For July 14: Yankee All-Star Appearances, 1933-2026

Stan Musial and Mickey Mantle,

1975 All-Star Game, Milwaukee County Stadium

This list takes into account all times a player was named to an All-Star Team, whether he got into the All-Star Game or not; but not the doubled-up ASGs of 1958 to 1962. It does not include managers. And it only includes berths in the Game while with the Yankees, not with other teams.

Also, while the All-Star Game was canceled twice, in both cases due to travel restrictions, in 1945 because of World War II and in 2020 due to COVID-19, All-Star Teams were still named in those seasons.

Keep in mind also that the All-Star Game did not start until 1933. If it had started earlier -- say, in 1920 -- Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, in particular, would have had many more appearances.

Players in bold are Monument Park honorees. Players underlined are Baseball Hall of Fame inductees.

Mickey Mantle, 16: 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968
Yogi Berra, 15: 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962
Derek Jeter, 14: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Joe DiMaggio, 13: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951
Mariano Rivera, 12: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013
Bill Dickey, 11: 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946
Elston Howard, 9: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
Whitey Ford, 8: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964
Dave Winfield, 8: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
Aaron Judge, 8: 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Lefty Gomez, 7: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940
Bobby Richardson, 7: 1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
Alex Rodriguez, 7: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011

Lou Gehrig, 6: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938
Red Ruffing, 6: 1934, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942
Joe Gordon, 6: 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946
Thurman Munson, 6: 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
Don Mattingly, 6: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
Tommy Henrich, 5: 1942, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950
Phil Rizzuto, 5: 1942, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
Allie Reynolds, 5: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954
Gil McDougald, 5: 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959
Mel Stottlemyre, 5: 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970
Graig Nettles, 5: 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
Reggie Jackson, 5: 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Willie Randolph, 5: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1987
Bernie Williams, 5: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Jorge Posada, 5: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007
Robinson Canó, 5: 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Red Rolfe, 4: 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940
Charlie Keller, 4: 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946
Spud Chandler, 4: 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947
Vic Raschi, 4: 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952
Bill "Moose" Skowron, 4: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961
Bobby Murcer, 4: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Rich "Goose" Gossage, 4: 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982
Ron Guidry, 4: 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983
Rickey Henderson, 4: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
Wade Boggs, 4: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
Paul O'Neill, 4: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998

Dellin Betances, 4: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Ben Chapman, 3: 1933, 1934, 1935

Joe Page, 3: 1944, 1947, 1948
Hank Bauer, 3: 1952, 1953, 1954
Tony Kubek, 3: 1958, 1959, 1961
Roger Maris, 3: 1960, 1961, 1962
Joe Pepitone, 3: 1963, 1964, 1965
Sparky Lyle, 3: 1973, 1976, 1977
Jason Giambi, 3: 2002, 2003, 2004
Curtis Granderson, 3: 2010, 2011, 2012

Gerrit Cole, 3: 2021, 2022, 2023

Babe Ruth, 2: 1933, 1934
George Selkirk, 2: 1936, 1939
Frank Crosetti, 2: 1936, 1939
Johnny Murphy, 2: 1937, 1939
Monte Pearson, 2: 1936, 1940
Tiny Bonham, 2: 1942, 1943

Hank Borowy, 2: 1944, 1945
George McQuinn, 2: 1947, 1948
Bob Turley, 2: 1955, 1958
Ryne Duren, 2: 1958, 1959
Tom Tresh, 2: 1962, 1963
Roy White, 2: 1969, 1970
Jim "Catfish" Hunter, 2: 1975, 1976
Tommy John, 2: 1979, 1980
Bucky Dent, 2: 1980, 1981
Dave Righetti, 2: 1986, 1987
Steve Sax, 2: 1989, 1990
Jimmy Key, 2: 1993, 1994
Andy Pettitte, 2: 1996, 2001
David Cone, 2: 1997, 1999

Roger Clemens, 2: 2001, 2003
Alfonso Soriano, 2: 2002, 2003
Hideki Matsui, 2: 2003, 2004
Gary Sheffield, 2: 2004, 2005

Mark Teixeira, 2: 2009, 2015

CC Sabathia, 2: 2011, 2012

Masahiro Tanaka, 2: 2014, 2019

Luis Severino, 2: 2017, 2018

Gary Sánchez, 2: 2017, 2019

Gleyber Torres, 2: 2018, 2019

DJ LeMahieu, 2: 2019, 2020

Aroldis Chapman, 2: 2019, 2021

Clay Holmes, 2: 2022, 2024

Tony Lazzeri, 1: 1933

Marius Russo, 1: 1941
Buddy Rosar, 1: 1942
Johnny Lindell, 1: 1943
Rollie Helmsley, 1: 1944

