Los Angeles Angels two-way standout Shohei Ohtani made history Sunday by becoming the first player to be selected to the All-Star team as both a position player and a pitcher.
Ohtani was voted in as the American League’s starting designated hitter by the fans in balloting announced Thursday. Three days later, when reserves and pitchers were announced, he was selected as one of the AL’s pitchers for the July 13 All-Star Game in Denver.
Ohtani, who hit his major league-leading 31st homer on Sunday, is one of 34 first-time All-Stars, a group that includes rookies Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers and left-hander Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins. It is the third straight All-Star Game in which at least 30 players made their All-Star debut.
Jacob deGrom (fourth selection) of the New York Mets heads the group of National League pitchers. The right-handed deGrom is enjoying a historic season that includes a microscopic 0.95 ERA.
The other NL starting pitchers selected were San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish (fifth), San Francisco Giants right-hander Kevin Gausman (first), Colorado Rockies right-hander German Marquez (first), Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zach Wheeler (first), the Milwaukee Brewers’ duo of right-handers Corbin Burnes (first) and Brandon Woodruff (second) and the aforementioned Rogers.
The NL relievers are Chicago Cubs right-hander Craig Kimbrel (eighth), Padres right-hander Mark Melancon (fourth), Brewers left-hander Josh Hader (third) and St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes (first).
Reigning Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians was among the starting pitchers selected for the American League. He is sidelined with a shoulder injury and will be replaced.
The other AL starting pitchers are New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (fourth), Boston Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (first), Rangers right-hander Kyle Gibson (first), Seattle Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (first), Chicago White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn (second), White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon (first) and Ohtani in his dual role.
The AL relievers are Red Sox right-hander Matt Barnes (first), Yankees left-hander Aroldis Chapman (seventh), White Sox right-hander Liam Hendriks (second), Houston Astros right-hander Ryan Pressly (second) and Detroit Tigers left-hander Gregory Soto (first).
The AL reserves are catcher Mike Zunino (first) of the Tampa Bay Rays, first baseman Matt Olson (first) of the Oakland Athletics and Jared Walsh (first) of the Angels, second baseman Jose Altuve (seventh) of the Astros, shortstops Bo Bichette (first) of the Toronto Blue Jays and Carlos Correa (second) of the Astros and third baseman Jose Ramirez (third) of the Indians.
In the outfield, the AL reserves are Michael Brantley (fifth) of the Astros, Joey Gallo (second) and Garcia of the Rangers and Cedric Mullins (first) of the Baltimore Orioles.
The NL reserves are catcher J.T. Realmuto (third) of the Phillies, first baseman Max Muncy (second) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, second basemen Ozzie Albies (second) of the Atlanta Braves and Jake Cronenworth (first) of the Padres, shortstops Brandon Crawford (third) of the San Francisco Giants and Trea Turner (first) of the Washington Nationals.
The NL backup outfielders are Mookie Betts (fifth) of the Dodgers, Bryan Reynolds (first) of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kyle Schwarber (first) and Juan Soto (first) of the Nationals and Chris Taylor (first) of the Dodgers.
Schwarber (hamstring) will miss the game and be replaced on the roster.
The starters were unveiled on Thursday night after fan balloting.
The National League starting infield will consist of Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (fifth), Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier (first), Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (first), and Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (sixth).
Buster Posey (seventh) of the Giants will be the catcher and the outfielders will be Ronald Acuna Jr. (second) of the Braves and the Cincinnati Reds duo of Nick Castellanos (first) and Jesse Winker (first).
For the AL, Blue Jays teammates Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first) and Marcus Semien (first) will be the first and second baseman, respectively. The Red Sox combo of shortstop Xander Bogaerts (third) and third baseman Rafael Devers (first) will man the left side of the infield. The Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez (seventh) will be the catcher.
Aaron Judge (third) of the Yankees and the Blue Jays’ Teoscar Hernandez (first) will be starting outfielders.
Injured Angels star Mike Trout also landed a starting outfield spot, receiving his ninth All-Star nod. However, he will miss the contest with a calf injury and will be replaced in the starting lineup.
–Field Level Media
