Ohtani to start at DH in All-Star Game as leading AL vote-getter

ANAHEIM -- Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is heading to the All-Star Game for a third straight year.

Ohtani earned an automatic spot on the American League squad after being the leading vote-getter in the American League in Phase 1 of the voting for the 2023 Scotts MLB All-Star Ballot, as announced on Thursday on MLB Network. It means he gets to bypass Phase 2 and is the starter for the AL at designated hitter for this year’s Midsummer Classic on July 11 at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. tallied the most votes in the NL and is also officially an All-Star starter in the outfield for the NL.

Ohtani received 2,646,307 votes to finish ahead of Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (2.1 million votes) and lead the AL. Fellow superstar Mike Trout finished second behind Aaron Judge among AL outfielders and was one of six AL outfielders to advance to Phase 2. Trout, a three-time AL MVP, is aiming for his 11th All-Star selection and his 10th straight as a starter. Ohtani and Trout are also looking to be named as All-Stars together for a third straight year, although Trout missed the past two editions due to injuries.

“I would like to thank all the fans that voted for me, this is a huge honor,” Ohtani said in a statement “I will use this as motivation and will continue to give it my all on the field.”

Ohtani, the AL MVP in 2021 and the runner-up to Judge last year, was named an All-Star as both a starting pitcher and as a DH in ’21 and ’22. He was the first player to be named an All-Star as both a pitcher and a hitter in the same season, and he’s hoping to do it for a third season in a row.

He memorably served as the starting pitcher and leadoff hitter in the 2021 All-Star Game in Colorado, picking up the win by throwing a scoreless first inning while also going 0-for-2 at the plate. He also participated in that year’s Home Run Derby, hitting 28 homers in the first round before losing in a swing-off to Juan Soto.

He didn’t participate in the Derby or pitch in last year’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, but did single off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw to open the game before getting picked off at first base. He also walked in the third inning.

Ohtani’s spot on this year’s AL All-Star squad was well-deserved, as he’s having another MVP-caliber season. Ohtani, 28, is batting .292/.377/.616 with an MLB-leading 24 homers in 74 games. He also has 14 doubles, three triples, 10 stolen bases and is tied for the MLB lead with 58 RBIs.

In 15 starts on the mound, Ohtani is 6-3 with a 3.13 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 89 innings. He struck out 12 and limited the Dodgers to one run over seven innings in his latest start on Wednesday. He leads the Majors with a .179 batting average against, while his 117 strikeouts rank as the third-highest total in the Majors behind only Spencer Strider (136) and Kevin Gausman (127).

Ohtani is also notably going to be a free agent after this season, but general manager Perry Minasian said on Tuesday that he doesn’t plan on trading Ohtani before this year’s Trade Deadline.

The Angels are in contention this year, as they have a 41-35 record and entered Thursday just a half-game out of the third AL Wild Card spot. They are looking to earn their first playoff berth since 2014 and post their first winning record since 2015.