Mike Gansey has had a busy start in Philadelphia. On June 8, the former general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers was introduced as the 76ers’ new president of basketball operations.
In under a month, he helped orchestrate the trade that brought Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia from the Celtics in exchange for Paul George and draft picks.
On Thursday, Gansey appeared on Unfiltered with Ricky Bottalico and Bill Colarulo on 97.5 The Fanatic to discuss his tenure so far.
Bottalico and Colarulo wasted no time bringing up the details of the trade, which Gansey revealed “came out of nowhere a little bit.”
“We’re talking to Boston, and Jaylen [Brown], obviously he was out there in the media, and as every team does they make a call and see if he’s available and just kept talking to Boston for a couple weeks and didn’t know if anything would really happen,” Gansey said. “Next thing you know, they wanted to do a deal and that’s kind of how it happened.”
As trade talks progressed, it was clear George was going to play a key role in it, though Gansey said in his introductory presser that the team was fully prepared to have the 36-year-old as part of it next season.
And most experts have agreed the Sixers got the better end of a deal that Gansey said the front office is excited about.
Paul George and Jaylen Brown are swapping jerseys next season.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“Obviously, we haven’t played a game yet so I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but Jaylen’s been one of the top players in the league, one of the best two-way players. He’s coming off a career year,” Gansey said. “So when those guys come available, you at least try to make a call and try to get in there.”
Now, playing for what once was his rival team, Gansey said there’s still a little bit of confusion for Brown as he tries to adjust.
Among the adjustments Brown has to make is playing with Joel Embiid, who Brown publicly criticized for flopping on a Twitch stream following Game 7 of the Sixers-Celtics first-round series.
But since then, Gansey said he believes Brown has spoken to Sixers ownership and head coach Nick Nurse, and is excited to play with Embiid.
“He is like, ‘I am going to get in the gym with Joel here soon. I am going to push him. I am going to get him right,’” Gansey said. “He is going to bring some championship habits, attitude, and toughness to us that I know the city of Philly loves. It is like music to my ears listening to him and talking to him and he’s really fired up for the season to come up.”
Jaylen Brown (left) has expressed that he is excited to be teammates with Joel Embiid.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Gansey said he also spoke to Embiid following the trade.
Entering the offseason healthy, Gansey said Embiid is in a “really good space right now” as he begins to ramp up his training in the weight room ahead of the upcoming season.
“He’s excited. You know, surprised but excited as VJ [Edgecombe] and Tyrese [Maxey] and the rest of the group has been,” Gansey said. “It’s obviously going to be a big change but I think they’re welcoming it and they’re kind of excited to get the group together.”
The Sixers are still in the race to add another potential key to their roster, NBA superstar LeBron James. And Gansey said with a player like him, who he called “the greatest player to play the game,” moving at James’ pace is something teams are always going to be OK with.
“I’ve known LeBron for a long time, and have a ton of respect for him, and obviously I think he’d be a great fit for our group, and of course we’d love to have him, but you know he’s a basketball savant,” Gansey said. “I’m sure he’s taking this all in, and he’s super smart, and now he’s trying to figure it all out.”
And while he might still be adjusting to being a Sixer, that didn’t stop Brown from offering a few words to James on another livestream.
Appearing on a stream with influencer IShowSpeed during the France-Morocco World Cup Game, Brown encouraged James to “pull up to Philly.”
Jaylen Brown: “You gotta tell LeBron he gotta pull up, man. Pull up to Philly.
IShowSpeed: “LeBron, pull up to Philly. Think about it. LeBron, Jaylen Brown, PG13…”
Even without landing James, Gansey said he already spoke to Nurse, whose “head is spinning in a positive way” as they figure out how to approach the season with all the star power currently on the roster.
“We have an open roster spot, so we’re obviously looking at ways we can get better. Obviously, we’re holding that roster spot right now for someone,” Gansey said. “Depending on how that goes, we’re going to continue to look at ways to get better and improve our team.”
CINCINNATI — Outside the foul lines, Jesús Luzardo comes across as an even-keeled individual. Inside them, however, he can be fiery.
As he walked off the mound after the second inning on Thursday, the Phillies left-hander exchanged some heated words with someone inside the Reds dugout. Luzardo didn’t specify who he was addressing or what he was responding to, only hinting that the exchange was “in English.”
“Just a little heated competition,” Luzardo said. “I think it helps me, at times, finding a little bit of edge, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
And he had plenty of edge Thursday night, as he mowed down the Reds for seven innings, holding them to two hits. The offense did just enough to back Luzardo up, eking out a 1-0 win to take the series against Cincinnati.
In his final start before his first career All-Star appearance, Luzardo turned in a performance worthy of the honor. His five-pitch first inning — the fewest pitches the Phillies lefty has ever thrown in an inning in his career — was a sign of things to come.
