Written by This week, baseball has taken its annual midseason break to celebrate its heroes at the All-Star Game. In a season unlike any other, one hero has stood out by accomplishing feats never done before in the sport. It has been great to get to know him a little bit.
Two-way player Shohei Otani is a superstar. After breaking records in Japan, he burst onto the scene in Major League Baseball in 2018. After a promising rookie season where he was named Rookie of the Year, injuries and illness had kept Otani from living up to the extensive hype he generated before his signing with the Los Angeles Angels.
Now, he is exceeding the hype. So far this season, “Shotime” is leading the league in home runs and triples as a designated hitter and pitches every six days. He has power, he is fast, and he throws 100 miles an hour.
To add to all of that, Shohei is charismatic and handsome. He is always smiling and is incredibly humble in his interviews. MLB billed him as the main event for this week’s activities in Denver. Ohtani was the #1 seed at Monday’s Home Run Derby and made history by being both the starting pitcher and the designated hitter for the American League. After long being a hero at home in Japan, he now is deservedly being accepted as a hero in America.
For the most part, Ohtani lived up to the hype. He made a grand entrance by nearly hitting a ball out of Coors Field during batting before the Home Run Derby. He was upset in the first round by Juan Soto but put up a valiant effort. On Tuesday, he was the winning pitcher of the game by throwing a 1-2-3 first inning. He was the center of attention and charmed all who came in contact with him. Fans, players, and the media all got to know our new hero a little better.
Lucky for us, there were more heroes on display. Toronto Blue Jay Vladimir Guererro, Jr. hit a mammoth 468-foot home run in the third inning of the game to earn MVP honors. Guerrero and Ohtani are battling for the American League MVP and Home Run titles. The home run occurred while another young star, Fernando Tatis, Jr. of the San Diego Padres, talked to the FOX game announcers while playing shortstop.
Monday’s Home Run Derby was more interesting than the game on Tuesday. Soto set a new record by hitting a 520-foot blast, but two other heroes stole the show.
A year ago, Trey Mancini was undergoing treatment for Stage 3 colon cancer. This year, he returned to the Baltimore Orioles and advanced to the Derby final against New York Met slugger and defending champion Pete Alonso. Seeded #5 and almost forgotten in the hype surrounding favorites Alonso and Texas Ranger Joey Gallo, Alonso came prepared and put on a show. The “Polar Bear” hit 74 home runs totaling over 33,400 feet. He had a custom-painted bat and continuously bobbed his head to the sound of his favorite New York rappers.
Denver proved itself to be another hero of the week. Coors Field was a beautiful setting, holding nearly 50,000 fans. It was good to see so many people at a sporting event. Nobody seemed to care that it was a backup replacement for Atlanta after MLB stripped it from hosting the event earlier this year. The thin air and beautiful Colorado summer weather make you think they should hold the event there every year.
While showcasing MLB’s heroes this week, its villains were absent. The Houston Astros were the only team not represented this week. The fans elected none of the first-pace Astros as starters for the American League, but the players selected four Astros as reserves. They politely announced they needed to use the time to spend time with their pregnant wives or nurse nagging injuries. However, after being serenaded with boos and expletives by fans all season, they certainly did not feel welcome.
That sentiment proved to be correct. The one Astros representative, its mascot Orbit, was ceremoniously booed by the fans at Coors Field. Two others from the Astros deserved a chance to participate. 37-year-old Yuli Gurriel, having the best season of his career, would have been a deserving pick as a reserve. Yordan Alvarez, whose .999 OPS through his first 162 games is the third-best all-time start to a career behind Rudy York and Ted Williams, would have been a great addition to the Home Run Derby.
Both Gurriel and Alvarez are from Cuba. Having them in attendance alongside Aroldis Chapman of the New York Yankees and Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers would have been a powerful show of support for the demonstrations against the ongoing humanitarian crisis in their country.
As an Astros fan, I’m struggling to accept the role of villain for my heroes. One person’s hero is another person’s villain, I guess. Time will hopefully restore their seat at the table. Other MLB players seem to be moving on, seeing the ongoing controversy as more of a media story than something that concerns players from other teams.
The Astros and MLB’s perennial villains, the Yankees, played a thrilling series leading up to the All-Star Break. Former Astro Gerrit Cole, now a very wealthy Yankee, gave a masterful performance on Saturday night. He threw 120 pitches, including three blazing fastballs to strike out Alvarez to end the game, in a 1-0 shutout victory for the Yankees. The lone run came on a solo home run by Aaron Judge, who clutched his jersey as he passed Jose Altuve while running around the bases.
Judge, a genuinely nice guy who doesn’t play the part of a trash-talking villain very well, said he was cold. He didn’t want to admit he was mimicking Altuve’s refusal to let his teammates rip off his jersey after hitting his walk-off home run that eliminated the Yankees from the 2019 playoffs.
On Sunday, Altuve repeated his heroics by blasting a three-run homer to complete a dramatic come-from-behind victory. This time, the shirt came off, exposing the tattoo Altuve had claimed to be embarrassed to show. No buzzer.
Baseball is a game of heroes. I salute all of them who do their best to make us proud, even after making mistakes. Villains are the ones who don’t care.