Category: Baseball

1914
In a telegram discovered in 2012, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey told scout George Mills that the asking price for pitcher Babe Ruth was too high at $16,000.

At the time, Ruth was playing for the minor league Baltimore Orioles. Comiskey had sent Mills to scout the best Orioles players on June 9. Mills gave Comiskey a list of six players he thought were the best, with Ruth among them. He later revealed that Jack Dunn, the Orioles owner, said Ruth could be had himself for $16,000 cash. In the telegram, Comiskey replied, “Do not need pitchers bad enough to go that high price.” 

The White Sox thus joined the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia A’s in turning down chances to get Ruth, who was eventually was sold to the Red Sox. Comiskey later would try to get Ruth before the start of the 1920 season, offering Joe Jackson and cash to Boston —to no avail, as the Red Sox sold Ruth to the Yankees.

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1915
The White Sox outlasted Cleveland, 5-4, in 19 innings. Red Faber pitched 11 innings of three-hit, shutout ball — IN RELIEF — to earn the win. The White Sox took the lead with two outs in the top of the 19th, as Buck Weaver singled and Eddie Collins doubled him home.

After going down, 2-0, in the first and trailing all game, the White Sox had struck for three in the eighth and then invited this extra-innings odyssey when Guy Morton walked Happy Felsch with two outs in the ninth, forcing the tying run home.

This game tied with 19-inning affairs in 1951 and 2006 for fifth-longest in White Sox history. The White Sox have won all three 19-inning games they’ve played, and this was the only such game that didn’t come against the Boston Red Sox.

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1956
It was probably the biggest White Sox weekend of the 1950s.

Two days earlier the White Sox had started what was an unheard-of four-game sweep of the Yankees, winning on Friday, 5-4, in 12 innings. On Saturday, the Sox shut out the Bombers, 2-0. Then on Sunday, before almost 48,000 fans, the Sox took a pair, closing to within one game of first place. 

Larry Doby would hit a pair of three-run shots in the twin bill, helping to account for the 14-2 and 6-3 wins. He went 5-for-7 with six runs and six RBIs.

Fans by the hundreds poured on to the field during the second game, simply to get the chance to shake players’ hands and run around the outfield. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley came out and said that the Sox would be in the World Series that fall. Of course, they weren’t … but the White Sox did finish the season at 85-69, good for third place.

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1963
Going 2-for-2, including a solo home run that tied a game the White Sox would end up winning, 5-2, rookie Pete Ward extended his hitting streak to 18 games. It would end up being the longest hitting streak in the American League that season.

Ward kept his string going in front of a packed crowd of 42,748 at Comiskey Park watching the second-place Sox try to catch the AL-leading Yankees. With another win the next game, on June 25, the White Sox did just that in spite of Ward going 0-for-3.

During the streak (from June 7-24, hitting .382), Ward raised his batting average from .277 to .303, as the White Sox won 11 of 18. At the time, the rookie’s hitting streak was tied for the 22nd-longest in team history, and today it still ranks in a tied for 36th.

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1969
In the second game of a doubleheader in Seattle, White Sox third baseman Bill Melton slugged three consecutive home runs (in the second, fourth and sixth innings) in a 7-6 win. All were solo blasts. Ed Herrmann’s home run in the top of the ninth was the deciding factor. As a club, the White Sox hit five homers in the game.

The Sox took the first game as well, winning 6-4, with relief pitcher Wilbur Wood picking up wins in both games. Wood allowed only two hits in 5 2⁄3 innings of work between the two games.

Amazingly, this marked the second game (in less than three months) in which the White Sox hit five homers at Seattle’s Sick Stadium, in the only year it was used as a major-league ballpark.

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1972
Behind the inspired play of Dick Allen, Wilbur Wood, Stan Bahnsen, Rich Gossage, Terry Forster and Carlos May, the Sox were in the middle of a pennant chase when the bizarre injury curse struck again. 

During the previous offseason third baseman Bill Melton had fallen off of a ladder, damaging his back. The defending American League home run champion had been playing in pain ever since, and on this day was put on the injured list and lost for the rest of the year when it was discovered he had a herniated disk. For the season, he only played in 57 games with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.

The reason he was on the ladder? Somehow his young son got up on the garage roof!

The Sox would finish 5 1⁄2 games behind the Oakland A’s, with a record of 87-67. 

