ARLINGTON -- Corey Seager said that his fondest memory of his first two All-Star appearances was during his first selection in 2016, when his father threw to him in that year’s Home Run Derby.
“That was pretty cool to kind of reflect on memories of throwing at your high school and in the cages growing up,” Seager said of the moment. “To be able to do it on that kind of stage, that was a pretty special moment in my first year for sure.”
The Rangers’ shortstop will get to add to his memory bank next week, after being selected to the American League roster for the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium as an injury replacement for Toronto outfielder George Springer.
In addition, Seager will compete in the 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby for the second time in his career. He said he didn’t want to participate if he wasn’t named an All-Star, so the decision was an easy one when general manager Chris Young called him early Thursday morning.
Seager’s addition completes the field, as he joins back-to-back champion Pete Alonso, Ronald Acuña Jr., Albert Pujols, Juan Soto, Kyle Schwarber, Julio Rodríguez and José Ramírez. The Derby is set to take place at Dodger Stadium on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
Seager, who is in his first campaign with the club, is looking to become just the third Ranger to win the Derby after Rubén Sierra in 1989 and Juan González in '93. Seager currently leads all MLB shortstops in home runs at 21, while slashing .245/.321/.467 (.787 OPS) on the season.
As for his All-Star selection, Seager is the sixth Texas shortstop to make the All-Star Game and the first since Elvis Andrus in 2012.
“I view it as an honor,” Seager said. “Anytime you can say you're an All-Star, that's an opportunity you want to take. It'll be extremely exciting for me and [my wife] Mady and my family hopefully. So I'm just looking forward to the week. … It'll be my first time going back not as a Dodger. So it'll be an interesting experience in a couple of ways, I think. It's a place that's meant a lot to me, so to go back for the first time, it'll be kind of surreal.”
Seager got off to a slow start to the season after signing a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Rangers this offseason, but he has raced onto the scene in July. He is also the reigning AL Player of the Week after batting .500 with four home runs and nine RBIs from July 4-10.
“It’s pretty neat for him to be in front of his old home crowd and representing the Rangers,” said manager Chris Woodward. “It’s a cool moment for us as an organization. He’s deserving. If he had these numbers the whole year, he probably starts. You’ve really seen the talent come out, especially in the last two weeks. It's been pretty impressive. It's a really cool story.”