The Major League All Star game had stars from many countries participating in the event. Below were some of the global stars.
The winning pitcher and the talk of the All Star game was Japan’s double threat on the mound and at the plate Shohei Ohtani. He retired the side in order in his one inning of work and also got two at bats, the first player ever to make the team based on both his pitching and hitting exploits.
The MVP of the game, and the youngest MVP of an All Star game was Vladimir Guerrero Jr, from the Dominican Republic. Vladimir also grew up in Montreal, Canada when his dad played for the Montreal Expos.
The closer for the American League was Australia’s own Liam Hendriks.
Fernando Tatis, Juan Soto and Rafael Devers are three young stars from the Dominican Republic ready to make an impact in the major leagues. Jose Ramirez and Nelson Cruz are part of the old guard that continues to shine. The Dominican Republic had easily the most players outside the United States represented in the All Star game.
The Venezuelan catcher Salvador Perez may be the best in the game. Eduardo Escobar also represented Venezuela well.
Adolis Garcia has been a surprise and was the lone Cuban who played in the game.
Xander Bogaerts was born in Aruba but represented the Netherlands in a number of international events. Myworld first saw Bogaerts when he played for the Netherlands in the last world cup in 2011, when the Netherlands took down Cuba in a rain soaked game to win their first gold medal in an international baseball tournament. Ozzie Albies was born in Curacao and also represented the Netherlands in international events.
It will only be a matter of time before a player from an African country is asked to play in the major league All Star game. Will that be South Africa or some country like Uganda, whose interest in baseball has been increasing.
(Top photo of Adolis García/AP: Gabriel Christus)
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