Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz was one of the last players anyone figured would be MVP of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
After hitting a two-run home run in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Diaz joined an illustrious list of previous MVPs.
The 32-year-old, first-time All-Star’s blast lifted the National League to a 3-2 victory over the American League, ending a nine-game losing streak in the midsummer classic.
Diaz was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019. He cried when Rockies Manager Bud Black told him he had been selected for the National League All-Star roster.
“I honestly can’t believe that my name is going to be next to some of those names,” Díaz said through a translator as he held a crystal bat awarded the MVP.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be in this position,” he added, according to the Associated Press.
Here’s what happened in the game and behind the scenes:
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NOTEWORTHY
— Five Rangers players started the game for the American League — second baseman Marcus Semien, shortstop Corey Seager, third baseman Josh Jung, catcher Jonah Heim, and outfielder Adolis García.
When Nathan Eovaldi came in to pitch the second inning, six Rangers were on the field at the same time. This was only the third time in MLB history that six players from the same ball club were on the field simultaneously in an All-Star game. The last time that happened was in 1951 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
All six Texas players signed a ball used by Eovaldi in the second inning that will be sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
“It’s incredible,” Eovaldi said, according to MLB.com. “I’ve been fortunate. Obviously, we overlook these little things during the season because we get to be around each other all the time. But to be able to share this moment with those guys, everything that we put in, it means the world, it’s awesome.”
Globe Life Field in Arlington will host the 2024 game.
“You heard the fans when they announced all the Seattle players,” Heim said, according to MLB.com. “So I think if that happens, and we got five starters, again, it’s gonna be really loud in Globe Life. It’s gonna be a cool environment and it’s gonna be a blast.”
— Seattle fans at T-Mobile Park cheered loudly when Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani came to the plate. They chanted, “Come to Seattle! Come to Seattle!”
“I’ve never experienced anything like that, but I definitely heard it,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, according to MLB.com. “I was just trying to focus on my at-bat and the game. … Every time I come here the fans are passionate; they’re really into the game. So it’s very impressive.”
Ohtani, who pitches and plays the outfield, becomes a free agent after this season. He’s widely considered to be baseball’s best player.
The Mariners were one of the first franchises to sign a superstar from Japan. Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki played for Seattle from 2001-2012 and 2018-2019. Suzuki was a 17-time All-Star and won nine batting titles.
— Mariners All-Star Julio Rodriguez came to the plate in the ninth inning with a chance to win it for the American League.
“I was just thinking, ‘Hey, man, he would bring the house down and the whole baseball world and the town down,'” American League manager Dusty Baker of the Houston Astros said, according to The Seattle Times. “This was a moment that very rarely is going to happen in your life. I always wanted to play in an All-Star Game in my hometown, and it never happened. It was all set up.”
Instead, he walked against Philadelphia Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel, who then struck out the Cleveland Guardians’ Jose Ramirez to end the game.
— A runner was caught stealing for the first time since 2011. National League catcher Sean Murphy of the Atlanta Braves threw out Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in the first inning.
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THEY SAID IT
— San Diego Padres relief pitcher Josh Hader on whether National League players were thinking about the nine-game losing streak, according to USA Today: “We were aware of it. Coming to these things as an athlete, you always want to win. That’s in our blood, right? To be able to experience that, and win this game, it was special.”
— Heim on teammate Adolis García’s leaping catch at the outfield wall in the fourth inning, according to The New York Times: “I have all the faith in the world in Adolis that he’s going to make those plays. Usually, when he jumps, he catches it.”
— Dodgers Gold Glove outfielder Mookie Betts told the Los Angeles Times he wants to play more at second baseball or shortstop. “I’ve never considered myself a right fielder. I just play right field. I’ve always considered myself a middle infielder.”