July 4th, 2021

Ohtani is First in All-Star History Selected as Both Position Player and Pitcher; Red Sox Send MLB-High Five Players to Midsummer Classic; Astros, Blue Jays, Padres Each With Four All-Stars Heading to Denver; Rookies Adolis García, Trevor Rogers Among 34 First-Time All-Stars; Nine Countries and Territories Represented Among 22 Internationally-Born All-Stars

Pitchers and reserves have been named to the American League and National League All-Star Teams, as announced today by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The 2021 AL and NL All-Star rosters were unveiled earlier this evening during the “2021 Google MLB All-Star Selection Show” on ESPN.

In addition to the starters who were elected by the fans, pitchers and reserve players were named to the All-Star Game roster by the Player Ballot – a vote of the players, managers and coaches – and by Major League Baseball. In making the selections, MLB has ensured that each of the 30 Major League Clubs will be represented at the All-Star Game.

American League position players who are invited to the 2021 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard as a result of Player Balloting are catcher Mike Zunino of the Tampa Bay Rays; first baseman Matt Olson of the Oakland Athletics; second baseman Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros; shortstop Carlos Correa of the Astros; third baseman José Ramírez of the Cleveland Indians; outfielders Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles, Michael Brantley of the Astros and Adolis García of the Texas Rangers; and designated hitter J.D. Martinez of the Boston Red Sox.

AL pitchers who have made the Midsummer Classic as a result of the Player Ballot include starters Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees; Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox; Shane Bieber of the Indians; and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who was voted the AL’s starting designated hitter by the fans and becomes the first player in history to be named an All-Star as both a position player and a pitcher. The relievers who are All-Stars via the Player Ballot are Aroldis Chapman of the Yankees; Liam Hendriks of the White Sox; and Matt Barnes of the Red Sox.

Since Ohtani was already on the AL roster after winning the fan election at designated hitter, and because Mike Trout of the Angels and Shane Bieber of the Indians will be inactive due to injury at the Midsummer Classic, MLB had an additional nine selections to fill out the remainder of the AL roster, with three of the nine picks being used to represent the three Clubs that did not have an All-Star after the fan and player balloting processes. The five pitchers chosen include Nathan Eovaldi of the Red Sox; Kyle Gibson of the Rangers; Yusei Kikuchi of the Seattle Mariners; Ryan Pressly of the Astros; and Gregory Soto of the Detroit Tigers. The four position players among MLB selections are Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays; Nelson Cruz of the Minnesota Twins; Joey Gallo of the Rangers; and Jared Walsh of the Angels.

National League position players who are invited to the 91st Midsummer Classic as a result of Player Balloting are catcher J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies; first baseman Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers; second baseman Jake Cronenworth of the San Diego Padres; shortstop Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals; third baseman Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs; and outfielders Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, Kyle Schwarber of the Nationals and Bryan Reynolds of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NL pitchers who have made the 2021 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard as a result of the Player Ballot include starters Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets; Kevin Gausman of the San Francisco Giants; Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff of the Milwaukee Brewers; and Yu Darvish of the Padres. The relievers who are All-Stars via the Player Ballot are Craig Kimbrel of the Cubs; Josh Hader of the Brewers; and Mark Melancon of the Padres.

Since Kyle Schwarber of the Nationals will be inactive at the All-Star Game due to injury, MLB had nine selections to fill out the remainder of the NL roster, including for three teams yet to have an All-Star elected by the fans or players. The four pitchers selected include Germán Márquez of the host Colorado Rockies; Alex Reyes of the St. Louis Cardinals; Trevor Rogers of the Miami Marlins; and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies. The five position players selected are Ozzie Albies of the Atlanta Braves; Brandon Crawford of the Giants; Eduardo Escobar of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Juan Soto of the Nationals; and Chris Taylor of the Dodgers.

The AL-best Red Sox will send a Major League-high five players to Colorado, while the Padres send an NL-high four players. The AL West-leading Astros and Blue Jays will also send four players to the Midsummer Classic. For the Red Sox, it marks the second time in the last three All-Star Games (also 2018) that they are sending at least five players to the Midsummer Classic, and they are on track to have the most All-Stars in the Majors for the first time since 2009, when they sent six players to St. Louis. San Diego is sending at least four players to the Midsummer Classic for the first time since the last All-Star Game played in Colorado, when the 1998 NL Pennant-winning Padres had five All-Stars. Toronto is sending at least four players to the All-Star Game for the first time since it had five selections in 2016.

Additionally, the Astros have at least four All-Stars for the fourth consecutive time after sending six players to each of the last three contests; the Dodgers will have at least three All-Stars for a seventh consecutive time, dating back to 2014; the Brewers will have at least three All-Stars for a third straight time following five honorees in both 2018 and 2019; the White Sox have three All-Stars for a second consecutive time, marking their first such accomplishment since having four in 2005 and seven in 2006; the Rangers are also sending three players to the All-Star Game for a second straight time, marking their first time since sending eight players in 2012 and three in 2013; and the Angels will send three players to the Midsummer Classic for the first time since a trio of players were selected in 2015.

A pair of rookies are included on the All-Star rosters, including García for the AL and Rogers for the NL. García becomes the fourth Rangers rookie, and first position player, in franchise history to earn an All-Star berth, joining Jeff Zimmerman (1999), Neftalí Feliz (2010) and Darvish (2012). Rogers is the fifth Marlins rookie to earn an All-Star nod, and fourth pitcher overall, joining Dontrelle Willis (2003), Dan Uggla (2006), José Fernández (2013) and rotation-mate Sandy Alcantara (2019).

The two rookies are part of a group of 34 All-Stars (17 AL, 17 NL) making their first trip to the Midsummer Classic. With 34 first-timers already on rosters, it will mark the third consecutive All-Star Game with at least 30 players making their debut on an All-Star roster. In addition, at least 30 players have now been first time All-Stars in seven of the last eight, and nine of the last 11 installments of the Midsummer Classic.

Additionally, there are 22 internationally-born players on the All-Star rosters (15 AL, 7 NL), including players from the Dominican Republic (7), Venezuela (5), Japan (3), Cuba (2), Aruba (1), Australia (1), Canada (1), Curaçao (1) and Puerto Rico (1). Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was born in Canada and is of Dominican descent, is the youngest player on the All-Star roster at 22 years old. Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who hails from the Dominican Republic, is the youngest player on the NL squad at 22 years old, just two months older than fellow 22-year-old and Dominican product Juan Soto. Guerrero, Tatis and Soto are three of the six players age 23-or-younger on the All-Star rosters, joined by 23 year-olds Ronald Acuña Jr., Bichette and Rogers.

Trout was named to the Midsummer Classic for an eighth consecutive time, and he is followed by Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals (sixth straight) and Betts (fifth straight). Trout is also the senior-most All-Star with nine career selections, followed by Kimbrel (8), Altuve (7), Chapman (7), Cruz (7), Salvador Perez (7) and Buster Posey (7).

Fans will once again have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites – online or via their mobile devices – with the 2021 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year’s recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 13th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 12th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Celebrity Softball Game (July 11th), the MLB Draft (July 11th-13th) and PLAY BALL PARK at the Colorado Convention Center (July 9th-13th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 91st Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by 70 partners in 15 languages across 223 countries and territories. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, including ticket information and updates, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.

COURTESY MLB & MLBpressbox.com