Gallo, Garc¨ªa, Gibson added to ASG roster
Kennedi Landry
@kennlandrySEATTLE -- Rangers slugger Joey Gallo said that he may have wanted fellow outfielder Adolis García to make this year¡¯s All-Star Game more than he wanted it for himself.
Luckily, he didn¡¯t have to choose. Both outfielders were selected as American League reserves and Rangers ace Kyle Gibson was named to the pitching staff for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game set to take place in Denver on Tuesday, July 13, the league announced on Sunday.
¡°He worked so hard, he¡¯s such a smart dude and he cares so much,¡± Gallo said of Garc¨ªa. ¡°I'm so happy for him. That's the one guy I think the whole team was making sure we were pulling for like, we¡¯ve got to get this guy in the game because he's just such a great guy to have around.¡±
It will be the first All-Star appearance for Garc¨ªa and Gibson, and the second for Gallo, who made his first in the Midsummer Classic in 2019. The two first-timers said they both felt emotional when they were told they made it in a team meeting prior to Sunday¡¯s series finale against the Mariners.
After a relatively slow start to the 2021 season, Gallo is now hitting .233/.389/.485 with a .874 OPS. After hitting nine home runs during the first two months of the season, he¡¯s hit 11 since the beginning of June. He also leads the Majors in walks with 64.
Gallo said he felt like he was playing well all season, even though his home run numbers only recently skyrocketed.
¡°This guy should be an All-Star,¡± said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. ¡°His numbers show that, and I'm glad that they obviously figured that out and rewarded him with that. Just the way that Joey plays the game, he's a complete player. He runs the bases well and plays defense. He's exactly what we talk about being in this organization.¡±
Garc¨ªa -- who was voted in by the players after being a finalist among AL outfielders -- is a 28-year-old rookie sensation who broke out this season after being called up on April 13. He is slashing .270/.306/.522 with a .829 OPS as the spark plug of Texas¡¯ offense.
Garc¨ªa is just the fourth Rangers rookie to make the All-Star Game and the first since Yu Darvish in 2012. The others are Neftali Feliz in 2010 and Jim Sundberg in 1974.
¡°Adolis is clearly the story of our team this year,¡± Woodward said. ¡°A guy that¡¯s DFA'd before the season and never lost hope. He kept working, kept in touch with all of our guys as far as what he needed to work on, and was really open to a lot of dialogue and criticism in trying to figure things out. Credit to him, he did all that with a positive attitude.¡±
Gallo and Garc¨ªa are tied for the team lead in homers with 20. They¡¯re tied for seventh in MLB.
Gibson was an addition to the All-Star roster after fan and player votes. The Rangers ace has had a resurgent season, posting an AL-leading 1.98 ERA with an undefeated 6-0 record through 16 starts. He¡¯ll get one more start before the All-Star break in a matchup with the Tigers at home on Thursday.
At 33 years old, Gibson is making his first All-Star appearance in his ninth year in the Majors.
¡°It's hard to put into words,¡± Gibson said. ¡°There's so many people to thank that have helped me along the way that have been a part of his journey. It's surreal to think about. My reaction was, I mean I got choked up a little bit.
¡°I thanked a lot of the guys too. I'm not a guy that goes out there and strikes out 130 guys in the first half. I rely on my defense quite a bit and our defense has played great all first half.¡±