Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo were named to the 2015 National League All-Star team today. Rizzo was elected to the National League team by way of player vote while Bryant was named to the club via National League Manager Bruce Bochy.
I know what many Cubs fans are saying today about Kris Bryant- “ZOMG! OMG! OMG!!!”
That’s one reaction.
Other Cubs fans might be reacting with “hey, wait a minute, he should have made the All-Star team via the fan vote!”
Or
“Why didn’t he get in through the player vote.”
What naturally follows next is something along the lines of “well, this is the first All-Star Game of 15 straight for Kris Bryant.”
Bryant becomes the first rookie third baseman to represent the Cubs at the Midsummer Classic and the first freshman since catcher Geovany Soto and outfielder Kosuke Fukudome started the game in 2008. Along with Soto and Fukudome, Bryant is only the sixth rookie Cub All-Star in franchise history, joining pitcher Sam Jones (1955), catcher Toby Atwell (1952, did not play) and second baseman Dan Johnson (1944, did not play).
Kris Bryant is the youngest Cubs third baseman to be elected an All-Star since 23-year-old Ron Santo earned his first selection in 1963.
Turing our attention to Rizzo, at 25 years of age, he’s the youngest All-Star first baseman in franchise history, let alone the youngest with a pair of All-Star honors.
While you’re here, you should read our exclusive interview of Anthony Rizzo at this link. It got 9,000 page views for a reason; I’m not saying it’s “The Great Gatsby” or anything like that. All I’m saying is that it’s more interesting than almost any other Anthony Rizzo interview feature that you’ll find on the internet.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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