SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The addition of Milwaukee Brewers rookie phenom pitcher Jacob Misiorowski to the National League All-Star team drew mixed reactions around Major League Baseball.
Some players and fans took to social media to express their frustrations over a player with only five starts in the majors being added to the NL roster instead of other players who have put up as good, if not better, numbers during the first half of the season.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will lead the NL squad Tuesday in Atlanta, is on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Roberts made it clear that he had no voice in selecting Misiorowski but sees the move as a positive, given the entertainment value of the Midsummer Classic.
“The All-Star Game is about the fans,” Roberts said Saturday. “Yes, this kid hasn’t pitched a whole lot in the big leagues, but I do think it sparks some more excitement, seeing the velocity.”
The 23-year-old Misiorowski, who is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA, quickly gained attention when he threw a 100.5 mph fastball for his first pitch in the big leagues.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said he understood the backlash from around the league but sees it as giving fans what they want.
“People want to see Miz pitch,” Murphy said. “He’s the new shiny toy in the league. It’s not deserving, that has nothing to do with it. He’s been given this opportunity. It’s not his fault.
“This wasn’t a fly-by-night decision. This is something they thought through. I think it would be really tough for the kid to say no to that.”
Murphy likened Misiorowski to former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark “The Bird” Fidrych.
Fidrych was an All-Star his first two seasons in the majors, an unusual player who often would talk to the ball while on the mound.
Fans embraced Fidrych and his eccentricities because he had the stuff on the mound to back it up. He pitched 24 complete games as a rookie in 1976, including back-to-back games when he logged 11 innings each time.
“From what I know of The Bird, it just seems that he was really authentic and really super talented,” Murphy said. “There’s some parallels there for sure.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora thinks MLB needs to do a better job getting the best players to the All-Star Game. However, he noted that Boston left-hander Garrett Crochet had opted out of pitching in the game even before he threw a complete game shutout Saturday in order to rest his arm.
“I understand, and we’re living through it right with our ace, he went nine (innings) yesterday,” Cora said Sunday before the Red Sox hosted Tampa Bay. "He’s not going to pitch in the All-Star Game. I think we’ve got to do a better job to get the ‘best of the best’ out there. I don’t know if moving it back to Wednesday or making it that whole week event or something? There’s too many All-Stars.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash agreed that the game should be a showcase of the best.
“I know the All-Star Game, you want the players that are deserving to go and representative for their teams to go, and be able to contribute and be able to play," he said Sunday. “The fans want to see that.”
AP freelancers Jim Hoehn in Milwaukee and Ken Powtak in Boston contributed to this report.
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Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski reacts after striking out Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman during the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers could have outside linebacker T.J. Watt back for their “win or go home” showdown with Baltimore for the AFC North title on Sunday night.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he's “more optimistic” than he has been that the perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher will be available after sitting out each of the past three games while recovering from surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung sustained following a dry needling treatment.
Tomlin added he'd like to see Watt practice fully at some point this week. Watt was a limited participant last week before being held out of Sunday's 13-6 loss to Cleveland, a setback that cost the Steelers (9-7) a chance to wrap up the division with a week to go.
Now, Pittsburgh either needs to win or tie the Ravens (8-8) on Sunday night to win the AFC North for the first time since 2020.
Tomlin doesn't think Watt's extended downtime will have a significant impact on the 31-year-old Watt's stamina, should he be cleared to play.
“I doubt that TJ is ever out of football shape or conditioning over the course of a 12-month calendar,” Tomlin said. “I just know how he lives his life and how he prepares and how thoughtful he is in terms of what he puts in his body and how we trains.”
While Watt's familiar No. 90 could return, massive tight end Darnell Washington is out indefinitely after having surgery on Monday for a broken arm suffered in the first half against the Browns. Tomlin did not rule out Washington's potential availability should Pittsburgh advance to the playoffs, though the Steelers would likely need to make a deep run to have any chance of seeing the uniquely talented 6-foot-7, 300-plus-pound Washington in the huddle.
Wide receiver Calvin Austin III (hamstring), veteran left guard Isaac Seumalo (triceps), cornerback Brandon Echols (groin) and cornerback James Pierre (calf) — all of whom sat out last week — could return against the Ravens.
The Steelers will need as many healthy bodies available as possible, particularly on offense, to avoid a stunning late collapse. Pittsburgh sputtered in Cleveland without suspended wide receiver DK Metcalf, who will also sit out this week as punishment for making contact with a fan in Detroit earlier this month.
Pittsburgh managed just 160 net yards passing against the Browns, a big chunk of it coming on a last-second drive that ended with Aaron Rodgers throwing incomplete in the end zone to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on three consecutive plays.
Rodgers had perhaps his best game of the season in Pittsburgh's road win at Baltimore on Dec. 7, thanks in large part to a seven-catch, 148-yard performance from Metcalf. Downfield shots were nowhere to be found on a blustery day in Cleveland, where Rodgers' longest completion was a 29-yarder to tight end Pat Freiermuth.
While Tomlin allowed both teams will add a “wrinkle” or two in the rematch, the reality is scheme is unlikely to play a significant role in a series that has produced its fair share of memorable high-stakes meetings through the years.
The stakes should keep the Steelers from having a hangover after letting the lowly Browns jump to an early 10-point lead before holding on.
Asked if it was frustrating to lose to a team that came in with just three wins on the season with so much on the line, Tomlin shrugged.
“Man, there’s a lot of things that you could get frustrated about in our business,” he said. “I’ve learned to kind of always move forward. My windshield is much bigger than my rearview.”
Maybe, but there's a chance the game could also be the 264th and final regular-season game of quarterback Aaron Rodgers' Hall of Fame-caliber career. The 42-year-old four-time MVP said over the summer that his 21st season could be his last, though he also said last week he feels as if he's aging backward and has been relatively healthy save for a broken left wrist that forced him to sit out a loss to Chicago in late November.
Rodgers said on Sunday that he expects Pittsburgh to recover and beat the Ravens. That inherent confidence is one of the reasons the Steelers spent months courting him in free agency last spring.
“That’s one of the things that made him really attractive to us, that ‘can do’ attitude and the experience and resume that goes with it,” Tomlin said. “I don’t think it’s work for him. I think it is as natural as breathing. And so if he’s breathing, I expect to see that from him as we lean in on this game."
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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