“I saw him that first inning, it was like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s got his stuff today,’” said center fielder Justin Crawford. “… The swings, the movement on his pitches, I mean, it was pretty electric, and he just looked like he had that confidence on the mound, the presence.”
His sweeper was the key. Eight of his 11 total strikeouts and 12 of his 20 total swing-and-misses came on the pitch. The pitch has been one of the best in baseball since he added it to his arsenal at the start of last season, but Luzardo believes it’s found another level over his last few outings.
Jesús Luzardo kept the Reds off balance with his sweeper.Carolyn Kaster
“I almost felt like I threw it so much last year that I like forgot how to throw it,” Luzardo said. “I feel like I got back in the rhythm of it, the feel for it, finding the zone with it, and then finding the swing and miss underneath the zone as well.”
His sweeper helped him outduel Reds starter Brady Singer, who turned in one of his best starts of the season. Bryson Stott’s double in the second inning was the Phillies’ only hit against the right-hander until Kyle Schwarber singled in the seventh, though Schwarber was immediately erased after Bryce Harper grounded into a double play.
Even though they didn’t have much to show for it, the Phillies were making solid contact against Singer. Through the first six innings, the Phillies lined out four times, and they had 11 total hard-hit balls against him. They finally broke through in the eighth inning, thanks to an RBI single from Crawford that found some grass.
After hitting .195 in the month of May, Crawford has turned things around at the plate. Over his last 35 games since June 2, Crawford has a .313 batting average.
“Justin, I’ve been saying it all along, he’s always had a good face,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “He’s never really panicked, even when he struggled there. He was staying with his work. Didn’t change his look and the way he walked around, things like that, and that’s huge. When you see young guys do that, you know they got a chance to be really good.”
The Phillies were only in position to score thanks to some heads-up baserunning. Gabriel Rincones Jr. was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and was replaced with Derek Hill as a pinch-runner.
Derek Hill slides across home plate to score on a single hit by Justin Crawford during the eighth inning.Carolyn Kaster
Hill took off on Singer’s 0-2 pitch to J.T. Realmuto, and when the Phillies catcher sent a chopper to Elly De La Cruz, the double play was off the table. De La Cruz’s only play was to first base, allowing Hill to advance to scoring position as Crawford came to the plate.
“Feels like just trying to move the needle, been obviously working with [hitting coach] Kevin [Long] a lot, day by day,” Crawford said. “So was good to kind of see some results out of it, and just trying to keep taking it one day at a time, and keep going. One pitch at a time.”
Once Luzardo’s night ended after the seventh, the Phillies used Jonathan Bowlan as the setup man for closer Jhoan Duran. Bowlan delivered a 1-2-3 eighth inning, which included striking out De La Cruz on a 99.2 mph fastball.
“He’s been really good for us, and I think [pitching coach] Caleb [Cotham] said before the game, he’s the righty that’s been the best against lefties,” Mattingly said. “So that kind of changes his role a little bit.”
One of the Phillies’ other first-time All-Stars finished it off. Duran wavered at first, allowing the first two Reds in the ninth to reach with a single and hit-by-pitch. Cotham came out to give Duran a breather, and following the mound visit, Duran struck out Eugenio Suárez on three pitches. He put the Reds’ designated hitter away with a 96.7 mph splinker.
Justin Crawford, who helped deliver the go-ahead run on Thursday, greets Jhoan Duran after he shut the door on the Reds for the Phillies’ 11th shutout win.Carolyn Kaster
“To be able to get Eugenio there, that’s the huge out, because now they need a hit,” Mattingly said. “If Eugenio was able to move him, then it’s just a sac fly situation. … I thought that was huge, but he bounced back, and was good.”
From there, Duran continued to battle back, striking out Tyler Stephenson and inducing a groundout from Noelvi Marte to strand the winning run at first base. He completed the Phillies’ 11th shutout win of the season.
The U.S. men’s soccer team set another viewership record in its loss to Belgium, despite the lopsided 4-1 defeat.
A combined total of 50.125 million viewers watched on Fox (37.225 million) and Telemundo (12.9 million), whether via traditional television or online streaming.
Fox issued a revised number on Friday morning, acknowledging that its initial announcement of 33.086 million was for a time span bigger than the traditional “match window” metric used in soccer. The revision took the total over 50 million, making this the first soccer game to reach that bar.
It was the biggest audience for a television event since Super Bowl LX, and bigger than both of this year’s NFL conference championship games. The AFC matchup drew 48.6 million viewers, and the NFC drew 46.1 million.
Fox also said its audience alone was the biggest for any non-NFL broadcast since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, when the Chicago Cubs ended their infamous championship drought. That mark was previously held by this year’s college football national championship game, which drew 30.1 million viewers across a range of ESPN channels.