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1973
It almost tied a club record: In the second game of a doubleheader at Comiskey Park, White Sox catcher Ed Herrmann drove in seven runs in a 11-1 win over the A’s. Herrmann went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, two-run double and two-run single.

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1977
It was an embarrassing moment for White Sox outfielder Ralph Garr and, as it turned out, a costly one for the team. In the third inning of a game in Minnesota, Garr hit what appeared to be a three-run home run. However, as he was running the bases, he passed catcher Jim Essian, who waited at first base to make sure the ball was in fact a home run. Garr was watching the ball, and got called out for passing the runner and awarded a two-run single.

The Sox wound up losing the game, 7-6.

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1990
In another example of the upstart White Sox not going away any time soon, Dan Pasqua blasted a 10th-inning homer in Oakland off of A’s ace (and chief Chicago agitator) Dave Stewart. The win improved the White Sox to 41-25 and within one game of Oakland in the AL West.

After Bobby Thigpen blew a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth on a Dave Henderson homer with two outs and two strikes to send the game to extras, Pasqua led off the 10th with his blast, going the other way and deep to left field. Stewart would end up going the distance in taking the loss by throwing all 10 innings and using 134 pitches, in case you thought former White Sox skipper Tony La Russa wasn’t taking his former team seriously.

Melido Perez was even more brilliant than Stewart in the game, outpacing him with a 79 game score and eight scoreless innings. The win was a fourth of eight straight for the White Sox, and also completed a full sweep of two West Coast series (needs to be confirmed, but this could be the only full sweep of two or more West Coast series in White Sox history).

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1991
Holding a 2-1 lead over Seattle in the eighth inning, the White Sox iced the game with a grand slam from Frank Thomas — the first of 11 he would hit in his career. Thomas added a double in the game, going 2-for-4 with five RBIs.

The White Sox had been lingering around .500 for about a month despite a strong start to the season and expected division title-contention in 1991. This win got the White Sox back on a roll, although they ended the season in second place and at a disappointing 87-75, eight games out.

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2017
It was Mark Buehrle Day at Guaranteed Rate Field, as the White Sox honored the lefthander by retiring his No. 56. 

Buehrle played 12 seasons with the Sox, winning 161 games including a perfect game against Tampa and a no-hitter against Texas. He also won two postseason games and saved another. He was a three-time All-Star, who won the 2005 contest. 

Buehrlealso was a model of consistency, with 11 straight years with the White Sox winning in double figures, starting 30 or more games and throwing at least 200 innings.

In the July 2025 during ceremonies for the 2005 World Series anniversary, a statue of Buehrle to cement him as an all-time team legend would be revealed.

In the game played on that day, three Oakland A’s hit their first career home runs (Franklin Barreto, Matt Olson, Jacob Brugman) — the first time that had happened in MLB since 1914.

With 41 days remaining until Major League Baseball’s Aug. 3 trade deadline, the market will remain remarkably fluid, with teams dipping in and out of contention, injuries creating unforeseen needs and player performance greatly affecting market value.

The big prize? There might be no big prize, so long as the Detroit Tigers remain sentient and free-agent-to-be Tarik Skubal remains in Motown. The Tigers crawled within 10 games of the .500 mark this week, making it more than conceivable they’ll be at least treading water come deadline time.

USA TODAY Sports will keep track of the latest rumblings in the market all the way until the buzzer sounds Aug. 3:

Sonny Gray might be best starter available

The starting pitcher pool may be getting a significant upgrade. Boston Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray confirmed to the Boston Globe that he would be "open to a conversation" if the club approached him to waive his no-trade clause.

It only makes sense: The Red Sox are floundering at 32-45 and Gray is in the final year of his contract, though he does have a 2027 player option. And he’s pitching exceptionally well: He’s 9-1 with a 2.95 ERA and just threw seven innings of one-run ball at Coors Field.

A significant question is whether Boston would be willing to dangle Gray immediately, which could enhance their return in allowing the trading team to enjoy his services an extra six weeks before the deadline.

Trade partners to be in short supply

Clarity will be hard to come by on this market.

Because so many teams are near contention, defining buyers and sellers will remain difficult right up until the deadline. A high-ranking baseball official for a contending team told USA TODAY Sports that teams are currently assessing their place in the market, and the tightly-bunched standings remain the biggest impediment to trade action.

