A year ago, Edwin Diaz pitched in the All-Star Game. Now he’s working toward rejoining the Los Angeles Dodgers after having elbow surgery, while addressing the present and the past.
“I think I been doing that before,’’ Diaz told reporters about cockfighting in Puerto Rico, where he was born and raised. “….but now I’m concentrated to help this team to win. I’m concentrated to be back and ready as soon as possible. So I’m not thinking much on that.’’
Diaz, 32, said he did nothing illegal, but a federal ban on cockfighting in all 50 states and U.S. territories took effect in Puerto Rico in 2019.
He said he has not been contacted by the Major League Baseball commissioner’s office, and an MLB spokesman said the league had no comment.
Diaz’s public remarks about the issue were the first since USA TODAY Sports published stories about his general involvement and broader operation. He made them while responding to a question after his first rehab stint.
On Saturday Diaz pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Ontario Tower Buzzers, the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate in Southern California. He’s likely to pitch in another minor-league game as soon as this weekend.
Edwin Diaz is also listed among 40 participants for a cockfighting tournament Friday, July 17 at Club Gallistico of Puerto Rico, according to a photo posted on the club's Facebook page. Attempts to reach the Club Gallistico to confirm the Edwin Diaz listed is the pitcher were unsuccessful.
The name Edwin Diaz has been listed as a participant for tournaments at Club Gallistico of Puerto Rico more than half a dozen times since the Dodgers' closer was put on the injured list April 20.
A Dodgers spokesman told USA TODAY Sports Diaz would not answer questions from USA TODAY Sports because he is busy getting ready for his comeback.
Diaz played for the New York Mets last season when he was an All-Star for the third time of his career.
He was a free agent after the 2025 season when he joined the Dodgers after signing a three-year, $69 million contract. This season, he had a 10.50 ERA in seven appearances before he ended up on the injured list with an elbow injury.
In April, Diaz had arthroscopic surgery to remove fragments of bone and cartilage from his right elbow, and he is expected to return after the All-Star break in July.
As mentioned in the story above, the plan, since we spoke with Gustafsson at the podium on night one of the NHL Draft, was for him to return to the SHL for a second season with SV71 before coming over to join the organization.
The Hockey News has been told, despite signing his ELC, that plan has not changed.
Gustafsson is eligible to come over and join the Islanders organization, whether that's at the AHL or the NHL level, when his season comes to an end, like we saw with Victor Eklund this past season.
Like with Eklund, though, don't expect Gustafsson to take part in Islanders training camp this fall.
PHOENIX - MARCH 8, 2006: A fan uses his glove for a pillow as he sleeps in the upperdeck prior to the game between USA and Canada on Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Canada defeated USA 8-6. (Photo by Jason Wise/MLB via Getty Images) | MLB via Getty Images
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The D-backs entered the All-Star break with a record of 49-47, in second place in the NL West, and coming off a sweep of the reigning World Champions. I think we would probably have taken that on Opening Day, especially considering the Vegas sports books had Arizona predicted to be under .500 this season. It’s on pace for an 83-game final mark which… might be good enough to get us a playoff spot? Probably not though. But it’s not as if the team is lacking ways to improve. First-base has been historically terrible. CF and DH not much better. Our rotation currently consists of E-Rod, guys with ERA+ of 80 and 92, and two more who combined have six career starts and a 5.70 ERA.
Personally, I’m wondering how the heck we are above .500, especially considering the team has been outscored (by thirteen runs, 416-429) and are just okay in one-run games (16-14 – no team in the NL has played more of them). There are positives. The bullpen ERA of 4.00 is the lowest for the Diamondbacks since 2018. But that’s still only 14th-best in the majors. Corbin Carroll, despite the recent slump, is still deservedly an All-Star, Geraldo Perdomo has bounced back, and Gabriel Moreno might be the first-half MVP. Eduardo Rodriguez has been amazing, and Paul Sewald has a better save percentage than many, far more highly-paid closers.
The All-Star break is a chance to sit back, take stock and see where the team sits. The record is the same as Arizona were in 2024, and three games better than last year, at the same point. But it is five games below where the D-backs sat after 96 contests, the last time they made the post-season, in 2023. It feels like the team dodged a bullet in Los Angeles. A defeat, or worse yet, a sweep, and rather than 49-47, we could have been as bad as 46-50. Mike Hazen might have been leaning over to pull the plug in that situation. Instead, it feels like adding a good first baseman/DH, and perhaps a starting pitcher, and the team could be well-placed for a second-half push.
Or is it the case that the team simply has too many holes to fill? You answer to that question likely is related to how you feel the team performed in the first half, and that’s what this week’s poll is about. We have our usual five options, and of course, please explain yourself in the comment section below…
It’s been 30 years since Philadelphia has hosted the All-Star Game, but as the country marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s hard to imagine a better host for tonight’s festivities. Only one current Chicago Cub will take the field tonight for the National League squad, but with Pete Crow-Armstrong putting up some of the best defensive numbers in baseball while simultaneously looking to repeat the 30-30 season he posted in 2025, is certainly one of the players to watch tonight. After all, PCA will head into tonight’s action leading all of MLB in fWAR with 6.0 WAR accumulated so far this season. As we get ready for the Midsummer Classic, let’s take a closer look through the lens of some Statcast metrics and the AL and NL players to watch.
The Lineups
First things first, let’s take a closer look at each squad, beginning with the starting lineup:
The AL starters run Shea Langeliers behind the plate, Ben Rice at first, Ernie Clement at second, Junior Caminero at third, Bobby Witt Jr. at short, Mike Trout, Riley Greene and Cody Bellinger in the outfield, and Yordan Alvarez at DH. Expect leadoff man Trout to gets a hero’s welcome. After all, the kid who grew up playing in New Jersey is essentially in his backyard. Over on the NL side, former Cub and 2016 World Series hero, Kyle Schwarber will lead off in front of a hometown crowd at Citizens Bank Park. He’s followed by Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, CJ Abrams, Max Muncy, Ozzie Albies, Brandon Marsh (another Phillie making his All-Star debut), Andy Pages and Drake Baldwin.
While these lineups are stacked, some of the players putting up the best numbers this season will come into the game later as replacements. Say what you will about fans voting for the starting lineup, but it really is absurd that a player like James Wood, who is slashing .279/.410/.575 with a wRC+ of 166 and 4.6 fWAR so far this season isn’t starting.
