Christian Walker Snubbed in All-Star Reserve Selection Process

Arizona Diamondbacks star first baseman Christian Walker has been snubbed for selection as a reserve for the MLB 2024 All-Star Game to be held July 14th at Globe Life Field. The reserves are chosen through a combination of player voting and commissioner’s office selections. Managers have not had a say in the roster since 2017.

The players select 17 players in each league, eight pitchers (five starters and three relievers), as well as one backup for each position. The backup selected by the players was Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Bryce Harper was voted in as the starter at first base.)

The commissioner’s office selects six players, four pitchers and two position players. Those picks are used to ensure that at least one player from each team is on the roster. First baseman Pete Alonso of the New York Mets was chosen to be that team’s representative.

There is still a possibility that Walker could be named to the roster as an injury replacement. Anthony Castrovince of MLB explained it as follows:

Who picks the replacements for injured players or those who decline to participate?
If a fan-elected starter is unable to play, they are replaced in the starting lineup by the player on the roster who received the next most votes on the player ballot at their position. The roster replacement is then chosen by the league.

If a player-elected reserve position player must be replaced, the next in line on the player ballot becomes a reserve, unless the leaders of the player ballot have already been accounted for. If the top finishers on the player ballot are already All-Stars, then MLB can select another replacement.

Many have speculated that Bryce Harper may not be able to return from his hamstring injury in time for the game. But the latest update indicates he he has been running on the field prior to the last two games and may be activated from the injured list as early as Tuesday.

So barring an unforeseen injury, the leading slugger and best defensive first baseman in the league has been left off the All-Star roster. Walker ranks first among all NL first basemen in homers, (22) runs scored, (57) and RBI (62). In 2022-23 Walker hit 69 homers and drove in 197. He’s batting .268/.341/.516, .857 OPS, or 142 OPS+.

The two-time Gold Glove Award winner once again leads all National League first basemen in Outs Above Average with 8 and Runs Prevented with 6, according to Statcast metrics at Baseball Savant.

In fact, since becoming a full time player in 2019, Walker has notched +53 OAA and +40 defensive runs saved. That’s more than three times as many as the next closest first baseman, Carlos Santana, who has 17 and 13 respectively.

None of that was enough to get Walker into the game unfortunately. It should be noted that the player voting concluded last Sunday, prior to the start of Walker’s historic series in Los Angeles.

In three games in Dodger Stadium this week, Walker hit five homers. He has seven homers in six games in Dodger Stadium this year, and 19 total there since 2018. The next highest total is Fernando Tatis Jr., with 11.

Almost equally important to all these on-field accomplishments, Walker is a shining example of what it means to be a professional and a teammate.

Torey Lovullo spoke about Walker’s work ethic and consistency. “Christian is self-made, he is a coach’s dream, a manager’s dream. He’s on a schedule, there’s a routine to everything that he does… he does all the little things to make sure that his game is tuned up. He deserves what he gets in this game.”

While not the most vocal person in the clubhouse, he leads by example and is always there to offer teammates advice and encouragement, or even a firm word when necessary.

Always accessible to the media, he will stand in front of his locker tirelessly answering questions, win or lose. He always does so in a thoughtful and articulate manner, respecting the interviewers and the questions being asked.

One need only to listen to his genuine, humble response to this situation see what I mean.

Christian Walker on not making the All-Star team:

“It stings a little bit, but it is what it is. Those guys deserve it. Nothing but credit to them.

“To be honest, I got the support and the respect of my teammates and my peers and my coaches, and nothing else really matters.” pic.twitter.com/kQh6qdDIYK

— Jesse Friedman (@JesseNFriedman) July 7, 2024