Fans watching the U.S.-Belgium gane at a viewing party in Kansas City, Mo.Charlie Riedel
Fox noted that Philadelphia was the network’s No. 5 local ratings market for U.S.-Belgium, with a 14.22 rating and a 38 share. That means around 38% of all households watching television at that time tuned in to the game.
It wasn’t lost on U.S. fans that the blowout score turned some casual viewers sour. But the World Cup overall has continued to be a big deal, and that seems unlikely to change.
England’s dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico on Sunday night drew an audience worth a Sunday night NFL game: 46.690 million viewers combined between Fox (23.49 million) and Telemundo (23.1 million, a network record for soccer).
Earlier Sunday, Norway’s upset of Brazil in the Meadowlands drew 28.373 million viewers combined.
Fans watching Norway-Brazil at the official World Cup fan festival in Dallas.Jessica Tobias
According to publicly available data so far, 12 games this summer attracted audiences of over 20 million viewers across the two networks, including four in the round of 16: U.S.-Belgium, Mexico-England, Brazil-Norway, and Paraguay-France in Philadelphia on July 4 (22.924 million).
Data compiled by The Inquirer show that the top five soccer audiences in U.S. history, and seven of the top 10, have come during this World Cup.
We’ll see if the numbers grow again in the quarterfinals, which include a Saturday doubleheader of England vs. Norway and Argentina vs. Switzerland (5 and 9 p.m., Fox29 and Telemundo 62).
If all the favorites prevail, the semifinals would be France-Spain and England-Argentina. The first of those would match two of the sport’s biggest superstars, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal; the second would pit Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane against Lionel Messi in a renewal of one of soccer’s most famous rivalries.
CINCINNATI — The revolving door in the Phillies bullpen continues to twirl.
Ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Reds, Tanner Banks was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm strain, and right-hander Chase Shugart was recalled in his place.
On Wednesday night, Banks allowed three consecutive homers to the top three batters in Cincinnati’s order — Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and JJ Bleday — as his struggles this season reached a new low. After posting a 3.07 ERA in 2025 and working his way into higher leverage opportunities, Banks has been unable to find his stride this year. His 7.14 ERA is the highest on the team, although fellow left-hander José Alvarado — who also allowed four runs Wednesday — is not far behind at 7.03.
The move leaves the Phillies with just two left-handers in their bullpen: Alvarado and Tim Mayza. Kyle Backhus was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier this week after going through struggles of his own.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said he first heard Banks had been dealing with fatigue in his forearm after he was optioned to triple A in June, but was able to pitch through it at that point.
“Just talking to him on the bus last night, it sounds like he was OK during the game, but he was having trouble getting moving and getting it going every day,” Mattingly said. “So that kind of told us something’s going on, and obviously it’s affecting a little bit with balls coming out, so felt like it was time to find out what’s going on.”
Mattingly believes the strain might have been affecting Banks’ performance this season. He said Banks has undergone testing, and the Phillies hope to have more information after receiving the results.
“I think that’s probably what we’re kind of seeing. This is a possibility that this is what’s been causing some of the lack of command and things like that,” he said.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told ESPN Wednesday that he would be willing to remain at the helm beyond this season, if asked. John McDonnell
Mattingly willing to become permanent manager
Mattingly, who took a 42-23 record into Thursday’s series finale against the Reds since taking over as interim Phillies manager from the fired Rob Thomson in April, told ESPN Wednesday that he would be willing to remain at the helm beyond this season, if asked.
Mattingly, 65, had been prepared to retire after stepping down from the Blue Jays bench coach job following last year’s World Series. But he changed his mind after being offered the Phillies’ bench coach role, which came with the chance to work under his son, Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.
“I like doing it,” Don Mattingly said. “I didn’t come here to do it, but I actually like doing it. And I’d committed two years. In my mind, I told Dave [Dombrowski] two years, right? So at that point you make a commitment with your family and what’s going on with everything, that you’re going to do this for two years. So if that’s something that Dave wanted me to do, I would be fine with it.”
Extra bases
Aaron Nola (3-6, 5.87 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s series opener against Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty (2-8, 4.60).
The 76ers are in an enviable position less than two weeks after the open of NBA free agency. They entered the summer hampered by the contracts of Joel Embiid and Paul George and few options other than to run it back with a team that finished seventh in the East and lost to the eventual champion New York Knicks.
The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell and David Murphy talked about the recent moves that changed the Sixers’ fortunes, including the trade of Jaylen Brown, courtship of LeBron James and more.
This was edited for clarity and conciseness.
Gina Mizell: Let’s just start with this… How would you describe this offseason overall for the Sixers? It’s still lots that potentially could happen, which we’ll get to in a little bit, but just overall, what’s your impression of what president of basketball operations Mike Gansey and the Sixers have done so far this offseason?
