Verlander made the announcement on Wednesday, shortly after he was added as a “Legend Pick” to the American League All-Star roster.
“While I’m fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I’ve decided this will be my last,” Verlander, a right-handed pitcher, shared on social media. “It’s fitting that I get to finish where it all started — with the Detroit Tigers, the organization that drafted me and gave me my first opportunity.”
While he will not play in the All-Star Game, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Verlander will be at Tuesday’s game at Citizens Bank Park and will be honored during the festivities.
“The opportunity to attend once again is something I’ll cherish and it will be an incredibly special moment for me and my family,” said Verlander, who is married to model Kate Upton and has two children.
Verlander has a career record of 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 starts across 21 major league seasons with the Tigers, Astros, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. He has 3,554 strikeouts and has tossed 26 complete games, including nine shutouts.
He joins Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper as a Legend Pick for the 2026 Midsummer Classic. Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Clayton Kershaw were honored at previous All-Star games.
Oldest player in the majors
Verlander, 43, is the oldest player in Major League Baseball. He signed a one-year, $13 million contract to rejoin the Tigers in February.
Verlander allowed five runs in 3⅔ innings in his only start this year, a 9-6 road loss at Arizona on March 30.
“It’s time for the next chapter,” Verlander said. “But first, I’m excited to finish this season the only way I know how — with everything I’ve got.”
He went on the injured list with hip inflammation early in the season, and, when he was nearing a return last month, he pulled a hamstring during a bullpen session.
“I never wanted to retire because of a milestone, a number, or a date on the calendar,” Verlander said. “I wanted the game to tell me when it was time. Over the last several months, I’ve realized that time has come.”
He was scheduled to pitch in June and make what would have been his first start with the Tigers at Comerica Park since Aug. 30, 2017 — the day before he was traded to the Astros.
Cy Young winner, World Series champ
He went 183-115 from 2005 to 2017 with the Tigers. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and was the AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012 along with four straight division titles from 2011 to 2014.
Verlander was drafted second overall in 2004 by the Tigers. Their front office at the time was led by Dave Dombrowski, who’s now the Phillies’ president of baseball operations.
Verlander was the 2017 ALCS MVP in Houston and helped the Astros win the World Series that year and was a key player for them when they won another title in 2022. He won his second and third Cy Young Awards in 2019 and 2022.
“I’ve been fortunate to play with and against incredible players, for outstanding organizations, and compete in front of fans who deeply appreciate the game,” Verlander said.
One of Philadelphia’s signature sandwiches is heading back to Citizens Bank Park after a decade away.
The Schmitter, the classic cheesesteak-salami creation from McNally’s Tavern in Chestnut Hill, will return during the forthcoming Major League Baseball All-Star festivities, Aramark announced as it unveiled a lineup of foods and merchandise at the ballpark Wednesday.
A Schmitter on display at the All-Star media preview Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.
The Schmitter, which has a spot on The Inquirer’s list of 76 essential foods, will be served at Pass & Stow, the sports bar accessible to ticketed fans, throughout All-Star Week. Aramark, the Phillies’ concessionaire, plans to keep it on the ballpark menu through at least the end of the season.
It joins a lineup of fan-voted creations and Philadelphia chef collaborations at Citizens Bank Park, which hosts four days of events starting with the HBCU Swingman Classic on Friday.
At All-Star Village, which runs Saturday through Tuesday at the Convention Center, Aramark will offer signature dishes from ballparks around the majors, including a pastrami sandwich from Citi Field, the Crawford Dog from Houston’s Daikin Park, and Taco Momalona from Coors Field in Denver.
Del Rossi’s cheesesteak will be offered at Citizens Bank Park during the All Star Game festivities.
The food is only part of the attraction.
The two-level Phillies Team Store at the ballpark — open to the public without a ticket every day except Sunday — has been completely reset with merchandise exclusive to the All-Star Game. The usual Phillies caps, jerseys, drinkware, and other souvenirs have been packed into storage for the week while Major League Baseball takes over.
The store is stocked with about 400 All-Star items, “about 80% of them exclusive to the ballpark,” said Francis Winkey, Aramark’s senior merchandise manager. Winkey, an avid trading-pin collector, said he designed and sourced 84 exclusive pins, including one representing each major-league team.
