{"id":577,"date":"2025-07-16T17:33:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/577\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T17:33:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:33:04","slug":"mlb-all-star-game-hits-new-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/577\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB All-Star Game Hits New Low"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Here\u2019s what I wrote in Monday\u2019s Traina Thoughts<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MLB All-Star Game is an exhibition. It counts for absolutely nothing. It\u2019s not competitive. The best players play for about two innings, and then they\u2019re on their way home. It\u2019s not a real game. There is nothing on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re reading this right now, tip your cap to me, give me a standing ovation and acknowledge that I couldn\u2019t have nailed it any better.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t watch the game, but here\u2019s what I know about what happened Tuesday night: There was a tie after nine innings. Therefore, there was some home run derby-type thing to determine a winner. <\/p>\n

I found out who participated in the home run derby-type thing via this tweet from ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan:<\/p>\n

What is:<\/p>\n

Brent Rooker, Jonathan Aranda, Randy Arozarena vs. Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Stowers.<\/p>\n

What could have been: <\/p>\n

Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. Shohei Ohtani, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

This is simply amazing. The players care so little about the meaningless exhibition (and rightfully so) that they are on a plane flying home while the game is still going on!!!<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t even use the \u201cthe All-Star Game is a vehicle to grow baseball\u201d nonsense because the best players WEREN\u2019T EVEN IN THE STADIUM TO PARTICIPATE. <\/p>\n

Via Passan<\/a>: “[Aaron] Boone and [Dave] Roberts had a finite group from which to choose. Around half the players were gone from the stadium, already headed home after a long, hot week here.”<\/p>\n

Players want to make the All-Star team so they can collect a bonus and make $21 million in a year instead of $20 million. Players don\u2019t have any interest in actually playing in, or winning, the All-Star Game.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it a million times and I\u2019ll say it again: I will never, ever understand how on earth anyone would care about a game where absolutely nothing is on the line.<\/p>\n

2. I don\u2019t quite understand this analogy, but this seems like some good former-ESPN-on-ESPN crime with Trey Wingo criticizing the network for its reliance on Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee. <\/p>\n

Let me preface this by saying I have so many wonderful memories and so many great friends still working there that I want to succeed\u2026 but he\u2019s right. It used to be a glorious buffet where you could pick and choose what you wanted. Now it\u2019s like a banquet dinner: chicken or fish? https:\/\/t.co\/xYxFPPdUfi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 trey wingo (@wingoz) July 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said many times recently that McAfee is absolutey a win for ESPN soley based on the guests he has on his show. On Monday, McAfee had Aaron Judge and Shoehi Ohtani on his show. I live in New York and I\u2019m a die-hard Yankees fan and don\u2019t ever remember Aaron Judge doing a radio\/TV interview. <\/p>\n

So while people may not like McAfee\u2019s style, he\u2019s bringing some major clout to ESPN whether people want to admit that or not.<\/p>\n

3. The Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry is proving to be good for tennis. Sunday\u2019s men\u2019s Wimbledon final, which started at 11 a.m. ET for the first time, as opposed to the usual 9 a.m. ET time, drew 2.9 million viewers for ESPN<\/a>. It was the most-watched men\u2019s Wimbledon final since 2019.<\/p>\n

4. WNBA refs seem to be even worse than NFL refs, which is saying a lot. Somehow, this was not called a foul Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Sophie Cunningham takes an elbow to the head. No call. JFC. pic.twitter.com\/MikZ3TQSMm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Heavens! (@HeavensFX) July 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

5. I feel like a bad media person for not knowing how good A\u2019s slugger Brent Rooker is on Twitter, but I am aware now after these solid offerings.<\/p>\n

Yes, it was necessary to feed my 11 month old child her night time bottle at like 9:00 pm. Thank you for asking. https:\/\/t.co\/CzJs4lsgMW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brent Rooker (@Brent_Rooker25) July 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Am I not good enough for you Jeff https:\/\/t.co\/IRcQWLMbda<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brent Rooker (@Brent_Rooker25) July 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

6. We dropped a bonus SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast on Tuesday with independent wrestler Matt Cardona. <\/p>\n

The former Zack Ryder discussed carving out a massive career on the independent scene after being part of the WWE Covid-19 roster cuts in 2020 and why he was thrilled at the time when he found out he was released from the company after 15 years there.<\/p>\n

In addition, Cardona discussed whether he wants to return to the WWE, what his current relationship is like with the WWE and Triple H, what it’s like to have his wife work in the WWE and getting mentioned in a recent promo by John Cena. Cardona also reminisces about his time as Zack Ryder, holding the WWE Intercontinental title for just one day, and his “Z! True Long Island Story” YouTube show being so ahead of its time.<\/p>\n

Cardona also talked about his new job on SiriusXM’s Pro Wrestling Nation 24\/7 channel, hosting the long-running Major Wrestling Figure Podcast, and his love of Disney World.<\/p>\n

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina<\/a> on\u00a0Sports Illustrated\u2018s\u00a0YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And if you missed last week\u2019s excellent episode with ESPN\u2019s Dan Orlovsky, make sure you give it a listen.<\/p>\n

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 57th birthday to the great Barry Sanders.<\/p>\n

.@BarrySanders<\/a> didn’t just make defenders miss. He EMBARRASSED them. pic.twitter.com\/kkahpn1jhy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) February 26, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Be sure to\u00a0catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts<\/a>\u00a0and check out the\u00a0Sports Illustrated Media Podcast\u00a0hosted by Jimmy Traina on\u00a0Apple<\/a>,\u00a0Spotify<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Google<\/a>. You can also follow Jimmy on\u00a0X<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n