MLB All-Star Game starters include Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Times
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Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout are MLB All-Star Game starters

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts celebrates with Trea Turner.
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, right, and Trea Turner, left, were named starters Friday for the MLB All-Star Game that will be played July 19 at Dodger Stadium.
(Matt York / Associated Press)
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It’s official. Mookie Betts and Trea Turner of the Dodgers and Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani of the Angels are headed to the MLB All-Star Game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium as starters.

“The first is always the most special, but every All-Star Game is special,” Betts said Friday before the Dodgers’ game against the Chicago Cubs.

Trout and Betts were among the top-three vote-getters among outfielders in their respective leagues. The Midsummer Classic will be Trout’s first since 2019 — the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 event, and a right calf strain kept him out for most of last season.

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“I always enjoy going and taking the field with the best,” Trout told reporters in Baltimore, where the Angels were in the middle of a series against the Orioles.

Tickets for the MLB All-Star game and home run derby at Dodger Stadium in July could put you back some. Prices range from $622 to almost $12,000.

June 16, 2022

Ohtani pulled ahead of the Houston Astros’ Yordan Álvarez in the race for starting American League designated hitter. He will be just the second Japanese-born player to start multiple All-Star Games — the other is Ichiro Suzuki.

“I had fun last year, so I’m looking forward to having some more fun,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Asked about being joined by Trout at the All-Star Game this year, Ohtani joked, “I’ll just follow him around.”

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Asked how he feels about getting to play in the All-Star Game with the two-way star Ohtani, Trout said: “What he’s doing this year, it’s once in a lifetime. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m happy he made the team.”

The Angels' Shohei Ohtani celebrates with Mike Trout after hitting a two-run homer May 15, 2022.
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani is greeted by Mike Trout after hitting a two-run homer May 15. Both players were named All-Star Game starters Friday.
(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

Ohtani said getting voted in by fans to start at DH for a second consecutive year gives him more motivation to keep playing better. As far as participating in the Home Run Derby, Ohtani said “nothing’s been decided yet,” but he did say he will do as much as he can to entertain the fans. Trout again said he would not compete in the Derby.

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Here are all the answers to the questions you might have about joining some of the action for MLB All-Star Game week in Los Angeles.

June 22, 2022

Turner similarly edged the Atlanta Braves’ Dansby Swanson to get the start at shortstop for the National League in the last few days.

“Dansby’s having a heck of a year,” Turner said. “It was a tight race, but the fans showed up and voted and that’s pretty cool.”

With Turner and Betts, the Dodgers will have multiple position players start an All-Star Game for the first time since 1980 — which was the last time the event was held at Dodger Stadium. The full All-Star rosters will be revealed Sunday.

The Dodgers are hoping to get several more selections then, with Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urías and Clayton Kershaw warranting consideration for the NL pitching staff and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith as potential reserves.

For the Angels, Taylor Ward is vying for a reserve selection.

This year marks the 10th All-Star nod for Trout, the sixth for Betts, and the second for both Ohtani and Turner.

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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, the “All-Star Legends Selections,” 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 and Dodger 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 has played for the last 15 years and with whom he said he will retire after the 2023 season.

The All-Star selections are Pujols’ 11th and Cabrera’s 12th.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. were selected as starters last week for being the top vote-getter in the first round of voting in their respective leagues.

Here is the full list of the 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.

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All-Star reserve players and pitchers will get voted in by fellow players and the commissioner’s office. The AL manager, Dusty Baker (Astros), and NL manager, Brian Snitker (Braves), pick starter replacements for those elected who can’t or don’t want to participate.

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