Nick Etten, 1: 1945

Oscar Grimes, 1: 1945
George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss, 1: 1946
Aaron Robinson, 1: 1947
Frank "Spec" Shea, 1: 1947
Billy Johnson, 1: 1947
Tommy Byrne, 1: 1950
Jerry Coleman, 1: 1950
Eddie Lopat, 1: 1951
Johnny Mize, 1: 1953
Johnny Sain, 1: 1953
Irv Noren, 1: 1954
Billy Martin, 1: 1956
Johnny Kucks, 1: 1956
Bobby Shantz, 1: 1957
Bob Grim, 1: 1957
Jim Coates, 1: 1960
Luis Arroyo, 1: 1961
Ralph Terry, 1: 1962
Jim Bouton, 1: 1963
Al Downing, 1: 1967
Fritz Peterson, 1: 1970
Bobby Bonds, 1: 1975
Chris Chambliss, 1: 1976
Mickey Rivers, 1: 1976
Ron Davis, 1, 1981
Phil Niekro, 1: 1984
Scott Sanderson, 1: 1991
Roberto Kelly, 1: 1992
Mike Stanley, 1: 1995
John Wetteland, 1: 1996
Tino Martinez, 1: 1997
David Wells, 1: 1998
Scott Brosius, 1: 1998
Mike Stanton, 1: 2001
Robin Ventura, 1: 2002
Javier Vázquez, 1: 2004
Tom Gordon, 1: 2004
Nick Swisher, 1: 2010
Phil Hughes, 1: 2010
Russell Martin, 1: 2011
David Robertson, 1: 2011
Brett Gardner, 1: 2015

Carlos Beltrán, 1: 2016

Andrew Miller, 1: 2016

Giancarlo Stanton, 1: 2022

Jose Trevino, 1: 2022

Nestor Cortes, 1: 2022

Juan Soto, 1: 2024

Jazz Chisholm Jr., 1: 2025

Max Fried, 1: 2025

Carlos Rodón, 1: 2025

Ben Rice, 1: 2026

Cody Bellinger, 1: 2026

Cam Schlittler, 1: 2026

DiMaggio played 13 seasons, missing 1943, 1944 and 1945 due to service in World War II, and made the All-Star Game every season. He's the only player with as many seasons to make the All-Star Game every season.

Living Yankee All-Stars, in chronological order: Bobby Shantz, Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek, Al Downing, Roy White, Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers, Willie Randolph, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, Goose Gossage, Tommy John, Bucky Dent, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Dave Righetti, Steve Sax, Roberto Kelly, Wade Boggs, Jimmy Key, Paul O'Neill, Mike Stanley, Andy Pettitte, John Wetteland, Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Derek Jeter, David Wells, Scott Brosius, Jorge Posada, Roger Clemens, Mike Stanton, Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, Robin Ventura, Hideki Matsui, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Javier Vázquez, Tom Gordon, Robinson Canó, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Phil Hughes, Curtis Granderson, CC Sabathia, Russell Martin, David Robertson, Masahiro Tanaka, Dellin Betances, Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltrán, Andrew Miller, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Clay Holmes, Jose Trevino, Nestor Cortes, Juan Soto, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, Cam Schlittler.

Cone, Beltrán and Soto are the only players to be named to the All-Star Game as a Yankee and as a Met.

Based solely on most All-Star berths, this would be the all-time Yankee lineup:

1B Lou Gehrig
2B Bobby Richardson
SS Derek Jeter
3B Alex Rodriguez
LF Dave Winfield
CF Joe DiMaggio
RF Aaron Judge
DH Mickey Mantle
C Yogi Berra
SP1 Whitey Ford
SP2 Lefty Gomez
SP3 Red Ruffing
SP4 Allie Reynolds
SP5 Mel Stottlemyre

RP Mariano Rivera

Yanks End 1st Half With Sweep In Washington

Although 96 games means nearly 60 percent of the regular season is done, the All-Star Break is the official halfway point, and the Yankees closed the official 1st half with a series away to the Washington Nationals.

Ryan Weathers started on Friday night, and allowed 1 run on 6 hits and no walks. He was backed by home runs from Ben Rice in the 1st inning and Jasson Domínguez in the 4th, and left with a 2-1 lead in the 6th. But Tim Hill allowed back-to-back home runs in the 7th, so, in spite of the Nats going with a bullpen game, the Yankees trailed 3-2 with 1 out in the top of the 9th.

But Domínguez singled, and Jazz Chisholm and Austin Wells hit home runs. David Bednar pitched 2 perfect innings for the win. Yankees 5, Nationals 3.

Cam Schlittler started on Saturday afternoon, and allowed home runs to the Nats' 2 best hitters, James Wood and Curtis Mead, in the 1st inning. After that, he was brilliant, lasting into the 7th inning. But, despite the Nats again going with a bullpen game, the Yankees trailed 2-0 with 1 out in the 8th.

Then came a home run by Ryan McMahon, a walk by Rice, a home run by Trent Grisham, and a home run by Paul Goldschmidt, the 387th of his career. That made the Yankees 4-2 winners, and Brent Headrick the winning pitcher.

Will Warren started on Sunday afternoon. RBI singles by Chisholm and Wells in the 5th inning staked him to a 2-1 lead. And he'd only thrown 83 pitches. But Aaron Boone panicked, and brought Hill in, and he blew the lead. It was 3-2 Nats with 2 outs in the top of the 8th.

Then Max Schuemann singled, Grisham drew a walk, and Rice hit a triple to bring them home. They added a run in the 9th, and won, 4-2. Ryan Yarbrough was the winning pitcher.

