Pujols, Miggy headed to LA as All-Star legacy picks

Albert Pujols? and Miguel Cabrera: Two of the greatest right-handed hitters in baseball history and locks for the Hall of Fame. Each is planning to retire soon -- Pujols after this season and Cabrera after the next. But before they do, one of the ways they will receive a proper send-off will take place at this year’s All-Star Game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium.

Major League Baseball announced Friday that Pujols and Cabrera have been added to the All-Star rosters as legacy selections for the 92nd Midsummer Classic, during which they will be celebrated for their achievements over the past two decades. Pujols will be the 33rd player for the National League and Cabrera will be the 33rd player for the American League.

“I am delighted that Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera have agreed to participate in the All-Star Game," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Albert and Miguel are two of the most accomplished players of their generation. They have also represented the baseball traditions of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela with excellence for the last two decades. Albert and Miguel are two all-time greats whose achievements warrant this special recognition.”

The All-Star selection is the 11th in Pujols’ career and the 12th for Cabrera. Pujols, who spent his first 11 MLB seasons with the Cardinals, played the next 10 seasons with the Angels before a brief stint with the Dodgers in 2021. He then returned to St. Louis for one final season in ’22. He will represent the Cardinals as an All-Star for the 10th time, with his other selection coming while with the Angels in 2015.

Over a 22-year career, Pujols has launched 683 home runs, which ranks fifth all-time and is 13 homers shy of Alex Rodriguez, who is in fourth place. Pujols' 3,326 hits are 10th most in MLB history. In addition to his 11 All-Star selections, he is a three-time NL MVP (2005, ’08 and ’09), a two-time NL Gold Glove Award winner at first base and a two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals (2006 and ’11).

Pujols was the MVP of the 2004 NL Championship Series against the Astros and became the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game during Game 3 of the 2011 Fall Classic (one player has done it since -- Pablo Sandoval in the 2012 World Series).

Cabrera spent the first five seasons of his big league career with the Marlins, helping them win the 2003 World Series by hitting four homers that postseason as a rookie. He was then traded to the Tigers and has spent the past 15 seasons with Detroit. After four All-Star selections with the Marlins, Cabrera has now been named an All-Star eight times as a Tiger.

Cabrera is a two-time AL MVP (2012 and ’13) and in 2012, he became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown, leading the AL in batting average (.330), home runs (44) and RBIs (139). He was the 10th player to win the Triple Crown since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920, and he remains the most recent to do so.

Pujols and Cabrera share a remarkable distinction as two of the three players in MLB history to collect 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles -- the other is Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

The 2022 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by 70 partners in 16 languages across 210 countries and territories. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and Univision Radio (Spanish) will provide exclusive national radio coverage.

The second and final phase of voting for All-Star starters ends today at 2 p.m. ET, and the results will be announced on the 2022 Chevrolet MLB All-Star Starters Reveal show tonight at 7 ET on ESPN.

The pitchers and reserves for both squads -- totaling 23 players for each side -- will be determined via “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the Commissioner’s Office. The complete All-Star rosters will be announced during the 2022 Chevrolet MLB All-Star Selection Show on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

MLB All-Star Week information can be found at AllStarGame.com and on social media @MLB. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.