Let’s Talk Barrels
Speaking of James Wood, he’s built that strong season on some monster underlying stats. He’s got a .437 xwOBA (which as a reminder, stands for expected wOBA. wOBA is a stat that weights on base percentage by giving players more credit for extra base hits). Wood is barreling the ball 22.7 percent of the time, a 5.7 percent improvement over a year ago and probably a big reason he’s already got 28 home runs. PCA is also on the bench for the NL with a career high 48.6 percent hard hit rate to pair with his elite glove. Check out this leadoff home run from Wood against the Yankees on Sunday [VIDEO].
The AL bench also has some firepower, starting with Munetaka Murakami’s 20% barrel rate, the highest on the AL roster with Aaron Judge (and his 21.4 percent barrel rate) sitting out the competition. Old friend Willson Contreras, who put on a bit of a show last night in the first round of the Home Run Derby, is also on the bench for the American League. His 14.3 percent barrel rate and 54.7 percent pull rate is a big reason he’s already got 20 home runs on the 2026 campaign (for reference, his career high in home runs is the 24 he hit in 409 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2019).
The Pitchers
Dylan Cease will start the game for the American League squad, he’s been excellent at suppressing barrels this season for the Toronto Blue Jays giving them up just 4.4% of the time. That mark is good for third in all of baseball behind the presumed NL starter (who will miss this game due to “soreness”) Jacob Misiorwoski (3.2%) and the San Francisco Giants Landon Roupp (who did not make the NL squad but has only given up barrels on 3.8% of hits so far this season). Check out Cease flirting with a no-hitter during his last start against the Giants [VIDEO].
The National League will counter with hometown ace Cristopher Sánchez, who leads baseball among qualified starters in ground ball rate, with an absurd 57.8 percent of batters generating ground balls off his pitch offerings. That probably goes a long way to explaining his 2.62 ERA off a 2.70 FIP so far this season. Sánchez will be joined on the bench by a cast of flame throwers including the Pirates Paul Skenes and the Padres Mason Miller, who Cubs fans no doubt remember from these absurd pitches 100+ miles per hour during last year’s Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field [VIDEO].
Who’s got the edge?
If this were a pure power contest, I’d call it a coin flip. Murakami and Yordan Alvarez can match anyone the NL trots out, swing for swing. But All-Star Games are decided in flashes, not innings. The best batters in the world facing off against the games most unhittable pitchers would be high drama all on its own. It’s a new level of difficulty when you only get to see each of those pitchers one time before a new guy throwing 100 miles per hour or a wicked slider enters the game.
Both rosters are stacked with talent, but the NL bench looks a tad deeper than the AL bench. If the Senior Circuit can keep things close early, I’d look for PCA, Wood or maybe Sal Stewart to make their mark late in a close contest. But who knows? It could end in a tie like last year’s, treating all of us to another Home Run Swing Off [VIDEO].
England white-ball captain Harry Brook said Brendon McCullum’s sacking as Test coach was “disappointing” as India won the first ODI by six wickets at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 13: Justin Wrobleski #70, Andy Pages #44, Freddie Freeman #5, Max Muncy #13 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pose for a photo during the 2026 All-Star player photoshoot at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, July 13, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The lineups for the 2026 All-Star Game were released on Monday and just like last year’s lineup, three Dodgers will be starting for the National League at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Freddie Freeman moves up a spot in the starting lineup, going from cleanup last year to hitting third this year. This is Freeman’s fifth consecutive All-Star selection since signing with the Dodgers, and this is the 10th selection of his career. Freeman will be starting the All-Star game for the sixth time in his career.
Max Muncy starts his very first All-Star game, batting fifth in the lineup becoming the first Dodger third baseman to start the game since Ron Cey in 1977. This is Muncy’s third All-Star selection and his first since 2021.
Andy Pages is the biggest newcomer to the All-Star game for the Dodgers, as the center fielder will hit eighth in the starting lineup after being selected for the first time in his career.
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease starts for the American League, while Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez gets the nod for the National League at his home ballpark on Tuesday.
Kyle Schwarber, DH Juan Soto, LF Freddie Freeman, 1B CJ Abrams, SS Max Muncy, 3B Ozzie Albies, 2B Brandon Marsh, RF Andy Pages, CF Drake Baldwin, C Cristopher Sánchez, P
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The MLB All-Star break got started yesterday when St. Louis’ Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby with 12 homers in the final round, for a total of 31 over three rounds, putting him ahead of Kyle Schwarber by one.
Tonight, it’s time for the Midsummer Classic.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game gets started at 8 p.m. ET tonight with some of baseball’s biggest stars on both the field and the bench. Both the National League and the American League’s starting position players were determined by fan vote, and the starting lineups will represent both New York teams.
The Yankees have two starting players for the American League: Ben Rice at first base and Cody Bellinger in the outfield. Mets left-fielder Juan Soto will start for the National League.
MLB All-Star Game 2026: what to know
When: July 14, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Channel: FOX
Streaming: DIRECTV (try it free)
The managers of last season’s AL and NL pennant winners will serve as All-Star team managers tonight. Blue Jays boss John Schneider will manage the American League’s team, while the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts will manage the National League for the second year in a row.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET tonight, July 14.
What channel is the MLB All-Star Game on?
The MLB All-Star Game will air live on FOX.
How to watch and stream MLB All-Star Game 2026 for free
If you don’t have cable or an antenna, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the MLB All-Star Game for free.
DIRECTV is our favorite service for watching live sports for free. Right now, you can take advantage of a five-day free trial before saving $30 on your first month. We recommend subscribing to the Choice plan, which includes FOX as part of its 125+ channels.
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 07: Juan Soto #22 and Carson Benge #3 of the New York Mets in action against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field on July 07, 2026 in New York City. The Royals defeated the Mets 16-12. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Mets’ poor first half continued right into the All-Star break. They had a bad time north of the border, dropping two out of three to the Blue Jays before losing the first two games in Atlanta as well. They then rebounded a bit, scratching out a split with the Braves and beating the Royals—one of the only teams with a worse record than the Mets—two out of three before falling on their faces over the weekend and getting swept by the Red Sox. The Mets have been bad in the first half in just about every facet of the game. Though heavily weighted by their early struggles, the Mets are 26th out of 30 teams in team wRC+ in the first half despite having one of the five best hitters on the league in their lineup most nights. Though the Mets’ pair of rookie outfielders have met or exceeded expectations, nearly everyone else on the position player side has fallen short due to underperformance, injury, or both.