More than 80 original pins will be sold at the Phillies Team Store during All-Star Game events.
“I’ve spent way too much of my life over the last two years developing and dreaming up the bobbleheads, the pins, the bats and balls and pennants, and all the other merchandise we’re offering,” Winkey said.
Additional All-Star merchandise will be sold at All-Star Village.
On the ballpark menu for the All-Star events, the showcase dish will be Betsy’s Banana Split Sundae, the winner of a fan vote. The dessert combines banana pudding and vanilla soft serve with crushed vanilla wafers, peanut brittle, hot fudge, strawberry sauce, toasted marshmallow topping, and red, white, and blue sprinkles, all served in a commemorative cap. Because voting was close, Aramark will also feature the runner-up, a rib melt made of braised short rib, sharp provolone, charred onion jam, fried peppers, and pickle butter on ciabatta.
The Revolutionary Rib Melt will be served at Citizens Bank Park during All Star events.
Inside the premium Cadillac Hall of Fame Club, Aramark will feature dishes from Philadelphia chefs and restaurateurs, including Marc Vetri’s meatball Parmesan sandwich from Salvy, Matthew Cahn of Middle Child’s honey mustard chicken wrap, Nish Patel’s Del Rossi’s cheesesteak, and Evan Snyder’s Emmett lamb merguez hot dog. Pricing was not announced.
But the loudest applause at Wednesday’s unveiling was reserved for … a sandwich.
The Schmitter was a Citizens Bank Park staple from its opening in 2004 through the 2015 season. McNally’s owner Joe Pie said it arrived at the ballpark at the request of late Phillies chairman David Montgomery, whose family lived near the tavern. It was originally prepared in a full kitchen near Section 140, but after being moved to an open-air stand near the left-field gate in 2013, Pie said the quality suffered.
Michael Harris, a Phillies vice president, speaks at the preview of All-Star food and merchandise.
“We were serving a sandwich that wasn’t up to par,” Pie said.
Pie said he and Aramark general manager Kevin Tedesco stayed in touch over the years. Aramark nearly revived the Schmitter before last year’s postseason, but the Phillies’ early playoff exit ended those plans. Tedesco approached Pie again while planning this year’s All-Star festivities.
A commemorative jacket festooned with teams logos is shown at the preview of All-Star merchandise.
“Chef Vonnie [Negron] is totally invested,” Pie said of the ballpark’s executive chef. “He said, ‘I understand the sandwich.’”
The Schmitter dates to the late 1960s, when McNally’s founder, Hugh J. McNally, improvised a sandwich for a regular customer who drank Schmidt’s beer. Built with chopped steak, grilled salami, melted cheese, tomatoes, fried onions, and the tavern’s signature Schmitter sauce on a Kaiser roll, it has become one of Philadelphia’s defining sandwiches and earned a place on The Inquirer’s list of essential local dishes.
Its appeal lies somewhere between a cheesesteak, a deli sandwich, and a burger — indulgent enough that former Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez famously joked it came with “a paramedic.”
Kansas City Royals slugger Jac Caglianone is the latest to commit to participating in the Home Run Derby on Monday in Philadelphia.
The 23-year-old Caglianone joins Ben Rice from the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in the competition. The other five participants have not yet been announced.
Five Kansas City players have previously participated in the event: Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), Salvador Perez (2021) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2024). None have come away with the title.
Witt was the runner-up in 2024 when he hit 50 home runs in total. He hit 13 HRs in the final round, one shy of Teoscar Hernandez’s 14.
In his first full season with the Royals, Caglianone is hitting .258/.322/.455 (77-for-299) with a team-high 14 home runs and 33 RBIs in 85 games. His 14 home runs have averaged 418 feet in length, which is tied for the best average in the majors this season.
CINCINNATI — Every year, Zack Wheeler has the same three goals.
Win the Cy Young Award, win the World Series, and make the All-Star Game. After returning from thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that has ended other pitchers’ careers, he didn’t diminish his own expectations.
And so it rankles the Phillies right-hander that one of those goals is officially out of reach this year due to factors out of his control.