So the Yankees managed to get a 3-game sweep on the road, even though they trailed late in all 3, and none of their starting pitchers ended up as the winning pitcher.

*

So here's where the Yankees stand at the All-Star Break:

* They are 54-42, for a winning percentage of .563. Over a 162-game span, that works out to a record of 91-71. That should be enough to make the Playoffs, but it probably won't be enough to in the American League Eastern Division.

The Tampa Bay Rays lead the Division by 3 games over the Yankees, 10 over the Boston Red Sox, 11 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles, and 12 over the Toronto Blue Jays. In the all-important loss column, the Rays lead the Yanks by 4, the Sox by 10, and the O's and the Jays by 12.

* If the current standings hold to the end of the season, the Yankees would be the 4th seed in the AL Playoffs. In other words, they would make the Playoffs, but not win the Division, putting them in a bad position to win the Pennant. In other words, for the Brian Cashman Era, the usual.

* They have achieved this despite the usual rotten luck with injuries. At no time this season have they had 3 of their planned 5 starting pitchers available: They began the season with Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodón on the Injured List; and they go into the All-Star Break with Schmidt, Rodón and Max Fried on it. Hitting-wise, they began the season with Domínguez, Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera on it; now, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are on it; and, in addition to the preceding, Goldschmidt and Wells have spent significant time on it.

* Rice, Judge, Goldschmidt, Grisham, Cody Bellinger have been productive. McMahon, Max Schuemann, Amed Rosario, José Caballero have been nice surprises.

* On the other hand, Stanton has barely played. Volpe, Domínguez, Wells and, so far, highly-touted prospect Spencer Jones have been letdowns.

* Schlittler is 9-5, with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.944 WHIP, both of which lead the AL. Before getting hurt, Fried was 4-3, 3.21 and 1.005; Rodón was 4-2, 3.30 and 1.252. Filling holes in the rotation, Warren is 7-4, 4.03 and 1.363; and Weathers is 3-7, 4.15 and 1.239. So Warren has a good record, while Weathers has a good WHIP.

* On the other hand, both Warren and Weathers are too high in ERA, and Weathers has a bad record. Cole came back too soon: He's 3-4 and 4.04, although his WHIP is 1.204.

* The bullpen has been a mixed bag. Bednar has 18 saves, Yarbrough 2, and 1 each for Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval and Paul Blackburn. ERAs for relievers with at least 30 innings pitched: Headrick 1.55, Blackburn 2.22, Cruz 2.25, Bednar 2.70, Yarbrough 4.14, Hill 4.50, Jake Bird 4.50, Doval 4.58. WHIPs: Blackburn 1.089, Bednar 1.100, Hill 1.111, Headrick 1.187, Yarbrough 1.216, Cruz 1.225, Doval 1.358, Bird 1.367.

Hill is typical of this. He has a great WHIP, but a horrible ERA for a reliever. He has given up 7 home runs, more than any Yankee pitcher except Weathers, Warren, Schlittler and Cole, all starters. And he has hit 4 batters, more than any Yankee pitcher except Bird, with 5. And if you count hit batsmen as baserunners for which he's responsible, his WHIP rises to 1.222, which is very good for a starter, not so much for a reliever.

* Injury updates: Fried threw live batting practice on Saturday, and will make a rehab start on Friday, so he should be back before July ends. Rodón threw today, and is set to throw every day this week, which is encouraging. Stanton has resumed running, and is expected to return later in the month. Schmidt is having bullpen sessions, and is expected to begin facing hitters this month, which suggests an August return. Judge is set for a re-imaging during the Break, so we still don't know when he's coming back. This is also true of Luis Gil.

The All-Star Game will be tomorrow night, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Judge was elected as a starter, but isn't playing. Rice, who will be in tonight's stupid Home Run Derby, Bellinger and Schlittler were named as reserves.

In case anyone cares, the only Met on the National League team is Juan Soto, who was elected as a starter. As always, every team, no matter how bad, is entitled to at least 1 player on their League's team, although if that 1 player is injured, a replacement from the same team can be chosen. And, although it usually works out so that every player gets used, that is not required: Only that starting pitchers go at least 2 innings, and starting hitters at least 3, with exceptions, of course, for injury.

July 13, 1966: Jim Brown Retires

July 13, 1966, 60 years ago: Jim Brown retires from playing football. He is 30 years old.

It is not due to injury. It is because he is a black man who is his own man, and does not like a white man telling him what to do -- unless, possibly, it's by a film director.

Brown had played 9 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, 1957 to 1965, and had led the NFL in rushing yardage in 8 of those seasons, all but 1962. In 1963, he rushed for 1,852 yards, which stood as a single-season record for 10 years. In 1964, he helped the Browns win the NFL Championship, still the last they have ever won. In 1965, he got them back into the NFL Championship Game, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

He was still the best running back in professional football, already the NFL's all-time leading rusher with 12,312 yards (a record that would stand until 1984), and was eventually selected in 1999 by The Sporting News as the greatest player in NFL history.

He was now trying his hand as an actor, filming the World War II movie The Dirty Dozen in London. He was enjoying himself, feeling freer than he ever had.

