PHOENIX -- The last time the All-Star Game was played in Seattle, D-backs outfielder Corbin Carroll was not yet 1 year old.

Now, 22 years later, the game will return to the Pacific Northwest and Carroll will be in the starting lineup for the National League, a dream come true for the Seattle native, who grew up attending Mariners games with his parents and idolizing Ichiro Suzuki.

Braves outfielder Ronald Acu?a Jr. was the top vote-getter among all NL players in Phase 1 of the voting, and in Phase 2, Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts (34%) and Carroll (30%) easily outdistanced Atlanta¡¯s Michael Harris II (19%) and Arizona¡¯s Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (16%) for the other two starting spots.

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¡°It¡¯s really cool,¡± Carroll said. ¡°One of my goals was to be at this game, and to be starting, it is just that much more of a cherry on top. [There was] a lot of hard work from a lot of people within this organization, supportive friends and family. It¡¯s cool to be able to do it for them.¡±

Carroll got the news while sitting on a chair in the D-backs' clubhouse watching the ESPN broadcast. When the announcement was made, his teammates stood and cheered, and one by one, they came over to congratulate him and give him a hug.

¡°I don't think you could really dream of anything more than that, right?" Carroll said. "To have your first All-Star Game in the city you grew up in, at the stadium you grew up going to, it¡¯s very exciting to think about.¡±

Carroll, who has the baseball world buzzing during his rookie season, has great memories of those early visits to the ballpark to watch the Mariners.

¡°We¡¯d walk along the pier to a game with dad or mom,¡± Carroll said. ¡°Sometimes take those little electric scooters. Just all good memories. It doesn¡¯t feel like too long ago.¡±

This time, instead of scooters or a walk by the pier, Carroll will ride along a red carpet to the ballpark, and he will also get to hang out with some of the best players in the game. It¡¯s an opportunity he plans to make the most of.

¡°Just seeing how these guys operate, see how they tick, I think that's going to be pretty cool,¡± Carroll said. ¡°There's obviously so much talent in this game right now and the game is just in such a healthy spot.¡±

Carroll is part of that talent in the game. The odds-on favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, he entered play Thursday with the second-best bWAR in the Majors (3.9), trailing only Acu?a (4.6).

What makes Carroll¡¯s accomplishments all the more remarkable is that he was a first-round Draft pick out of high school in 2020, who -- due to the pandemic and then injury -- played just 142 Minor League games before being called to the big leagues on Aug. 29 last season.

Carroll has a rare power/speed combination. He has 17 home runs to go along with 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts. That has led him to being a fan favorite in Arizona and someone who baseball fans everywhere have begun to watch.

¡°If you¡¯re a baseball fan and not aware of the great things this kid is doing, you must be living under a rock,¡± D-backs ace Zac Gallen recently said of Carroll.

Carroll becomes the 24th Major League rookie since 1936 and the 10th NL rookie since '48 to start an All-Star Game.

It¡¯s the first time a rookie has started an All-Star Game since Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge did so in 2017. The last NL rookie to start an All-Star Game was Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, who was in the starting lineup in '15 as a replacement for Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday.

Carroll is the sixth fan-elected starter in Arizona franchise history, joining second baseman Ketel Marte (2019), first baseman Paul Goldschmidt ('14-15), center fielder Luis Gonzalez ('01), second baseman Jay Bell (1999) and third baseman Matt Williams ('99).

Arizona signed Carroll to an eight-year, $111 million extension during Spring Training, a record sum for a player with less than 100 days of Major League service time.