Giants aren’t a teardown

While his accountability session with reporters was largely viewed as a debacle, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey did set a few parameters for what’s expected to be a significant selloff by the Bay.

Most notably: Logan Webb will not be traded.

Webb has been fantastic of late, completing at least seven innings in four consecutive starts, and he’s signed on a reasonable deal through 2028. But Posey says he won’t be dealing Webb, indicating the Giants aren’t stripping the house down to the studs.

So, good luck with everything else: Rafael Devers is still owed more than $200 million, Posey granted California native Matt Chapman a full no-trade clause and Willy Adames remains below league average at the plate with $140 million due from 2027-31.

So, just how much can a singles hitter like Luis Arraez fetch?

The better news: Robbie Ray made his case as the best lefty available on the market with eight innings and no earned runs given up against the Athletics, lowering his ERA to a fathomable 3.70.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB trade deadline rumors as buyers and sellers remain unclear

Mets lineup

Carson Benge – RF
A.J. Ewing – CF
Bo Bichette – SS
Jared Young – 1B
Francisco Alvarez – DH
Brett Baty – 3B
Marcus Semien – 2B
MJ Melendez – LF
Luis Torrens – C

SP: Nolan McLean – RHP

Cubs lineup

Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF
Michael Conforto – RF
Michael Busch – 1B
Seiya Suzuki – DH
Ian Happ – LF
Nico Hoerner – 2B
Pedro Ramirez – 3B
Miguel Amaya – C
Dansby Swanson – SS

SP: Javier Assad – RHP

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

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Will the trends be our friend this evening? 

We have a ton of value to attack this evening, so here are my favorite MLB player props for June 24, led by Ketel Marte and Nick Kurtz.

Best MLB player props today

Ketel Marte Over 1.5 total bases (-126)

• Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CARD, ARID

Nick Kurtz Over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-123)

Get ready to drool all over yourself as I lay out some delicious numbers on the Athletics' young star Nick Kurtz.

He checks in with an elite rating on Batters-Box, including 100% arsenal coverage against San Francisco starter Tyler Mahle. In 48 elite road ratings, Kurtz clears this prop nearly 71% of the time, while also leaving the yard 25% of the time in those spots.

Mahle leans heavily on his fastball at nearly 50% usage, a profile that should have hitters salivating. Even more concerning, roughly half of his pitch mix grades below league average.

Left-handed hitters have also given him issues of late, with the last 60 he has faced elevating the ball 60% of the time while posting a .505 expected slugging.

Kurtz has been on a tear all season, and over his last 30 plate appearances against right-handed pitching, he is sitting at a .346 average, .615 slug, 1.048 OPS, with a 53.3% hard-hit rate and a 13.3% barrel rate.

Get the best number and do not lay anything past -130 on this prop.

• Time: 9:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSBA, NBCSCA

Brice Turang Over 1.5 total bases (+106)

I may just be fading future country singer Rhett Lowder to kickstart that career, or this may just be the right spot to back Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang to go over his bases prop this evening in the small park.

The Cincinnati Reds' starter has been allowing a 60% elevation rate to lefties at home. Over his last 60 left-handed hitters faced, he has allowed a 40% hard hit rate, 15% barrel rate, and 65% elevation rate, while also carrying a .311 xBA, .627 xSLG, and .397 xwOBA in that split.

Turang enters with an elite rating in Batters-Box’s current season dataset, and he also brings 86.2% arsenal coverage against Lowder’s pitch mix, which sits 46% below league average, per FanGraphs.

The 26-year-old has shown strong percentage gains across key underlying metrics in this current stretch, which only sharpens the appeal of this matchup.

Take this down to even money, no need to pay any juice.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: BREW, CINR

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Mets recalled Jonathan Pintaro to be the 27th man on their roster ahead of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Cubs at Citi Field.

The right-hander has now been promoted to the majors four times in the past five weeks, but he’s only appeared in four games this season, posting a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched with nine strikeouts and one walk. His most recent outing came on June 15, when he ate 3.2 innings of the Mets’ 12-0 blowout loss in Cincinnati before being optioned the following day. Prior to that appearance, Pintaro had allowed just one hit in 6.2 innings of work.

According to the 27th-man doubleheader rule, Pintaro will be optioned following Wednesday night’s game. Typically, a pitcher can’t be recalled for 15 days after being optioned, but that 15-day window doesn’t apply in this case – so Pintaro could still be eligible to return to the major league roster at any point in the coming weeks.