David Murphy: I’m kind of at a loss for words. I mean, you could describe the Jaylen Brown trade with just, ‘Wow,’ you could go with ‘unforeseen.’ I don’t think anybody really saw this coming. Over the course of the offseason, I’ve been listening to just about every hoops podcast, national podcast, you could possibly think of, and absolutely nobody had this in the cards for the Sixers. And I think that the biggest surprise to me was that that Paul George’s contract was something that the Celtics actually viewed as something that was stomachable or palatable. I watched Brad Stevens’ press conference the other day, and I was surprised that it sounds like they wanted Paul George. This wasn’t necessarily a salary dump, so I think that was kind of the keystone that allowed all this to happen.
But from the Sixers perspective, I think it was a no-brainer. You don’t lose much in terms of financial flexibility. Jaylen Brown was signed for one more year than Paul George, and the Sixers have gone from kind of rebuilding and two timelines to another three-year window here, where they’re going for it. You can’t help but be excited whether you’re a fan or someone like us who covers the team.
I was at the park with my 15-month-old son, Max, and it was, I think, 5:30 p.m. We were killing time before dinner, and I just got a text from a buddy of mine, because we have been group chatting about NBA stuff for four weeks. We had each kind of wagered our bets on where Jaylen Brown would end up, and the text message I got just said, “Wow, didn’t see that coming.”
Where were you when it happened, and what was your initial reaction when that came across your phone or your computer or wherever you saw the news,
GM: I was at home, and what I always share with our fellow NBA reporter friends is that my mom’s birthday is July 1, so it’s actually a miracle that she has not disowned me, given that July 1 is always a busy day in the NBA calendar because it’s the opening day of free agency. But I had called her finally, maybe like about 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon, Eastern time, because the Sixers had a lot of things that happened. Kelly Oubre had moved on, Quentin Grimes had moved on, they had signed Ariel Hukporti, and it kind of reached this point in time where I’m like, ‘OK, I think I can get this like 15-minute phone call in and catch up and do all that stuff.
Jaylen Brown has shared that he’s excited to join the Sixers and get started in Philly.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
At that point I wasn’t really expecting anything else to happen that day, and then the news pops about an hour later. And when it came across my phone, I literally said many expletives out loud, loud enough that my apartment neighbors maybe could have heard, because I just could not believe it. And so, no, it was just crazy when it all went down.
But now that we’ve had a chance to sort of marinate on this deal — it’s a few days old — has anything changed about sort of what you wrote in that initial column, as far as the fit financially, as far as building that championship window, like you mentioned, just kind of now that you’ve sort of sat with it? Any new thoughts, any additional thoughts, any deeper thoughts about how this is all going to work out now, adding Jaylen Brown to this group?
DM: Not really from the Sixers perspective. I’ve actually spent most of my time, but I’m in the process right now of writing for tomorrow, the end result of that. Just kind of trying to answer the question, ‘What were the Celtics thinking?’ That was my first reaction along with just about everybody else in the world. My reaction first and foremost was, ‘Wow, like that’s all? That’s all they got for Jaylen Brown? And I think my thinking on that, more than anything, has changed a little bit. I’m still surprised that you know, look, people want to rip the Celtics, but this is, first and foremost, a story of 28 other teams that did not beat the Sixers offer. So you can absolutely blame the Celtics for trading Brown, if that was the best offer on the table, the fact is that was the best offer on the table, and that’s something to think about.
I think that, you know, one of the key points that, and I believe this before the trade, I think people are underestimating how valuable that Clippers pick is that the Sixers traded to the Celtics. And I think Stevens kind of hinted at that [Monday] in his press conference. Somebody asked him why Philly, and his response was essentially that this was the best move for the future of the franchise and the assets that we could get. I agree with him 100 percent. You know, I talked to somebody in the Sixers orbit during the season. I was shooting the bull and asking about the new lottery odds, and they said to me that Clippers pick is going to get a lot more valuable with these new odds, and I think you know that’s something that people really need to understand.
GM: The contracts of Paul George for Jaylen Brown are very similar but Brown does have one more year on his current deal, and he is extension eligible on July 26. So the Sixers roster is already very top heavy and is going to continue to be top heavy when you look at Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, obviously still on his big deal, and then potentially coming up if VJ Edgecombe is going to get a payday in a few years. But I think you’re exactly right about that Clippers pick, because you look at what they’ve been and who they are now in the last six months or so with trading James Harden, trading Ivica Zubac, obviously trading Kawhi Leonard right before free agency opened. And that is a team that you would expect that pick to be very valuable.
But just adding Brown to this mix coming off of the best individual season of his career, sixth in MVP voting, really carried that Celtics team that a lot of people thought would take a gap year with Jayson Tatum out with the Achilles injury, and now adding him to this group. Who is he going to enhance the most? Who does his game, when you look at Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid when healthy, VJ Edgecombe, some of these other complementary players, who do you think Jaylen Brown is most going to enhance? Where is he most going to make this team even better, in addition to what he does individually on the floor?
