The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park turned into a very Philadelphia kind of night.
Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals walked away with the title on Monday, outlasting Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the final round.
Schwarber put up 11 home runs, but Walker found another gear late and finished with 12. Bryce Harper also took part in the event, but the home crowd made sure the night belonged to its own - and made life loud for everyone else.
That included plenty of boos for the non-Phillies in the field. Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Junior Caminero and Wilson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox were among the players who drew the crowd’s full wrath, and Walker had to grind through that noise to win it all.
The reaction on X was immediate. One Atlanta Braves fan said Major League Baseball should never bring All-Star week back to Philadelphia.
Hey MLB, plz never host All-Star week in Philly ever again. Literally any other city will do. I’ll even take LA over this.
That same fan also took a shot at Dodgers supporters while arguing that West Coast crowds show a little more respect.
🤣🤣 dodgers fans have a littleee more class than these feral Phillies fans I can’t deal lol
Another fan called the treatment of the visiting players “Busch league.”
Ban Philly from hosting future all star events! Boo-ing all competitors in the home run derby besides Phillies is Busch league.
A Washington, D.C.-area commentator said the boos were flying at just about everything in sight.
Philly is booing everybody and everything so far tonight.Kid in outfield not making a play.Slugger taking a pitch.The dude selling the beer.The drone flying over head.If you’re not Schwarber or Harper, you’re getting booed.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic noted that this kind of crowd behavior stood out even by Home Run Derby standards.
I don't recall booing being a thing in Home Run Derbies of yesteryear. Philadelphia just made it a thing in this Derby, roundly hooting everyone in the field who was not Kyle Schwarber or Bryce Harper. It's on!
Leave it to Philadelphia to pioneer competitive booing at a batting practice.
A Chicago sports fan went even harder on the crowd.
OK, that’s it, the Philadelphia Phillies will never host another All-Star game again. I mean these fans have to absolutely suck.
It’s the All-Star game. You should be cheering on some of the greatest players in the sport yet here you are booing every player that does not wear…
But not everyone saw the scene as a problem. One Phillies fan called the whole thing “perfection.”
Phillies fans booing everyone except Schwarber and Harper at the home run derby is perfection. #ringthebell pic.twitter.com/BMYWJyYwo6
Whatever side you landed on, the night was another reminder of how Philly operates. The city’s fans do not hide what they think, whether it’s the Phillies, Eagles, Philadelphia 76ers or Philadelphia Flyers.
If they’re unhappy, everybody hears it. If they’re locked in behind their team, they can be just as loud.
And right now, the Phillies have given them plenty to cheer about. After a 9-19 start and the firing of then-manager Rob Thomson, Philadelphia has climbed to 54-43 and sits two games behind the first-place Braves in the National League East.
Interim manager Don Mattingly has done enough to put himself in position to stay beyond this season, and he has the backing of the Philadelphia fan base.
In Other News...
Blues Just Made A Franchise Defining Robert Thomas Decision
After moving on from Brayden Schenn, the Blues are left without a captain, and the timing makes Robert Thomass place in the organization even more significant. The 25-year-old center is already viewed as a central part of the clubs future, the kind of player around whom a retool can be built as St. Louis leans younger and tries to chart a path back toward another Stanley Cup.
Thomas is also one of the clearest internal candidates to eventually wear the C, even if the team has not made any official decision yet. For a franchise that has spent the past few years trying to balance competitiveness with a reset, settling on Thomas as a long-term cornerstone says as much about the direction of the roster as any move on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Home Opener Reveal Sets The Tone For The Steen Era
The NHLs home-opener schedule brought a little clarity to the start of the season, and for St. Louis it points to an October 8 date at Enterprise Center against San Jose. It also gives the Blues an early measuring stick in a matchup they handled well last season, taking two of three from the Sharks and twice needing overtime to settle it.
For a team entering the Alexander Steen era, the opener carries a little extra weight beyond the usual pageantry. The Blues will be part of the leagues new 84-game grind, and the first night in St. Louis offers an immediate chance to set the tone against a Sharks team built around Macklin Celebrini and the kind of young talent that can make an early-season game feel more like a statement than a formality. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Just Made A Six-Year Connor McMichael Bet
Connor McMichael is now locked in with the Blues for the long haul after signing a six-year contract that keeps the arbitration process off the table. St. Louis is clearly betting on the 24-year-old forward as part of its next core, and the deal gives the club a cost-controlled piece to build around as it tries to sharpen its forward depth.
The immediate question is where McMichael fits once camp opens. He is expected to push for the second-line center role, and that puts him in the middle of a crowded competition with Mason McTavish, Dalibor Dvorksy and Pius Suter all in the mix for the same job. For a team trying to sort out its lineup before the season starts, that kind of internal battle could end up shaping a lot more than one line. [Read more 🡒]