Let’s begin with the MLB All-Star Experience in Philadelphia on this past Monday and Tuesday. It had its good moments and then some not so good ones.
The Home Run Derby returned to an earlier format of 20 swings in the first round per contestant. Which was good, because the time clock was pushing the participants too hard and taking away from the spectacle while changing the strategy for the competition.
I thought it was an interesting event to begin with. Two hometown Philadelphia Phillies players were in the lineup. A former M.V.P. in Bryce Harper and the current MLB home run leader for 2026, Kyle Schwarber. Both also were NL All-Stars.
Sure there were six others in the contest. You think that mattered to the Philadelphia fans packing Citizens Bank Park on Monday night? The cascading of boos from the stands for anybody not on the Phillies was very apparent over the Netflix broadcast.
Willson Contreras, the bad boy first baseman from the suddenly red hot Boston Red Sox, began the night with an awesome display of power, putting 13 balls into the seats, including some long blasts. He set the bar high.
Contreras was joined at 13 by a relative outsider, Jordan Walker from the St. Louis Cardinals. Junior Caminero from the Tampa Bay Rays, who finished second in 2025, sent 12 into orbit. Schwarber was next with 10 shots clearing the wall.
Munetaka Murakami from the resurgent Chicago White Sox launched 9 homers. Jac Caglione from Kansas City, the University of Florida star, and Harper ended up with 8.
New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice trailed with 7 clouts. His night was special because his dad, a former Brown University pitcher, who threw to Ben since childhood, was once more his pitcher. Even though he finished last, Ben Rice experienced the thrill of a lifetime before the nation being out on the major league field with his dad—just like in the backyard in Massachusetts.
In the next round, the four remaining sluggers were paired in twos. Since Contreras had the longest blast in the first round, he drew Schwarber. With the boisterous home crowd behind him and against his opponent, Schwarber prevailed, 9-8. Caminero could only manage 5 over the fences, so Walker did what he needed to do to advance—he quickly accumulated 6 homers. Which gave him a bit of rest.
Schwarber led off the final round, blasting 11 homers, to the delight of the home crowd. Walker was playing against a rough audience and the odds of downing the NL home run leader wasn’t good.
Except that nobody told Walker he couldn’t win. With apparent ice in his veins, in spite of the vituperative Philly fans, the Cardinals outfielder used his bat powerfully, striking 6 home runs in a row to walk off with the title in a 12-11 victory.
This Home Run Derby was one of the best ever. It was dramatic and exciting. Walker deserved to win it all. His $1 million payday was bigger than his annual salary of $799,400. The 6’6” Walker loved to hit home runs growing up.
The first St. Louis Cardinal player to win the Derby and first time NL All-Star made himself a household name. Remember that night—it is going to make Jordan Walker, the 2020 first round selection for St. Louis in the MLB Draft, a rich man in the near future.
I wish I could say that the actual game was as exciting. It wasn’t. The game was effectively over in the top of the first inning. NL starting pitcher, Philadelphia’s Christopher Sanchez, he of the long unscored upon streak earlier this season, surrendered three runs on consecutive singles from New Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice. Chicago’s Miguel Vargas added a home run.
The final score was 4-0. American League pitchers held the NL batters to three harmless singles. Eight more NL pitchers kept the AL at bay, giving up only 4 hits, one of which was the home run by Vargas.
Almost by default, Bellinger was the M.V.P. with his two runs batted in. Bellinger has been a Rookie of the Year; a league M.V.P. in 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers; and now has won the All-Star M.V.P. award.
He is the fourth Yankee to win the All-Star M.V.P. award—Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Giancarlo Stanton have won it wearing the pin stripes. Also, this marks the second time that two NYY players had at least one R.B.I. in an All-Star Game. That happened in 1962 when Roger Maris and Tom Tresh accomplished that feat at Wrigley Field.
If MLB wonders why viewership for the Derby was down compared to the FOX broadcast of the game the next night, let’s start with the significant charge for the streaming service as opposed to the regular channel available to almost everyone. Selling out for profit has its downsides and if they believe that they are targeting the younger audience who only streams its programs and they are going to suddenly think they want to watch people swatting home runs on a Monday night in July, they are dead wrong. The NFL is learning that painful lesson, too—when they allow Netflix or Amazon to televise the Super Bowl then wonder what happened to their monetized product, it already will have been too late.
Moreover, MLB has to do something about the epidemic of starting pitchers who made themselves unavailable for the game by either having pitched on Saturday or Sunday and being fearful of injury should they go full throttle for an inning. The fans, to whom the game belongs, should have seen NYY phenom Cam Schlittler start for the Americans and Milwaukee fireballer Jacob Misiorowski lead off for the NL.
That’s a showdown—even if for only an inning—that’s glamorous. Schlittler begged off because he wanted to be available for his team going forward. The Mis claimed he had a “tired arm.”
Compare 2026 to Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez struck out five of the Hall of Fame-caliber hitters he faced in 1999 at his home ballpark of Fenway Park. That’s akin to Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell striking out future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in the second All-Star Game in 1934. In 2024, current NL All-Star Matt Moore, then from the A’s, threw the fastest ASG pitch ever recorded—103.6 mph—to a brand name in Shohei Ohtani. Those are thrilling scenarios.
Even if the American League pitchers in this game were the most dominant ever by holding NL hitters to one hit while striking out 15 in seven innings, the fans want to see the greatest names. There was a reason Don Drysdale, Robin Roberts and Lefty Grove each started five All-Star games. They are in the Hall of Fame.
So did a lot of other Hall of Fame pitchers start, let alone pitch in the game. In addition to Martinez and Hubbell, Ford; Spahn; Gibson; Marichal; Koufax; Carlton; Seaver; Palmer and Ryan are among the names of the greats who pitched in the All-Star Game. For the fans.