But preseason training camps were underway, and Browns owner Art Modell told him to leave and come back to join his teammates in Berea, Ohio, 13 miles southwest of downtown Cleveland.

Brown refused, telling Modell, already a noted cheapskate, that he could make more money and sustain fewer injuries as an actor than as a football player. Brown retired from football, taking away the one power that Modell had over him, which was to have an undue affect on his football career, but giving up that football career.

He was 30. As of July 13, 2022, Jim Brown is 86 years old, and has never regretted his decision. As he put it, "What would you rather do: Get hit by Dick Butkus, or make love to Raquel Welch?" (Brown and Welch went on to film one of the earliest interracial love scenes in American movies, in the 1969 Western 100 Rifles. Though she was considered "white," Jo Raquel Tejada was of Bolivian descent.)

He went on to star in several "blaxploitation" films, including the Slaughter series. In 1988, he was among the stars of such films who joined Keenen Ivory Wayans in his parody of such films, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, playing Slammer to Isaac Hayes' Hammer, the two men's characters having retired from fighting crime on the streets of their city to run a barbecue restaurant.

Modell made peace with Brown, and named him a team consultant. Modell continued to own the Browns until 1995, never reaching another World Championship game, until moving them to become the Baltimore Ravens. They won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001. He sold the team in 2003, and died in 2012, beloved in Maryland, but despised in Ohio.

A new Browns team began play in 1999, and Brown was named a consultant to their front office. He still holds this post. A statue of him stands outside their home, FirstEnergy Stadium, built in 1999 on the site of their home in his era, Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Brown died on May 18, 2023, at the age of 87.

July 13, 1966 was a Wednesday. Singer Gerald LeVert was born. This was also the night that Richard Speck killed 8 student nurses in Chicago.

July 11, 1966: Marvel Comics Introduces the 1st Black Superhero

Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa

July 11, 1966, 60 years ago: Marvel Comics publishes Fantastic Four #52, introducing the character of Black Panther, generally considered to be the 1st black superhero in mainstream comic books.

The name "Black Panther" long predates the character -- and the Black Panther Party, which formed a few weeks later. In World War II, the U.S. Army's segregated 761st Tank Battalion was known as the Black Panthers. And Portugal's Mozambique-born soccer star Eusébio, already world-famous but about to become more so as the World Cup began, was already nicknamed "The Black Panther." (He was also nicknamed "The Black Pearl," as was his fellow Portuguese speaker, Brazilian star Pelé.)

There had been black heroes in comic books before, but no major publisher had dared try it. In 1947, with Jackie Robinson debuting in Major League Baseball and Joe Louis as Heavyweight Champion of the World, All-Negro Comics #1 was published. But it sold so poorly that there was no issue #2.

Marvel, under a previous name, Atlas Comics, had published Jungle Tales, including Waku, Prince of the Bantu, clearly an inspiration for the character to come. But that magazine ran only 7 issues, from September 1954 to September 1955, and, as was all too common at the time, indulged in too many stereotypes. In 1963, Marvel had included Private Gabriel Jones in the World War II-themed book Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.

With the knowledge that the Lone Ranger had been partly inspired by an African-American lawman named Bass Reeves (1838-1910), Dell Comics released Lobo in December 1965. Bearing no resemblance to the later DC character of the same name, which is Spanish for "wolf," this was a gunslinger who bore stylistic resemblances to the protagonists of 2 current TV series: Dr. Richard Kimble of The Fugitive and Captain Jason McCord of the Western Branded: The cover identified him as "Branded for Life: An honest man... blamed for a crime he did not commit!"

On the heads of his defeated foes, would leave a gold coin imprinted with the letter L and the image of a wolf, similar to the Lone Ranger leaving a silver bullet and Zorro using his sword to cut a letter Z on his opponents' shirts.

Lobo #1 was released after the March On Washington, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Selma-to-Montgomery March and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- but also after the riots in Harlem, North Philadelphia and Watts. It didn't sell well, not even in black neighborhoods. When Marvel released the issue of Fantastic Four with Black Panther, Dell thought to try again, and, in September 1966, released Lobo #2. But that didn't sell well, either, and, except for a brief revival in 2017-18, the character has never appeared again.

A character's in-story origin sometimes gets embellished, but rarely has substantive change. But, as was often the case with Marvel and its boss man, Stan Lee, there is a dispute as to this character's real-world origin. Smilin' Stan said that a black hero was the next step in Marvel's progress.

But Marvel's main artist, Jack Kirby, said, "I came up with the Black Panther because I realized I had no blacks in my strip. I'd never drawn a black. I needed a black. I suddenly discovered that I had a lot of black readers. My first friend was a black! And here I was ignoring them because I was associating with everybody else." Lee's story was backed up by writer Roy Thomas, who later succeeded him as Marvel's editor; while Kirby's story is backed up by documentation, including drawings that predate the issue.

With Black Panther, the in-story origin of the character is not the only thing that matters: There's also the origin story of his homeland, the African nation of Wakanda. At some point in the past, a meteorite landed there. It was made of vibranium, and this fictional material allowed Wakanda to develop technology beyond anything the world had yet seen, including the ability to conceal themselves from the outside world. Their King decided to do this, for fear that the technology could be stolen. (Vibranium would eventually be found elsewhere, and was used to make Captain America's shield.)

