Category: Sports News

Alex Cooper appeared to thoroughly enjoy herself during her seventh-inning stretch performance Sunday at Wrigley Field.

Not everyone on hand for the Chicago Cubs' game against the St. Louis Cardinals seemed to feel the same way about the "Call Her Daddy" podcast host's throaty, off-key and completely tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

The MLB tradition of singing the classic tune between the top and bottom of the seventh inning was popularized by the legendary late Chicago White Sox and Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, whose vocals weren't close to pristine but were unquestionably earnest.

Cooper was cheered as she was announced over the loudspeaker as the latest guest to lead the stadium in the tradition.

"All right, Daddy Gang and Cubs fans, are you ready? You've never seen something like this," Cooper said with a laugh before launching into the song with the intro made famous by Caray: "Ah one! Ah two! Ah three!"

For many fans in attendance, the performance went downhill from there. Cooper belted out the song in an unnaturally low key and overly dramatic fashion, laughing often as she and two companions attempted to accompany the vocal performance with a few dance moves.

.@alexandracooper brought the energy for Sunday Night Baseball 😂

📺 Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN pic.twitter.com/gZbjVMQvuD

— espnW (@espnW) July 7, 2025

For what might have been intended as a big finish, the backup dancers attempted to hoist Cooper onto their shoulders.

Cooper was clearly having a blast. And to be clear, a number of folks at the stadium could be heard singing along as they would during any seventh-inning stretch. But as this clip from the performance shows, there were many others who expressed their displeasure with Cooper's intentionally bizarre performance.

Cooper's appearance at Wrigley was part of the "Big Al’s Takeover" promotion, with fans who purchased a special ticket package receiving a commemorative Cubs jersey with Cooper's Unwell branding on the back.

"You don’t want to miss Alex lead the crowd in 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' during the seventh-inning stretch," an article on the Cubs website had promised.

A number of fans seem to wish that they had.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Casey Schmitt activated from IL, playing second base; Tyler Fitzgerald optioned  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants made three roster moves ahead of Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park.

San Francisco activated infielder Casey Schmitt from the 10-day injured list, and he is hitting sixth and making his first start of the season at second base. 

The Giants also announced that they optioned infielder Tyler Fitzgerald to Triple-A Sacramento as the corresponding roster move.

Additionally, catcher Logan Porter cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed a minor-league contract with the Giants.

Schmitt, who started 29 games at second base between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, has been sidelined since late June with a left wrist injury after getting hit by a pitch.

Casey Schmitt and the Oracle Park crowd weren't happy after this hit by pitch 😡 pic.twitter.com/vIvGT1Vfbh

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 26, 2025

Before his injury, the 26-year-old served as the Giants’ third baseman after taking over for then-injured Matt Chapman.

Schmitt is batting .276/.360/.439 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 98 plate appearances.

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This year’s Subway Series was a true back-and-forth battle. 

The Yankees found themselves on top following the Bronx half of the rivalry, taking two out of three in their home ballpark last month. 

When the series turned to Citi Field this week, though, the Mets were ready to answer back. 

Both teams found themselves struggling a bit heading into the three-game weekend set, but the boys in orange and blue were able to build off the momentum of their series win over the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Jeff McNeil’s late-inning homer pushed them in front on Friday, then a nine RBI effort from Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo helped them secure the series victory on Saturday. 

Even running out a shorthanded bullpen game on Sunday, the Mets were able to rally and keep things close in the late innings, but closer Devin Williams worked a 1-2-3 ninth to salvage the finale for the Bombers.

Still, it was a tremendous effort in front of a rocking hometown crowd. 

“That was a hell of a series,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Even on a day like today the guys fought back, we went down and just kept fighting. The at-bats were there throughout the day, we just came up short today -- overall the whole series, I’m proud of the guys.”

The at-bats definitely were there throughout the contest -- the Mets made life very tough on Yankees All-Star Max Fried, who battled his way through five innings of work to earn his team-high 11th victory of the season. 

The ace southpaw has dominated this group over his career, but gave credit where it was due. 

“It’s a deep lineup over there,” he said. “You’ve got the top of the order of guys who can really do some damage, but every guy can get on base, they can run the bases, and they can do a lot of little things to create runs or have the big inning too. 

“You know you have to be on top of all facets of the game and be able to move the ball around because they like to see a lot of pitches and really grind you out.”

And it wasn’t just Fried who had nothing but positives to note about this relentless group -- Yankees captain Aaron Judge also offered high praise for the Mets after battling it out to a season-series split. 

He's hoping to see them again later this year in a potential Subway Series Fall Classic.

“They’ve got a great ballclub over there,” Judge said. “It starts with their manager Mendy, who I’ve seen for years over here, you know he’s gonna do everything he can to get the boys fired up and ready to go.

