10 biggest MLB stories from 2019

With the calendar ready to turn to 2020, here's a look at the top 10 stories in Major League Baseball from 2019:

10. Free-agency freeze - and sudden thaw

The stars of last year's free-agent class had to wait until spring training to find homes; only then did Manny Machado and Bryce Harper land their desired $300-million plus deals with the Padres and Phillies, respectively. They were the lucky ones. Many other, far less expensive veterans had trouble finding work last winter; two marquee pitchers - Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel - didn't sign until mid-June, when they were no longer tied to draft-pick compensation.

Of course, it's been an entirely different story over the past few months. Stephen Strasburg signed the largest deal ever given to a pitcher, and Gerrit Cole broke that record 24 hours later. Scott Boras alone negotiated over $1 billion worth of contracts before Christmas. The state of free agency has been a dominant talking point in baseball for the past 365 days - and considering the strained state of baseball's labor relations right now, that's unlikely to change in 2020.

9. Astros fire assistant GM after outburst at female reporters

The celebration in Houston following Jose Altuve's pennant-clinching walk-off homer came to a grinding halt when Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein detailed a postgame tirade by Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman directed at a group of female reporters in the clubhouse. "Thank God we got Osuna! I'm so f------ glad we got Osuna!" Taubman yelled at them six times, referring to the closer who was still serving a suspension for violating the league's domestic violence policy when Houston acquired him.

Though the Astros initially denied the incident happened, multiple witnesses quickly corroborated Apstein's account, and the story began to overshadow the World Series itself. Within days, the team reversed course, firing Taubman and apologizing to Apstein while cooperating with MLB's investigation. But the ripple effects of this scandal remain, as the reputation of the Astros organization under Jim Crane and Jeff Luhnow - once considered a model franchise - was suddenly cast in a new, very unflattering light.

8. MLB unveils plan to reorganize minors, contract 42 teams

Baseball's strained labor relations were surely not helped in November, when commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed MLB's plans to cut 42 affiliated minor-league teams - mostly from the lower levels - once its agreement with Minor League Baseball expires in 2021. The plan would also see the MLB amateur draft cut from 40 rounds to 25, while the lost minor-league franchises would be replaced by an MLB-operated "Dream League" - essentially an independent league for undrafted players. According to Manfred, cutting teams would allow minor-league players to be paid fairly, and many existing lower-level minor-league clubs don't have adequate facilities for their players.

The plan has been met with harsh criticism. MiLB has pushed hard against it publicly, and the fight has spilled into the media. Politicians have even weighed in, with U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders condemning the proposal. If implemented, the plan would dramatically change the business of professional baseball. With another year of negotiations in store, it will continue to be a major talking point in 2020.

7. Expanded netting to protect fans

Spectator injuries have increased throughout the decade, even as MLB added additional nets to the edges of both dugouts two years ago, but the issue finally came to a head in 2019. For many, the final straw was at a May game in Houston, when a small child seated up the third-base line - just beyond what was then the edge of Minute Maid Park's protective netting - was struck in the head by a line drive and seriously injured. Within a month of that incident, the Chicago White Sox became the first team to install protective netting all the way down both foul lines. In December, the league announced extended netting will arrive at all 30 stadiums in 2020 - hopefully putting an end to these unfortunate incidents once and for all.

6. David Ortiz shot in Dominican Republic

One of the scariest stories of the year unfolded in the Dominican Republic, where Red Sox icon David Ortiz was shot and wounded in an alleged targeted attack that turned out to be a horrible case of mistaken identity. Ortiz underwent multiple surgeries, first in Santo Domingo and later in Boston after the Red Sox helped transport him to his adopted home. Dominican police arrested the alleged mastermind of the shooting several weeks later. Most importantly, though, Ortiz made a miraculous recovery. In September, he returned to Fenway Park and threw out a ceremonial first pitch; the following month, "Big Papi" resumed his television work with FOX.

5. Angels, Trout agree to record $426.5M deal

Trout is, without argument, the greatest all-around player of his generation - and now he's being paid like it. The Los Angeles Angels feared their franchise player would walk away if they let him reach free agency in 2021, so they locked him up forever with a 12-year, $426.5-million extension - the richest contract in baseball history. His deal blew Bryce Harper's record pact with the Phillies - signed only three weeks earlier - out of the water. A three-time MVP and four-time runner-up, Trout will eventually (already?) go down as one of the five or 10 best players in baseball history. There's no one more deserving of cracking the $400-million barrier than the Millville Meteor.

