Teoscar Hernández is joining his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani in the starting lineup for the National League in the 2024 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Fresh off his historic Home Run Derby win on Monday, Hernández will be getting the start in center field despite not being named a starter for the National League during fan voting.
However, Hernández revealed he didn’t find out until the lineups were announced.
“It was today when I was eating breakfast,” Hernández said. “One of my brothers was looking on Twitter and they saw that MLB posted I was going to be starting in center field.
“So I have a couple years without playing in center, but I think it’s going to be fun.”
A corner outfielder by trade, he was chosen over Jackson Merrill, Helliot Ramos, and Bryan Reynolds to fill in for Fernando Tatís Jr. in the outfield.
“It’s great, at this moment, that’s what you play for,” Hernández said. “You want to be in the All-Star Game. It’s good, it’s fun to be an All-Star, but it’s even better when you start the game.”
Tatís Jr., Christian Yelich and Jurickson Profar were all named starters as a result of the fan voting process, but Tatís Jr. will be inactive for the Midsummer Classic due to a leg injury which opened the door for Hernández.
Merrill and Ramos are the only two players on the NL roster who primarily play in center field, but Hernández does have over 100 career games played in center field.
Hernández also came in fourth place during fan voting, losing out to Tatís Jr. for the final starting spot by a very narrow margin, and third in the player voting.
He last played in center field with the Blue Jays in 2021, but Hernández was a logical choice to fill the vacant starting spot. It was his primary position coming up through the Minors, even though 6,115 of his 6,934.1 career innings have come as a corner outfielder in the Major Leagues.
And with all that experience out there, Hernández is confident he’ll field the position well enough.
“Not really, I’m used to it,” Hernández said about if he thinks there will be some rust in center. “When I was in the Minor Leagues, and all my career before I got to the big leagues, and even when I got to the the big leagues with Houston in ’16, I played center.
“So I don’t think it’s going to be hard, or difficult. It’s in there, it’s just been a while.”
Teoscar Hernández becomes Dodgers’ first Home Run Derby Champion
Hernández hit 19 home runs in the first round to advance to semifinals and proceeded to defeat Alec Bohm and Bobby Witt Jr. en route to being named Home Run Derby champion.
Hernández not only won the Home Run Derby in his first career appearance, but he also became the first Home Run Derby champion in Dodgers franchise history. He was also just the second Dodgers player to reach the finals, with Joc Pederson the first to do it back in 2015.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