Never mind that Wheeler posted a 2.28 ERA in his first 14 starts since returning from the surgery, including a dominant seven innings against the Reds on Tuesday night. Wheeler was not selected to his fourth All-Star Game through the player ballot, which was announced on Saturday. And because he is lined up to start for the Phillies on Sunday and is therefore ineligible to pitch two days later in the midsummer classic, he cannot be named a replacement like teammate Jesús Luzardo, who was one of three pitchers added to the team on Tuesday.
“It [ticks] me off, and it’s kind of B.S. Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in there I wouldn’t be saying this, but I feel like I’ve earned it,” Wheeler said. “Just because I pitch on a certain day, I can’t pitch an All-Star Game, or even be there, or get the recognition for it. They could have did it a few different ways. I didn’t necessarily have to get chosen right away, but I feel like I was right there, so maybe they put me in and automatically just shoot me right back out and put somebody else in.
“There’s certain ways to do it, and you figure they would have a clue about it by now, how many All-Star games they’ve had, and I think it’s kind of just a B.S. rule that just because I pitch on a certain day, I get punished for it.”
Kyle Schwarber (left) celebrates with Bryce Harper after hitting a two-run homer.
Wheeler said he typically throws a bullpen session the second or third day after his start and informed his agent he would be willing to pitch an inning on July 14, but was told he is not allowed.
The Phillies had a similar snub last season. Cristopher Sánchez was passed over for an All-Star selection despite a 2.59 ERA in the first half, due to also pitching the final game before the break. The club activated the bonus clause in his contract for an All-Star selection, but Sánchez did not get league recognition.
“It just [stinks] that we have to deal with it,” said Kyle Schwarber, who is one of six Phillies on the National League roster. “We dealt with it last year, dealt with it this year now, and when someone who’s putting up the numbers deserves it, you want them to just get that nod.”
But even if Wheeler will not earn his third consecutive All-Star selection, he certainly put on an All-Star-caliber performance on Tuesday. He held the Reds to one run over seven innings as he pitched with some extra motivation.
Wheeler’s 14 strikeouts matched a career-high.
“I felt like that’s kind of a reminder,” he said, “for whoever needs to be reminded.”
Wheeler leaned on all six of his pitches to keep the Reds off-balance. He generated 20 swings and misses. Early in his outing, his sweeper was his main strikeout pitch. But by the third time through Cincinnati’s order, Wheeler started throwing his splitter more often late in counts as he tried to give hitters different looks.
“I think that’s the one thing with Zack that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “If a guy’s got a weakness, he can get there with different pitches. It’s either the backdoor sink, he can go four [seam] up, he’s got the sweeper, he’s got the split, so there’s weapons for all different styles of guys.”
Zack Wheeler generated swings and misses with all of his signature pitches against the Reds.
Wheeler did not walk a batter. The solo homer he gave up to Eugenio Suárez to lead off the seventh was just the fourth hit and baserunner Wheeler had allowed all night. But he capped the inning — and his outing — by getting Tyler Stephenson to chase a splitter for his 14th strikeout.
“Definitely had some extra focus today. Looked really good in the bullpen,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “From start to finish, that was about as good as I’ve seen him.”
The Phillies’ offense provided all the cushion Wheeler needed against Reds lefty Andrew Abbott. In the third inning, Derek Hill started things off with a double, advanced to third on a single from Justin Crawford, and scored on an RBI groundout from Trea Turner.
Abbott then served up a 3-0 fastball over the middle of the plate to Schwarber.
The Ohio native doesn’t often swing in 3-0 counts. In fact, across the first 28 times Schwarber has gotten ahead 3-0 this season, he swung just once, which resulted in a foul tip. Three times, he was intentionally walked. The other 24 times, Schwarber took the 3-0 pitch.
But this time, Schwarber delivered a 408-foot home run to right field, his 31st of the season and 11th against a left-hander.
“I’m not very good at swinging 3-0, I don’t think my numbers are great at all. It’s just kind of always been a little thing for some reason,” Schwarber said. “Not many successful things happen for me there, which is a weird thing, but it just kind of was the spot, the situation.”
The Phillies tacked on another run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly from Edmundo Sosa.
After taking over for Wheeler, Orion Kerkering got into some trouble in the bottom of the frame, issuing back-to-back walks to bring the tying run to the plate. He nearly got out of it, inducing a ground ball to Alec Bohm for a potential inning-ending double play, but Elly De La Cruz was ruled safe at second while Sal Stewart was called out at first.