Player
Last week
This week
Francisco Alvarez, C
Brett Baty, UTIL
Carson Benge, OF
Bo Bichette, 3B
A.J. Ewing, OF
Francisco Lindor, SS
Ronny Mauricio, INF
Jorge Polanco, DH
Zack Short, INF
—
Juan Soto, OF
Tyrone Taylor, OF
—
Luis Torrens, C
Mark Vientos, 1B/3B
Eric Wagaman, 1B/DH
Jared Young, 1B/DH
The biggest development on the position player side in the couple of weeks before the break is the long-awaited return of Jorge Polanco from the injured list. Polanco has been exclusively DHing and not playing the field in order to keep his Achilles bursitis at bay. Unfortunately, after a promising start, Polanco has sputtered to a 29 wRC+ in his first 18 appearances. He had just three hits and one extra base hit. He walked once, drove in a run, and scored a run. When Polanco was activated, Ronny Mauricio was sent down to Triple-A. Prior to being sent down, Mauricio had one hit and a run scored in eight plate appearances.
As one player returned from the injured list, another hit the injured list. After a dismal first half, things got even worse for Mark Vientos when he was hit on the hand with a Michael Wacha pitch, resulting in a fracture that will sideline him for quite a bit. This has resulted in a lot more playing time for Jared Young and Eric Wagaman. Young has been fine playing the lion’s share at first base, putting up a 103 wRC+ in 41 plate appearances. Of his eleven hits, three of them were doubles. He scored two runs, walked once, and drove in four runs. Wagaman has not fared as well, but as the righty in this pseudo platoon, he is not getting as many at-bats. He has just one hit and two walks in his last ten plate appearances. Zack Short took Mark Vientos’ spot on the roster and is providing defensive flexibility, but has gone hitless in his first seven plate appearances with a walk and two strikeouts.
As has been the case for the majority of the first half of the season, the Mets’ trio of outfielders have been their most consistently productive hitters. Elected to his first All-Star Game as a Met, Juan Soto posted a 153 wRC+ in 57 plate appearances over the past two weeks. His twelve RBIs were far and away the most on the team—more than twice as many as anybody else. The same goes for his thirteen walks. Three of those walks and three of those RBIs came in the series finale against the Braves in which Soto’s home run off Rasiel Iglesias in the top of the ninth gave the Mets the lead in a game they would go on to win in extra innings. It was one of four home runs for Soto over this 13-game span and in a season mostly devoid of great moments, one of the few highlights of the year. Soto’s defense, however, has been inconsistent. He made a highlight reel worthy catch in the Royals series to strand two runners, but then also dropped a routine fly ball on Friday night and his miscue in Toronto resulted in a Little League home run for George Springer.
A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge each knocked in five runs for the Mets over this 13-game stretch heading into the break and both of them are in the green for the second straight meter. Now entrenched in the leadoff spot, Ewing unsurprisingly led the team in runs scored with ten. Benge led the team in hits with 15 while Ewing was not far behind with 13. Ewing went deep an impressive three times in the past two weeks, hitting for more power than most expected. Benge led the team in past two weeks with four stolen bases. Benge put up a 136 wRC+ over 56 plate appearances while Ewing posted a 125 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances. In just half a season, both young outfielders have established themselves as a big part of the Mets’ future and legitimate Rookie of the Year candidates.
After looking like he was out of his long malaise, Bo Bichette has hit another brief slump right before the break, posting a mediocre 68 wRC+ in 46 plate appearances. Of his 11 hits, only one went for extra bases. He scored four runs, drove in five runs, and walked three times.
Francisco Lindor has been so-so with the bat lately, but he has been uncharacteristically horrendous defensively at shortstop. Though he drove in both runs in Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox, he then cost the Mets the game with an error on what should have been a game-ending double play. Instead, the Red Sox took the lead against Devin Williams in the ninth and won the game, spoiling what would have been Zack Thornton’s first big league win. Of Lindor’s ten hits in the past 13 games, four went for extra bases, including three home runs. He drove in five runs, scored seven runs, and walked four times.
Tyrone Taylor has had an unexpected power surge of late, going deep three times in just 23 plate appearances with a 209 wRC+. In fact, all but one of his six hits went for extra bases. Taylor scored five runs, drove in three runs, and walked twice. He has been mostly used against left-handed pitching, against which he fares far better than righties. Because of his usefulness as a defensive replacement and right-handed bat off the bench, he is a dark horse trade candidate.
Speaking of trade candidates, the Mets’ catchers both keep getting brought up as players teams are interested in. Francisco Alvarez put up a 105 wRC+ in 39 plate appearances in these past two weeks, racking up ten hits, including a double and a home run. That home run represented his only run scored, but he drove in four runs and walked twice. Luis Torrens drove in three runs, two of those being on a tenth inning double in the series finale against the Braves, helping to lead the Mets to a narrow victory. He scored five runs and walked three times, notching five hits in total.
After a rough couple of weeks, Brett Baty has clawed his way back to respectability with a 95 wRC+ in 51 plate appearances. With Marcus Semien on the injured list, Baty has been playing pretty much every day. His eight runs scored match Carson Benge for the second most on the team. He also matches Ewing’s 13 hits for the second most on the team. Five of those went for extra bases, including a home run. He drove in five runs and walked twice. Baty was also the only Met besides Benge to steal multiple bases during this 13-game span.
Detroit Tigers Jahmai Jones (18) looks out at the scoreboard during his game against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, June 21, 2026. | David Rodriguez-Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Well, we wondered if anyone would be interested after a disastrous first half, and it turns out the Boston Red Sox came calling. The Detroit Tigers have traded pinch-hitting, lefty mashing specialist Jahmai Jones to the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later.
Getting anything at all back for Jones is fine, as the Tigers just could no longer float Jones on the active roster considering his brutal performance in the first half of the season. Jones slashed an abysmal .137/.219/.221 with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate, two home runs, and a 27 wRC+, putting him over 70 percent worse than league average.
That came of the heels of a 2025 season where he slashed. 287/.387/.550 with seven homers in 150 plate appearances and a 159 wRC+. Nearly all of these at-bats came against left-handed pitching, but even in such a specified role, Jones couldn’t repeat his 2025 run. Teams started spinning in more breaking stuff while keeping fourseam fastballs out of his sweet spot and he just could not adjust with any success. After seeing 35.1 percent fourseam fastballs in 2025, he saw just 23.1 percent of them this season, and was unable to lay off the breaking stuff well enough to get into favorable counts where pitchers might have to challenge him.
