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The Cubs and specifically Dansby Swanson keep driving in runs at an alarming rate.
Plus: I go down yet another rabbit hole to find a dubious distinction, Ken Rosenthal explains the process for his All-Star picks and we have an early version of the Baseball Card of the Week.
Im Levi Weaver welcome to The Windup! Advertisement (Also, were off tomorrow for the Fourth of July holiday.
Enjoy your weekend, and Ill talk to you Monday!) Big Swings: Cubs score 23 runs vs.
Padres Remember when we extolled the virtues of Dansby Swansons historic RBI totals in a series against the Mets last week? Well, he hasnt exactly slowed down.
Last night, Swanson hit three more home runs and the Cubs boat-raced the Padres, 23-3.
A few notes on the game: - The Padres tied the franchise record for most runs allowed, matching a 1977 game in, coincidentally, Wrigley Field.
- The eight home runs allowed were a new all-time high for Padres pitchers.
But it tied a franchise high for the Cubs, who hit eight homers almost exactly a year ago, on July 4, 2025 against the Cardinals.
(If youre wondering, the all-time record is 10 the Blue Jays hung that double-digit dinger total on the Orioles in 1987.) - The last time the Cubs scored this many runs, it was 1995, when they tied a franchise high with 26 runs at (pre-humidor) Coors Field against the Rockies.
- Believe it or not, this wasnt even the first time in the last calendar week that a team from Chicago has crossed the 20-run threshold.
Last Friday, the White Sox dropped 22 on the Royals.
Back to Swanson: He now has 26 RBIs in his last 10 games.
According to Jeremy Frank, thats the fourth-best total in MLB history, tied with Mel Ott (1929) and trailing Jimmie Foxx (1933), Joe DiMaggio (1939) and Lou Gehrig (1930).
Frank has Foxx with 28.
Baseball Reference (image below) says 27.
Whatever the number, the fact remains: Nobody not Barry Bonds, Mickey Mantle, Manny Ramirez or Hank Aaron has done anything like this in more than 90 years.
Middle Relief: All-Star predictions Today, Ken gives us insight into his picks and snubs for the All-Star Game.
Heres an excerpt.
In putting together my All-Star teams, I reached an inescapable conclusion.
The National League playoffs should be really good.
I could have formed almost my entire NL roster with players from four of the leagues top clubs the Dodgers, Brewers, Braves and Phillies.
But thats not how this process works, is it? I follow the rule that every team must be represented on July 14 at Philadelphias Citizens Bank Park, and that each All-Star team must feature 20 position players and 12 pitchers, at least three of whom are relievers.
Thats 64 All-Stars before certain selections bail on the event for one reason or another, enabling many of the players snubbed to wind up participating.
Some of the games biggest names, including Aaron Judge, Jose Ramirez and Ronald Acuna Jr., will miss this years game with injuries.
Yet even without them, narrowing down the field is more difficult than you might think.
Advertisement In picking my teams, I largely ignored the fan vote, which among other things resulted in the Blue Jays finishing in the top two at all four infield positions, catcher and designated hitter, and landing two of the top six spots in the outfield as well.
The Jays are defending American League champions, but theyre only 41-46 this season.
I like to honor the biggest names and rising stars.
First-half performance isnt everything for me.
But at some point, its difficult to ignore what is happening on the field.
Every year, this is one of my favorite columns to write, in part because it allows me to recognize so many of the amazing players we watch every day.
Im quite certain that my choices again will elicit the type of anger that is best directed toward more meaningful concerns.
But for those who absolutely must release their venom, hit me in the comments section below or at my X handle, @Ken_Rosenthal.
To see the list of Kens picks, click here.
History Lesson: The least valuable player of all time I have ongoing fake beef with one of my sandlot baseball teammates.
I wear No.
9 on my jersey, and his joke is that No.
9 is usually the worst player on the team.
He wears No.
7, so Ive recently taken to texting him random No.
7s who werent very good.
This week, I texted him the name Ted Kazanski, worth -5.9 bWAR for the Phillies from 1953-1958.
(I never said this was a normal feud.) But it got me wondering: Whats the worst bWAR total of all time? To clarify, I cant definitively say this is a search for the worst player of all time, since that title would probably have to go to someone who only played a game or two.