In-universe, the title "Black Panther" is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to consume a special heart-shaped herb which, in addition to his mystical, shamanistic connection with Bast, the Panther Goddess, grants him superhumanly acute senses, strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, healing, and reflexes. In essence, he has the powers of Spider-Man, without the addition of web-shooters.

In the comics, the King of Wakanda, and thus the Black Panther, is named T'Challa, whose father and predecessor, T'Chaka, was murdered by a rival. Thus, like so many other superheroes, T'Challa is motivated to fight for justice in remembrance of, and to avenge, a parental figure. Just as so many other heroes protect a city -- or, in the case of Daredevil, just one neighborhood -- T'Challa protects an entire country.

In the story that introduced him, he invited the Fantastic Four to Wakanda, and then tested their abilities. The tests passed, he made amends by explaining that he needed to see if they would be worthy allies. They subsequently fought a would-be invader. Black Panther later joined the Avengers, and, for a time, was married to Ororo Munroe, a.k.a. Storm of the X-Men.

T'Challa made his television debut in the 1994-96 Fantastic Four animated series, where he was voiced by Keith David. Djimon Hounsou provided the voice of T'Challa for a 2011 animated series. Chadwick Boseman played the character in 4 live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe films: Captain America: Civil War, in 2016, in which he's on the pro-registration side; Black Panther, in 2018, the 1st superhero film with a black lead that wasn't a comedy (I'm counting Wesley Snipes' Blade films as more horror than superhero films); Avengers: Infinity War, also in 2018, in which he was one of the heroes who was "snapped away" by Thanos; and Avengers: Endgame, in 2019, in which the Hulk snaps him back, and he leads Wakanda's army in the final battle against Thanos.

Boseman, who had previously played black American icons Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall and James Brown, became beloved all over the world for his portrayal of T'Challa. Unbeknownst to the world at large, he was already battling cancer during the filming of Endgame, and died in 2020. So, while the character still lives in comic books, in the MCU, the 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reveals that their version of T'Challa has died from an incurable illness, and his sister, Shuri, played by Letitia Wright as in the previous film, becomes the new Black Panther. 

Yanks Get Bare Minimum vs. Rays

The Yankees are chasing the Tampa Bay Rays for the American League Eastern Division. They went down to that stupid, if newly re-roofed, dome in St. Petersburg for a key 4-game series.

The Monday night game offered encouragement. Cam Schlittler was allowed to throw 101 pitches, going 8 innings, allowing just 1 run, 4 hits, and no walks. I love seeing "no walks" from Yankee pitching. He struck out 8.

The game was scoreless through 4 innings. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. With 1 out in the top of the 5th, Rays starter Griffin Jax walked Jasson Domínguez and Jazz Chisholm, and José Caballero hit a home run. The Rays pulled a run back, but Caballero hit another home run in the 8th, and Ben Rice hit one in the 9th.

Here's the weird part: Rays pitchers only allowed 3 hits -- all of them home runs. They also walked 12 batters, and struck out 17. Nevertheless: Yankees 5, Rays 1.

Attendance: 18,129. I guess a year playing in a reasonably accessible part of Tampa for a year and playing the Yankees again hasn't helped the Rays bring fans in, any more than, you know, winning did.

The Yankees weren't so lucky on Tuesday night. Will Warren allowed 6 runs in 4 innings, and Rays pitchers again struck out 17 Yankees. Rice hit another home run, but the Rays won, 8-4.

Attendance: 18,115. Almost exactly the same. Are the Rays simply closing off the upper deck, and filling the lower bowl? Maybe the Rays are followers of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu, who supposedly said, "A bowl is most useful when it is empty."

The Yankees did not strike out 17 times on Wednesday night. Only 11. Gerrit Cole pitched 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 3 runs. Bur the Yankees stranded runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 2nd inning and again in the 7th, and wasted a leadoff single in the 6th and again in the 9th, and that was it. Rays 3, Yankees 0.

Attendance: 19,373. The hell, Rays fans? You're in 1st place! You've got the best record in the American League! And these games are against the team you hate the most, the team that's fighting with yours for the Division title and possibly for the Pennant! I know it's Florida and it's Summer, and you don't want to leave the house, but it's all of the preceding, and it's in a dome, so there's air-conditioning!

Move the Rays.

So the Yankees needed to win on Thursday afternoon, the dreaded day game after a night game, just to get a road split against the team they're chasing, the bare minimum of what was needed.

With all the holes in the rotation, and with it being a day game, meaning even less rest for pitchers, Aaron Boone did pretty much the last thing he should have done: Used a "bullpen game." Paul Blackburn pitched the 1st 2 innings, and allowed a run.

But the Yankees scored 6 runs in the top of the 3rd, including a home run by Rice. Jake Bird allowed 2 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, but Austin Wells homered in the top of the 4th. Rice homered again in the 6th, his 28th of the season. He isn't replacing Juan Soto, he's replacing Aaron Judge.

Ryan Yarbrough pitched a scoreless 4th inning, and was credited as the winning pitcher. Camilo Doval got 2 outs in the 5th, Brent Headrick finished that inning but allowed a run in the 6th. Angel Chivilli, a rookie righthander from the Dominican Republic, pitched the 7th and the 8th without allowing a baserunner, and Tim Hill pitched a scoreless 9th.

