The fan-friendly event is as much an homage to baseball’s iconic place in street style — from the game’s signature caps and jerseys to the classic tees — as it is an indication that MLB is increasingly staking its claim on fashion as an entry to new audiences and pop culture reverence.
“MLB gave me a stylist for this game,” said Corbin Carroll, a 22-year-old Seattle native turned Arizona Diamondbacks’ breakout rookie. “The outfit’s kind of cool. Definitely, it’s not something I would pick out for myself, but I’m kind of excited to show that off.”
Because like a good many Gen Zer — which includes those born in the late 1990s and early 2000s — Carroll described his off-duty style as more casual than high fashion: “Athleisure, not too many logos, plain, a nice good fit.”
“Sometimes perception becomes reality, but it’s just never been accurate. Look at the young people — they’ve always been here,” said Noah Garden, MLB’s chief revenue officer. “We always want to attract younger fans. It’s the foundation of any business.”
So MLB has been trying to liven up its image for years, watching with wonder as the NBA’s cultural dominance grew alongside the basketball stars who have been cemented as style kings among celebrity athletes, along with their sneakers, suits and streetwear.
The NBA is the No. 1 brand preference for Gen Z across sports institutions, said Brandon Brown, a sports management professor at New York University, in part because the game and its savvy players are so heavily tied to urban hip-hop culture and self-representation — things this generation so identifies with.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., of the Arizona Diamondbacks, shows off his hair during All-Star Game player availability, on July 10, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
“It’s a really important event. The players really embrace it, too,” Garden said. “It’s to highlight our best players and bringing them closer to the fans.”
Among the league’s most fashion-forward players: Mariners star Julio Rodríguez, 22, whose red carpet outfit for Tuesday was handmade in Italy and pays tribute to Seattle. The reigning American League Rookie of the Year works with a personal shopper.
“It’s something that’s going to connect really well with the city of Seattle, and I feel like it’s going to represent what the whole city is about,” Rodríguez said. “What do you think about when you think about Seattle? You think a little bit about the trees, the lakes and all those things — the beautiful summer. So, it’s going to go towards that.”
“There’s very limited quantities. It allows us to reach out to a very specific part of the fan base,” Garden said. “It’s a closer association with non-traditional brands.”
It’s such a coveted supply that some players have even called the front office asking for a piece of MLB’s limited edition Gucci collection, Garden said.
So lest you believe the unstylish rumors, there actually has been many short stops in baseball’s history with fashion.
“What they’re tapping into is a kind of a cultural capital that’s not financial. It’s about the fans. It’s about nostalgia,” said Erin Corrales-Diaz, a Toledo Museum of Art curator who wrote a book about the baseball jersey and the sport’s influence on fashion. “Fashion has always been a part of the sport, even if it hasn’t always been articulated.”
Even so, MLB may still have its work cut out for it as several All-Star players acknowledged they were less than fluent in fashion ahead of Tuesday’s show.
Carroll of the Diamondbacks flashed a shy smile describing his first time working with a stylist and first time doing any red carpet event.
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Martin Kirketerp has lived the highest of the highs being an Olympic gold medalist, but he also lived out two nightmares earlier this year.
The Danish sailor said in a recent interview that he had been struck by lightning in January and then swarmed by orcas just six months later.
Kirketerp, who won gold in 2008 in Beijing, was competing at the SailGP event in Singapore as a grinder for ROCKWOOL Denmark. After the race, he was trying to help the New Zealand boat back to the harbor for the winning ceremony after their victory. But lightning struck the boat, and electricity was running through him.
Kirketerp said he’s been shocked plenty of times, as he’s “worked quite a bit as a handyman at home.” But “this is different.”
“You can feel it all the way down through the body. It’s a huge shock. It’s not because it’s so painful. You can really feel it, but it’s not like a pain. It’s more what goes on in your head,” he added. “You can just feel that it is tearing your whole body, and you are a little worried about what is happening.
“The positive thing is that it only lasts a few seconds. When it’s over, you can very quickly feel that the ticker is still ticking. I was still there. It’s over in a flash, but while it’s on, it’s intense. I couldn’t feel my arm after. I had no contact with my arm at all, but at the time it didn’t matter.”
