The Los Angeles Dodgers will have six players heading to Miami this year as Alex Wood was named a replacement for Clayton Kershaw on the National League roster for the 2017 MLB All-Star Game. Kershaw is slated to pitch Sunday, and therefore will be unavailable in the Midsummer Classic.
The All-Star selection is the first of Wood’s career. News of his addition comes one day after Justin Turner won the Final Vote in historic fashion by receiving a record 20.8 million votes. Wood’s nod is certainly well deserved, as he’s 10-0 this season, with a 1.67 ERA, 2.04 FIP and 0.89 WHIP in 15 games (13 starts).
If not for beginning the season in the bullpen and a stint on the disabled list, it’s plausible the 26-year-old would have thrown enough innings to qualify as the ERA leader.
Wood punctuated a strong first half of the season by throwing seven shutout innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, complete with 10 strikeouts.
Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher to open a season 10-0 since reliever Ed Roebuck in 1962. Don Newcombe in 1955 was the organization’s last starter to accomplish the feat.
Although Wood certainly had a resume deserving of an All-Star selection, he recently said the possibility of being added to the NL roster was not at the forefront of his mind. “I would feel very honored if that happens, very humbled,” he said.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m just trying not to think too much about it. It’s out of my control. I’m just trying to let it play out.”
The Dodgers last had six All-Stars in 1991 (Brett Butler, Ramon Martinez, Mike Morgan, Eddie Murray, Juan Samuel, Darryl Strawberry).
