MLB has atoned for Jordan Westburg’s initial All-Star snub by naming him as an injury replacement for Rafael Devers.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The best team in the American League East will not, in fact, have to settle for just three All-Stars.
Jordan Westburg, who was a surprising omission from the initial AL All-Star roster announcement on Sunday, has made the team after all. MLB named the O’s infielder as an injury replacement for Boston’s Rafael Devers, who was selected in the Players’ Ballot as the reserve third baseman but will miss the game with shoulder soreness.
Westburg’s addition corrects what had been one of the biggest All-Star oversights (a 10/10 on the snub scale, as our Mark Brown wrote). The 25-year-old has enjoyed a breakout season in his first full year as a big leaguer, posting a .281/.328/.512 slash line, 15 homers, and 50 RBIs, while playing strong defense at both second and third base. Per FanGraphs, Westburg’s 2.8 WAR is tied for 11th best among all AL position players, and every player ahead of him except for Minnesota’s Willi Castro was already selected to the All-Star team.
It’s a well-deserved honor for Westburg, who joins Corbin Burnes and starters Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman on the club. Westburg was a well-regarded prospect coming up through the O’s system but was generally considered to have the ceiling of a solid regular rather than a Henderson or Rutschman type of superstar. So far, though, Westburg has been more than just solid, putting up impressive offensive numbers across the board while showing off the kind of defensive versatility that makes him a fixture in the everyday lineup.
The Orioles are lucky to have him. And it’s once again a credit to the Orioles’ scouting and player development systems that they’ve produced another All-Star from a player who might have flown under other teams’ radar.
In the meantime, the O’s technically played a game last night, but I wouldn’t say they really played it. They looked terrible on all sides of the ball in a 9-2 loss to the Cubs, which Stacey dutifully recapped. At least the Yankees lost too, so the Birds remain three games ahead of New York for first place in the AL East. The Orioles will get another crack at the Cubs the next two days, with Corbin Burnes toeing the rubber tonight.
Links
Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg makes All-Star team as replacement for Devers – The Baltimore Banner
Be honest, how many of you predicted before the season that Jordan Westburg would be a 2024 All-Star? I know I didn’t. What a story he’s been.
After ‘humbling’ O’s stint, Jackson Holliday showing patience – The Baltimore Sun
The Orioles sent down Holliday to work on swing changes. The only problem is that Triple-A pitchers aren’t giving him any pitches worth swinging at.
Orioles follow news of Westburg’s All-Star selection with losing effort against Cubs (updated) – Blog
At least the newest All-Star had a nice game last night. The same can’t be said for most of his teammates.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Six former Orioles were born on this date: left-handers Josh Rogers (30) and Buddy Groom (59), righty David Hess (31), outfielder Marty Cordova (55), and utility men Johnny Giavotella (37) and Bob Bailor (73). Enjoy your day, all.
On this date in 1968, the Orioles fired manager Hank Bauer, who had led the franchise to its first championship just two years earlier. The O’s had collapsed to a 76-85 record the year after their World Series win, and started the ‘68 season with a good but not great 43-37 record. The Birds replaced Bauer in the manager’s chair with 37-year-old coach Earl Weaver. That turned out pretty well.
Speaking of O’s legends, on this date in 2001, Cal Ripken Jr. won the All-Star Game MVP in his final Midsummer Classic before his retirement. At Seattle’s Safeco Field, Cal blasted a third-inning home run off the Dodgers’ Chan Ho Park, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 47,364 and acknowledging them with a curtain call. What a moment. The American League won the game, 4-1.
Random Orioles game of the day
On July 10, 1986, the Orioles defeated the White Sox in a tight one at Comiskey Park, 5-3. The O’s took a 1-0 lead on Al Pardo’s homer in the second and carried that lead all the way to the bottom of the eighth until Mike Flanagan, who’d thrown seven scoreless innings, gave up an RBI groundout to future Oriole Ozzie Guillen to tie the game. But the Birds jumped right back in front with four runs in the top of the ninth — including John Shelby’s bases-loaded triple — and survived a two-run White Sox rally in the bottom half, with reliever Brad Havens escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam.