Cal Raleigh wins the Home Run Derby, continuing his dream season

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⚾️ Big Dumper wins the Derby

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh won the Home Run Derby on Monday in Atlanta, edging out Rays 3B Junior Caminero in the final, 18 to 15, to continue his dream season.

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Family affair: Raleigh is the first catcher to win the event, and he did it with his father, Todd, pitching to him and his 15-year-old brother, Todd Jr., catching.

From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz:

Raleigh's rousing Derby performance served as a coronation of sorts, a capstone to the Mariners catcher's improbable rise from third-round draft pick to national baseball stardom.

In cranking 38 first-half home runs, Raleigh undoubtedly solidified himself as the sport's best backstop, a switch-hitting dynamo delivering outrageous offensive production for the position.

While Raleigh has been a popular presence in the Pacific Northwest for a while, his magnificent 2025 season has elevated him into a new stratosphere.

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And his evening Monday on the grand stage was the perfect encapsulation of what makes the Mariners' backstop special: steadiness, consistency, exhilarating raw power from both sides of the dish.

Raleigh's performance only confirmed his new reality: He is simply one of the most recognizable characters in the sport.

And yes, the nickname certainly helps. In fact, Raleigh's evening began with a genuinely flooring introduction from professional bloviator Pat McAfee.

"WITH THE FATTEST ASS IN ALL OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS ..." the ESPN personality hollered to the sellout crowd. "BIG DUMPER CAL RALEIGH." With that, Raleigh was off to the races.

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Keep reading.

🎓 Michigan makes draft history

Michigan made history over the weekend, becoming the first school ever to have a first-round pick in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL drafts in the same year.

• NFL: Mason Graham (No. 5)

• NHL: Will Horcoff (No. 24)

• NBA: Danny Wolf (No. 27)

• MLB: Mitch Voit (No. 38)

But wait, there's more: The Wolverines also had a first-round pick in the MLS Draft, with Jason Bucknor going No. 20 to the Galaxy.

⚾️ Fantasy baseball All-Stars

The MLB All-Star Game is tonight in Atlanta,* featuring rosters voted on by fans and players alike. But who makes the squad when first-half fantasy production is the sole criteria? Yahoo Sports' Fred Zinkie makes his picks.

American League:

• Catcher: Cal Raleigh, SEA … 38 HR, 82 RBI, 65 R, 10 SB, .259/.376/.634

• First base: Cody Bellinger, NYY … 16 HR, 54 RBI, 54 R, 9 SB, .282/.336/.830

• Second base: Ceddanne Rafaela, BOS … 14 HR, 48 RBI, 55 R, 13 SB, .271/.314/.483

• Third base: José Ramírez, CLE … 18 HR, 50 RBI, 54 R, 29 SB, .295/.363/.506

• Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., KC … 14 HR, 54 RBI, 57 R, 25 SB, .294/.345/.504

• Outfield: Aaron Judge, NYY … 35 HR, 81 RBI, 85 R, 6 SB, .355/.462/.733

• Outfield: Riley Greene, DET … 24 HR, 78 RBI, 53 R, 1 SB, .284/.335/.544

• Outfield: Byron Buxton, MIN … 21 HR, 56 RBI, 64 R, 17 SB, .289/.351/.574

• Designated hitter: Brent Rooker, ATH … 20 HR, 54 RBI, 60 R, 3 SB, .279/.355/.505

• Starting pitcher: Tarik Skubal, DET … 10-3, 2.23 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 153 K

• Starting pitcher: Garrett Crochet, BOS … 10-4, 2.23 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 160 K

• Reliever: Josh Hader, HOU … 5-2, 25 SV (1 BLSV), 2.53 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 65 K

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Spotlight: Riley Greene is striking out more than anyone — and having his best season yet (Jordan Shusterman, Yahoo Sports)

National League:

• Catcher: Will Smith, LAD … 12 HR, 46 RBI, 45 R, 2 SB, .323/.425/.540

• First base: Pete Alonso, NYM … 21 HR, 77 RBI, 53 R, 1 SB, .280/.376/.532

• Second base: Ketel Marte, ARI … 19 HR, 40 RBI, 52 R, 2 SB, .290/.394/.567

• Third base: Eugenio Suárez, ARI … 31 HR, 78 RBI, 58 R, 1 SB, .250/.320/.569

• Shortstop: Elly De La Cruz, CIN … 18 HR, 63 RBI, 72 R, 25 SB, .284/.359/.495

• Outfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC … 25 HR, 71 RBI, 67 R, 27 SB, .265/.302/.544

