Being selected for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is a big deal and for some, quite the surprise.
Milwaukee Brewers rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was added to the National League squad this week, only five games into his career, breaking the record that Pittsburgh Pirates fireballer Paul Skenes had when he was selected last year after only 11 games.
Not everyone is thrilled, especially players on the first-place Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite the stellar first half, the Phillies had only two All-Stars selected – including slugger Kyle Schwarber – and say that they have two pitchers, starters Cristopher Sánchez (7-2, 2.59 ERA, 116 strikeouts) and Ranger Suárez (7-3, 1.94 ERA, 78 strikeouts), who deserve the nod after Phillies ace Zack Wheeler dropped out of the game to prepare for the second half.
His roster spot for the July 15 game at Truist Park in Atlanta went to San Diego Padres reliever Adrian Morejon.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Schwarber, who is hitting .254 with 30 home runs and 69 RBIs, according to The Athletic, “but I wish my teammates were there. We know what we have, and I think that we’re grateful for what we have.”
Some teammates didn’t mince words about what they thought about the All-Star game and how it selects replacements, especially once they found out Misiorowski made the team.
“What a joke,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said. “That’s (expletive) terrible. I mean, that’s terrible, dude. I mean, it’s not the All-Star Game in the sense that the best players go there, or people who have had the best season. It’s whoever sells the most tickets or has been put on social media the most. That’s essentially what it’s turned into.”
“It’s turning into the Savannah Bananas,” outfielder Nick Castellanos added.
“Major League Baseball is really just focusing on the most marketable players,” Castellanos said. “So the fact that they can have somebody in the game that is going to basically blow out one inning and throw 103, 104 (mph), they’re going to get more eyeballs on baseball. They’re going to think it’s getting more popular.”
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