OAKLAND -- The Orioles will have two starters in the 2024 MLB All-Star Game, with catcher Adley Rutschman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson both in the American League lineup. A few more Baltimore players could be there, too, as right-hander Corbin Burnes and several others have made strong cases for inclusion on the roster, which will be announced Sunday.
The O’s will also be represented on the AL’s training staff on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Brian Ebel, Baltimore's head athletic trainer, is set to serve as one of the two athletic trainers for the AL, alongside Matt Lucero of the Rangers. It’ll mark the second All-Star Game for Ebel, who previously served as an athletic trainer at the 2007 Midsummer Classic in San Francisco.
It’ll also be a reunion between Ebel and Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who will be the skipper for the AL squad. During the MLB Taiwan All-Star Series in 2011, Ebel served as the athletic trainer for the MLB All-Star team managed by Bochy.
“It’s a great honor, and any time you’re asked by MLB and PBATS to be involved in something like that, it’s just a big honor,” Ebel said. “So really honored to be asked to do it again for this year’s game.”
The opportunity is well deserved for Ebel, who has been part of Baltimore’s organization for 40 years, with 28 of those coming on the MLB staff. The 58-year-old is only the fourth head athletic trainer in O’s history (since 1954), and he’s in his seventh season in the role.
Ebel succeeded Richie Bancells, an Orioles Hall of Famer who held the job from 1984-2017.
So Ebel has experienced all the ups and downs for the O’s firsthand over the years. And while his job always remains the same, he much prefers to see the team performing well.
“Winning kind of helps everything,” Ebel said. “Health and safety is first, whether you’re winning or losing. We wouldn’t treat anyone any differently if we were losing games. But it sure does make it a lot more fun when you’re winning games. Seeing the energy in this clubhouse, and just seeing a different level of energy when you’re winning, is really nice.”
Baltimore’s roster is currently loaded with young talent. Of the 26 players on the active roster, 23 are 30 or younger, with closer Craig Kimbrel (36), right-hander Albert Suárez (34) and catcher James McCann (34) being the only exceptions.
Because so many of the players are early in their MLB careers, Ebel and his training staff try to set them up for long-term success, stressing the importance of workload management.
“Young baseball players, they’re good to work with in a lot of ways,” Ebel said. “But one of the things that we always remind them of is that they work so hard and they’re so good at what they do, sometimes we’ve got to remind them, ‘Hey, if you’re a little sore today, let’s reduce swing volume,’ or, ‘Let’s reduce some of our throwing today,’ and things like that. ...
“Young guys, they’re pretty resilient, so that makes it easy as well.”
Ebel’s take on the job will be the same when he’s at the All-Star Game later this month. His approach always remains the same, which is one of the reasons he’s excelled at the profession for multiple decades.
“Player health, player safety, is No. 1, obviously, for me,” Ebel said. “Just making sure that our guys are ready to go every night is a big challenge and something that I don’t take lightly and I enjoy doing.”