Oakland Athletics’ Sonny Gray Deserved to Start All-Star Game
By Selena Smith
The 2015 All-Star Game rosters have been announced, and thankfully, the American League team is not comprised of only Royals. While four Kansas City players did gain the fan vote to start the mid-summer classic, the remaining starting spots went to no-surprise names like Josh Donaldson and Mike Trout. Although no Oakland Athletics made the cut, there is definitely hope to see at least a couple Green Collar players next Tuesday evening, as Stephen Vogt and Sonny Gray were added as reserves.
The strongest bid by an Oakland Athletic for an All-Star appearance was that of Sonny Gray. Gray is only in his second complete season as a Major League starting pitcher and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. This season, he has the second best ERA in the AL, at 2.09, and he has 97 strikeouts in 107.2 innings.
More from White Cleat Beat
- Oakland A’s select Walker Jenkins in first MLB mock draft
- Cody Thomas worth Oakland A’s hanging on to
- Former Oakland A’s reliever Burch Smith signs in KBO
- Oakland A’s giving Garrett Williams a chance
- Yonny Hernandez finds new home with Los Angeles Dodgers
Gray’s case for starting the All-Star game would not have been without some tough competition. The Houston Astros’ Dallas Keuchel is leading the AL in ERA (2.03) and wins (10) and Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays is on top of strikeouts (141) and WHIP (0.95).
Gray opened this season with eight innings of one-hit ball and he hasn’t let up, striking out a season-high 10 in early May. Unfortunately, the month of June brought a little dip in Gray’s performance and a sickness that ultimately ruined Gray’s chances of starting the All-Star game, even if he is selected.
Gray was hospitalized with gastroenteritis due to salmonella, which caused him to miss two starts. He is slated to start Tuesday against the Yankees in New York, and this would put him in line to pitch against Cleveland the Sunday before the All-Star game, making him ineligible to start the big game. Getting Gray two starts before the All-Star break gives the Oakland Athletics the greatest chances of attaining that elusive winning record, however, it means that Gray won’t take the field with baseball’s best next week.
It will be bitter sweet to hear Sonny Gray‘s name announced as an All-Star, yet not be able to see him show off his stuff on baseball’s biggest stage. But the most important thing is not who’s on the field in mid-July, but who’s still playing in October.