Arenado named starter for 6th All-Star Game

DENVER -- Nolan Arenado did not go out of his way to make his return to Coors Field more emotional than it needed to be. He had dinner with former Rockies teammate Trevor Story on Wednesday. He boarded the 1:30 p.m. team bus to the ballpark on Thursday and went about his normal routine, this time turning away from the home clubhouse on the way to pregame activities.

There are four games in Denver to be won for his scuffling ballclub. The pomp and circumstance of his return -- while he expects to hear both cheers and boos from the Denver faithful -- can wait until he starts at third base at Coors Field as a member of the home team on July 13.

Arenado was voted by fans as the starting National League third baseman for the 2021 All-Star Game, it was announced during a rain delay in the lead-up to Thursday’s series opener against the Rockies, edging out the Dodgers’ Justin Turner and the Cubs’ Kris Bryant for the top nod in Phase 2 of voting.

• 2021 All-Star Game starters announced

“Well, hopefully I make it,” Arenado said, bashfully, pregame Thursday. “I feel like I'm doing a good job. I would like to finish the first half a little bit better, but it would be amazing to come back here for the All-Star Game and spend some time here again. We’ve got four days here now, but it'd be really nice to come back again, because I love Denver. So it'll be really good.”

Arenado’s announcement as starter did come with one caveat: Yadier Molina, the Cardinals’ other finalist for a starting spot among catchers, missed out on a starting nod in favor of Buster Posey of the Giants. Molina and other Cardinals with wishes for the Midsummer Classic -- such as outfielder Tyler O’Neill and closer Alex Reyes -- will have to wait for Sunday, when the remainder of the All-Star rosters are announced, as decided by player/manager/MLB voting.

But impressive for Arenado’s selection is the voting disparity he overcame, nearly 600,000 votes behind Bryant at the end of Phase 1 voting on Sunday but triumphing with 40 percent of the vote from Phase 2 -- which was anew without any carryover from the first phase -- with Turner (34 percent) in second and Bryant (26 percent) in third.

It also doesn’t hurt that Arenado hammered a homer and double in the three games during Phase 2 voting, raising his OPS+ back up to 133, which would tie his career high.

“I’m just trying to find that consistency,” Arenado said. “I feel like I haven't been as consistent as I would like, but I still feel like I'm playing my part, playing a good third base. … I definitely know there's room to get better. I hate to keep saying it, because I feel like I've been saying that a few times, but it's the truth.”

The bat has wavered, but so too has the defense. Arenado had seven errors on the season by Game 48 -- four more than he had in as many games all of last season. But in the 30 games since then? Zero.

It comes down to effort, selling out to make those winding plays in foul territory. It’s what Arenado has made a living off of over his career, what made Rockies fans fall in love with him -- what made the breakup all the more arduous -- and what he hopes to repeat for his new ballclub in this four-game series to kick off July.

Both red and purple Arenado jerseys will inhabit Coors Field this weekend. Those who flew in from St. Louis -- or around the country -- to watch their favorite new Redbird. Those who remain in Denver, loyal to the ballplayer who prided himself on “show[ing] up every day and [giving] them everything I could.” And even some loyal locals who may have flipped allegiances to follow Arenado’s career as it headed east.

“They haven't gotten rid of them yet,” Arenado said of the No. 28 jerseys.

And there’ll be plenty more in town the week of July 12.