DM: A few years from now, Payton Pritchard, and that’s really the second apron. This is really a story of the second apron doing what it was intended to do, and it was intended to spread superstar talent, and it’s doing that, so I think that more than anything, from the Celtics perspective. I actually think they made a very tough decision but I admire them for that. I think when you really look at, when you really look at the nuts and bolts of it, this move will leave them better off for the long haul, and maybe even the short and medium term.
I think it’s kind of a package thing. He’s going to make the pairing of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe workable. Edgecombe and Maxey, in the future, and you know, building around them. Anytime I talked about Edgecomb and Maxey in the future, and building around them, you almost have to put Joel Embiid out of it. I’m not convinced at this point that he’s even 100% going to be here next year. It wouldn’t stun me. He’s been conspicuously silent on social media ever since this trade went down. I’m not predicting that. I think it’s more of a possibility now than it was before, you know, especially seeing what we just saw. I’m not ruling anything out, is what it comes down to.
HSBE president of sports Bob Myers hired Mike Gansey, Daryl Morey’s replacement. Can he also help bring LeBron to Philly?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer / AP
So, I think you almost have to put him to the side, regardless of whether he’s here or not, you know, Mike Gansey’s number one priority was to build, start building a team that can win with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe as their backcourt, and that was going to take, it was absolutely going to take two big wings, and ideally one of them being a guy who could could score, who could slash, who could play some bully ball, who could give them an element that, at least at this point, you know, Maxey probably will never have in terms of strength, and VJ, I think, could but just isn’t there yet.
GM: You wrote yesterday or the day before, just about the basketball fit for LeBron, and how and why the Sixers make a ton of sense. Not to make you regurgitate what you wrote on the Inquirer, but just what are sort of the reasons why, based on everything that you just said, that just adding a guy like LeBron, who obviously is not the perennial MVP contender that he once was, but is still really, really, really good, and would that be the type of piece that would put the Sixers over the top?
DM: Someone made an argument to me that I now buy… I think the Timberwolves are probably the best basketball fit for them, for him, you know, and I think that he would probably have better title hopes with them as well, just because of the presence of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels on the defensive end. But I think the Sixers are right there with the Timberwolves in terms of pure basketball fit. I think, again, Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo are clunky as it is [with the Heat]. LeBron could maybe help alleviate some of that, but at the same time that’s an interesting threesome to have out there on the court, and it certainly has a chance to not be an enjoyable basketball playing experience for LeBron. And I think he’d say the same thing about, you know, Cleveland, assuming Harden comes back. No disrespect to James Harden, but I wouldn’t want to spend the last year of my career watching him dribble around a basketball court.
I personally think if I was LeBron I would opt for the Warriors and the Nuggets, just because I think playing alongside Nikola Jokić or Steph Curry would be a heck of a lot of fun, and just kind of a neat way to see what happens for the last year of my career. LeBron will fit anywhere, is what it comes down to. If you plug him in at the three or the four for the Sixers, whatever you want to consider, with Jaylen Brown, I think they’ve got as good a chance as anybody.
CINCINNATI — This year’s Home Run Derby will officially have some hometown flavor.
Bryce Harper announced on Instagram Thursday he will participate in the derby, which will be held on Monday.
“Derby at home? Sure why not?” Harper captioned a video of himself homering off the Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft.
Harper, who was included on the National League All-Star roster as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s “Legend Pick,” has 20 homers entering Thursday’s series finale against the Reds.
He last won the Derby in 2018 as a member of the Nationals, the year the All-Star festivities were hosted in Washington, D.C. In the final round, Harper beat future teammate Kyle Schwarber, who was representing the Cubs. Harper tied Schwarber with his 18th homer when the horn sounded before hitting the winner in bonus time.
Bryce Harper won the 2018 Home Run Derby at Nationals Park as a member of the Nationals.ALEX BRANDON
This year will look a little different, however. Rather than using a timer, the Derby is reverting to a swing-based format where each competitor has a set number of swings for each round.
Schwarber, who bashed his league-leading 32nd homer of the season on Wednesday against the Reds, has not confirmed whether he has decided to participate as well. In addition to Harper, the field includes Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, and Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras.
Harper will look to become the first Phillie to win the Derby since Ryan Howard in 2006.
Philadelphia is gearing up for a star-studded week with the arrival of MLB’s midsummer classic.
As Citizens Bank Park becomes a temporary home for some of the league’s top players, the Pennsylvania Convention Center will welcome fans to MLB’s All-Star Village, a four-day baseball experience featuring classic ballpark snacks, baseball challenges, photo opportunities, special appearances and more.
Here’s everything you need to know before you visit …
Philly neighborhoods on display
Taking over 500,000 square feet of real estate, the MLB All-Star Village is paying homage to five Philadelphia neighborhoods: Center City, Fishtown, South Philly, Fairmount, and Old City.
