All-Star spotlight new territory for Mantiply
Steve Gilbert
@SteveGilbertMLBIt has been quite a week for D-backs left-hander ?Joe Mantiply?, who has been named to his first All-Star team.
There have been interviews to do from outlets across the country, plans to make for the trip to Los Angeles, previous reservations for an All-Star break vacation in San Diego to cancel and an overwhelming amount of text messages and phone calls. It's a lot for a 31-year-old who is used to going through his days mostly anonymously.
"It's been pretty hectic, but it's been fun," Mantiply said over the weekend in San Diego. "You know, I've never gotten this kind of attention ever in my career. I can't imagine what some guys go through. But it's been fun, and I've been able to talk to a lot of people back home -- people that maybe wrote stories on me when I was in college or high school -- and they've all reached out, so it's been nice to talk to them and just be able to, you know, kind of share this with everyone."
Just to give you an idea of how different all this is for Mantiply, consider this: In his first 29 appearances this year he allowed a total of one run. The first time he did a postgame media interview, though, didn't come until after his 30th appearance, when he allowed three runs over 1 1/3 innings against the Tigers.
It's the way things go for setup relievers: They get very little attention until something goes wrong.
Yet, Mantiply never complained about it and was standing in front of his locker after that game waiting to answer questions. When a media member apologized for this being the first time he had done a group interview, he replied that he completely understood how it worked.
It's the kind of grace and knowledge that comes from working and waiting so long for an opportunity.
Mantiply was drafted three times -- in the 48th round in 2009, the 28th round in 2012 and the 27th round in 2013. None of those rounds even exist in the current Draft structure.
The D-backs signed Mantiply as a Minor League free agent on Jan. 3, 2020, after he had been with the Tigers, Yankees and Reds organizations as well as undergoing Tommy John surgery.
"I think he deserves all that attention," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "And I don't think he's very good at getting it, doesn't feel like he deserves it. But when you pitch well, and the baseball world recognizes [that], you have to slow down and understand that it's quite an accomplishment, and I want him to enjoy it. So I've been talking to him about being able to slow down and enjoy the moments, and I think he is."
Lovullo was the one who delivered the news to Mantiply that he had made the All-Star team. Lovullo made the announcement in front of the entire team and he spoke of the selection being a story of perseverance and a belief in oneself when things aren't going your way.
The video was recorded and shared by the team's social media department, and the reaction of Mantiply's teammates was one of joy.
"I know you saw the video of Torey announcing it, you and you heard everybody's reaction," D-backs starter Merrill Kelly said. "I think that's pretty telling about everyone's feelings towards that. Like I said a lot of a lot of guys in his position don't get the recognition that they deserve. And it's some of the hardest position in baseball to do what he does -- one inning, multiple innings. seventh inning, ninth inning, it doesn't matter. And he's been the guy to come in and shut the door all year. Great dude. So I think everybody's pretty excited."