But the least valuable? That I can find.
My first search brought me to Gus Weyhing, the only player in history with a double-digit negative bWAR number, at -10.1 offensive bWAR for 11 teams over 14 years, from 1887-1901.
Advertisement But this doesnt count.
Weyhing was almost exclusively a pitcher, and was worth an impressive 47.3 bWAR on the mound.
Same for Pud Galvin, a Hall of Famer who accrued a -9.8 bWAR mark as a batter, but 83.3 bWAR on the mound from 1875-1892 (including an absurd 20.5 in 1884, when he went 46-22 on the mound.
It was a different time).
I did finally find my answer, though.
Among non-pitchers, were looking at Jim Levey.
He was a shortstop with the St.
Louis Browns from 1930-1933, and his -7.2 bWAR mark is the worst I could find.
Interestingly, in 1932, Levey finished in a tie for 19th out of 29 players who received at least one vote for MVP.
He was the only one on the list who finished with negative bWAR that year, at -0.5.
Anyway, Levey wore No.
1.
Time to pick a fight with a new teammate.
Baseball Card of the Week: 1994 Topps Stadium Club Manny Ramirez Rookie Rocker Since were off tomorrow for the Fourth of July holiday, and last weeks baseball card got bumped by Mets and Angels breaking news, heres a special Thursday edition (courtesy of my friend Ben, who recently gave me a pack of cards as a housewarming gift).
And it was a pretty great pack! Pedro Martinez with the Expos, a Javy Lopez rookie card and late-stage Lee Smith with the Orioles? Nice.
But the winner for me was this Manny Ramirez rookie card.
Classic 90s unintelligible font on the back to yin starting right field job? and HRs with an apostrophe? Ungraded, its worth about $1.50, but in my heart, its priceless.
And it brings to mind Ramirezs first big-league hit: a ground-rule double that he thought was a home run.
Fun card, fun pack! Thanks, Ben.
Handshakes and High Fives More fallout from the Nats-Red Sox bench-clearing incident: Nats starter Cade Cavalli was very apologetic, telling reporters he was unaware of the racial implications of the word boy, which he said to Willson Contreras.
Steve Buckley says the apology seemed sincere, but MLB should levy a fine anyway.
Advertisement More CBA proposals: The union has proposed an earlier trade deadline and more limits on player demotions.
It fing sucks.
Its a s feeling, Cody Bellinger said, summing up the vibes as the Yankees losing streak hit seven amidst a spate of sloppy play (and food poisoning).
Even the usually-chill Aaron Judge had some pointed comments about the quality of play in The Bronx.
Mets owner Steve Cohen admits that David Stearns track record in Queens has been inconsistent, but says the exec is safe through at least the end of his contract, which runs through the 2028 season.
Zack Wheeler outdueled a recently-struggling Paul Skenes.
He was still miffed when his manager took him out of the ballgame in the fifth inning.
A former junior college teammate of Jacob Misiorowski tells Jayson Jenks how the lessons learned in Missouri have translated to the big leagues.
Athlete families are nothing new, but as the MLB Draft nears, Codey Gauff is fielding a lot of questions: Is he related to tennis star Coco Gauff? Yes, actually shes his older sister.
Keith Law has a breakdown of the Futures Game rosters.
Rough news for the As: Brent Rooker is undergoing surgery to repair a tear in the cartilage of his left knee.
Hes out for the season.
Mitch Bannon has the story of Ernie Clements path from the waiver wire to an MLB All-Star darling.
Extremely scary moment on Tuesday night as As prospect Ryan Lasko was taken to a hospital after a horrifying outfield collision.
Lasko was diagnosed with a C6-C7 vertebra fracture.
Travis Kelce and other pro athletes are becoming part owners of baseball teams.
Why arent baseball players doing the same? What to watch: Chase Burns and Jacob Misiorowski are facing off head-to-head today.
Streak watch: Royals catcher Carter Jensens hit streak ended at 20 games, taking an oh-fer in last nights 4-0 loss to the Rays.
HOWEVER, thats a great hand-off for a new streak watch: Junior Caminero of the Rays now has home runs in six straight games, tying a Rays franchise record.
Most-clicked in our last Windup: Grant Paulsens video of Contreras nearly bumping Cavalli as he walked across the field.
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