“Every neighborhood will have a different vibe,” said Rob Field, MLB’s senior manager of global events. “We have a different look for each of the neighborhoods. You’ll get to see the hometown flavor of each neighborhood.
“Old City is our historical component. Center City is kind of like our town hall, town square where we’ll have an entertainment stage and a diamond. South Philly, where Citizens Bank Park is, is where a lot of our play area is. … There really is something for everyone.”
The World’s Largest Baseball is one of the many attractions fans can find in the Center City section of the All-Star Village.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Unique baseball-themed attractions
The convention center brings fans into each neighborhood, each with its own decorations and attractions.
Center City features the entertainment stage, the World’s Largest Baseball, and one of three mini diamonds, the Playball Diamond, designed for youth activities such as baseball clinics, wiffle ball games, and free play. Programming is scheduled to take place every 45 minutes.
Fishtown was decorated with several murals and artsy neon signs. Within this neighborhood, fans will find the MLB Arcade which features a virtual reality Home Run Derby and a number of gaming consoles where fans can play MLB The Show.
Old City takes fans into the history of the sport with an area dedicated to the Pillars of the Game.
South Philly’s attractions include the Deer Park Diamond, batting cages, and pitching challenges. Meanwhile, Fairmount was dedicated to the children — featuring mini batting cages, balloon animals, face painting, and Home Run robber, a game that puts fans in Velcro suits to imitate outfield home run robberies.
The All-Star Village will provide photo opportunities with the World’s Largest Baseball, a replica Liberty Bell, a collection of MLB trophies, and the Home Run Derby chain.
A replica Liberty Bell is one of the many photo opportunities fans can experience at the All-Star Village.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Ballpark food from around the globe
There will also be ballpark bites available to fans, featuring unique menu items from MLB ballparks across the country.
“Whether you’re someone who is a collector and wants to see some players, you can come and do that,” Field said. “Or if you’re interested in food, you can certainly come and taste some of the MLB bites. There’s signature dishes from different teams across the league. And it’s indoors. You can certainly come here and enjoy the fresh air, AC that is.”
Some of the food items include: the Texas Rangers’ 9th Inning Rally Sombrero, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cookies & Cream Cold Brew, Arizona Diamondback’s Korean Pork Belly Nachos, the New York Mets’ Deli Pastrami Sandwich, Houston Astros’ Crawford Dog, Phillies’ Uncle Charlie’s Cheesesteak, Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Lobster Roll, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Manny’s Pierogies, Kansas City Royals’ Footlong Hot Dog Wellington, and Baltimore Orioles’ Banana Pudding.
Fishtown’s section of the All-Star Village will feature a lot of art.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Programming and ticketing
The All-Star Village will open on Saturday and feature a special appearance from Ryan Howard, who will be taking photos with fans at the Capital One booth.
Throughout the All-Star Week, there will be appearances from former Phillies including Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Bobby Abreu, Dave Cash, and more.
“Saturday is our opening ceremony,” Field said. “We’ll start at 8:45 a.m. right here at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. We’re going to kick things off, we’ll have entertainment. We’ll have mascots from various teams. … In addition to that we have our legends program. So, we invited all our former All-Stars, legends from the Philadelphia Phillies will be here to sign autographs, Q&As and be part of the clinics that we have.”
Joanne Graham decorates an exhibit featuring vintage Phillies gear for the Fanatics booth at the MLB All-Star Village inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The village is open from Saturday through Tuesday. On Saturday and Sunday, it’ll be open between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., while the venue will close at 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.
The Union wanted to host a closed-door friendly against the New England Revolution at Subaru Park on Thursday morning to help prepare for MLS’s return after a six-week break for the FIFA World Cup.
Mother Nature had other plans.
After lightning extended the exhibition’s halftime break, the game entered a second delay in the 66th minute after a loud clap of thunder sent the players off the pitch. The match, which was initially planned as a 120-minute exhibition, was relocated and finished with a 45-minute half inside the WSFS Sportsplex.
New England won the disjointed friendly, 3-2. Milan Iloski and Ezekiel Alladoh scored for the Union.
Despite the interruptions, the friendly gave an early glimpse of what the Union may look like under interim manager Ryan Richter, who took over after the Bradley Carnell’s dismissal in May.
Here’s three things we learned from the Union’s exhibition against New England:
Union uniformity
Those expecting the dismissal of Carnell to change the Union’s identity will be disappointed.
Richter has kept the Union’s structure and shape the same through the club’s World Cup break.
The Union came out for Thursday’s friendly in their usual shape, with four backs, two defensive midfielders playing centrally, two attacking midfielders stretching wider, and two strikers atop the formation.
