As expected, Kolten Wong will have to wait at least another year to become the first Hawaii-born player to start in the All-Star Game. ADVERTISING As expected, Kolten Wong will have to wait at least another year to become the
As expected, Kolten Wong will have to wait at least another year to become the first Hawaii-born player to start in the All-Star Game.
Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon ran away with the final fan vote released Sunday, earning the nod to start at second base for the National League in the July 14th Midsummer Classic.
Wong will find out Monday whether a recent slump has cost him a chance to become the fifth Hawaii player to be named an All-Star. Reserves and pitchers, picked by managers and players, will be unveiled at 1:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN.
In 2013 and ‘14, two second baseman were selected as NL reserves, but only one was picked the two years prior to that.
Wong’s average has dipped to .279 – it hasn’t been lower since April 21 – but the 2008 Kamehameha graduate still has the best power numbers at the position with nine home runs and 36 RBIs. However, his nine errors are tied for the most at the position.
The San Francisco Giants’ Joe Panik would appear to be the front-runner for a reserve spot. Entering Sunday, Panik was batting .308 and has a favorable on-base percentage and slugging percentage to go along with six home runs and 30 RBIs, and his manager, Bruce Bochy, is the NL skipper. Panik’s made just one error and is tops in fielding percentage.
Colorado’ss DJ LeMahieu (.300, four HRs, 34 RBIs) and Los Angeles’ Howie Kendrick (.292, seven, 36) also have higher averages than Wong. Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips, a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, also is batting batting .279, but his power numbers don’t mirror those of Wong.
Wong is second in runs scored behind Gordon, who is third in the league in batting average (.339) and second in stolen bases (29).
Though Wong received 5,600,556 votes online, his deficit grew as his average fell and he was far back in second. Gordon cleared him by more than 1.9 million votes.