Pintaro last pitched in Syracuse on Saturday, so he should be able to provide multiple innings for a Mets bullpen forced to cover 5.1 innings in Tuesday night’s loss. Nolan McLean will start Game 1 at 1:10 p.m. ET, while Sean Manaea will start Game 2 at 7:10 p.m. ET.

Francisco Lindor will be activate for Game 2 of today’s doubleheader against the Cubs, per Steve Gelbs. The team has been insistent that Lindor would be back in major league action this month and it seems that time table has come to fruition.

Lindor has been out since April 22nd with a calf strain of unspecified severity (with Lindor oddly claiming he’d prefer not to know the grade). He first got into rehab games last Friday (6/19) and went a cumulative 3-for-13 with three singles, a walk, a strikeout, and one steal. That was apparently all Lindor felt he needed to get ready for major league action, though the lingering concern will of course be his tendency to push to play when not at 100%.

At 34-44 and in the midst of a 4-game losing streak, Lindor’s return is quite possible the Mets’ last, best hope to salvage their 2026 season. Despite being 10 games under .500, the Mets are somehow only 7 games back of a wild card spot, though there are six teams between them and the Cubs in the 3rd wild card spot. Replacing Zack Short and some of Brett Baty’s playing time with Lindor will certainly help, though Lindor was batting only .226/.314/.355 (93 wRC+) at the time of his injury and showing some troubling markers of decline. Hopefully he can stave off father time a bit longer and help propel the Mets on a little run heading into the All Star break.

The morning after Kodai Senga's latest nightmare outing, when he allowed seven runs on three hits (including two homers) while walking five in 3.2 innings against the Cubs, the right-hander was moved to the Mets' bullpen.

Senga, who is meticulous about his routines and has never pitched in the bullpen during the regular season, will now be asked to adapt to a new role amid a season where he has a 10.08 ERA and 1.91 WHIP and has walked 7.2 batters per nine innings.

"Just like some of the other guys, he could be pitching multi innings," manager Carlos Mendoza said about Senga's potential usage in relief. "He could be pitching high-leverage situations if we need him to. The game will dictate. We saw what he's capable of doing -- we've seen flashes of it. 

"You see that first inning yesterday, he comes out throwing 98, 99, just throwing that fastball by people. I think it's just keeping it simple out of that role. We told him: you pitch an inning, you gotta be ready to go the next day. I know there's gonna be an adjustment here. We'll take care of him, obviously. But he's one of those guys now in the bullpen."

It has been disaster after disaster for Senga after he began the season with strong starts on March 31 and April 5.

In five starts since then, with a lengthy injury and minor league rehab assignment in between the first three and the last two, Senga has a 15.19 ERA (11.73 FIP) in 16.0 innings while allowing 22 hits (including nine homers) and walking 17 batters.

Senga has had repeated injury issues since his terrific rookie season in 2023, and his struggles this year are a continuation of his late-season performance in 2025 -- when he had a 6.56 ERA in 8 starts from July 11 through Aug. 31.

He accepted a minor league assignment last September, but could not get to a place where he was comfortable returning to the majors.

Senga now joins a bullpen that includes late-inning options Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley, and A.J. Minter, as well as Austin Warren, Cionel Perez, and Tobias Myers. 

Senga's only big league relief appearance came during the 2024 NLCS against the Dodgers, when he was being eased back in after a lengthy injury. 

As far as Senga's long-term future in New York, it's unclear.

Through an interpreter, Senga told Will Sammon of The Athletic on Wednesday that it's his preference to not go to the minors. That complicates things, since the Mets need his consent in order to option him.

He has one guaranteed year left on the contract he signed before the 2023 season, and is owed $15 million in 2027. There is a conditional club option for 2028 that will be available to the Mets if Senga has Tommy John surgery or a right elbow injury that keeps him on the IL for 130 or more days.

SITE NOTE: Here’s how all the BCB threads will go for today’s doubleheader. This is a normal game preview as would be the case for any afternoon away game. Since this is a split doubleheader, I’ll write a recap after the first game and also include the pitcher matchup and other info for the nightcap. That recap will post as soon as possible after Game 1 is over. Now, on to the particulars for the first game of today’s doubleheader.