Interim manager Ryan Richter kept the Union’s shape the same during Thursday’s friendly.Jonathan Tannenwald / Staff
The club’s shape stayed consistent through both portions of the outdoor friendly. The Union trotted out an entirely different lineup of players after the second delay moved the friendly indoors, but the shape stayed the same.
The Union pressed New England in their own defensive third, as they have done to all of their MLS opponents this season. Richter is well-versed in the way the Union want to play. The Warminster, Bucks County, native, who played college soccer at La Salle, has been on the Union coaching staff since 2018 and spent last season as the head coach of Union II.
Players in place
The personnel on the field looked a bit different during the friendly. Olwethu Makhanya and Danley Jean Jacques, still recovering from World Cup runs with South Africa and Haiti, respectively, did not play.
Andre Blake started in goal, and Nathan Harriel and Frankie Westfield took their usual spots at outside back. Japhet Sery Larsen played in central defense alongside Neil Pierre, the 18-year-old center back currently on loan at Lyngby, a Danish club the Union own a minority share of.
“He can clearly hang with the physicality,” Richter said of Pierre. “He’s improved so much in the way he’s reading the game and his decision making. … There’s no reason why he can’t compete at this level.”
Indiana Vassilev and Jesús Bueno made up the defensive midfield, Ben Bender and Cavan Sullivan started in attacking midfield, and Bruno Damiani and Iloski made up the starting striking partnership.
The lineup remained unchanged after the lengthy lightning delay at halftime. Richter made a pair of changes in the 65th, bringing in Alladoh for Damiani and Jovan Lukić for Bender, shortly before the second lightning delay.
Ezekiel Alladoh, shown in May, scored the Union’s second goal on Thursday when the friendly moved indoors.Philadelphia Union
The Union made mass substitutions after the friendly moved indoors. Geiner Martinez, Philippe Ndinga, Finn Sundstrom and Agustín Anello, among some Union II players, were brought into the lineup for the indoor portion of the match.
Alladoh scored the Union’s second goal once the match moved indoors. Ndinga made a run into the right side of the 18-yard box before playing the ball across the face of goal to Anello, who set it for Alladoh. The 20-year-old Alladoh laced a shot from close range that beat New England’s keeper.
The Union got a chance to see their depth in a competitive environment, which may prove important as the club restarts its match schedule. After two MLS matches in July, the Union will play eight matches in August as they start the Leagues Cup, a competition between MLS and Liga MX.
“You can train well, but you can’t hide once the game actually starts,” Richter said. “You see exactly how guys fit in, what they’re capable of, what their role could possibly be.”
Sullivan starts
Sullivan played well in the friendly, creating the Union’s first goal with a run down the right flank and a cross into the box for Iloski, who headed the ball in.
Sullivan created a few other chances that didn’t end up in the back of the net and put a free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box on frame. He was brought off the pitch after the friendly moved inside.
Sullivan, 16, made nine starts across all competitions during the first half of the Union’s season, including five of the last six matches before the World Cup break. He scored twice in the Concacaf Champions Cup and scored his first MLS goal against Orlando City in May.
It is yet to be seen if Sullivan, set to depart the Union for English Premier League side Manchester City at the end of 2027, will start to play a bigger role for the Union as they close out the 2026 season.
The Union will return to MLS play on July 22 when they host the New York Red Bulls (7:30 p.m., Apple TV+).
With the MLB All-Star Game around the corner, sports apparel company ’47 is teaming up with Sarcone’s Bakery for an exclusive pop-up inside the South Philadelphia staple.
The event will run Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The bakery will offer a special ’47 menu that boasts their famous bread and tomato pie. More importantly, guests who purchase food will receive an exclusive Sarcone’s T-shirt and hat, produced in partnership with ’47.
“When you think of Philly, you think of the passionate sports fans, and you also think of the food scene,” bakery owner Louis Sarcone III said. “The main thing of the food scene in Philly is the Philly cheesesteaks, and our bread is a staple in the city of Philly cheesesteaks. And when you go into a stadium, you see the iconic ‘47 logo everywhere. I think we’re two similar companies that have been around for generations.”
Patrick Cassidy, the vice president of marketing at ’47, helped launch the search for a Philadelphia-based business to partner with. Cassidy, who was born in the city and grew up in Delaware County, felt a bit of pressure to pick the right one.
“We’re going into Philly, and I’m from Philly,” Cassidy recalled. “It’s important to me to get this right in a very real way. I’ve got plenty of cousins and aunts and uncles to answer to if I don’t do it right.”
The front of the T-shirt (left) and a black snapback hat from Sarcone’s collab with ’47.Courtesy of '47 Brand
Sarcone’s was eventually brought up as an option. To Cassidy, the partnership made perfect sense. Sarcone’s was opened in 1918 by Sarcone III’s great-great grandfather, an immigrant from Italy. Five generations later, the bakery is still family-owned. Similarly, Boston-based ‘47 was owned and operated by two families until it was sold to New Era in 2024.