Jones got plenty of leash to try and figure it out in May and early June after a rough April, but things just got worse and his playing time quickly dried up. His plate appearances went from 37 in April and 41 in May to just 25 in June.
The emergence of Ben Malgeri as at least a decently competent hitter who, unlike Jones, is a pretty solid outfielder, cut into his playing time, and the brief hand injury to Dillon Dingler gave 1B/C Eduardo Valencia a shot as well. It’s too early to get real excited about either option, although Valencia has been a lot of fun over the past week, but Valencia makes for at least as good an option as Jones even in the exceedingly specific role of pitch-hitting against left-handers. He also provides more defensive utility despite being mediocre behind the plate and at first base.
With Gleyber Torres and Javier Báez rehabbing with an eye toward a return around the end of July or early August, Jones was eventually going to be forced out anyway. The Tigers will be in a better spot in terms of left-right balance in their lineup when those two return. In the meantime, Dillon Dingler and Spencer Torkelson have absolutely dominated left-handed pitchers this season, limiting the relevance of the whole issue. Probably the easiest and cheapest way for the Tigers to upgrade their offense right now would be to find a temporary left-handed hitting first baseman, allowing them to keep Torkelson on the bench and ready to hit a lefty reliever more often. Colt Keith simply hasn’t had the playing time at the position to really be comfortable there, and the Tigers should get him more reps to open up more flexibility, as playing Torkelson full-time this year has really hurt them against right-handed pitching, despite the strength of the overall lineup against RHP.
We wish Jahmai Jones well. The Red Sox are in a similar position to the Tigers, trying to run down the American League leaders after a really rough start. The Green Monster in left makes for a pretty good park for Jones to try and turn his season around in. Maybe he’ll figure it out with a fresh start.
The #RedSox today acquired OF/DH Jahmai Jones from the Detroit Tigers, in exchange for a player to be named later.
To make room on the active roster, Boston optioned INF/OF Nate Eaton to Triple-A Worcester.
Apr 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard John Tonje (8) shoots during the second half against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
The NBA Summer League kicked off last Thursday, and several former Wisconsin Badgers have looked to make their names known as they battle to make their respective team’s rosters.
Last year, the Badgers had their first draft pick since 2022 when John Tonje was taken by the Utah Jazz in the second round. Tonje enjoyed a quality rookie season in the G League, averaging 18.1 points and 4.6 rebounds a game while splitting time with the Salt Lake City Stars (Utah’s G League affiliate) and the Maine Celtics (Boston Celtics G League affiliate) after being traded midseason.
Tonje is now playing for the Celtics Summer League team, and he’s been off to a fantastic start.
In Boston’s first game, Tonje had 20 points, hitting five threes, while having a clutch steal and dunk that helped seal a three-point overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors. In their next game against the Charlotte Hornets, Tonje had an efficient 17 points on 8 of 10 from the field, while hauling down five rebounds.
He did struggle a bit in Boston’s third game, scoring five points on 2 of 8 from the field in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Nick Boyd is also participating in this year’s Summer League after going undrafted last month in the 2026 NBA Draft. He signed a deal with the Golden State Warriors after the draft and is looking to compete for a roster spot or a G League spot there.
Playing on the Warriors Blue team during the California Classic, Boyd had a couple of solid games to kick off Summer League. He struggled in his first contest, scoring 11 points on 2 of 10 shooting in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. But Boyd followed that up with a double-double, dropping 11 points and 10 assists in a loss to the Sacramento Kings, while shooting 4 of 7 from the field.
In the final game of the California Classic, Boyd had 13 points and five assists, while shooting 5 of 13 from the field. He was the starting point guard for all three games on the Warriors’ second G League team.
Boyd has now played in one of the two games since the official G League start in Las Vegas. He did not suit up for Golden State’s first game, but had 14 points, two assists, and two rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench in the team’s most recent game, while shooting 5 of 6 from the field.
The other former Badger playing is center Steven Crowl, who signed a deal to play for the Detroit Pistons ahead of Summer League.
After being a DNP in Detroit’s first game, Crowl has seen some minutes off the bench for the Pistons in their last two contests. In their second game, an 11-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Crowl had two assists, a block, and an offensive rebound in eight minutes of action, while being a +5 in the box score.
He saw a bigger role in their third game, playing 19 minutes, while scoring five points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing out two more assists. He was a +6 in his minutes.
Summer League continues on Tuesday and will go on for the next few days, as each of the three players will look to make the most of their minutes. But, there have been some positives from Tonje, Boyd, and Crowl in their early action so far.
Major League Baseball has envisioned an extended 11-day All-Star break. The last regular-season games before the break would be on July 9, followed by the All-Star Game on July 11, likely at San Francisco, and the Olympic tournament at Dodger Stadium from July 13-19. The season would resume July 21.
“In general our players want to play in the Olympics. They’re patriotic, and for them it’s a special opportunity, and we want them to have that opportunity,” union head Bruce Meyer said Tuesday ahead of the All-Star Game. “Having said that, we want to make sure that they have things like travel and accommodations, and things that they deserve based on who they are.”
Five entities are involved in the negotiations: Major League Baseball, the players’ association, the International Olympic Committee, the LA28 local organizing committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Meyer characterized discussions as early.
“We’re focused on player quality of life,” Meyer said.
The United States qualified automatically as host, and the Dominican Republic and Venezuela earned berths based on their finish in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Asia and Europe/Oceania will have one spot each and the sixth nation will be determined during a final qualifying tournament.
“We went down the road on LA 2028 because we saw it as a unique opportunity to market the sport with our very, very best players,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “It is a disruptive undertaking for us. Put money to one side, you’re disrupting your entire season, and if we’re going to undertake that effort we want our very best out there so that people see how great our game really is.”
MLB wants player participation to be mandatory for those chosen along with those picked for future All-Star Games.
“The proposals they made in terms of what the discipline would be, the ramifications of a player who doesn’t want to do that, in our view were extreme,” Meyer said.
Meyer said San Francisco would be the 2028 All-Star Game site, but Manfred said MLB hasn’t made a final determination.