4. Astros accused of electronic sign stealing

On the heels of both the Taubman incident and their stunning World Series loss, the Astros found themselves at the center of a scandal the likes of which hadn't been seen in baseball since gamblers fixed the 1919 World Series. A bombshell report, with on-the-record details from ex-Astros pitcher Mike Fiers, broke down the team's illegal use of electronics to steal pitching signs at home games during its championship season in 2017. The stunning revelations led to an outpouring of allegations against the Astros - a team that's long been tailed by suspicion regarding these sorts of improprieties - with independent Twitter sleuths breaking down video footage to detail evidence of the team's alleged crimes.

Stealing signs is an act as old as the game itself, but banging a trash can and using video monitors goes well past the acceptable limits of "gamesmanship" - and clearly violates the rules. MLB continues to investigate the Astros, and though they likely won't lose their 2017 World Series championship (as many in Los Angeles might hope) the repercussions of this scandal could be felt across the sport for decades to come.

3. Nationals (finally) win World Series

Bryce Harper's defection to the division-rival Phillies was supposed to be the end of Washington's window of opportunity, and the Nationals' slow start - they were 19-31 on May 23 - had manager Dave Martinez's seat on fire.

But from that point on, the Nationals were seemingly unstoppable. Led by a fearsome rotation and young prodigy Juan Soto, the Nats crafted a modern-day miracle run to bring Washington, D.C., its first baseball championship in 95 years. The Nationals won five come-from-behind elimination games in the playoffs and beat the 107-win Astros in Houston four times to win the World Series. Washington became only the second team in history (along with the 1914 Boston Braves) to win a World Series after being at least 12 games under .500 during the regular season. When we think of the 2019 campaign decades from now, we'll likely be calling this team the "Miracle Nats." After a championship run for the ages, it's a moniker they deserve.

2. The juiced ball

Baseball faced all sorts of scandals and controversies in 2019, but none had more impact on the diamond than the home-run spike - believed to be caused by the intentional doctoring of baseballs.

Home runs soared out of ballparks this year at rates never before seen, even during baseball's so-called "steroid era." Players hit a total of 6,776 round-trippers, and two teams - the Twins and Yankees - broke the single-season record and surpassed the 300-homer mark; Minnesota's 307 home runs in 2019 are now the MLB record. The Orioles, meanwhile, became the first team to allow 300 homers, coughing up 305 bombs to crush the previous record. Then the playoffs began, and home-run rates dropped precipitously. Teams mused publicly that the ball wasn't flying as it had in the regular season.

Calls for the truth from players and fans alike grew louder. MLB commissioned a study of the baseballs (again), and preliminary findings released in December attribute the power surge to seam heights and "new batter techniques." Were the balls juiced? Were the balls de-juiced in October? Did MLB and Rawlings know? None of these questions have been answered yet. This is a story that will continue to dominate headlines for the foreseeable future.

1. Tyler Skaggs found dead in team hotel

Skaggs was found dead in his Texas hotel room hours before an Angels-Rangers game on July 1. He was only 27 years old, and his death rocked the sports world. Almost two weeks later, in the Angels' first home game following his death, Skaggs' grieving teammates honored him by throwing a combined no-hitter while collectively sporting his No. 45 jersey.

His death has continued to make news off the field. Skaggs' autopsy and toxicology report revealed a combination of the opioids fentanyl and oxycodone in his system at the time of death. An Angels employee reportedly supplied Skaggs with the drugs, and the Angels supposedly knew about it; Skaggs' family has since hired a lawyer to investigate. Six other Angels players, including Matt Harvey, were interviewed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as part of its ongoing investigation. Skaggs' death also prompted MLB and the Players Association to rework their drug policy and test players for opioids.

Images from that memorable homage at Angel Stadium continue to hold meaning and remain a huge part of the grieving process for Skaggs' friends, family, and teammates, but that's a small part of the story. The ongoing opioid crisis has led to thousands of deaths in the United States alone, and it is far from the only country affected. Unfortunately, Skaggs' death was baseball's biggest story in 2019 because it transcended the sport both on and off the field.