Happy Saturday everyone, and welcome to another edition of ATH! The calendar is soon turning to July, and we have a lot to get to with baseballs top holiday looming. So without further ado let’s get after it!

First Base

Get Well Soon Wash: The baseball world is sending its well wishes to one of its favorite people, as Ron Washington will be away from the Angels due to illness for the rest of the year. The 73-year old skipper has been beloved for years around the game, but his fame reached new heights after the release of the film Moneyball. He’s a charismatic individual but also a wonderful teacher of the game, who is praised for his player development. It’s sad he won’t be able to see this season out as his upstart Angels are right around .500 and in the mix for the AL Wild Card race, a great achievement for a roster that people didn’t expect much from. Hopefully we get to see him back in the dugout again soon, so get well soon Wash, and remind everyone how hard the game is…

Second Base

Dumper in the Derby: Some people hate the home run derby because they worry it ruins players wings, and while that’s certainly possible, I don’t quite buy the theory. I love the event and it’s always better when stars participate in it, and this 2025 derby may be one of those derbies. The league leader in homers, Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh, announced he will participate in the derby Friday, much to the joy of fans of everywhere. His 32 homers and 69 RBI’s are pretty much keeping the M’s in the playoff picture, and they are such an impressive feat for a catcher! The guy is a blast to watch and hopefully he puts on a show in Atlanta, while luring more stars in with him.

Third Base

Red Bird Revival: Let’s go the NL Central for our next two stories, where things are tightening up with the Cardinals and Brewers gaining ground on the Cubs. We’ll start St. Louis, who are unexpectedly in the thick of things at 45-38, having gone 7-3 in their last ten games, including a couple W’s over the rival Cubs. This team has far exceeded its preseason expectations, led by ace Sonny Gray, who threw a 89 pitch “Maddux shutout” Friday night in Cleveland, while veteran first baseman Wilson Contreras leads the team with 50 RBI’s. This group is spunky, and we’ll see in the weeks ahead if they can stay in this race until the break!

Home Plate

Milwaukee Mis: We have a burgeoning star on the mound on our hands in dairy land. 6’7” righty Jacob Misiorowski has taken the league by storm in recent weeks, going 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 19 K’s in 16 innings pitched. The Brewers pitching lab seems to have struck again as the 23 year old is overpowering, to the point that he even beat Paul Skenes head to head! “The Brew Crew” need this to continue as they’ve improved to 45-36 with the rookies help, just 2.5 games from the division leading Cubs!

The Walkoff

Baseball’s Holiday: Football has Thanksgiving, the NBA has Christmas Day, heck even the NHL has New Year’s. But baseball has the Fourth of July, and by god is it perfect. Every year our National Pastime takes to the field as the soundtrack to your day at the beach or pool party or barbecue. Something about it just feels right, like a warm blanket on a winters day, or a summer night like the one in the clip above. I know I say “we live in strange times” a lot on this site, but it’s never felt more true than it does now. I have no message or advice other than to relax, crack a cold one, enjoy the company of your family and friends and watch a ballgame. The simple pleasures of life distract from the tough moments better than any scroll of social media or argument could. So Happy Birthday America, and play ball!

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.