leaguers to extend the netting. The Chicago White Sox are set to become the first team in the majors with netting that goes from foul pole to foul pole on Monday.

In May, a 2-year-old girl was sent to the hospital with head injuries by a foul ball in Houston.

"I encourage every MLB team to put the nets all the way down," Lindor said. "I know it's all about the fans' experience of interacting with players and I completely get that. You want to have that interaction with the fans, getting autographs and stuff, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure everybody comes out of this game healthy, and we got to do something about it."

"Everybody feels bad. And if we can put the nets a little bit further down, I think it would be a lot better," he added.

Lindor said he changed his approach when he stepped back into the box against Sparkman.

"You try to go back to this, focus on the pitcher, focus on the at-bat, focus on your job," Lindor said. "That at-bat, I didn't want to pull the ball at all."

"I was just trying to hit it somewhere else, not hit it in that direction, because then what happens is somebody gets hit and then everybody's paying attention to that person and nobody remembers there's a game going on. You don't want to pull the ball again, because then now you hit somebody else. It's not fun," he said.

Lindor homered after originally being scheduled to get the day off and Jose Ramirez hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth.

Lindor talked his way into the lineup at designated hitter after manager Terry Francona planned on resting him. His two-run homer in the third tied the game at 2.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The chants began even before baseball's greatest closer stood to make his speech.

"Mariano! Mariano! Mariano!"

The former New York Yankees reliever paused and smiled.

"I don't understand why I have to always be the last," Mariano Rivera joked at his Hall of Fame induction Sunday. "I guess being the last one is special."

Rivera and fellow closer Lee Smith, starters Mike Mussina and the late Roy Halladay, and designated hitters Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines were feted on a sun-splashed day in Cooperstown. Taking the podium last, as he had predicted, Rivera delivered a speech that included a brief thank-you to his native Panama and the fans there.

"You're special for me," said Rivera, who spoke from notes, although he had his speech ready if needed. "Thank you for your help. Latin American fans, thank you. Thank you for loving me. I'm so humbled and blessed to receive this incredible honor. God bless you all."

The career saves leader with 652, Rivera was the first unanimous Hall of Fame pick by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He pitched 19 seasons in the major leagues, all with the Yankees, and retired with 952 games finished -- also a record.

A 13-time All-Star, Rivera helped the Yankees win five World Series titles and seven American League pennants. He led the AL in saves three times and finished with 40 or more saves nine times, a record he shares with Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman.

Halladay's widow, Brandy, fought back tears as she spoke. Halladay was 40 when he was killed in a plane crash in November 2017.

"I knew I was going to cry at some point. It's overwhelming the amount of people here today," she said. "I'm so grateful you're here. I can't tell you how many hugs I've gotten. They have extended so much love and friendship. I'm so grateful.

"The thank-yous should and could go on for days. There are not enough words to thank you. I say it a lot, but it takes a village."

Smiling from beginning to end, Smith congratulated his new classmates before crediting his family and hometown of Castor, Louisiana, for much of his success.

"It's been my family. They're the main reason I'm standing here today," Smith said. "To my mom and dad -- your support has meant everything to me."

Smith pitched 18 seasons for the Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Reds and Expos and retired as MLB's career saves leader with 478, a title he held for 13 seasons. That total ranks third all time, as does his 802 games finished.

Martinez was a seven-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner for Seattle, where he spent his entire 18-year career. Martinez delivered the first part of his speech in Spanish before congratulating the other five inductees.

"I am honored and humbled to be standing here," said Martinez, who was born in New York and grew up in Puerto Rico. "It is hard to believe that a dream that started when I was 10 years old [ended here]. The first time I saw Roberto Clemente, all I wanted to do was play the game. What an honor to have my plaque in the Hall alongside his."

Martinez won two AL batting titles and led the league in on-base percentage three times. He was named the outstanding designated hitter five times, an award that now bears his name.

The soft-spoken Baines never displayed much emotion in his 22-year career, but his voice cracked throughout his speech.

"Somehow I acquired a reputation for not saying much. I'm not sure why," he deadpanned at the start. "From teachers to coaches who showed me kindness and discipline, I thank you all for what you've done for me. If I can leave you with one message, it's to give back to your community. I stand here very humbled. It has taken time to sink in."

Mussina pitched for 18 major league seasons and spent his entire career in the high-scoring AL East with the Orioles and Yankees. A five-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, he posted a record of 270-153 and had 57 complete games in 536 starts. He was the first AL pitcher to win at least 10 games 17 times.

"I spent a lot of time reflecting on my time in baseball," said Mussina, the oldest first-time 20-game winner in MLB history when he reached the milestone at age 39 in 2008, his final season in the majors. "I was never fortunate to win a Cy Young Award or be a World Series champion, win 300 games or strike out 3,000 hitters. My opportunities for those achievements are in the past. Today, I get to become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This time I made it."

The late Frank Robinson and Willie McCovey were honored with a moment of silence before Mussina was introduced. The two Hall of Famers died since last year's induction ceremony.

LOUDON, N.H. – Cole Custer saw his lead in the season-long NASCAR Xfinity Series wins column disappear again on Saturday after rival Christopher Bell took down the victory in the ROXOR 200.

Bell’s triumph at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was his fifth of the season, tying him with Custer for the series lead, and it left Custer with a bitter taste in his mouth after the 200-mile race.

Custer’s frustration was understandable, as well, given that Bell led a whopping 186 of 200 laps in Saturday’s dominant affair, while Custer failed to lead even a single lap in the event.

“It is frustrating, because there at the end I felt like we had a car that could compete with him, but I just wasn’t driving the car right at the start of the race and I got us behind on adjustments,” noted Custer. “From there, we were kind of playing catch-up. They gave me a really fast car and I think I learned a lot, but I wish we would have won. I learned a lot though and I’ll be better next time. I knew I wasn’t the best here, so I thought there was stuff I had to learn.

“I thought I had a good idea of what I needed to do, but there was still a little bit of a learning curve during the race.”

Saturday marked the fourth time in the last five races that either Custer or Bell has won in the Xfinity Series, with each driver scoring two victories during that timeframe.

The see-saw battle between the two has been one that has been entertaining for the fans, but tough lately on the driver of the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang.

Afterward, Custer admitted that Bell simply had him outmatched on Saturday.

“He was just better than me today,” said Custer. “Their car was maybe a tick better, but I think we could have competed with them. Like I said before, I wasn’t driving the car right at the start of the race and I got us behind on adjustments … and then from there we just weren’t how we should have been at the end of the race because of how I was driving at that start.

“I do feel like I learned a lot for the next time, but it’s still frustrating.”

Leaving Loudon, Custer now sits second once again in playoff points earned, with 31 to Bell’s series-leading 36. However, he knows a major lesson he and his team can improve upon as they continue down the hot summer stretch.

“At the end of the race, we could match lap times with the 20, but we were behind on the short run (speed we needed),” Custer explained. “That’s something we’ll work on.”