The 2021 MLB Draft begins on Sunday, July 11, and the Los Angeles Dodgers hold the final pick of the first round, which checks in at 29th overall.
The Draft has been traditionally held in early June but this season it was pushed back to take place just before the All-Star break.
With the 2021 All-Star Game taking place at Coors Field in Denver, the same can be said of the Draft in an effort to draw more attention to the event.
To represent them at the event in Denver, the Dodgers will send fan-favorite Andre Ethier, he announced on the “Extra Innings Podcast with David Vassegh“:
“I got a nice phone call a weeks ago asking if I could make it to Denver to be the representative for them, and I was more than happy to represent the Dodgers and the great organization that it is.”
Ethier was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round, 25th overall in 2003 before being traded to the Dodgers for Milton Bradley in 2005. He ended up making his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2006 and stayed in L.A. until retiring after the 2017 season.
In his 12 years with the team, Ethier became known as “Captain Clutch” for consistently coming through when the team needed him most, including six walk-off home runs in 2009 and 11 walk-off hits from 2008 to 2010, which was six more than the next closest player, Kurt Suzuki.
Ethier owns a career .285/.359/.463 line with 162 home runs, a 122 wRC+ and 24.2 WAR over 1455 games played.
While he never won a World Series, partly due to the Houston Astros cheating scandal, Ethier remains one of the most influential Dodgers in recent memory. During the dark days of the Frank McCourt era, Ethier was always someone fans could count on to be a star on the field and in the community.
Previous Dodgers representatives
In 2020, the Dodgers were represented by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman for the virtual draft due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ron Cey represented the team at the 2019 and 2017 MLB Drafts and he was joined by Marty Lamb in 2019 and Lon Joyce in 2017.
In 2018, the Dodgers were represented by legendary manager Tommy Lasorda and long-time scout Bobby Darwin.
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