“They came over to lay next to the rudder and gave it a good beating once in a while. They didn’t come with full force and smash into it, because then it would brake right away. But it is still a very large and heavy animal, so when they give a slap with the head to the rudder, the entire boat shakes. I was very afraid that the rudder would crack, but I wasn’t afraid of sinking.
Martin Kirketerp Ibsen and Jonas Warrer of Denmark celebrate with their gold medals after overall victory in the 49er class event held at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center during day ten of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 18, 2008, in Qingdao, China. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
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“I’ve seen a lot of marine life out there, but I’ve never tried anything like this. It was a fantastic experience to see these large, majestic, impressive animals so close. But it would have been much cooler if they just came over and said hello, followed the boat for a bit, and then swam on.”
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But Smith isn’t leaving without one last battle with NFL owners.
In a 100-page paper, which Yahoo Sports obtained, Smith and Carl Lasker, a Yale law student and teaching assistant to Smith, called for the Rooney Rule to be eliminated because they believe it’s failed to serve its purpose.
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“The system is broken from the inside out and outside, and any effort to affect it that didn’t obligate NFL owners to adherence or reform was doomed from the start,” Smith told Yahoo Sports.
They also viewed the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action no longer being used in private and public colleges across the country as something that could impact the NFL down the road.
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There were 47 responses among the 65, and it showed 92% of them believed more transparency was needed in the hiring process for head coaches, 90% believe race plays a role in coaching hires and 90% said “federal statutes prohibiting discrimination are not observed or obeyed in hiring practices.”
“The NFL’s system is broken,” Smith and Lasker wrote. “To fix it, owners need to abandon the Rooney Rule and replace their unchecked discretion with comprehensive requirements to eliminate discrimination, ensure fairness, improve diversity and build an equitable, transparent and accountable system.”
Heading into the 2023 season, the only Black head coaches are the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles and the Houston Texans’ DeMeco Ryans, who was hired this offseason.
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Late last month, the Pro Football Hall of Famer had surgery to repair blood clots in his legs. The team returned for offseason conditioning, and Sanders made an appearance.
The 55-year-old coach sat in a chair on the sidelines as players went through drills.
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“Good to see you, you look good,” one player appeared to say as he greeted the Buffaloes’ coach.
University of Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders secures his headset under his cowboy hat during the spring football game as part of Black and Gold Day April 22, 2023. (Michael Ciaglo for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
When Sanders was asked about how he felt, he replied, “Glad to be back.”
Sanders was taken to a Colorado hospital, where he remained for a couple of days. He was later released after the surgery to remove blood clots from his legs.
In late June, Sanders mentioned it was unlikely his foot would be amputated due to the blood clot.
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Wednesday’s ban by the Italian soccer federation means Mourinho will miss Roma’s opening match next season and will likely also miss the team’s second game, depending on when the matches are scheduled.
Jose Mourinho after UEFA Europa League Final 2023: Sevilla vs Roma, disputed on Puskas Arena, Budapest, 31 May 2023 (Flaviu Buboi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Mourinho was punished for claiming Daniele Chiffi was “the worst referee I have ever seen in my career” after Roma’s 1-1 draw at Monza on May 3.
The 60-year-old Mourinho was banned for four matches by UEFA last week for abusing English referee Anthony Taylor at the Europa League final on May 31.
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Boapeah picked up the quick win over Bokeme in the first round of the contest at Glory Collision 5. Boapeah threw two quick punches at Bokeme, and Bokeme looked stunned to realize a few of his teeth had been knocked out.
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The incident took place at Glory Collision 5. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Bokeme turned away from Boapeah and went to his corner. He spit out his mouthguard and along came his front teeth. The referee called the match and awarded Boapeah the victory. The Glory broadcast then got an up-close look at Bokeme’s teeth, and, sure enough, the teeth were out.
Boapeah is on a two-fight winning streak. He defeated Ertugrul Bayrak in March via unanimous decision. He is 16-4 in his kickboxing career.
