Ingrid Andress Just Delivered One Of The Worst National Anthem Performances Of All Time At The Home Run Derby

Baseball Fans Rage Against MLB’s All-Star Uniforms

Ahead of the All-Star Game, the MLB found itself mired in another grotesque jersey controversy after unveiling the uniforms for this year's game. https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1808651620227424478 What have we as a country done with all that freedom? Given free rein to bumbling decision-makers and uniform designers whose strengths are probably best suited away from baseball-related attire. How did we get here? The sport that was once considered "America's Pastime" only to be lapped by football is only digging itself a bigger hole by making their best players on the planet trot out to the diamond wearing such dreck. The team jerseys for the 2024 season were criticized enough, yet a lot of those who are incensed about this are still lobbying for that over the newly revealed outerwear. https://twitter.com/_emparker/status/1808681766150156478 https://twitter.com/ObamaFBR/status/1808651712132972959 https://twitter.com/DerrickArthur/status/1808834757460922438 https://twitter.com/MikeBellATL/status/1808843318186389771 https://twitter.com/obxleatherman/status/1808886153082273952 https://twitter.com/fangsbites/status/1808884809294356732 https://twitter.com/baseballnchill/status/1808660731052601611 https://twitter.com/ToddFerguson01/status/1808652073136996433 https://twitter.com/ProblemHD_/status/1808660016016093469 https://twitter.com/ToddUncommon/status/1808695421164007830 MLB's original post has well over one million impressions, which is putting to the test the "no press is bad press" adage. The league needs people to care more about a 162-game regular season plus playoffs. They don't even have football, hockey or basketball to really compete with right now. The greater North American sporting spotlight is there for the taking! ...At least until later this month when the Olympics get underway. Margin for error is even slimmer this year. Not exactly getting into the fans' good graces with these All-Star jerseys. While we're here, there was a brief period of time when the MLB All-Star Game decided home-field advantage for the World Series. Not saying that should come back, but can't Rob Manfred come up with something to make casuals care more? The Home Run Derby is cool. In fact, that's more worth tuning in for than the All-Star Game itself. Baseball is hardly the only sport that has this problem. The Pro Bowl isn't really a thing anymore. The NBA All-Star Game is beyond a joke. What happened to All-Star Games in general!? A good first step forward for MLB would be to get some new fashion-savvier creatives involved with uniform designs. It's embarrassing at this point. Speaking of freedom, let the artists who've made these loose to thread clothing more in line with their skill sets!

Paul Skenes Plans To Serve In The Military After His MLB Career

From throwing bombs to flying bombers? Paul Skenes has a bright future ahead of him in MLB. The 21-year-old right-handed pitcher was chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the top pick in last year’s draft, and he’s quickly lived up to all the hype he built up around himself in his college days at Air Force and LSU. The pitching phenom and starting pitcher for the NL in this week's All-Star Game made his MLB debut against the Chicago Cubs earlier this month, registering triple digits on the radar gun consistently and striking out seven Chicago batters in four-plus innings of work. And in his next outing a few days later, he put up even better stats, pitching a no-hitter in his six innings of work while allowing only one walk. Oh, and he also happens to be dating one of the most popular college athletes in the world right now, LSU gymnast and influencer Olivia Dunne. Things are looking pretty good for Skenes right now. But everybody knows that athletes often have short shelf lives. The average career for an MLB player is just three years, and it's even less than that for pitchers, who are prone to injuries in their throwing arms that shorten their careers. Skenes has a pretty solid backup plan though. The pitcher started out his college baseball career at the Air Force Academy, but transferred to LSU after his sophomore season. The reason for the transfer was that if he had graduated from Air Force, he may have been required to serve five years of active duty before beginning his baseball career. But that doesn't mean that Skenes doesn't want to serve in the military. According to his Air Force coach Mike Kazlausky, the pitcher has expressed to him that he still plans to join the Air Force after his MLB career is over: "He will serve his country in some manner moving forward. It's just going to be a matter of when. Paul and I have spoken about that piece. We'll get him back in the military once his professional playing days are over. It’s a big deal for Paul to be able to serve our country." Skenes comes from a family with a long line of military service, with two uncles who served in the Navy and one in the Coast Guard. He initially entered the Air Force Academy with hopes of becoming an F-16 pilot. And it's a dream that he says he hasn't given up on: "Playing professional baseball was a dream of mine, but it wasn't the primary dream. Really, all I wanted to do was play college baseball and go somewhere and know that I had a good career lined up ahead of me, and Air Force was pretty much the perfect place for that." Well if he keeps up what he's doing in the MLB right now he might have to put off his military plans for a little longer - but good for Skenes for wanting to serve our country after his baseball career is over. Oh, and he's also got some pretty damn good taste in music. https://twitter.com/WhiskeyRiff/status/1781376317126053950