• Outfield: Kyle Tucker, CHC … 17 HR, 56 RBI, 68 R, 22 SB, .280/.384/.499

• Outfield: James Wood, WSH … 24 HR, 69 RBI, 59 R, 12 SB, .278/.381/.534

• Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, LAD … 32 HR, 60 RBI, 91 R, 12 SB, .276/.382/.605

• Starting pitcher: Paul Skenes, PIT … 4-8, 2.01 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 131 K

• Starting pitcher: Zack Wheeler, PHI … 9-3, 2.36 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 154 K

• Reliever: Edwin Díaz, NYM … 4-0, 19 SV (1 BLSV), 1.66 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 55 K

*Further reading: Why is the All-Star Game back in Atlanta? Next question (Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports)

⛳️ Xander and Scottie: A cut above the rest

Neither Scottie Scheffler nor Xander Schauffele, the world's first- and third-ranked golfers, won this past weekend at the Scottish Open. But they did make the cut — just as they have in every other tournament for the past three years.

Weekend warriors: Schauffele hasn't missed a cut since the 2022 Masters (68 straight), while Scheffler's last miss came later that year at the FedEx St. Jude Championship (59). Those streaks aren't just insanely impressive; they're the sixth- and seventh-longest of all-time.

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Longest streaks of made cuts, PGA Tour history:

1. Tiger Woods: 142 (1998-2005)

2. Byron Nelson: 113 (1941-48)

3. Jack Nicklaus: 105 (1970-76)

4. Hale Irwin: 86 (1975-78)

5. Dow Finsterwald: 72 (1955-58)

6. Schauffele: 68 (2022-present)

7. Scheffler: 59 (2022-present)

A league of their own: Scottie and Xander are miles ahead the competition right now, as just eight other men have active streaks of at least 10 straight, with none longer than 15 (Corey Conners).

• Schauffele won his first event of the streak (2022 Zurich Classic), and since then has four more wins (including two majors) and 35 total top-10's.

• Scheffler makes even those lofty numbers look pedestrian, winning 12 times during his streak (including two majors, two Players Championships and a Tour Championship) to go along with 34 top-5's and 47 top-10's. Yes, he's finished top-10 in 47 of his last 59 starts.*

Up next: Scheffler is Open Championship’s biggest favorite since 2015

*It's actually even more impressive than that: Scottie has also made four unofficial starts during his streak: the 2022-24 Hero World Challenge and the 2024 Olympics. His results in those starts? Three wins and a runner-up.

📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, July 15

⚾️ All-Star Game | 8pm ET, Fox

The 95th Midsummer Classic is tonight at Atlanta's Truist Park, where Cy Young frontrunners Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes are the starting pitchers and where the American League — which holds a 48-44-2 all-time advantage — will try to win for the 11th time in the last 12 games. Starting lineups.

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More to watch:

• 🏀 WNBA: Fever at Sun (8pm, ESPN) … After scoring 20+ points in four of her first six games, Caitlin Clark has been held under 20 points in six straight.

• 🏊 Aquatics: World Championships (8pm, Peacock) …. The three-week long event began Friday in Singapore.

Today's full slate →

⚾️ MLB trivia

Rays owner Stu Sternberg has agreed in principle to sell the franchise for $1.7 billion in a deal that's expected to close by September, The Athletic reports.

Question: This will be the third MLB team sale this decade once completed. Can you name the other two teams that were sold?

Hint: One AL, one NL.

⚽️ What the World Cup learned from the Club World Cup

From Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell:

The Club World Cup was a "dress rehearsal" for the U.S., which will host 78 of 104 games at next summer's bigger, grander, more prestigious men's World Cup.

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It was a "test" of readiness, and a taste of what 2026 will be like. And in that sense, it was a reminder that 2026 won't just be a World Cup in North America; it will be an Americanized World Cup.

Dive in.

Trivia answer: Mets (2020) and Orioles (2024)

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