The Phillies challenged the safe call on De La Cruz, believing that he abandoned the base path by continuing toward the outfield rather than turning to third base immediately after the play. After a lengthy review, the call was upheld. Crew chief Alfonso Marquez told a pool reporter that abandoning of the base path is not challengeable, according to league rules.
Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson (right) was ejected by crew chief Alfonso Márquez (center) after their failed challenge of Elly De La Cruz abandoning the base path on a ground ball in the eighth inning.
“In our minds, De La Cruz did not turn left toward third at all,” Mattingly said. “I asked for a rules check from that standpoint, to make sure they knew the rule. Because that’s what they explained to us, showed us video in spring training that you cannot continue running.”
Pitching coach Caleb Cotham and infield coach Bobby Dickerson were ejected after the ruling.
Following the delay, JJ Bleday battled Kerkering for a nine-pitch walk to load the bases and Mattingly brought in Jonathan Bowlan for Suárez. Bowlan made the disagreement moot by striking out Suárez with a slider in the dirt, stranding all three runners.
Jhoan Duran sidestepped a soft infield single to strike out the side in the ninth, picking up his 22nd save of the season.
In doing so, he also ensured that Wheeler earned his ninth win.
“I’m sure there’s a little bit of [an] extra thing in the back of his head where he wanted to go out there and have a really good night, and he did it,” Schwarber said. “And I’m happy that he’s on our side.”
CINCINNATI — The Phillies bullpen shuffle continued on Tuesday ahead of their series opener against the Reds.
Right-hander Max Lazar was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley, while lefty Kyle Backhus was optioned.
Backhus has struggled since returning from an elbow injury at the end of June. In seven appearances since being activated from the injured list, Backhus has a 7.94 ERA.
“We just felt like Back hasn’t been throwing the ball like he did before before the injury,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “He says he feels great, and I think he understands he’s just not throwing the ball well yet, so this gives him an opportunity to kind of work regularly, get his stuff together, and be prepared when we need him.”
Backhus also pitched an inning in the 15-1 loss to the Royals in the series finale on Monday, while Lazar gives the Phillies a fresh arm. Lazar, who has a 3.93 ERA in 18⅓ innings in triple A, can also be a multi-inning option.
Right-hander Brad Keller joined the team in Cincinnati and is set to be reinstated from the injured list on Wednesday. Keller had been on the shelf since June 16 with right forearm tendinitis, a nagging injury that Mattingly said he had been pitching through for a while before hitting the injured list.
Brad Keller joined the team in Cincinnati and is set to be reinstated from the injured list on Wednesday.
Keller made two appearances with the IronPigs on a rehab assignment, and pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday. Mattingly wanted to give Keller two days off before activating him.
Even after the blowout loss in Kansas City on Monday after Cristopher Sánchez only went 3⅔ innings, Mattingly feels his bullpen is in good shape for the Phillies’ series against the Reds. Garrett Stubbs pitched an inning in the loss, which also helped save an arm.
Wednesday’s game in Cincinnati will be a bullpen game, although the Phillies have not yet announced who will take the ball to start.
Day off for Marsh
With Brandon Marsh due for a day off, and the Phillies facing two left-handers in a row — the Royals’ Noah Cameron on Monday and the Reds’ Andrew Abbott on Tuesday — Mattingly let the outfielder choose when to sit.
Marsh opted to take off Tuesday against Abbott, with Edmundo Sosa taking over in left field and Justin Crawford remaining in the lineup in center field. Derek Hill started in right.
“[Abbott’s] got more of the sweep, which is a pitch that’s given Marshy more trouble from the left side,” Mattingly said.
Marsh has a .256 batting average and .706 OPS against left-handers this season after playing his way into an everyday role.
As the All-Star break approaches, Mattingly thinks the team overall is keeping its focus.
“I’ve had a lot of teams that you go into the break and you know guys are kind of hitting the wall a little bit. They also know these days off are coming,” Mattingly said. “I always talk about playing to the break. … Don’t take it off a series early or something. But I think we’re holding up OK. I think the tone with which we’ve played, not so much the result of the game, but the way you feel, the way guys are going about their business and stuff, you still feel good about.”
