Bryan Reynolds was one of the most notable snubs in the fan vote of the All-Star game, not even cracking the top 20 among outfielders.
His peers didn’t make the same mistake. Reynolds was named an All-Star Sunday, being selected through the player vote. He will join Adam Frazier, who won the fan vote and will start at second base, as the Pirates’ two representatives.
“I hoped it would happen,” Reynolds said, cracking a grin. “One of my goals this year, so it's really exciting.”
It is Reynolds’ first All-Star nod, and the first outfielder for the Pirates since Starling Marte in 2016.
He has been one of the National League’s premier hitters this season, slashing .306/.392/.533 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs and 21 doubles. Those season stats were elevated by one of the best months of June of anyone in baseball, where Reynolds hit .376 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs and a 1.087 OPS.
“He can really hit,” Derek Shelton said. “He's hit at every level. Last year was the first time, I think, that he got into a little bit of a hole and couldn't get out of it. This is the guy that we expected. This guy's one of the elite hitters in the league.”
Before the game, Shelton called a team meeting, where he announced to the group, and told Reynolds that he was going to the game.
Reynolds was a little suspicious. He saw Shelton pull the same move Thursday to tell Frazier he was an All-Star.
“He shows up every night and does something special,” Frazier said about Reynolds last weekend in St. Louis. “That's the definition of an All-Star.”
After a spectacular rookie season in 2019 where he finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, Reynolds could not find his groove in the abbreviated 2020 campaign. He came into spring training in Bradenton, Fla. saying that he was going to flush that year, and has put it solidly in the rearview mirror.
“I didn't hang my hat on last year,” Reynolds said. “I've said that plenty of times up to this point, so yeah, it's good to play the way that I know I can.”
That slump didn’t make Sunday’s news any sweeter, though.
“I didn't need any type of validation to know the type of player that I can be, but obviously it's a great honor and I'm ecstatic to be able to go,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds didn’t have any special All-Star break plans. He had a flight booked back home and was going to spend a couple days, as he put it, on the couch.
“I'm pretty sure I'll take this 10 times out of 10 over that one,” Reynolds said. “So yeah, flight's cancelled.”