Three Canadian players were named to the Midsummer Classic on Saturday, as Otto Lopez (Miami Marlins), Cade Smith (Cleveland Guardians) and Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) were all selected to play at the All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
Lopez has burst onto the scene in a major way in his third season in Miami, leading all MLB players with 117 hits while hitting to a league-best .337 batting average. The 27-year-old shortstop has seven home runs and 56 runs scored in a breakout campaign.
Freeman will be appearing in his 10th All-Star Game after hitting .293 with 14 home runs in the first half of the season. The former MVP will play in his sixth consecutive Midsummer Classic.
Smith has ascended to the elite closer ranks in his third season in Cleveland, leading the majors in games finished (32) and saves (26) while pitching to a 2.97 earned-run average with 57 strikeouts over 39.1 innings pitched.
Lopez and Freeman were both born outside of Canada - Lopez moved to Montreal as a youth after he was born in the Dominican Republic, while Freeman is a native of Villa Park, Calif., to Canadian parents.
Both have represented Canada internationally in multiple tournaments at the World Baseball Classic.
Smith is a native of Abbotsford, BC, and made his only appearance for Canada at the WBC at the 2023 edition of the tournament.
The list of Canadians at this year’s All-Star Game further solidifies Canada’s growing spot on the stage in the baseball world. Canada won Pool A at the WBC in March, advancing to the knockout stage for the first time in the country’s history.
The Canadian team then battled to the end against a tournament favourite in the United States in the quarter-final round, losing by a narrow margin of 5-3.
