MLB ALL-STAR GAME ROSTERS REVEALED
Bryce Harper earns 'Legend Pick' nod
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper high fives in the dugout after scoring during the fourth inning of Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
PHOENIX — It was a year ago when Bryce Harper screamed and cursed at MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a heated argument, telling him to get out of the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse if he wanted to talk about a salary cap in baseball.
"If you want to speak about that," Harper told Manfred, "you can get the [expletive] out of our clubhouse."
Manfred certainly showed there are no ill feelings, offering Harper an olive branch Saturday, naming Harper as his "Legend Pick," to represent the Phillies at the 96th All-Star Game on July 14 at his home ballpark at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Harper, who's having his finest first half since 2021, hitting .274 with 20 homers and 57 RBI, might have been the biggest All-Star snub without Manfred stepping in and selecting him. Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, one of four Dodgers starting players, won the fan balloting while Atlanta's Matt Olson won the player balloting.
Harper, a nine-time All-Star, joins four of his Phillies teammates: DH Kyle Schwarber, who actually received more player votes than the Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani; outfielder Brandon Marsh; closer Jhoan Duran and starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez. Sanchez is expected to be the National League's starting pitcher with Ohtani scheduled to be strictly a DH and Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start on the last day before the break, making him ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game.
The Dodgers, the two-time defending World Series champions, will have five players in the All-Star Game, including four starting players for the first time since 1980. Ohtani, who won the fan balloting as the DH, will start along with Freeman, third baseman Max Muncy and first-time All-Star center fielder Andy Pages. World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto also was selected. Muncy becomes the first Dodgers third baseman to win the fan balloting since Ron Cey in 1977.
The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays lead the American League with four All-Star players apiece. Perhaps the most controversial of those selections is Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who won the fan balloting despite having his worst season, batting .268 with just four homers, 35 RBI and a career-low .699 OPS. He has the fewest homers and RBI than any starting position player, and ranks only 10th among all qualified American League first baseman.
Certainly, no one will be complaining they were snubbed more than the Boston Red Sox. First baseman Willson Contreras, their best player the first half, hitting .283 with 18 homers and 53 RBI, was ignored by the fans and the players and didn't make the team. Neither did their best pitcher, starter Sonny Gray, despite being 9-1 with a 2.36 ERA.
"I can't believe my brother didn't make it,'' his younger brother, Brewers AllStar catcher William Contreras, told USA TODAY Sports. "Look at his numbers. He's got to be there.''
The St. Louis Cardinals might not be too far behind in legitimate complaints with second baseman JJ Wetherholt, closer Riley O'Brien and starter Michael McGreevy being left off the team. They wouldn't have had a single player chosen if MLB didn't step in and select right fielder Jordan Walker.
The other notable snubs include: Starting pitchers Zack Wheeler of the Phillies, Nick Martinez of the Rays, Kyle Harrison of the Brewers, Ben Brown of the Chicago Cubs, and Braxton Ashcraft of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The leading position players who have legitimate complaints being left off are Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and first baseman Jake Bauers, Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield, Nationals first baseman Luis Garcia, White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery and Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.
There are 26 first-time All-Stars, including four rookies: Kevin McGonigle of Detroit, Travis Bazzana and Parker Messick of Cleveland, and Sal Stewart of Cincinnati. McGonigle, the youngest All-Star at 21 years old, is the first Tigers rookie to make the AllStar team since Matt Nokes in 1987, and was emotional hearing the news with the game played in his hometown.
"I've always dreamed about going to an All-Star Game in Philly, just to go and watch," he said. "That's always been a dream,'' McGonigle told reporters this week. "Now that I might have the opportunity to, you know, play in one? That would be surreal.''
