By Dejan Kovacevic | 1:42 p.m. Sunday
MIAMI -- Freddy Sanchez will represent the Pirates in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game for the third time in four years.
Sanchez, 31, is batting .316, tops in the majors among second basemen by a 15-point margin, with six home runs, three triples, 25 doubles and 33 RBIs. His doubles rank sixth among all players in the majors.
The team's only other realistic candidate was starter Zach Duke, who is 8-7 with a 3.20 ERA. The Pirates have not had a starter chosen for the All-Star Game since Denny Neagle in 1995.
The game is July 14 in St. Louis.
UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: Sanchez reacts after the game: "It's just an honor to be chosen. To have three great managers like Charlie Manuel, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre decide to pick me ... that's a great honor." I asked if, given the offseason training he put in, this might mean even more to him: "Honestly, it does. I feel like I worked extra hard to get my shoulder right, my body feeling good. Knowing the effort I put in, yeah, this means a lot to me." Sanchez, on his health: "I think I'll be fine. The back already is a little better. I'd really like to play at some point in Houston." ... He also praised Duke as being "just as deserving as I was. He'll get his chance. He'll have a lot more chances, the way he's pitching." ... This was Duke: "Freddy's deserving for everything he's done. He's had a great year, offensively and defensively." ... And John Russell: "I thought both were deserving. Freddy's had a great year. He worked awfully hard in spring training, and I think he feels better about himself than he ever has."
Posted
Jul 05 2009, 01:42 PM
by
Dejan Kovacevic