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We don’t yet know who the Cubs’ 27th man for the doubleheader is, but we do know this:

RHP Gavin Hollowell is also here. https://t.co/vsGD4z6fxt

— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) June 24, 2026

So, my guess is: Vince Velasquez is the 27th man, with Edward Cabrera to the 60-day IL to make room for him on the 40-man roster. Gavin Hollowell is recalled to replace Cabrera on the 26-man active roster and will stick around for a while, at least until the Cubs decide who’s going to take Cabrera’s spot in the rotation. That spot doesn’t come up until Sunday.

I know, clear as mud. As always, we await developments.

Wednesday notes…

• DOUBLEHEADER FACTS: This will be the Cubs’ second doubleheader of the season. The first, at Cleveland on Sunday, April 5, was due to a rainout the previous day. The Cubs won, 1-0, then lost, 6-5. The Cubs swept their only twin bill last year, at home vs. the Brewers, 6-4 and 4-1. They have not swept any of their last eight doubleheaders on the road, splitting five and dropping both games of three. Splits: 2023, 2022 and 2018 at Cincinnati; 2017 at Colorado; 2015 at Pittsburgh. Swept: 2024 and 2022 at St. Louis; 2018 at Washington. The split in 2015 at Pittsburgh was on Sept. 15. Four days earlier, on the 11th, the Cubs won twice at Philadelphia. In the first game, Jake Arrieta gave up one run on six hits and two walks in eight innings, then Justin Grimm pitched a scoreless ninth to complete a 5-1 win. In the second, Kyle Schwarber homered twice and Kris Bryant once, as the Cubs won, 7-3. Bryant and Miguel Montero each had three of the Cubs’ 12 hits. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RUN SCORING, PART 1: The Cubs have scored at least six runs in four consecutive games, tying for their second-longest streak of the season, April 21-24. They did it in five straight April 12-17. Last year, they had one streak of five games and two of four. They have not had a streak of more than five in 26 years, since they had six in a row April 22-28, 2000. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• RUN SCORING, PART 2: In their last four games, the Cubs have scored 39 runs (eight, 16, six and nine), their second most in a four-game span this season, after 40, April 13-17 (seven, 10, 11, 12). (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel combined to no-hit the Dodgers in Los Angeles, as the Cubs won 4-0. The four pitchers combined to walk eight (!) Dodgers hitters in the first combined no-hitter in Cubs history. It happened five years ago today, Thursday, June 24, 2021.

Cubs lineup:

Game 1 of 2 today.

Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/v3DmGlCM6s

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 24, 2026

Mets lineup:

Game 1 starters #LGMpic.twitter.com/3foY2jwXaT

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 24, 2026

Javier Assad, RHP vs. Nolan McLean, RHP

Javier Assad has been a revelation since his recall from Triple-A Iowa. In three starts this month since that recall: 1.00 ERA, 0.611 WHIP, two runs allowed (both on solo homers). His season numbers are now pretty much in line with his career before this year.

Assad is kind of a Kyle Hendricks-type pitcher. He just gets guys out.

He did that April 19 vs. the Mets at Wrigley Field — 5.2 innings, three hits, one run. That’d do for tonight’s game. I’d say.

Nolan McLean was a Top 10 MLB prospect last year and had a brief eight-start cameo with the Mets. One of those games was against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Sept. 25, 2025. He struck out 11, but the Cubs also scored five off him in five innings, including a home run by Dansby Swanson and two long balls by Seiya Suzuki.

This year most of McLean’s starts have been pretty good, save for a two-start run in May in which he allowed 13 earned runs in nine innings. Since then: four starts, 1.64 ERA, 1.091 WHIP.

Overall he has a 28.2 percent K rate and 9.3 percent walk rate. This will not be an easy pitcher to hit.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Citi Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin’ Avenue. If you do go there to interact with Mes fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

For those of us who grew up in the mid-2000s, Phil Hughes was the first real Yankees super-prospect. Drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft, the young right-hander shot up prospect boards and through the Yankees farm system, taking the league by storm even before officially making his Major League debut. Injuries and unerperformance ultimately consigned Hughes to the list of “Top Could-Have-Beens of Yankees History,” but not before he emerged as a critical part of 2009’s World Series run.