We’ve already reached the middle of July, and Samuel Montembeault is still a member of the Montreal Canadiens. As things stand, it is conceivable that for a second year in a row, the Canadiens will have three NHL-caliber goaltenders on their payroll.
Last season, Montembeault’s struggles led to Jacob Fowler being called up much earlier than expected, and the Melbourne, Florida native proved that he was up to the task and didn’t look out of place for a second. He may just be 21 years old, but he manned the crease like a seasoned vet and quickly earned his teammates’ trust. In 17 games, he posted a 9-6-2 record with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage, and picked up a shutout along the way.
Meanwhile, the man who was a seasoned vet had only a 10-8-4 record, a 3.43 GAA, and an .872 SV. As for Jakub Dobes, he was in net for most of the Canadiens’ wins and ended the year with a 29-10-4 record, a 2.78 GAA, and a .901 SV. While he did struggle at one stage in the season when he couldn’t seem to win over the coaching staff’s trust, he blossomed when Montembeault was cast aside, and by the time the playoffs came around, he was the undisputed number one choice.
Earlier this month, the Canadiens rewarded the Czech netminder with a three-year contract extension which has a $5,357,575 AAV. That was a clear endorsement of the 25-year-old’s work, and while a contract doesn’t guarantee playing time, as Dobes said himself in his media availability, it at the very least lets him know that he’s got the inside lane right now.
Having three goalies on the roster is far from an ideal situation, especially when two of them are 25 or younger. At that age, goaltenders need to see a lot of action to develop properly, and GM Kent Hughes has been clear: if Fowler stays with the big club this season, he will need to see plenty of action.
The days of the clear-cut number one choice in net seem to be a thing of the past. Nowadays, it seems like teams prefer to bet on a two-goalie system, which allows them to avoid overworking their top guy while also providing the backup with enough playing time.
As things stand, the Canadiens are in win mode; the results matter. They are no longer in rebuilding mode, with the focus being almost exclusively on development. Given Montembeault’s performance last season, one has to wonder whether he could earn the team’s trust back if he were to spend the season in Montreal.
As good a teammate as the Quebecer is, the Canadiens cannot afford another season of uncertainty in net. Time and time again last season, he was beaten on his first shot, putting the team in a hole straight from the start. It wasn’t surprising that eventually, his teammates started to play nervously in front of him.
Of course, given how young Fowler is, he could still be assigned to the AHL for the season and get plenty of ice time even if it’s at a lower level. Does he need more time there, though? There are no set rules regarding the time netminders spend in the AHL. Dobes played 65 AHL games before becoming a regular with the Canadiens after Cayden Primeau’s collapse. Carey Price only skated in 12 AHL games before becoming a regular in the NHL. Andrei Vasilevskiy only patrolled the Syracuse Crunch’s crease for 37 games. Jake Oettinger saw 54 AHL games, while Dustin Wolf saw 138 before becoming the man in Calgary.
Fowler has only played 30 games with the Rocket and another eight in the AHL playoffs. Granted, that’s not a lot, but it may just be enough. Granted, Fowler must see a lot of action, but his development may well be better served in the NHL, and, statistically speaking, his presence in Montreal would give the Habs better odds of winning.
However, should the Canadiens decide to go with a Dobes-Fowler tandem and try to send Montembeault down to the AHL, he would no doubt be picked up on waivers, and it’s hard to imagine the Habs’ brass being willing to lose that kind of asset for nothing. While a lot has been said about the Canadiens’ need to improve their top six, it may be an even bigger need to find Montembeault a new home.
We open up the Mets Mailbag at the All-Star Break to discuss the state of the team and what's to come ahead of the MLB trade deadline...
David Stearns has been a complete trainwreck the past two seasons. Even Steve admitted “it’s not going well,” so why would he publicly give him support to finish out this five-year contract? -- @HustleDiva1
Steve Cohen’s rationale for keeping Stearns, at least as he has articulated it publicly, is twofold: one, he hand-picked Stearns years in advance, waited for him, and made a significant financial commitment to him. He believed in him that much, and he believes he will adapt and adjust.
Two, Cohen has said he does not want to be perceived as a flighty billionaire owner in the George Steinbrenner mold because he believes that will deter top talent from coming to work for him. If a highly touted executive is choosing his or her next home, why would that person put his or her career in the hands of someone they know will turn on them at the first sign of trouble. Again, this is Cohen’s rationale. And certainly with Stearns, this year is not the first sign of trouble.
That being said, I did not hear Cohen say he is definitely keeping Stearns for the duration of his contract. In fact, when Joel Sherman pressed him on that during that excellent podcast interview last week, Cohen admitted that if things aren’t going well, he might have to make a move. I thought that was significant, particularly because Cohen did not think firing Carlos Mendoza would be necessary earlier this season, according to people familiar with his thinking. When things got worse, he changed his mind.
Cohen wants stability. He hopes Stearns will learn from failure and be a better long-term fit for it, and I will say that in a sport as fickle as this one, it does sometimes take time for people to get things right. And I also don’t think he will keep Stearns long-term if things get worse. The question I do not know the answer to, however, is what "worse" would have to look like if we have not seen it yet.
Is it unpopular opinion if I say that Torrens should be the everyday catcher and Taylor needs to be in the lineup more often? They are battlers and have a much needed approach in the batter’s box. Pretty good defensively as well. Have been for years but somehow seem undervalued. -- @kevind7195
That opinion is certainly not unpopular with me, and the catching perspective seems to be the prevailing notion with the Mets these days, too. Near the end of Mendoza’s tenure, he started committing to playing Torrens more behind the plate, and he has gotten more consistent playing time there since then as the Mets have used Francisco Alvarez more as a designated hitter. That balance has been complicated somewhat by the return of Jorge Polanco, who can only serve as the DH and therefore limits the Mets’ ability to use Alvarez in that position. But I believe the organization is seeing the importance of Torrens’ steadiness defensively and his ability to get the most out of pitchers, and I would expect him to split time more consistently with Alvarez down the stretch as much as possible.
New York Mets designated hitter Francisco Alvarez (4) hits a solo home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
I also think the organization views Torrens highly enough that they would be willing to trade Alvarez if presented with a return they deem suitable. I do not know whether they would trade Torrens, whom they signed to a team friendly extension earlier this season, though I would expect teams to ask. Obviously, I would not expect them to deal both.