In other words, Boone tried a bullpen game, and it worked, and it still have worked if the Yankees had only scored half as many runs: Yankees 12, Rays 4. Attendance: 18,255.

You know, if you look at all 4 games, as they would say in soccer, the Yankees "won on aggregate," 22-16. It doesn't look so bad. But the 1st 3 games were discouraging, and the middle 2 games were especially bad.

*

The Yankees are 51-42, on a pace for 89-73. That might be enough to make the Playoffs, but it probably won't be enough to win the Division. They are 4 games behind the Rays, 5 in the loss column. They have to do better.

Injury updates were provided on 3 key players yesterday. Giancarlo Stanton has resumed running, which is a good sign. Carlos Rodón played catch yesterday, which is a good sign. And Brian Cashman said that Aaron Judge "will get follow-up imaging on his injured rib during the All-Star Break." There's not much encouragement there. Nothing new on the other injured starting pitchers, Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt.

Tonight, the Yankees start a series in Washington against the Nationals. They are 48-46, 7 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. Only the Mets are behind them in that Division, at 40-56, a pace for 67-95.

July 9, 2006: Zinedine Zidane's "Coup de Boule"

July 9, 2006, 20 years ago: The World Cup Final is held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. ABC broadcasts it in America. France play Italy. Both teams tend to wear blue, thus France are Les Bleus, and Italy are gli Azzurri. On this occasion, Italy wore blue, while France wore white.

The Olympiastadion is 1 of 4 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadion in Munich, the old Wembley Stadium in London, and the Stade de France outside Paris.

Italy were loaded with legends: Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Francesco Totti, Luca Toni. This was a team so good, Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Del Piero did not start and had to come on as substitutes, Alessandro Nesta and Filippo Inzaghi remained on the bench, and Paolo Maldini, still starting for AC Milan at age 38, was not even selected.

But France were equally laden with starpower, many of them holdovers from their 1998 triumph: Fabien Barthez, Lilian Thuram, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, and Captain Zinedine Zidane. Others had developed since that win: Claude Makélélé, Florent Malouda, Sylvain Wiltord, Lasanna Diarra, Éric Abidal, Franck Ribéry. 

The key was Zidane: The midfielder, who had starred for Girondins de Bordeaux in his homeland, Juventus in Turin, Italy, and Real Madrid in Spain, had put the team, indeed his entire country, on his back, and led them to victory in 1998.

The son of Kabyle immigrants from France's former colony of Algeria, he was a symbol of reconciliation, as both nations were still dealing with the nasty war that Algeria fought for its independence from 1954 to 1962 -- having ended only 36 years before.

Although light-skinned enough to appear white -- unlike several national side teammates, including Henry, Vieira, Thuram, Trezeguet, and his Real Madrid teammate Makélélé -- he had faced prejudicial gestures large and small, including the insinuation that he was not truly, or not wholly, French.

Yet he went into that 2006 Final once again having led the team to glory. It was to be his last game: At age 34, he had announced his retirement as a player. Win or lose, it would be all over when the final whistle blew for this game.

In the 7th minute, Malouda, then playing his club football for Olympique Lyonnais, was knocked down in the box by Marco Materazzi of Internazionale Milano. If Materazzi were a hockey player, he wouldn't be a "pest": A good player who frequently plays rough; he'd be a "goon": A player whose sole purpose is to play rough, because he can't do anything else.

Horacio Elizondo, the Argentine selected to referee the game (because he was from neither team's continent), correctly awarded a penalty, and Zidane converted it. France led, 1-0.

The lead did not last long. In the 19th minute, Pirlo, the AC Milan legend, sent a hellacious corner kick into the box, and Materazzi, of all people, headed it past Barthez, the famously bald goalkeeper who was back with Olympique de Marseille after starring for them, Toulouse, AS Monaco and Manchester United.

In the 2nd half, Luca Toni, then of Florence-based Fiorentina, hit the crossbar with a shot, and then correctly had a headed goal disallowed as having been offside. Malouda was tackled in the box by Juventus' Gianluca Zambrotta, but was incorrectly not awarded another penalty. Arsenal legend Henry was stopped by Juventus goalie Buffon. Malouda skied a shot over the bar. Pirlo just missed with a free kick.

In extra time, Ribéry, then with Marseille and later to star for Bayern Munich, just missed. Buffon just barely knocked a Zidane header away.

And then, in the 110th minute, Materazzi pulled on Zidane's jersey, they exchanged words, and Zidane head-butted Materazzi right in the chest. In French soccer, this is known as a coup de boule -- literally, "stroke of ball" or "blow of ball," but also meaning "play of head." (The more familiar phrase coup d'état means "blow of state," and refers to the overthrow of a government.)

Elizondo did not see the incident. The 4th official, Luis Medina Cantalejo -- so respected that he not only officiated at 3 games of that World Cup, but was one of the few Spanish referees to officiate at La Liga games between arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, a rivalry so intense that foreign referees are nearly always assigned to oversee it -- told Elizondo through his headset that it had happened.