Extra bases
Reds All-Star right-hander Chase Burns (10-1, 2.40 ERA) will start against the Phillies in their bullpen game on Wednesday.
CINCINNATI — The first time Don Mattingly managed Jesús Luzardo, the lefty was at his lowest.
In 2021, Luzardo was traded midseason from the Oakland A’s to the Miami Marlins, where Mattingly was at the helm. Across the two teams, the 23-year-old Luzardo posted a 6.61 ERA.
“2021 was by far the worst year of my career,” Luzardo said. “And he saw me when I was struggling.”
It was a full-circle moment when the Phillies interim manager called Luzardo into his office this week, along with pitching coaches Caleb Cotham and Mark Lowy, to let him know he had been named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Luzardo was added to the National League roster Tuesday along with the Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft and Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien as replacements for the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, the Marlins’ Max Meyer, and the Pirates’ Paul Skenes.
Misiorowski, Meyer, and Skenes are all lined up to pitch on Sunday, making them ineligible to appear in the All-Star Game on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park.
“It’s obviously an honor, first one of my career,” Luzardo said. “It’s been a really good year, as a team too, fighting back from a bad start. So it’s a good note, but something to continue to build on.”
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo looks up as he comes off the mound in the first inning of the Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
Luzardo lowered his season ERA to 3.75 after holding the Royals to one run over six innings on Saturday. His sweeper, which he developed last season after the Phillies acquired him in a trade with Miami, has become one of the best pitches in baseball. Hitters are batting .141 against it, and the pitch has a 50.4% strikeout rate, which ranks only behind Padres right-hander Mason Miller’s slider.
The news of his selection took Luzardo completely by surprise. He had a sense that something was up when Mattingly summoned him, but wasn’t sure what it could be.
“You grew up watching the All-Star Game and the festivities around it,” Luzardo said. “Just being out there, being in a clubhouse with all the great players around the league, and being in front of the home crowd I think is also going to be very cool.”
It’s all the more special that Luzardo’s first appearance will come in his home ballpark. After being traded three times in his career, he found stability in Philadelphia, and signed a five-year extension with the team during spring training.
“I love everything about Philly, the team, the organization, the city,” he said. “It’s been a great time for me and my family. We’ve enjoyed it a lot. So just a good point on a good first year after signing that, and will look to build on a lot more.”
Growing up in South Florida, Luzardo has fond memories of playing baseball in the street with his friends, dreaming of moments like this.
“It was always big moments, whether it’s an All-Star Game or Game 7 of the World Series,” Luzardo said. “We would always make up these situations in our head at a young age. I did that from when I was like five to even probably almost through middle school. We were out on the street all the time, making up scenarios.”
Luzardo joins Cristopher Sánchez, Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Jhoan Duran as the Phillies’ sixth All-Star this year.
Despite a 2.36 ERA entering Tuesday’s start against the Reds, Zack Wheeler remains off the National League roster after he was not selected by the player ballot. Wheeler is lined up to start for the Phillies on Sunday, and would be ineligible to appear in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice will be swinging for the fences in Philadelphia on Monday.
Rice, who leads the Yankees with 25 homers this season, announced Tuesday that he will be participating in the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park.
He’ll look to become the first Yankees player to win the derby since Aaron Judge in 2017.
The 27-year-old Rice said on social media that his father, Dan, who was a pitcher on Brown’s baseball team in the 1980s, will throw to him. Rice said they’ve already been practicing for the contest.
Rice has 58 homers over his first three seasons in the majors.
This is the second straight a year a Yankees player will appear in the Home Run Derby. Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered last year but was eliminated in the first round.
Judge is one of four Yankees players to win the Home Run Derby. The others are Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002) and Robinson Canó (2011).
Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero also is participating in the event. The full field has not yet been announced. The Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are still deciding whether they will participate.
Major League Baseball is pulling out all the stops for next week’s All-Star Game — including employing some of Philadelphia’s own to get the party started.
On Tuesday, MLB announced the slate of entertainment for its midsummer classic at Citizens Bank Park (July 14, 8 p.m., Fox29). Philly native and “Godmother of Soul” Patti LaBelle will perform the national anthem, while EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson is slated to sing “America the Beautiful.” Philadelphia R&B group Boyz II Men and Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller, a Downingtown native, also headline the game’s entertainers.
