GENERATIONS COLLIDE
Youngsters, veterans will share All-Star Game spotlight
The All-Star Game starting lineups provided further proof of baseball’s continuing regeneration, as fans picked 10 players who will be starting for the first time, the highest number in 10 years.
Monday’s announcement of the reserves expanded on that theme, with rookies Kris Bryant and Joc Pederson among 35 players who are 27 or younger. But it also demonstrated there’s plenty of room for older players in a sport that rewards experience and know-how over sheer athleticism.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander A.J. Burnett, who at 38 is playing the final season of a 17year career, got his first All-Star nod on the basis of a 7-3 record and 2.05 ERA that ranks third in the league. He’s part of a group of venerable 30-somethings invited, including three first basemen who had missed the Midsummer Classic in recent seasons.
Albert Pujols, absent from the game for the last four years as his production declined, returns at 35 as the American League’s top home run hitter with 25. He will replace injured Miguel Cabrera in the starting lineup.
The New York Yankees’ Mark Teixeira, who overcame wrist woes, has a revamped diet and leads the American League with 59 RBI, earned his first invite since 2009. And fellow first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, 33, is back as well after a three-year hiatus, one of four Los Angeles Dodgers on the squad, although threetime Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw surprisingly isn’t one of them.
The most surprising selection from either side might be utility man Brock Holt, the Boston Red Sox’s lone representative.
The pitchers and reserves were chosen by what’s known as the Player Ballot — a vote of players, managers and coaches — as well as the managers of the defending league champions. Manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals, whose fans came under criticism for ballot-stuffing in sending four starters to the game, praised Holt’s versatility and said he tried to take a practical approach to his selections.
“The most important thing I wanted to do was make sure I made these choices with my head and not my heart,” said Yost, who will be accompanied by a gamehigh six Royals to Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park for the July 14 showcase.
One of this year’s most compelling stories came in the selection of Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt, a longtime minor leaguer who was chosen on merit, not to fulfill the requirement that every team be represented.
Entering Monday, Vogt, 30, led all AL catchers in batting average (.290), RBI (53) and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.882) was tied for the top spot in home runs (13). In his first year as a full-time starter after playing in parts of the previous three seasons, Vogt says he finally feels like he belongs.
“Just to be recognized at the major league level by your peers and by everybody out there that, ‘Yeah, you are an All-Star,’ holy cow!’ Vogt said. “You put that into perspective, and it’s been quite the ride. I’m truly honored.”