Philip Joseph Hughes
Born: June 24, 1986 (Mission Viejo, CA)
Yankees Tenure: 2007-13

A lifelong Red Sox fan despite being born and raised in California, Hughes signed with the Yankees for $1.4 million, foregoing his commitment to Santa Clara University. Following a brief run in rookie ball after signing — shoulder tendinitis limited him to just five innings — he began turning heads during his first full professional season, reaching High-A Tampa despite, once again, being limited by injuries.

When he received an invitation to spring training in 2006 at just 19 years of age, Hughes was ranked as Baseball America’s 39th overall prospect. Immediately, his future teammates took notice. Jason Giambi compared him to Roger Clemens, Jorge Posada declared him “the best arm in camp,” and Alex Rodriguez turned to senior vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman after facing him in live batting practice and asked, “Who the [heck] is that guy?” While his age and lack of professional experience meant that he received a ticket back to the minors, he quickly showed that he was ready for more, flirting with a pair of no-hitters and winning the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award.

Although Hughes started 2007 in Triple-A Scranton, it was only a matter of time before he would get the call to the Bronx, and on April 26 — earlier than expected due to a flood of injuries to the rotation, and simultaneously delayed a day due to rain — the Yankees’ top prospect made his Major League debut. His first start was OK, but forgettable, as he allowed four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings. Five days later, though, Hughes announced his arrival to the league, flirting with a no-hitter across 6.1 innings…before feeling a pop in his hamstring and becoming the fifth Yankees pitcher to hit the injured list in less than a month.

Hughes would not return to the rotation until August, where he showed enough promise that the Yankees opted not to trade for Johan Santana and instead penciled him into the 2008 starting rotation, alongside fellow youngster Ian Kennedy.

The decision to roll with the kids backfired horribly for the Yankees. Injuries limited Hughes to just eight starts, and even when healthy, he was horrendous, allowing 26 runs in 34 innings, and his failures on the mound were part of the reason the Yankees went out and acquired both CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett that offseason. Relegated to rotation depth, Hughes put together an inconsistent start to the season, surrendering eight runs on May 9th, tossing eight shutout innings on May 25th, and allowing three or four runs in four of his other five starts. With Chien-Ming Wang returning to the rotation after a few appearances in relief, the Yankees relegated Hughes to bullpen duty…where he suddenly morphed himself into a shut-down setup man.

From the first of June through the end of the season, Hughes was the most valuable reliever in baseball, posting a league-leading 2.1 fWAR, a miniscule 1.40 ERA, and a dominant 33.7 strikeout percentage (fourth in baseball among relievers with at least 30 innings of work in that span). His performance in the bullpen was so valuable that, when Wang hit the injured list again in July, the team opted not to return Hughes to the rotation. Between him and David Robertson, the Yankees’ biggest weakness — the bridge to Mariano Rivera — had been repaired.

And while he struggled in October, his teammates picked him up, as Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and Dámaso Marté locked down the middle innings and brought a World Series championship back to the Bronx.

The 2009 season turned out to be the main highlight of Hughes’ Yankees career. Returned to the rotation in 2010, Hughes earned an All-Star nod, but faded in the second half before falling apart against the Rangers in the ALCS. Significantly, he began to develop a propensity for the long ball, and without the swing-and-miss stuff he had flashed early but which he could never access with any consistency, that is a recipe for disaster in the Bronx. Across the next three years, he made 79 appearances (75 starts) and went 25-32 with a 4.83 ERA, accruing just 0.4 rWAR. While it did include some hot stretches, including a dominant performance in the 2012 playoffs, it was capped off by a disastrous 2013 that can be summed up by the fact that he allowed a .260/.320/.461 slash line to opposing batters after jumping ahead 0-2 against them.

To his credit, Hughes managed to pull his career out of the toilet after leaving for Minnesota in free agency. He found himself on the cusp of the Cy Young conversation in 2014, setting the record for the highest K/BB ratio in baseball history (11.63), earning him a three-year, $42 million contract extension.

Unfortunately, the injury bug resurfaced, as back problems, a fractured femur, and thoracic outlet syndrome robbed Hughes of most of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. After 23 appearances between the Twins and Padres in 2018, Hughes was released, and although he didn’t retire until 2021, he never returned to the Show again.

Since stepping away from the game, Hughes has kept baseball part of his life, running a YouTube channel where he pulls various cards. He has been invited to Yankees Old-Timers’ Days, including the 2024 15th anniversary celebration of the 2009 champs, but he has not attended any. Perhaps it’s simply because–as he himself pointed out–he was not really an “old-timer” in terms of age just yet.