Elizondo properly showed Zidane a straight red card, making him the 4th player to be sent off in a World Cup Final, and the only player ever sent off in games of 2 separate World Cups. The scene of Zidane walking into the locker room, past the World Cup trophy but not even looking at it, is nearly as iconic as the coup de boule itself.

Extra time ended with the game still 1-1, so it went to penalties. Italy kicked first. Pirlo scored his penalty. Sylvain Wiltord, then with Lyon and previously the man whose goal past Barthez secured the League and Cup "Double" for Arsenal in 2002, made his. 1-1.

Materazzi was next for Italy, and made his penalty. Next for France was Trezeguet, facing his Juventus teammate Buffon. In extra time of the Euro 2000 Final, he had beaten Buffon with a shot. Under the rules then in place, it was a "golden goal": Automatic victory. This time, he was not a hero: He clanged his shot off the crossbar. 2-1 Italy.

De Rossi made his penalty. Abidal made his. Del Piero made his. Willy Sagnol made his for France. Finally, Fabio Grosso clinched the win for Italy: 5-3, with France's last shot not taken, seeing as how it would have been meaningless. Italia: Campioni del Mondo.

Fabio Cannavaro, as Captain, raising the Jules Rimet Trophy

Zidane, of course, was not available for the penalties.

Why did he do it? Three British newspapers -- The Times, The Sun, and the Daily Star, with varying degrees of reliability -- all hired lip-readers who were fluent in French and Italian to look at the tape, and to see what Materazzi had said to Zidane to provoke it. (Materazzi does not speak French, but Zidane played in Italy long enough to learn the language, and their exchange was entirely in Italian.)

The Times has a reputation for sterling journalism; The Sun and the Daily Star are considered lying right-wing propaganda rags. Yet the lip-readers hired by all 3 reported the exact same thing: They all said that Materazzi had called Zidane a "son of a terrorist whore."

It had been less than 5 years since the 9/11 attacks, and a year to the week after the 7/7 attacks on the London Underground (subway). Apparently, Materazzi was unaware that presuming that all Muslims are terrorists is not only bigoted, but stupid. To make matters worse, Zidane's mother was ill at the time.

Materazzi's version of events was a little different. He said he would never have insulted someone's mother, having lost his own when he was 15 years old. Without question, he had tugged on Zidane's shirt. The exchange of shirts is a postgame tradition that goes back decades, and Materazzi said that Zidane told him, "If you want my shirt, I will give it to you afterwards." Not an unreasonable request of a star of one of the finalists to one of the other finalist, and not an unreasonable response.

Materazzi said that his follow-up was, "I prefer the whore that is your sister." In other words, "Your sister puts out, and I'd like you to set me up with her." In other words, Materazzi admitted that he had gone too far.

But so had Zidane. There were about 10 minutes of play to go. Winning is the best revenge. A man as accomplished as Zidane -- 2 League titles in Italy and 1 in Spain, a Champions League win, a World Cup and a Euro title -- should have accepted this. Win the game, and you look like a champion, and the guy trying to provoke you looks like an idiot. Instead, the great Zizou looked like an easily provoked fool, and Materazzi an undeserved World Champion.

The play swept the world. Dozens of people posted their attempts at recreating it on the Internet. American TV shows parodied it. A song titled "Coup de Boule" hit Number 1 on the French music charts.

One moment can change not just a game, but a reputation, forever. Zidane stood to become the greatest hero in the history of French sport. Maybe he still is, anyway. But the first thing anyone thinks about when they hear his name is the coup de boule.

Can You Dig It? No, I Can't

Usually, the Minnesota Twins turn out to be a cure for what ails the Yankees. Over the 4th of July weekend, that turned out not to be the case.

The Yankees went into Friday night's game with a 7-game losing streak. Gerrit Cole pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and -- beautiful words -- no walks, striking out 7. But he threw 88 pitches, and Aaron Boone took him out. This could have been a disaster. But the bullpen was up to the task: Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn, Fernando Cruz and David Bednar each pitched an inning. Cruz allowed a hit and 2 walks, but the others are no baserunners between them. Trent Grisham and Ben Rice hit home runs, and the Yankees won, 5-2.

Robert Lamm, the original lead singer of the rock group Chicago, wrote perhaps the group's most familiar lyric about being in Central Park on Saturday, July 4, 1970: "Saturday, in the park, I think it was the 4th of July." The Yankees usually play that song on Saturday afternoons. And this past Saturday was the 4th of July, the nation's 250th Anniversary of independence. The 4th of July won't fall on a Saturday again until 2037.

Of course, the weather was an issue, both the extreme heat and the expected thunderstorm. Uglier still was Donald Trump using the occasion to celebrate himself instead of the country and its ideals. Maybe the lyric we should be remembering from that song is, "Listen, children: All is not lost! All is not lost! Oh, no, no!" Or, "If we want it, really want it, can you dig it? Yes, I can!"

Unfortunately, with Max Fried and Luis Gil on the Injured List, Clarke Schmidt on it all season long, and now Carlos Rodón going on it, the starting pitcher on Saturday was Brendan Beck. He's 27 1/2, born during the Yankees' 1998 Playoff run, and came into this season not yet having made his major league debut. That's a red flag right there. The righthander from the San Diego area, wearing Number 89, made that debut on May 7, pitching 3 innings in a "bullpen game," and not getting the job done.

