Cal Raleigh and Yoshinobu Yamamoto joined Wood, Wilson and Crow-Armstrong among 19 first-time All-Stars. Wood was acquired by Washington in the August 2022 trade that sent outfielder Juan Soto to San Diego.
“It’ll just be cool being around some of the best players in the game,” Wood said.
De La Cruz was selected to the All-Star game for the second straight season. He leads all MLB shortstops with 18 home runs, 68 runs, 60 RBIs and a .487 slugging percentage. He’s hitting .277 with 22 stolen bases.
“I’m playing every day. I am really good with that and controlling what I can control,” De La Cruz told reporters after the Reds 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
A year ago, he hit .259 with 25 homers, 67 RBIs and led MLB with 67 stolen bases, earning his first All-Star nod.
“(This winter) he told me kind of what he wanted to be and how he wanted to get there and he’s doing that,” Reds manager Terry Francona told reporters after the game. “He’s growing up. I think one of the things he has to battle is that everybody is always talking about his ceiling. I just wanted to kind of impress upon him that if we see it within the confines of the game, it’s really going to be special. I think that he’s doing a good job of that.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Kershaw last week became the 20th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts and Commissioner Rob Manfred made the left-hander the 65th All-Star as a so-called Legend Pick, his first since selecting Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols in 2022 under a provision in the then-new collective bargaining agreement.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Kershaw gives the Dodgers at least five All-Stars for the sixth straight season. The oldest NL All-Star at 37 and most senior All-Star with 11 selections, Kershaw is joined by Yamamoto and fan-elected starters Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.
Kershaw said he didn’t want to discuss the selection on Sunday.
Detroit and Seattle will have four players each at the game.
Starting pitchers Hunter Brown of Houston, Garrett Crochet of Boston, Jacob deGrom of Texas, Max Fried of the New York Yankees and Tarik Skubal of Detroit were voted to the AL staff by players, managers and coaches along with relievers Aroldis Chapman of Boston, Josh Hader of Houston and Andrés Muñoz of Seattle.
Chapman is the oldest All-Star, born 19 days before Kershaw.
AL reserves picked by players included Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk, Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda and second baseman Brandon Lowe, Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña, Boston third baseman Alex Bregman, Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker and outfielders Byron Buxton of Minnesota, Steven Kwan of Cleveland and Julio Rodríguez of Seattle.
MLB used its six picks on pitchers Kris Bubic of Kansas City, Yusei Kikuchi of the Los Angeles Angels, Shane Smith of the Chicago White Sox and Bryan Woo of Seattle, along with Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
“Red carpet, that’s my thing,” Chisholm said. “I do have a ‘fit in mind.”
Smith became the second player since 2000 to become an All-Star in the season after he was selected in the Rule 5 draft, following Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla in 2006, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Smith was left unprotected by Milwaukee and joined Wilson (Athletics) as the only rookies on the All-Star rosters.
Pittsburgh’s Skenes, Washington’s MacKenzie Gore, Atlanta’s Chris Sale, San Francisco’s Logan Webb and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler were elected to the starting rotation by players along with relievers Jason Adam of San Diego, Edwin Díaz of the New York Mets and Randy Rodríguez of San Francisco.
Skenes started last year’s All-Star Game just 66 days after his major league debut, pitching a hitless inning in the NL’s 5-3 loss at Arlington, Texas.
Player-elected NL reserves were Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, St. Louis second baseman Brendan Donovan, Cincinnati’s De La Cruz at shortstop, Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suárez, Philadelphia DH Kyle Schwarber and Wood, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. in the outfield.
MLB’s NL picks were Yamamoto, the Cubs’ Matthew Boyd, Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta and the Giants’ Robbie Ray for the pitching staff along with Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson and Miami outfielder Kyle Stowers.
Mets outfielder Juan Soto, Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, Blue Jays outfielder George Springer, Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray were not picked. There usually are about 10 roster replacements between the announcements and the game.
AP freelance writers Mike DiGiovanni in Los Angeles and Patrick Stevens in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP