Anderson, Bassitt, Merrifield and Wendle Named AL All-Stars; Buehler, Molina, Peralta, Scherzer, Turner and Walker Selected to NL Team; Rosters Now Feature Record-Tying 39 First-Time All-Stars
July 10th, 2021Share
Major League Baseball announced today the selections of 10 players to the active All-Star rosters as replacements for All-Stars unable to participate in Tuesday’s 91st Midsummer Classic.
Newly-named American League All-Stars include shortstop Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox; starting pitcher Chris Bassitt of the Oakland Athletics; second baseman Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals; and shortstop Joey Wendle of the Tampa Bay Rays. In the National League, the new All-Stars include starting pitcher Walker Buehler of the Los Angeles Dodgers; catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals; starting pitcher Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers; starting pitcher Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals; third baseman Justin Turner of the Dodgers; and starting pitcher Taijuan Walker of the New York Mets.
The players who will be inactive in the 2021 All-Star Game include two pitchers scheduled to start for their respective Clubs on Sunday – Kevin Gausman of the San Francisco Giants and Brandon Woodruff of the Milwaukee Brewers; seven players who are out with an injury – Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros, Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, Michael Brantley of the Astros, Carlos Correa of the Astros, Jacob deGrom of the Mets, Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres and Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants; and one player out on paternity – Ryan Pressly of the Astros.
The appointments of Anderson and Merrifield in the AL come via the Player Ballot to replace the player-elected Correa and Altuve, respectively. Molina becomes an All-Star in the NL via the Player Ballot to replace Posey, who was the fan-elected starting catcher. J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies, who finished second on the Player Ballot, will replace Posey in the NL’s starting lineup.
Molina becomes an All-Star for the 10th time in his career, marking the most among 2021 All-Stars, while Scherzer makes his eighth trip to the Midsummer Classic. Buehler, Merrifield and Turner will each appear on an All-Star roster for the second time, and Anderson, Bassitt, Peralta, Walker and Wendle each earn their first Midsummer Classic selections. There are now 39 All-Stars (20 AL, 19 NL) making their first trip to the Midsummer Classic. With 39 first-timers on rosters, it matches the 2013 All-Star Game for the most first-timers in All-Star history. Additionally, it will mark the third consecutive All-Star Game with at least 30 players making their debut on an All-Star roster. At least 30 players have now been first time All-Stars in seven of the last eight, and nine of the last 11 installments of the Midsummer Classic.
With the additions of Molina and Peralta, there are now 24 internationally-born players on the All-Star rosters (15 AL, 9 NL), including players from the Dominican Republic (8), Venezuela (5), Japan (3), Cuba (2), Puerto Rico (2), Aruba (1), Australia (1), Canada (1) and Curaçao (1).
MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 13th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 12th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Celebrity Softball Game (July 11th), the MLB Draft (July 11th-13th) and PLAY BALL PARK at the Colorado Convention Center (July 9th-13th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 91st Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by 70 partners in 15 languages across 223 countries and territories. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, including ticket information and updates, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.