As for Taylor, I think he is both undervalued and playing about as much as this team can afford to play him now. The Mets have committed to giving Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing regular at-bats, so outside of the occasional tough lefty matchup for Ewing, Taylor has no clear path to regular outfield duty. When he has gotten chances, he has been productive. He is a tremendously valuable asset as a fourth outfielder because of his ability to produce in limited duty. And because of that, plus the fact that he is a free agent after this season, he might end up being a valuable trade piece, too.
We were told this was a World Series team with better defense and a more well rounded offense. How could they have been this wrong?
I’m not here to argue with the premise of your question, but I will say the Mets are not the only people who read this group wrong. Oddsmakers, projection analysts, and even just regular baseball writers like me all predicted them to be contenders in the National League East with a chance to run through October if they added enough at the deadline. And of course, none of that materialized.
Injuries are part of the reason. Lindor missing so much time and needing time to recover his form really hurt them. Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. missing most of the first half didn’t help, though that was predictable. Spencer Jones shattering Clay Holmes’ leg made things very difficult. But everyone has injuries, and I think they miscalculated the extent of their depth.
I also think they misread their people. Freddy Peralta was more vulnerable to the pressures of a contract year than they thought. Devin Williams has been more susceptible to the pressures of closing in New York than Stearns clearly expected. Alvarez and Mark Vientos and Brett Baty were not ready to take the next steps forward the Mets needed them to take. All of that added up to a weaker, shallower lineup than they thought they had.
But I also think they were wrong about the state of their clubhouse. Whether or not they needed to clear Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeill will be debated for years, though people in the clubhouse and around the team insist the vibes are better this year. But better vibes are not enough. Whether because of public discussions about a potential captaincy, injuries, or something else, Lindor is not the same person he seemed to be in years’ past – a little less… sure somehow.
Soto might someday exert his influence more forcefully on this clubhouse, but for now he insists he sees himself as one of the guys, not an enforcer. They do not have an emotional anchor, and with a struggling team and brand-new coaching staff, neither Mendoza nor Stearns nor anyone in the clubhouse could provide one. Emotional anchors matter most when things go wrong, and when they went wrong early this year, the void was glaring. It continues to be.
So mostly, I think they missed on the intangibles – the injury risk, the way pressure would impact players new to New York, the type of people they needed in the clubhouse and they type of young players they had. Few teams get those things right, and some that do luck into it. But the Mets will not build long-term success until they figure them out. And the good thing about intangibles is they are impossible to calculate. Maybe, then, they are not as far from figuring them out as it seems. Or something.
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The Savannah Bananas are about to see ivy for the first time.
Come late July, America’s favorite “banana ball” team will take on The Firefighters in a three-game series at the Chicago Cubs’ home Wrigley Field.
If you’d like to be there, last-minute tickets are available for what will surely be a wild yet entertaining series in the Windy City.
At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on tickets for any one Bananas game was $112 including fees against SeatGeek.
Prices for the other two games start at $127 and $141 including fees.
Make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout (Editor’s Note: this discount is only valid for users’ first purchase on SeatGeek).
Over the course of the young ’26 season, the Bananas have already pulled off a number of memorable stunts at games all over the country.
“To go bananas for Banana Ball, you must embrace childlike whimsy,” The Daily Tar Heel wrote about an April game in North Carolina.
What will they take to the field when they visit Wrigley?
Although we can’t say for certain, we do know the absolute best way to find out is live and in person at the Cubbies’ home.
We’ll see ya at the ballpark.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about the Savannah Bananas three games against The Firefighters at Wrigley Field below.
How much do tickets cost to see the Savannah Bananas at Wrigley Field?
A complete breakdown of all the best prices on tickets to see the Savannah Bananas’ three games at Wrigley Field are listed here:
Savannah Bananas Wrigley Field game dates
Ticket prices start at
Friday, July 24 7 p.m.
$112(including fees)
Saturday, July 25 4 p.m.
$128(including fees)
Sunday, July 26 3 p.m.
$141(including fees)
What giveaways do the Cubs have planned at Wrigley Field?
Hoping to snag some freebies while watching Craig Counsell’s club finish their 2026 campaign?
Below, you’ll find a list of all the giveaways the Cubs have planned at Wrigley Field over the rest of the season (including some sweet retro jerseys).
Chicago Cubs 2026 giveaway dates
Cubs 1940s-50s replica jerseyTwins vs. Cubs Friday, July 17
National Hot Dog Day capTwins vs. Cubs Saturday, July 18
Greek heritage jerseyTigers vs. Cubs Monday, July 20 *special ticket purchase required
University of Missouri capTigers vs. Cubs Monday, July 20 *special ticket purchase required
Cubs x PCA basketball jerseyTigers vs. Cubs Tuesday, July 21 *special ticket purchase required
2016 World Series anniversary surprise pinTigers vs. Cubs Wednesday, July 22
Cubs 1960s replica jerseyYankees vs. Cubs Friday, July 31
Wrigley Field marquee night lightYankees vs. Cubs Sunday, Aug. 2
Cubs 1960s replica jerseyCardinals vs. Cubs Friday, Aug. 14
Cubs 1990s replica jerseyReds vs. Cubs Friday, Aug. 28
Harry Caray bobbleheadReds vs. Cubs Sunday, Aug. 30
Illinois State University capBrewers vs. Cubs Monday, Aug. 31 *special ticket purchase required
Girls Night Out makeup bagBrewers vs. Cubs Monday, Aug. 31 *special ticket purchase required
Armed Forces hoodie and challenge coinBrewers vs. Cubs Tuesday, Sept. 1 *special ticket purchase required
First Responder’s quilted fleece and challenge coinBrewers vs. Cubs Wednesday, Sept. 2 *special ticket purchase required
Northern Illinois University capBraves vs. Cubs Wednesday, Sept. 16 *special ticket purchase required
University of Illinois capBraves vs. Cubs Wednesday, Sept. 16 *special ticket purchase required
Northeastern Illinois University crewneckBraves vs. Cubs Wednesday, Sept. 16 *special ticket purchase required
Note: Most freebies will be given to the first 5,000 fans. There are exceptions so make sure to arrive at the ballpark early.
For more information about special ticket purchases, click here.
When do the Cubs play at Wrigley Field this summer?
Fans that plan on seeing Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson and the squad can catch Counsell’s club at home all summer long including a three-game series against their crosstown rival White Sox from Aug. 17-19.
Want to be there (or follow the team on the road)?
Tickets for all Chicago Cubs regular season games from June through September can be grabbed here.