“As we gather to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, Philadelphia is the perfect stage to bring this milestone to life,” MLB chief marketing officer Uzma Rawn Dowler said in a statement. “… This lineup captures the unique energy of the city while honoring how baseball has been a part of the American spirit for 250 years.”
The 2026 All-Star Game entertainment lineup has been announced 🔥
-Jennifer Hudson to perform "America the Beautiful" -Philadelphia's Patti LaBelle to sing national anthem -Pennsylvania natives Miles Teller and Boyz II Men to participate in All-Star presentation features pic.twitter.com/NMdIgBGFpc
LaBelle will be accompanied by the Military District of Washington Joint Chorus and West Point Band for her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” LaBelle, 82, was born in Southwest Philadelphia, attended Bartram High School, and resides in Villanova. In 2019, the city honored the two-time Grammy winner by renaming a block of Broad Street between Spruce and Locust “Patti LaBelle Way.”
“I’m a Philadelphia girl,” LaBalle told The Inquirer in February. “It’s laid back, comfortable. … How I like it.”
Hudson also will have some backup and will perform “America the Beautiful” alongside the Philly Pops and the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. In 2022, Hudson, then 40, became the third-youngest person, and youngest woman, to have won each of entertainment’s biggest awards — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. The Chicago native is the only All-Star performer who does not boast direct Philadelphia ties, but she is no stranger to playing in the city — just last month, her tour with Josh Groban stopped at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Most notably, the “Spotlight” singer headlined the Wawa Welcome America Festival in 2019.
It is unclear if Boyz II Men will be diving into its extensive discography during its performance. After the fifth inning, the group will provide the soundtrack to the league’s Stand Up To Cancer placard moment — in which fans will hold up signs for their loved ones who have been affected by cancer. MLB first started the tradition in Philadelphia during the 2009 World Series.
Miles Teller, the only nonmusician on the list, will be lending his voice to a “stirring tribute of baseball’s impact on American life,” according to MLB. The task is fitting for the actor, who has made his Phillies fandom known over the years. During the 2022 World Series, in which the Phillies fell to the Houston Astros in six games, Teller was a mainstay at Citizens Bank Park. He told The Inquirer he had befriended Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola and then-first baseman Rhys Hoskins. The Whiplash actor even texts with play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy.
“It’s a pretty big year,” Teller said in 2022. “Top Gun. Also, I turned 35, which feels like a number. [I] hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time. And the Phillies, man. I’ve always lived and died with the Phillies, dude. That’s always been the most important thing to me.”
Bryce Harper is not shy about showing love to the Philadelphia area, and his latest cleats are no exception.
On Tuesday, Under Amour released the UA Harper 11, the Phillies star’s 11th signature cleat with the company. And the first colorway, named “All Lines Lead Home,” is inspired by SEPTA and its colorful map, symbolizing the “many paths players, fans, and visitors take to reach the city,” the brand wrote in a release.
The low-top cleats feature a knit sock collar and a metallic silver base with streaks of color across it to symbolize SEPTA’s different routes. The colors include orange (for the Broad Street Line), blue (Market/Frankford Line), red (PATCO), light green (trolleys), and purple (Norristown High Speed Line). There also is a replica of the SEPTA map on the cleat’s tongue. The bottom of the cleat spikes are half red and half blue, similar to the SEPTA logo, and the tongue pull loop has Philly’s “215″ area code on it.
“Inspired by the Philly lines that bring fans together on game day and the player at the center of it all — the UA Harper 11 brings crazy new traction and signature Bryce attitude,” Under Armour wrote under the listing of Harper’s cleat on its website.
Harper’s “All Lines Lead Home” cleats also will be part of a Yard Icon collection at Under Armour and release in the five colorways representing Philly’s transit lines.
In addition to new cleats for Harper (right), Under Armour also released new “All Lines” colorways for its UA Yard Icon cleats, featuring fellow big-league stars (from left) Konnor Griffin, Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson, Freddie Freeman, and Bobby Witt Jr.