This was his 1st major league start, and he was worse, allowing 5 runs in less than 4 innings. His career ERA is now 9.45, and his WHIP is 1.800. More seasoning isn't going to do this guy any good. Designate him for assignment. Don't even send him back down to the minors. Let some other team see if they can do anything with him. Let the Mets try.

Jasson Domínguez and Max Schuemann hit home runs, but the real 4th of July fireworks came from the Twins, who hit 6 dingers, including 2 by Josh Bell, and 1 by Kody Clemens, son of Roger. Twins 11, Yankees 4.

Did somebody say, "The Weathers was an issue?" Not quite, but Ryan Weathers certainly was yesterday, allowing 4 runs in 4 innings. Ordinarily, he's been doing well as a rotation-hole-filler, but not yesterday. Camilo Doval didn't help, allowing 2 more runs in the 6th inning. He's got a 4.67 ERA and a 1.356 WHIP this season -- as a reliever. He's 29. He's not going to get any better. Get rid of him.

For the Twins, Joe Ryan pitched like Nolan Ryan, except he only walked 1 batter. He pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits. Even the only Yankee run scored on a double-play grounder in the 9th, by Domínguez. Twins 6, Yankees 1.

The Twins usually don't do well against the Yankees. Either they didn't get the message, or they refused it. Either way, they did not do their part. Nor did the Yankees do theirs.

Can you dig it? No, I can't.

*

Let's review. The Yankees are 49-40, a .551 winning percentage, a pace to go 89-73. That might be enough to make the Playoffs, but it probably won't be enough to win the American League Eastern Division. The Tampa Bay Rays lead it, by 4 games over the Yankees, 5 in (Cliché Alert) the all-important loss column.

Yankee OPS+'s: Ben Rice, 154; Aaron Judge, 151, but he's injured; Max Scheuemann, 139, but that's in only 55 plate appearances; Paul Goldschmidt, 133, but he's in a nasty slump; Cody Bellinger, 116, also in a long-term slump; Trent Grisham, 113; Amed Rosario, 111; Giancarlo Stanton, 101, and he's injured; Jazz Chisholm, 96; Spencer Jones, 92, and he's injured; José Caballero, 90, although he has improved as of late; Anthony Volpe, 89; Jasson Domínguez, 79; Ryan McMahon, 77; Ali Sánchez, 61; Randal Grichuk, 48; J.C. Escarra, 43; Austin Wells, 37; and Oswaldo Cabrera, 3 games, 11 plate appearances, hasn't reached base, which gives him a "negative perfect" score of -100. Escarra and Cabrera are currently at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Yankee starters: Cam Schlittler, 8-5, 2.08 ERA, 0.962 WHIP; Max Fried, 4-3, 3.21, 1.005, but injured; Carlos Rodón, 4-2, 3.30, 1.252, but injured; Will Warren, 7-3, 3.73, 1.332; Gerrit Cole, supposed to be the ace, 3-3, 4.01, 1.195; Ryan Weathers, 3-7, 4.29, 1.245; Elmer Rodríguez, 4 starts, 0-2, 4.76, 1.765; Luis Gil, 4 starts, 1-2, 6.05, 1.345, and injured. Rodríguez is currently at SWB.

Yankee relievers (I won't post the won-lost records): David Bednar, 3.00, 1.194; Brent Headrick, 1.45, 1.131; Paul Blackburn, 2.28, 1.154; Fernando Cruz, 2.39, 1.274; Jake Bird, 4.08, 1.326; Tim Hill, 4.18, 1.082; Ryan Yarbrough, 4.29, 1.178; Camilo Doval, 4.67, 1.356. All other pitchers, including Brendan Beck, have less than 9 innings pitched. Bednar has 17 saves, while Yarbrough has 2, and Cruz and Doval each have 1.

Overall, this is not good enough. Some key players are not getting the job done. Others are injured. As with Arsenal, who did manage to win the Premier League this past season, the Yankees seem to have an injury crisis every year. They've changed athletic trainers, and they've changed strength-and-conditioning coaches. Have they changed training and conditioning procedures? If not, they need to do so.

About those injuries:

* Chisholm is "set to be reassessed" today.

* Stanton "is moving with a little more intensity, and hitting again against velocity." He could be back after the All-Star Break.

* Fried threw 36 pitches in "live batting practice" yesterday, and Aaron Boone said he "felt really good." So, figure he gets in 3 or 4 minor-league rehab starts, and he could be back before the end of July.

* Judge "has been performing lower-body exercises and weight room work." I don't expect him back until at least early August.

* Rodón "will not throw for at least a week." Sounds like he'll be out until August.

* Schmidt was last updated on June 30, when he was "continuing to log bullpen sessions," and was "expected to begin facing hitters in July." In this case, no news is not good news.

* Gil was last updated on June 20, when he was placed on the Injured List. Again, not good.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 4-game series against the 1st-place Rays in St. Petersburg. Now would be a good time to turn things around. But can they, with their underperforming and banged-up lineup? Stay tuned.