KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals will be well represented at the upcoming 2016 All-Star game in San Diego.
Catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer were voted into the starting lineup, with Perez receiving 4,965,838 votes, the most among all major league players this year. He is now the second Royal to lead the majors in All-Star voting, joining Hall of Famer George Brett (1981).
Relief pitchers Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera were also named to the All-Star team, giving the Royals as many as four selections for the second year in a row as well as multiple starters for the second straight season and third time in franchise history. The four All-Star selections are also tied for the third-most in franchise history. Kansas City had four players named to the squad in 1972, 1976 and 1978.
Perez will make his third consecutive start behind the plate for the American League, the most by a Royals player since Brett started five seasons in a row (1981-85). The four-time All-Star is tops among AL catchers in hits (74), batting average (.277), slugging percentage (.483) and tied for first in RBI (37). His 24 two-out RBIs are tied for fifth in the majors, while he’s thrown out an AL-best 17 would-be basestealers.
Davis, 30, was tabbed an All-Star for the second straight year, though he will not participate in the game due to injury. He’s posted a 1-0 record with 19 saves and a 1.23 ERA in 30 appearances this season, his first full year as the team’s closer. His save total is tied for fifth in the American League, while his ERA is also fifth-best among the league’s relief pitchers.
Herrera, 26, was also selected an American League All-Star for the second-straight season. He is 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 38.2 innings this season. He leads the league with 21 holds this year, while he’s tied for seventh among AL relievers with 39 appearances. He hasn’t allowed a hit to a right-handed hitter since June 6, while righties are just 10-for-71 (.141) against him this season.
Hosmer, meanwhile, will be participating in his first All-Star Game. He’s batting .303 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs this season–28 of those RBIs have come since May 25, which ties him for seventh in the American League in that span. He had a career-best 18-game hitting streak, April 10-29, which is also the third-longest in MLB this season.
Facing these Royals on the NL side will be a different shade of blue: the Chicago Cubs became the first team since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine to have five players voted as All-Star Game starters when their entire infield earned the honor Tuesday along with center fielder Dexter Fowler.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell and third baseman Kris Bryant also were elected. The only other team to start four infielders was the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals.
Rizzo led NL players with 3.2 million votes, and Zobrist won the closest race by finishing 88 votes ahead of Washington’s Daniel Murphy. Seven Cubs were picked in all, with Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester selected for the National League pitching staff. Fowler hopes to recover from a hamstring strain that has sidelined him since June 18.
San Francisco catcher Buster Posey was elected along with New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Washington outfielder Bryce Harper.
Arrieta is among five first-time All-Stars on the NL pitching staff, joined by New York’s Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen and Miami’s A.J. Ramos. Other NL pitchers include Washington’s Stephen Strasburg, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner, the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez and Atlanta’s Julio Teheran. Washington’s Max Scherzer was bypassed.
Back on the AL side, Boston has six All-Stars, including four starters. Designated hitter David Ortiz, who is retiring at the end of the season, became a 10-time All-Star and is joined by a trio of first-timers: shortstop Xander Bogaerts and outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts. Knuckleballer Steven Wright and closer Craig Kimbrel were selected for the pitching staff.
Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances were picked for the AL bullpen from the New York Yankees’ Run BMC trio but Aroldis Chapman was left off after missing the first 29 games of the season while serving a domestic violence suspension.
Miller and Wright are among seven first-time All-Stars on the AL pitching staff, joined by Tampa Bay’s Alex Colome, Toronto’s Marco Estrada, Baltimore’s Brad Brach, Houston’s Marco Estrada and Cleveland’s Danny Salazar. Other AL pitchers include Chicago’s Chris Sale and Texas’ Cole Hamels.
Overall, the July 12 game at San Diego’s Petco Park will feature 11 first-time starters, the most since 2005. In a sign of the sport’s generational change, 12 of the 17 elected starters are 26 or younger.
Petco Park is the second of four straight NL ballparks to host the All-Stars, following Cincinnati last year and ahead of Miami in 2017 and Washington in 2018. Because of that, the AL will be the home team, wear white uniforms and use the Padres clubhouse. Wil Myers was the only Padres player picked.
St. Louis’ 1963 infield included first baseman Bill White, second baseman Julian Javier, third baseman Ken Boyer and shortstop Dick Groat. The 1976 Reds’ starters were catcher Johnny Bench, second baseman Joe Morgan, shortstop Dave Concepcion, third baseman Pete Rose and outfielder George Foster.
— Associated Press —