LOS ANGELES — It’s official. Mookie Betts and Trea Turner of the Dodgers and Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels are headed to this year’s MLB All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium as starters.
Trout received 39% in the second phase of fan voting among the four American League outfielders in the running for two starting spots. Betts secured his spot by earning 36% of votes among four National League outfielders. Ohtani pulled ahead of Yordan Álvarez in the race for the starting AL designated hitter through this week. Turner similarly edged Dansby Swanson to get the start at shortstop for the NL in the last few days. MLB announced the starters Friday. The game will be played July 19.
This marks Trout’s 10th All-Star nod, Betts’ sixth and Ohtani’s and Turner’s second.
Those four join a list of 18 total stars voted in, plus two special All-Star selections made by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
The special selections, known as the “All-Star Legends Selection,” are part of a clause added to the new collective bargaining agreement between the players and team owners. The distinction this year went to longtime sluggers Albert Pujols — a former Angel who is playing his final season with the team he rose to fame with, the St. Louis Cardinals — and Miguel Cabrera — who is on the penultimate year of his contract with the Detroit Tigers, the team he’s played for over the last 15 years, and whom he said he will retire with after the 2023 season.
“I am delighted that Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera have agreed to participate in the All-Star Game,” Manfred said in a statement Friday. “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.”
Pujols and Cabrera are two of three players in MLB history — Hall of Famer Hank Aaron rounds out the group — with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and 600 doubles. This season’s All-Star selections are Pujols’ 11th and Cabrera’s 12th.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. were selected as starters last week for being the top vote getters in the first round of voting in their respective leagues.
Here’s the full list of the 2022 MLB All-Star starters revealed Friday:
American League
C Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays)
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)
2B José Altuve (Astros)
3B Rafael Devers (Red Sox)
SS Tim Anderson (White Sox)
LF Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees)
CF Mike Trout (Angels)
RF Aaron Judge (Yankees)
DH Shohei Ohtani (Angels)
National League
C Willson Contreras (Cubs)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals)
2B Jazz Chisholm (Marlins)
3B Manny Machado (Padres)
SS Trea Turner (Dodgers)
LF Joc Pederson (Giants)
CF Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
RF Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
DH Bryce Harper (Phillies)*
*Harper had surgery on his fractured left thumb at the end of June. There is no timeline yet for his return to the Phillies.
All-Star reserve players and pitchers get voted in by fellow players and the commissioner’s office, which are announced at later dates. The AL manager, Dusty Baker (Astros), and NL manager, Brian Snitker (Braves), pick starter replacements for those elected that who can’t or don’t want to participate.