The “All Lines Lead Home” cleats — which can be preordered for $140 (shipping is expected later this month, according to the website) — are the latest cleat collaboration from Harper that pays tribute to the region. Earlier this year, Harper released the “Mad House” colorway of his Under Armour Harper 10s, which referenced the Jersey Shore. In the past, he’s also paid homage to Wawa with his “Gottahava Harper” PE cleats, which were released during HoagieFest two years ago. And, of course, he’s continued his love affair with the Phillie Phanatic, rocking fuzzy Harper 3s inspired by the mascot’s colors last year.
Harper and Under Armour reached a contract extension in January, and the arrival of a new signature cleat shows the company’s commitment to keeping him as the face of its baseball endeavors. The Phillies’ first baseman has been with Under Amour since 2011.
The release of Harper’s new footwear also coincides with next week’s MLB All-Star Game, in which the former MVP will participate for the ninth time in his career, and third time as a Phillie. The brand also announced it “will bring Harper’s cleats to life” through a fan experience at 1190 Market St. during All-Star week, which starts Saturday.
So as the baseball world prepares to descend on Philly for the midsummer classic, it appears Harper’s new cleats are correct: all routes do indeed lead to the Bank.
If the Phillies end up taking a pitcher with the No. 36 pick in the upcoming draft, the MLB network will have the perfect analyst on hand to break it down.
Cole Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP and current NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcaster, is joining MLB Network’s live coverage of the 2026 MLB draft, which kicks off Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Longtime MLB Network coordinating producer Chris Roenbeck, who is working his fourth draft, said they’re always looking to add a “special wrinkle” to their coverage. With this year’s draft taking place in Philadelphia, the stars aligned to add Hamels to their broadcast.
“When we started brainstorming months ago, we quickly thought of Cole, given his decorated career with the Phillies and being a first-round pick,” Roenbeck said. “We’ll go to him early and often for pitching insights, relying on his unique perspective, which will only enhance our broadcast.”
Hamels is the only new addition to MLB’s Network’s draft coverage, which will be hosted by Greg Amsinger and feature analysis by Mark DeRosa, Harold Reynolds, and former Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd.
“We’re beyond excited to have Cole part of our draft team,” Amsinger said, noting Hamels’ “draft experience and pitching expertise will take our show to the next level.”
“Certainly, we would love to have him every weekend,” Alexandra Matcham, the vice president of content for NBC Sports Philadelphia, told The Inquirer in March.
Hamels won’t be the only Philly addition. The opening of MLB Network’s draft coverage will be voiced by Black Thought (aka Tariq Trotter), lead MC of the Philly hip hop group The Roots.
NBC will broadcast the first 10 picks of the MLB draft
The 2026 MLB draft will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City.
Hamels and company will be on hand to discuss the Phillies’ No. 32 pick, but MLB Network won’t air the first 10 picks of the draft
Why? Because NBC will be broadcasting the first hour and a half of this year’s MLB draft as part of their three-year TV rights deal with MLB, taking over for ESPN.
As a result, the MLB draft will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday on NBC before coverage shifts to MLB Network at 2:30 p.m., picking things up with the No. 11 pick.
NBC will carry MLB Network’s production, so you won’t see Mike Tirico and crew this weekend.
The entire draft will stream on Peacock, which will simulcast MLB Network’s coverage after NBC cuts away to cover the American Century Championship, often described as the Super Bowl of celebrity golf tournaments.
The draft streaming on Peacock is good news for YouTube TV subscribers, where MLB Network has remained dark for three years due to a contract dispute. The network is also available to stream as part of MLB+, beginning at $5.99 per month.
The MLB Network has broadcast the draft since 2009. ESPN was the first network to broadcast the draft, which aired the first round live on ESPN2 in 2007.
Quick hits
Malik Tillman reacts after the U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup by Belgium Monday.
“This doesn’t have to be the last soccer you watch for the next four years.” That was John Strong, Fox’s lead World Cup announcer, pleading with American fans after the U.S. was eliminated from the World Cup by Belgium Monday.
Credit to Delran native and two-time World Cup champ Carli Lloyd, who wasn’t afraid to criticize U.S. star Christian Pulisic after the United States’ disappointing loss.
On a brighter note for American football fans, the NFL preseason is less than a month away. The annual Pro Football Hall of Fame game, featuring the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, kicks off Aug. 6. The Eagles’ first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens is one week later on Aug. 15.