Well Phil, we hate to break it to you, but now that you’re turning 40 today, you’re probably in that realm! Here’s hoping that he has a happy birthday and that comes back around the Bronx sometime soon.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

I have never been a big league hitter. I received some hitting instruction as a youth, but it was mostly “keep your eye on the ball”, “be a hitter”, and “stop adjusting yourself down there so much.” Big leaguers get all sorts of more sophisticated hitting advice from not only their hitting coach, but the assistant hitting coach, the assistant to the assistant hitting coach, the director of hitting, the doctor of hit-ology, and the Chief Strategic Officer for Launch Angle Excellence and Exit Velocity Innovation. And that’s only within the organization! They also probably have their own personal hitting coach, a hitting academy they visit in the off-season, their dad (make contact or I’m not visiting you this holiday season!), and their buddy Little Jim, who thinks everyone would hit .300 if they just stopped swinging for their fences (its just that easy!).

So I don’t really know what Alec Zumwalt, the Royals’ Director of Hitting Performance, actually does. But he is in charge of overseeing how the Royals develop hitters. And in case you haven’t noticed, the Royals have not been particularly good at hitting over the last two seasons. They finished last year with the fifth-fewest runs scored per game and were abysmal with runners in scoring position. This year they got off to a very similar start, burying the team in the standings early on. There were calls to fire Zumwalt. Even from me!

They don’t walk. They don’t hit for power. They swing too much, chase too much, and yet, are far too patient on the first pitch. They hit too many flyballs for a team that doesn’t hit the ball hard. They are also terrible at hitting fastballs, which should be the easiest pitch to hit. In short, while Zumwalt has advocated for a strategy of identifying a good pitch to hit and doing damage to it, the Royals have utterly failed.

Yet despite a growing list of injuries, the offense has begun to flourish this month. Royals hitters are batting .284/.349/.460 in June, with a 121 wRC+ that ranks seventh in baseball, and they are second in the majors with 5.9 runs per game.

Arguably Zumwalt’s most important job has been overseeing the development of the Royals’ two prized hitting prospects—Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone. Those two lefty power hitters are the future of this lineup, and brother, the future is starting to look really bright. Jensen is hitting .280/.325/.507 this month, and has his season wRC+ at 100, which is impressive considering the average rookie catcher has a wRC+ of 81.

Meanwhile, Caglianone is on another planet right now. A planet of home run-hitting beasts! This month, he is hitting .373/.453/.773 with nine home runs and a 10.5 percent walk rate. His June wRC+ of 232 is better than anyone in baseball, save for Pete Crow-Armstrong.

And it does appear that the hitters have made changes. As friend of the site Jack Johnson pointed out, Jensen has opened his stance and moved his hands up.

Left: June 7th @ Minnesota
Right : June 21st vs. St. Louis

In that span of two weeks, Jensen has slashed .386/.429/.682 with nine XBH.

Stance is a little more open. Hands are a little higher. #Royalspic.twitter.com/Z2riRAMMpF

— Jack Johnson (@JohnyJ_15) June 22, 2026

Jac Caglianone has also appeared to make some changes, simplifying his stance and shortening the distance between his bat and the ball.

Jac Caglianone is rocking a 1.144 OPS in the month of June! 🚀@CY24_7 breaks down how the @Royals slugger is keeping it simple in the box and using his strength to his advantage. pic.twitter.com/a2FYkP21vc

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 23, 2026

Now don’t get me wrong, the offense overall is still near the bottom of the league. Those shutouts back in April still count, and the team buried itself in a hole that may be too deep to escape from. Zumwalt is responsible for more than just two hitters, and the Royals have received disappointing production from Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, Jonathan India, and Isaac Collins.

But those are veterans, many of whom may have been dealing with injuries much of the season. Hitting coaches and coordinators often have a greater impact on younger players than on established veterans who already have years of ingrained habits. And it is not just Jensen and Caglianone that are coming on, the Royals have gotten impressive offensive streaks from young hitters like Michael Massey and Nick Loftin lately that could provide more depth to the lineup.

As the injuries pile up, this is looking more and more like a lost season. But the Royals could use this as an evaluation season for several young hitters. And at least this month, they look like they could be on the right track. I’m not ready to issue a full mea culpa to Zumwalt quite yet, but the recent results suggest something may be working.