Michael Boapeah was given the win. (David Davies – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
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It was the first fight of the event’s main card which led up to Kevin Tariq defeating Antonio Plazibat via knockout for the interim heavyweight title.
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The Amsterdam District Court judges said the sentence for the offense would usually be a year but they gave Promes a longer sentence because “the suspect is a professional soccer player and Dutch celebrity, and therefore sets an example to others.”
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Quincy Promes of Spartak Moscow looks on during the warm-up ahead of the Russian Premier League match between FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and FC Spartak Moscow on May 7, 2023 at Gazprom Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Mike Kireev/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Promes was not in court for the verdict. He plays for Spartak Moscow in Russia.
He was convicted of stabbing his cousin in the knee at a family party in a town near Amsterdam in July 2020. Police learned of the incident because they were tapping Promes’ phone as part of an investigation into drug smuggling.
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Quincy Promes (No.10) of Spartak seen in action during the Russian Cup 2022/2023 football match between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Spartak Moscow at Gazprom Arena. Final score; Zenit 0:0 (4:2, penalty shootout) Spartak. (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
At the time of the stabbing, Promes played for Ajax.
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It’s been a lingering injury for McCullers all year. He hasn’t stepped on the mound in 2023 for a game.
In an official release, the Astros said McCullers will have the right flexor tendon repaired, and surgeons will remove a bone spur.
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“After the injury happened in February, Lance worked his tail off to get back on the mound,” Astros general manager Dana Brown said in the statement. “This guy is a warrior and did everything in his power to get back. But each time he built himself up to an increased pitch total off the mound, the pain would come back. It’s unfortunate, but we look forward to him being back on the mound next season.”
Jose Altuve (27), Alex Bregman (2), Justin Verlander (35), Yuli Gurriel (10) and Lance McCullers Jr. (43) of the Houston Astros participate in the World Series parade Nov. 7, 2022, in Houston. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
McCullers pitched well in his eight regular-season starts in 2022, going 47.2 innings with a 2.27 ERA. However, he struggled in the postseason with a 5.87 ERA.
In his last full season in 2021, McCullers had a 3.16 ERA over 162.1 innings (28 starts), working his signature 12-6 curveball that helped fuel 185 strikeouts.
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The league’s disciplinary committee ruled that the season finale, which Bordeaux had to win to keep its promotion hopes alive, will not be replayed. It also deducted a point from Bordeaux for next season and ordered the closure of the south stand at Bordeaux stadium for two games.
The June 2 match between Bordeaux and Rodez was stopped shortly after Lucas Buades gave Rodez a 1-0 lead on the final day of the season. While Rodez players celebrated, a Bordeaux fan stepped onto the pitch and pushed Buades to the ground.
The match referee stopped proceedings and sent both teams back to the locker room.
Bordeaux was involved in a two-way battle with Metz for the second promotion spot behind second-division champion Le Havre. Metz beat Bastia 3-2 on the final day and will be promoted unless Bordeaux manages to overturn the committee’s decision.
Bordeaux said in a statement that the ruling was “as incomprehensible as it is disproportionate” and that it would refer the case to France’s national Olympic committee.
With its six French leagues titles, four French Cups, three League Cups and success on the European stage, the southwestern club is one of the most decorated in the country. Bordeaux last won a league title in 2009, before the emergence of Paris Saint-Germain as a French power.
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Daly has been working with ECR since 2020, but did not run a full season with the team until last year when he brought sponsor BitNile to the team. BitNile has been supportive of Daly and sponsored him in the Daytona 500 this year.
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Conor Daly, driver of the #20 BitNile Chevrolet, is introduced before the NTT IndyCar GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 13, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
“This is the most difficult decision I have made as a team owner because I respect Conor and know what he means to IndyCar and its fans,” Carpenter said of the 31-year-old Indianapolis native.
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Conor Daly signs autographs at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach on April 14, 2023 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images)
“Although we’ve mutually decided that it’s in our best interests to take different paths, I’d like to thank ECR for the past three and a half seasons,” said Daly. “I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me – past, present and into the future. I look forward to taking on the next opportunities that await, and I want to thank the fans for being with me on this ride.”
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