Where else are the Savannah Bananas playing in 2026?
Once the short stint in Cincy wraps, the Bananas will hit other ballparks all over North America from June through October.
Some of their most notable stops include Denver’s Coors Field (Aug. 14-15), St. Louis’ Busch Stadium (Aug. 21-22) and New England’s Gillette Stadium (Aug. 28-29).
To find the game that makes the most sense for your wallet and schedule, check out the Savannah Bananas’ complete 2026 calendar here.
About the Savannah Bananas
After forming in 2016, the “exhibition barnstorming baseball team” made a name for itself by embracing “exhibition” and “barnstorming” while halfway ditching “baseball.”
The team now plays Banana Ball, which has quirky rules like fan-caught foul balls counting as outs, games not being allowed to exceed two hours in length and batters stealing first base.
Yet, still, that’s barely scratching the surface of the innovative game’s showmanship.
Simply put, we recommend following Savannah’s Instagram to see what craziness the entertaining team is up to. Be warned, though — their clips are so fun you just might end up scrolling for hours.
The Bananas aren’t the only attraction at Banana Ball games.
Their opponents, The Firefighters aka “the hottest team in sports,” also bring fun, skill and loads of personality to the diamond.
Made up of legitimate players and goofballs, The Firefighters have been taking on The Bananas since 2024 when they became the third Banana Ball Team in the Banana Ball Championship League.
And, as a cherry on top, they’re led by former firefighter Valerie Perez, who coaches the club.
Fun events for the family in 2026
Get yer wholesome entertainment here!
We’ve got five shows that are guaranteed fun for the whole family below.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 01: Relief pitcher Ryan Walker #74 of the San Francisco Giants walks off the field after a pitching change in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on July 01, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 6-4. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday, I cobbled together five of what a San Francisco Giants fan might consider to be some of the team’s best moments from the first part of their 2026 season, so let’s look at five of the worst moments.
5. Swept by the Yankees (March 25th-28th)
It’s less the sweep and more the way that it happened. Outscored 13-1 in one of the rare times the team has opened a season at Oracle Park and simply outmatched in every facet of the game. It was the worst case scenario imagined by all the skeptics and considered by all the reasonable people out there after Buster Posey installed an inexperienced coaching staff to run a veteran roster with expectations.
The Giants had a nice spring and that plus their offseason had certainly built up this Opening Night on Netflix as something that would be worthwhile. Instead, the Giants revealed to their fans and the world that they’re a big steaming pile of losers who stink. Bad start to a season, worst start to a managerial career. Given the way the rest of this season has gone, the Giants might never live it down.
4. Doubleheader sweep via walk-off in Philadelphia (April 30th)
This is what a lot of the Giants media points to as the low point of the season. After clawing back to a not-terrible 13-15 record, the Giants proceeded to pee, poop, and vomit all over themselves before stumbling headfirst into an overflowing garbage can, then going vertical with their clown shoes swishing frantically as they struggled to free themselves, only to cause the garbage can to roll down a hill and onto a manure scow which would soon run aground on Diarrhea Island.
Walker’s nine-pitch battle against Bryson Stott, which ended in Stott hitting a game-tying triple, was especially jarring from a pitch-calling perspective. The cross-firing right-hander exclusively threw sinkers to Stott, and while the first eight were outside, his ninth and final one ended up right over the middle of the plate.
“I don’t really have an answer for you on that one,” Walker said when asked he only threw one slider. “It’s just something that we need to figure out. Obviously, that would’ve been beneficial. The two-seam’s been working a lot. I think we overused them definitely today. But yeah, it’s in the back of my mind. If we utilize the slider in that situation, it’s a different story.”
Did Walker consider shaking?
“I have a tough time shaking,” Walker said. “I’m not a big shaker. I put a lot of trust in my catchers. I still have a ton of trust in Bailey, whatever he calls, especially as a two-pitch guy. I have the confidence to get outs with both pitches in any situation. Obviously, nine two-seams to Stott is not ideal, and we’ll be making some changes in terms of situational pitching.”
Catcher Patrick Bailey didn’t offer much when asked about Walker’s sinker usage in Game 1 or Keaton Winn’s splitter usage in Game 2 (Winn threw 10 straight at one point).
“Good pitches,” Bailey said. “Trying to get them out. … I trust my guys and their pitches.”
Patrick Bailey would be traded 10 days later. It was at this point that everyone suspected that the stink lines coming off the team weren’t the result of some bad luck or small sample size or all the new people getting their sea legs. There was a rot on the surface. We now know that the Giants are rotten to the core, of course, but here’s the moment in the season when it kicked into gear — what a way to end the first month of the season!
3. Third base coach Hector Borg is reassigned (May 29th)
This is a bit of a heartbreaker in that, by all accounts, Hector Borg is well regarded within the San Francisco Giants organization and even by Tony Vitello. As Alex Pavlovic wrote back in February:
Vitello and members of the front office hopped on a Zoom call with Hector Borg in November as the longtime team employee was coaching in the Dominican Republic. Borg tried to convey what he has done in coaching and how passionate he is about helping young players. But mostly, he tried his best to be authentic with Vitello.
“I can remember getting off the Zoom and I don’t even know if it was five seconds and Tony was like, ‘Can we hire that guy?'” general manager Zack Minasian said recently, laughing.
If you spend about five seconds talking to or observing Borg, it’s not hard to see what intrigued Vitello. Borg, 40, is overflowing with energy and passion and is known within the organization as a tireless worker. He has been tied to Ron Washington all spring, and the two very much appear to be built the same way.
As for the job of third base coach itself? Well…
“I’m an aggressive third base coach,” he said. “I’ve always been that way.”
Prophetic.
Anyway, was Borg a scapegoat? Possibly. But he also seemed to be the outcome of a flawed process run by relative neophytes. The common person is convinced that Buster Posey’s time as a Hall of Fame-bound catcher means it’s no problem for him to transition into a management position, as though President of Baseball Operations is the same type of manager as the kind the common person loathes or simply distrusts.
But the Giants once again solved their problem by oversteering, replacing the 40-year old Borg with 68-year old Garry Pettis. Has the move worked out? Sure. The Giants were tied with the Angels for the worst Baserunning value (-4.2 runs) while Borg was with the team, according to FanGraphs. Since Pettis has been with the team, the Giants are just -1.5 runs in 32 games… 25th in MLB.
It’s just another example of the team feeling like amateur hour or watching Baby’s First Team.