“Sarcone’s, much like us, started as a family business,” Cassidy said. “Heart, history, heritage, a crazy attention to detail. The same amount of detail with how they make their bread, we’ve barely touched the ingredients in our headwear for almost eighty years.”
Sarcone III and the rest of his family are just as excited.
“We get to give something back to our existing customers,” he said. “But also we get a reach that we normally wouldn’t get because of how big [‘47 is], get a bump. And for all the people that are coming in for the All-Star Game, we’re going to be able to reach out to new customers and show them what we’re about as well.”
Guests who purchase an item from the ‘47 menu will not only receive a shirt and hat, but they’ll also be able to customize their new gear with a heat-press station on site. The MLB All-Star Game takes place Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park, with the Home Run Derby taking place one night earlier.
After a month of World Cup festivities, baseball is taking over Philadelphia for Major League Baseball All-Star Week. The biggest event — outside of the All-Star Game itself on Tuesday — will be Monday night’s Home Run Derby headlined by Phillies stars Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber — at Citizens Bank Park.
The derby begins at 8 p.m. and streams for the first time on Netflix. This year, instead of each batter having an unlimited amount of swings in a designated time period, participants will be capped at 20 attempts in the first round and 15 in the semifinals and final.
Eight hitters are slated to compete, and seven have signed on so far. On Friday, Schwarber made his decision to join his teammate Harper in the derby. Harper officially joined a day earlier on Thursday.
Here’s what you need to know about the eight participants:
Kyle Schwarber is competing in his third Home Run Derby.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
Home Run Derby appearances: Third
2026 power numbers: 32 home runs, .571 slugging percentage
What to know: Schwarber’ 32 homers lead baseball. Since joining the Phillies in 2022, he has the second-most home runs in that span (219). In 2018, as a member of the Cubs, he finished second in the Home Run Derby to future teammate Harper. In 2022, he lost in the final to Albert Pujols.
Bryce Harper last competed in the 2018 Home Run Derby.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Bryce Harper, Phillies
Home Run Derby appearances: Three
2026 power numbers: 20 home runs, .509 slugging percentage
What to know: In Harper’s second Home Run Derby in 2018, then wearing a Nationals uniform, he beat out future teammates Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins on his way to winning. He finished with 45 home runs. Harper has 12 seasons with at least 20 home runs, and is on pace to finish with the season with 397 for his career.
Junior Caminero almost became the youngest player to win the Derby last year.Tom E. Puskar
Junior Caminero, Rays
Home Run Derby appearances: Two
2026 power numbers: 26 home runs, .541 slugging percentage
What to know: At 22 years old, Caminero almost became the youngest player to win the Derby last year, losing out to Cal Raleigh in the finals. He hit 45 home runs last season and is tied for fourth in baseball with 26 in 2026.
Ben Rice, Yankees
Home Run Derby appearances: First
2026 power numbers: 26 home runs, .573 slugging percentage
What to know: The 27-year old Rice is leading the Yankees in home runs. He has 59 since being called up to the majors three seasons ago.
In June, Jac Caglianone hit nine home runs, tied for the second most in the American League in the month. Charlie Riedel
Jac Caglianone, Royals
Home Run Derby appearances: First
2026 power numbers: 14 home runs, .455 slugging percentage
What to know: Caglianone’s numbers may seem a bit underwhelming compared to his competition. However, the 23-year-old Royals right fielder is coming off a month in which he was one of the best power hitters in baseball. In June, Caglianone hit nine home runs, tied for the second most in the American League in the month.
Willson Contreras is on pace for a career high in home runs this season.Sue Ogrocki
Willson Contreras, Red Sox
Home Run Derby appearances: First
2026 power numbers: 20 home runs, .541 slugging percentage
What to know: Contreras, who is on pace for a career high in home runs this season, still has tremendous bat speed at age 34, ranking in the 96th percentile (77 mph). He will have his brother William, himself an All-Star as a catcher with the Brewers, there to support him.
Jordan Walker, Cardinals
Home Run Derby appearances: First
2026 power numbers: 21 home runs, .534 slugging percentage
What to know: Walker, also a first-time All-Star, is looking to become the first Cardinal to win the derby. After being demoted to triple-A last year, the 24-year-old Walker is having a breakout season after retooling his swing in the offseason. His 92.4 mph exit velocity when he makes contact is fifth-highest in the league.
Munetaka Murakami has 20 homers this season.Paul Beaty
Munetaka Murakami, White Sox
Home Run Derby appearances: First
2026 power numbers: 20 home runs, .560 slugging percentage
What to know: A strained hamstring kept the 26-year-old rookie on the injured list since May 30. At the time, only Schwarber had more than his 20 home runs. He returned to the White Sox lineup on Friday. His average exit velocity of 94.2 mph is in the 98th percentile of hitters.
