Freddie Freeman added to NL roster for the MLB All-Star Game
Freddie Freeman is an All-Star after all.
After initially being snubbed from the National League roster, Freeman was added as an All-Star replacement Sunday night, giving the Dodgers their sixth All-Star selection this year as they host the midsummer classic for the first time since 1980. Freeman was selected by Major League Baseball to replace New York Mets outfielder Starling Marte, who will be inactive for the game.
Freeman had a strong All-Star case when the original teams were announced last week, and has only added to his credentials since.
After entering the break on a 16-for-24 tear at the plate, Freeman raised his season batting average to .321 (fourth best in the majors), his on-base-plus-slugging percentage to .927 (seventh) and his RBI total to 59 (13th best).
He is MLB’s hits leader with 114, after playing all 90 games during the first half for the Dodgers.
And he has separated himself as the best hitter on baseball’s second-best team, beginning his Dodgers tenure with a bang after signing a six-year, $162-million contract in March.
Sunday’s announcement gives Freeman his sixth career All-Star selection, and marks the fourth-straight All-Star Game in which he will participate.
“This is the Freddie that, from the other side, you’re trying to prepare against,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this week as Freeman caught fire at the plate. “There’s nowhere to go, no lanes to go to get him out.”
Freeman downplayed his initial exclusion from the All-Star team this week, noting that part of him was looking forward to a break after his busy schedule to start the season.
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Anderson has chronicled his career with notebooks, a tactic he learned from his college coach George Horton.
He had been planning to spend time with his family this week, which he joked on Saturday night would undoubtedly include “a lot of baseball” with his young sons who are learning the game.
“Sometimes you don’t want the All-Star break to come,” he said. “But I think we could all use the rest.”
Instead, he’ll join teammates Mookie Betts and Trea Turner (who are both starters for Tuesday’s game), as well as pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson on the National League roster.
The Dodgers are tied with the Braves and the New York Yankees for most All-Star selections, with six each.
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