There is no guarantee that a pitcher or position player will make it back to the ASG. Bellinger didn’t return after 2019 until this season—and he played for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees since his stint with the Dodgers.
Unless the pitcher is truly injured, then there is no reason for them not to throw. Saving their arms for their present team—which might turn cold on future earnings or let them walk in free agency—is just not right. Given the belief that the players and management might strike before next season rather than agree on a salary cap will further bind the ASG to secondary status if this isn’t addressed.
Something has to be done to preserve the MLB All-Star Game. It is by far the best of the major sports. Denigrating it like some pitchers do—in conjunction with management ostensibly reserving themselves for future pennant races—is patently wrong.
Paul Skenes from Pittsburgh is another one who comes to mind. Skenes made his third NL team but under current rules, was deemed ineligible to pitch under MLB rules because he threw in a start during the past weekend. Watching him walk the red carpet with his influencer/girlfriend, former gymnast Olivia Dunne, is not what the fans want to see.
I went to the 1977 and 2008 All-Star games at Yankee Stadium. In 1977, the atmosphere was electric. Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton was the winning pitcher for the National League. Cooperstown-bound Tom Seaver and Rich Gossage pitched for the NL while Palmer took the loss and Dennis Eckersley threw two scoreless innings en route to the Hall.
The 2008 affair went 15 innings. Twenty-three pitchers were used by both squads. Only two Hall of Fame pitchers participated—Rivera and Roy Halliday. But those who pitched were the best for that season and era.
I’m not saying that there weren’t Hall of Fame caliber pitchers employed by both sides this season. There were a few whose star has already risen to that kind of consideration or might attain that status when their playing days are over. Nor were the performances really terrible. After all, the scoring past the first inning was nearly non-existent.
Yes, it is an exhibition game. But it is a show for the adoring fans. Schwarber, Harper and Brad Marsh received thunderous ovations from the Philadelphia crowd. Despite striking out five times in six at bats.
Memo to MLB and the MLBPA: you must do better or doom the game you play to a reduced status. You’ve done that with this year’s Home Run Derby on Netflix.
Next season the ASG returns to Wrigley Field. There is no more iconic stadium in the National League and perhaps in baseball than the one on Chicago’s North Side. This is the fourth time the game will be held there.
Chicago is the birthplace of the All-Star Game. Babe Ruth hit a home run in the inaugural game held at Comiskey Park, the home of the White Sox. A total of six games have been held in the Windy City.
The All-Star Game normally needs to be special. It can be even greater at the home of the Cubs if the players and owners make it so. The baseball is in their yard.
A couple of odds and ends. Injury-ridden and much maligned Caitlin Clark erupted for 45 points and 10 assists in the Indiana Fever’s close win over Seattle. I recognize that she spouts off and is disliked by a number of her peers. Perhaps by coaches and referees, too, by the lack of calls going in her direction. The jealousy is apparent, whatever way you look at it.
But the WNBA media rights are dependent upon stars like Clark—as well as future income, salaries and amenities. Seeing her go off for this record performance gives me hope for the WNBA in the future. A future which allows for Clark to play her game and lead her team.
No, LeBron James has not selected his next team. Showing up at a fan fest in New York City and making a comment about the process got everyone following this story in a tizzy. For “The Process” relates to how the Philadelphia 76’ers built their team. Except that LBJ said he has always used that term in describing how he conducts business.
The build up to James’ choosing his next team has overtones like when he returned to Cleveland or when he landed in Miami. I hope the drama ends soon. Didn’t we have enough with the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce nuptials earlier this month?
Lastly, I want to point out something which came out this week about the Brendan Sorsby saga. He’s the kid who happens to play quarterback well but bet over $90,000 on college football games and found himself at Texas Tech in the midst of a maelstrom.
Cody Campbell, a wealthy booster and Chair of the Texas Tech Board of Regents, made a donation to current Texas Attorney General and US Senate candidate Ken Paxton. That amount was $274,900, the largest amount given to Paxton by an individual donor. All totaled, Tech supporters have given Paxton over $650,000.
Lo and behold, the next day, Paxton wrote a letter warning the Big 12 to stand down on sanctioning TTU for fielding Sorsby would be “unlawful” and could expose the conference to $200 million in damages. That’s a serious threat from the top law officer in the State of Texas.
Sorsby’s gambling exploits made him radioactive. The NFL wanted no part of him either, declining to authorize a special supplemental draft for him to join the league this year.
Ultimately, Sorsby will not play for the Red Raiders or any other college. He needs to get his life in order.
Campbell said that nothing nefarious took place. Besides, Campbell opined that his contribution to Paxton’s campaign was in line with his donations to Paxton in prior elections. Thus Paxton has become the beneficiary of a windfall totally unrelated to the fortunes of the Texas Tech football program. Sure.
It’s good to see that Tech learned its lessons well when it was a late arrival in the old Southwest Conference, joining forces with Baylor; Rice; Southern Methodist; Texas; Texas A&M; Texas Christian; Houston; and non-Texas school Arkansas. The conference, which accumulated more NCAA sanctions than any other in the1980’s, and led to enforcement of the “death penalty” against the SMU program for egregious rules violations, finally disbanded for good in 1996.
That doesn’t mean that the playbook for skulduggery cannot be found and dusted off for use. Shame on Texas Tech. I don’t know what to make of Paxton’s avarice except to say that the smell test would find it stinks.
Oh, yeah. Spain won the World Cup. England downed France in a wild 6-4 match to take third place. I watched. Both games were exciting. Now we can go back to “normal" in NJ.
This All-Star Game edition is done.
