adminHe’s been an All-Star since his first year in the majors. Japanese pitcher Godai Senga, 30, of the New York Mets, has been named to the All-Star Game as an alternate and will face fellow Japanese Shohei Ohtani, 29.
The MLB office announced the replacements for the pitchers who will miss the All-Star Game on 9 September. Senga will join the All-Stars as a replacement for Marcus Stroman (Chicago Cubs). In addition to Senga, Alex Cobb (San Francisco), Craig Kimbrel (Philadelphia) and Corbin Burns (Milwaukee) have been named as alternates for the National League. Bryce Elder, Spencer Strider (Atlanta) and Devin Williams (Milwaukee) have been removed from the original roster.
Senga, who spent last year with the SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets. After some early struggles, Senga has turned into a steady, reliable pitcher with his trademark “ghost forkball”. In 16 games, he is 7-5 with a 3.31 ERA (33 earned runs in 89⅔ innings) and 113 strikeouts. He has the most wins and the most strikeouts among rookie-eligible pitchers.
He picked up the win in his final start of the season on 6 June against the Arizona Diamondbacks, tossing eight innings of four-hit ball (one homer) with 12 strikeouts and one walk.
The Mets haven’t been able to get much out of their highly touted one-two punch of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who have been plagued by injuries and aging. Scherzer is 8-2 with a 4.03 ERA in 15 starts, while Verlander is 3-4 with a 3.60 ERA in 12 starts. Senga was the only other pitcher to complete a regulation inning.
Senga is the eighth Japanese player and fifth Mets rookie to be named to the All-Star team. Senga joins Dwight Gooden (1984) and Tom Seaver (1967) as Mets legendary pitchers.
Senga told local media, “It’s a place where great players go. To be selected as an All-Star is amazing. I’m sure I’ll have even more emotions when I get to Seattle,” Senga said of his All-Star selection. This year’s All-Star Game will be held at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.온라인카지노
“I’m very surprised and I know it’s an honour. I really didn’t think anything of it when I wasn’t selected initially, which made it all the more surprising.”
In the All-Star Game, the National League pitcher will face Shohei Ohtani, who has now been selected as the American League’s designated hitter. He leads the majors in home runs with 32 in the first half of the season, and he still doubles as a pitcher. It’s no wonder he’s known as the God of Baseball.
“If I had a choice, I would choose not to face him,” Senga said with a laugh, “but the fans in Japan would love it, and the fans here would love it. Whatever happens, whether I hit him or strike him out, I want to enjoy the moment,” he added.