“They have a great pitching staff, their lineup is deep and they added a guy like Juan Soto in the middle so it’s always gonna be a tough matchup -- they are one of the toughest teams we’ve faced, hopefully looking forward to seeing them down the road.”

The New York Rangers’ Vladislav Gavrikov signing could have gone a slightly different way. 

At the start of the Free Agent Frenzy, the Rangers signed Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract. 

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Rangers almost had to give up assets in order to bring Gavrikov on board. 

“With Gavrikov, they tried to do a sign-and-trade with the Rangers,” Friedman said. “It fell apart, it obviously didn’t happen. It makes me wonder if LA ever had a chance to re-sign him or if he was just determined to go to the Rangers.”

The Rangers were the favorites to land Gavrikov for weeks as, and despite the Kings engaging in contract extension negotiations with Gavrikov’s camp, he ultimately decided to hit the open market and quickly joined the Blueshirts. 

Many even speculated that Gavrikov could have garnered more money, but he instead took a slight pay cut to sign with the Rangers. 

Vladislav Gavrikov Is The Most Important Piece Of The Rangers' Massive Defensive Reconstruction The New York Rangers made a substantial financial commitment, giving defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov a seven-year, $49 million contract. 

The 29-year-old defenseman is expected to play top-four minutes with the Rangers and could even possibly slot on the top-pairing alongside Adam Fox. 

This past season with the Kings, Gavrikov recorded five goals, 25 assists, and 30 points in 82 games while averaging 23:05 minutes.

Seattle Kraken restricted free agent Kaapo Kakko has filed for arbitration alongside 10 other RFAs.

Kakko is due for a raise from his expired $2.4-million contract he signed with the New York Rangers. The 24-year-old was acquired from the Rangers during the 2024-25 season, sending defenseman Will Borgen and a 2025 third-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Upon joining the Kraken, Kakko scored 10 goals and 30 points in 49 games, and after combining his stats with the Kraken and the Rangers, Kakko set a new career-high in points with 44. 

Although Kakko has filed for arbitration, he and the organization remain hopeful that they can come to an agreement before the arbitration meetings commence. 

The deadline for club-elected salary arbitration was on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. Now the arbitration hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 4. Arbitration hearings can become a bit nasty, with the team making the case of why they shouldn't be paid as highly as they'd want, and the player making the case for why they deserve the salary they desire.

Eleven players have elected for salary arbitration according to @NHLPA. ⬇️

Deadline for club elected salary arbitration is Sunday evening. pic.twitter.com/F2Lxclqn38

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 5, 2025

So far in Seattle, Kakko has developed great chemistry with Matty Beniers and developed relationships with fellow Finns, Eeli Tolvanen and rookie Jani Nyman. 

The Kraken have expressed a desire to find a solution, but have been open about the recent struggles while trying to find a middle ground. Arbitration will solve those issues and ensure a deal. 

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Kraken Extend Qualifying Offers To Evans, Kakko and KartyeThe Seattle Kraken have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Ryker Evans, Kaapo Kakko and Tye Kartye.

The reserves and pitchers for this year’s All-Star Game were announced on Sunday night. 

Francisco Lindor was already set to represent the organization for the first time in his Mets career after being selected as the NL’s starting shortstop via fan voting. 

Now he’ll have two teammates joining him -- Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz. 

Surprisingly not on that list is Juan Soto, who has been widely regarded as one of the biggest snubs heading into this year’s event. 

Instead, we’ll see Miami’s Kyle Stowers, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll, Washington’s James Wood, and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. serve as the NL’s outfield reserves next week in Atlanta. 

This snaps a four-year stretch in which Soto has participated in All-Star festivities. 

“Sometimes you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t, that’s just part of baseball,” he told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “It looks like I didn’t [do enough this year]. I’ve just got to be better.”

Soto started his Mets career on a bit of a low note based on his incredibly high standards, but of late he’s been making a strong case for the honors. 

The big-money outfielder was particularly locked in during June -- securing the NL Player of the Month after slashing an incredible .322/.474/.722 with 11 home runs, 20 RBI, 25 walks, and 25 runs scored. 

His 11 homers tied the most he’s hit in a single month. He also joined Darryl Strawberry as just the second player in franchise history with 10-plus home runs and 20-plus walks in a calendar month.

Soto’s been able to carry that success over to the first few days of July -- he now finds himself 10th in baseball with 21 long balls, he’s driven in 52 runs, and is up to a much more respectable .904 OPS on the season.

Still, it appears his mid-season turnaround won’t be enough this year. 

“Everyone wants to be an All-Star and live the experience of being there,” he said. “I was glad I was able to be there four years in a row, if I didn’t make it this year, it’s no big deal. I’ll come back stronger next year.”