2. Tony Vitello knifes Keaton Winn & Matt Gage, asks Logan Webb to pitch the 9th then rescinds the request, gets shouted at by Rafael Devers when he sends a pinch runner (four-way tie)
Speaking of amateur hour, here’s a list of on-field incidents that can be chalked up to a dude feeling his way through his first year as a manager at a whole new level of play and without any sort of meaningful guidance, as his overseers are just as inexperienced.
It’s probably not embarrassing that Tony Vitello threw the injury-riddled Keaton Winn three days in a row, but the outcome was predictable. It’s probably not embarrassing that Tony Vitello pushed Matt Gage to throw a career-high 51 pitches because it was an early blowout in Colorado and they needed the innings. But the outcome was predictable. It’s probably not embarrassing for the manager that one of the team’s star players refuses to be pinch ran for and makes an obvious stink about it, but the manager’s stature in the clubhouse can be reasonably called into question no matter the public sentiment towards the player.
Did Tony Vitello want to pinch run for Rafael Devers in that situation because he wanted a faster runner at third base or was Tony Vitello concerned that Devers’ previous comment about soreness would impact his ability to run the bases late in the game? Or is Rafael Devers just a jerk? For some reason, when the smoke cleared, it was Devers speaking to Bay Area media and, effectively, accepting responsibility, but let’s be clear: this isn’t the first time that there’s been murky intent when it comes to the manager’s decisions.
Webb would go eight innings and throw 99 pitches, striking out seven batters, allowing one run and five hits, as manager Tony Vitello got criticized for taking the pitcher out in the ninth inning. However, Webb revealed the conversation of Vitello asking him if he’s able to go back in the ninth, with the 29-year-old saying “it’s up to you,” leading to the change and the blown win in the ninth inning.
“Tony asked if you’re good, and I said ‘It’s up to you,'” Webb said, according to KNBR. “‘It’s your decision.’ He came back to me (bottom of the 8th), and he was like ‘we’re gonna make a change.'”
“I don’t regret that decision at all,” Webb continued.
That blown save just so happened to be the third consecutive game Keaton Winn pitched and would be his last one until July 10th. So… it’s all connected? But also, did Tony Vitello want to send Logan Webb back out there or did he defer to “It’s up to you” as a sign that he wasn’t good to go?
But then again, if it sounds like I’m pinning all of this on the rookie manager who usually sounds confused and often manages in a way that often reinforces how it sounds, I’ll admit that veterans taking advantage of a new guy with no experience or track record and few relationships is just as plausible. What could Tony Vitello do to them, ultimately? He hasn’t earned their respect or trust. As professionals, they should probably just be professionals on the field. But that doesn’t appear to be what’s happening here… for whatever reason, whether it’s Tony & his staff’s approach or the players’ POV.
And so this season-long discord has to be one of the team’s worst moments from part one.
Though, it’s worth adding: Rafael Devers is hitting .299/.392/.687 in 19 G (79 PA) since the pinch running incident; and, Logan Webb was the Pitcher of the Month in June. And, some of this was also a downstream consequence of Zack & Buster’s questionable bullpen planning during the offseason. That has certainly contributed to many memorably bad moments this season.
1. The Giants come out as bigots (June 12th)
The obvious pick and it’s one of these episodes where it spilled from the filled into off-field matters, where a lot of fans like to live to avoid reality. It’s almost certainly true that there are more bigoted baseball fans than there are non-bigots (or, at least, open-hearted and open-minded fans) and so the Giants have calculated that they can win in the long run despite this affront to the surrounding community. After all, they’re on pace to draw 3 million fans this season. The Giants got what they needed from the City of San Francisco and now that Mission Rock is up and running, they can commune with the people they prefer.
For those fans, the Giants would seem like a revelation. A new ally in the culture war. A firm that has finally seen the light! For the rest of us, it’s heartbreak. And for some of us, a sad final chapterof a relationship.
The notion that the Giants aren’t bigots is disproved by the definition of bigot: “a narrow-minded person who obstinately adheres to their own opinions and prejudices.” People invoke the Holy Bible to justify all sorts of beliefs and practices and at the end of the day, if the only idea that people want to pull from it is hatred, then it it’s definitionally bigotry. You don’t scribble on your hat or proclaim “Read the Bible!” without some emotion behind it. Spite? Hatred? It’s certainly not coming from a place of love. Wanting to be a bigot in everything but name only is on the level of losers. Own it!
The public protest on top of the awful pitching was the real clincher in all this. Some real Boaters for Trump vibes.
But the theme of this season has been the Giants either revealing or realizing that they are not who any of us thought they were or had hoped to be. The preseason projections saw them as an average team. The fans saw an average team with maybe some magic afoot if Bryce Eldridge panned out. Instead, the Giants are losers.
It’s loser level to hate LGBTQ+ people. It’s loser level to deface one’s work uniform as a protest of LGBTQ+ people. It’s loser level to sign with a team as a free agent so you can fire & brimstone their fans after a game. It’s loser level to hold a press conference like the one Buster Posey did, or do what Larry Baer did on KNBR the day after — but, admittedly, those were “off the field,” and shouldn’t be a part of this article. So, I’ll conclude instead with the ultimate loser level: being Ryan Walker. He has a 9.90 ERA in just 10 innings since the protest.
Now, does this mean you can draw a straight line from Pride Night to their 41-55 record? No. The anti-Pride Night protest and the ensuing farts from the front office are symptoms of a larger, perhaps diseased body operating as the San Francisco Giants. This is a team that has kept Larry Baer in a public-facing role despite a very public episode that caused him to lose a position within the organization. A team that dumped their public address announcer because of her political beliefs (hypocrites!</s>) after ownership’s political beliefs and political contributions came out and clearly conflicted with the region, the team’s purported values, and some general human decency, but hired Glen Kuiper… because everyone deserves a third or fourth chance to drop the n-word on a broadcast, I suppose?
To be absolutely fair, though, the team has been consistent in one way: they oppose dudes humping no matter the circumstances.
In the past, it’s been nonsensical to link personal character with win-loss results because there are hundreds — maybe even thousands — of examples of bad people being great athletes and champions; but, then you get a team like the 2026 Giants a team so bad that, beyond the obvious talent gap, makes you wonder just how much character counts… because it surely can’t be zero.
Anyway, don’t let me be the final word on this. What are some other worst moments from the first part of the 2026 season?
